Muslim summer camp preaches 'anti-terror' message

[PhilT]

Here's a bit of good news.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-10905070

You can download a PDF of the Fattwa summary - it's a very interesting read.

[Ole Juul]

Re: Muslim summer camp preaches 'anti-terror' message

Actually to me the news is the news in this case. Muslims have always taken a dim view of terrorism and other things which the fanatics, and especially the western press, has been trying to pin on that faith in recent years. Hopefully this kind of news coverage will help educate all people.

[PhilT]

Re: Muslim summer camp preaches 'anti-terror' message

+1

[askrieger]

Re: Muslim summer camp preaches 'anti-terror' message

I don't think that you can bundle "the western press" any more than you can bundle "moslems", or even "arabs". The fact that one of my former grad students (who is not only a muslim, but also a Palestinian immigrant to the US) went to work for a friend of mine (who is not only a US civil servant, but also an immigrant from Israel) says something. As far as I know, they're both doing fine, (although I haven't seen either of them in the last 10 years).

The press (Eastern, Western, Northern, or Southern) simplifies and sensationalizes things in order to (a) make them comprehensible to readers who don't have time to study something in detail, and (most important b) to attract eyeballs or ears so that they can MAKE MONEY. Even reporters have families to feed.

[oshunluvr]

Re: Muslim summer camp preaches 'anti-terror' message

Most Muslims I know (not many) are pissed off that their religion has been hi-jacked by a few murderous terrorists. Doesn't seem too far from the anti-abortion nuts who shoot doctors and burn clinics in the name of God. Before I get flamed - yes I know flying airplanes into the Trade Center is several leagues above gunning down a doctor in his driveway - but it's the same mind-set. We just have better law enforcement than most of those countries so the nuts don't get as far.

Saying all Muslims are violent is the equivalent of what Nazi Germany said about the Jews.

Boy - THIS thread doesn't have any potential to go sour!!!

[GreyGeek]

Re: Muslim summer camp preaches 'anti-terror' message

Dr Muhammad Tahir ul-Qadri is a VERY BRAVE man and I wish him well in his efforts. But, I am afraid that there are too many Muslim extremists who have been drawn into the wahhabi doctrine. Sooner or later he will be assassinated.

Most of the 9/11 hijackers came from Saudi Arabia, where Wahhabism rules. Today, the power of Wahhabism comes from the oil money flowing into Saudi Arabia. A LOT of it from the USA., just like most of the drug money funding Mexican drug lords and their border armies fighting the Mexican police comes from American drug addicts, must of whom support their habits by prostitution or theft.

Saudi sponsorship

Beginning in the last years of the 18th century Ibn Saud and his heirs would spend the next 140 years mounting various military campaigns to seize control of Arabia and its outlying regions, before being attacked and defeated by Ottoman forces. The invasions were justified according to the Wahhabis because the destruction of the villages of polytheists is authorized in the Qu'ran[citation needed].

One of their most famous and controversial attacks was on Karbala in 1802 (1217 AH). There, according to a Wahhabi chronicler `Uthman b. `Abdullah b. Bishr:

"[Wahhabis] scaled the walls, entered the city ... and killed the majority of its people in the markets and in their homes. [They] destroyed the dome placed over the grave of al-Husayn [and took] whatever they found inside the dome and its surroundings. .... the grille surrounding the tomb which was encrusted with emeralds, rubies, and other jewels. .... different types of property, weapons, clothing, carpets, gold, silver, precious copies of the Qur'an."

[15]

In the early 20th Century, the Wahhabist-oriented Al-Saud dynasty conquered and unified the various provinces on the Arabian peninsula, founding the modern day Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1932.[16] This provided the movement with a state. Vast wealth from oil discovered in the following decades, coupled with Saudi control of the holy cities of Mecca and Medina, have since provided a base and funding for Wahhabi missionary activity.

The Saudi government established the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, a state religious police unit, to enforce Wahhabi rules of behaviour.[1] Afghanistan maintained a similar government ministry from 1992 to the downfall of the Taliban in 2001. It was revived by the Supreme Court of Afghanistan as the Ministry for Haj and Religious Affairs.[17]

That's one reason why I think we are wasting our money and blood in Afghanistan. A battle between religious sects of Islam has been raging for centuries, but now the violent ones have friends that possess atomic weapons and are working on intercontinental delivery systems ASAP. Sooner or later, I suspect, the Arab states surrounding Israel will get brave enough to attack Israel with atomic weapons, if atomic extortion doesn't work. From what I've read Israel already has about 30 nuclear bombs and the missiles to deliver them. If they are attacked with nukes they will respond in kind, and they have enough to destroy the major capitals in all of the Mid-East states.

[Ole Juul]

Re: Muslim summer camp preaches 'anti-terror' message

I don't think that you can bundle "the western press" any more than you can bundle "moslems", or even "arabs". . . .

I fundamentally agree. I was a little quick on my earlier post. However, I do think that there is a lot of anti Moslem sentiment in the western press these days and that it is often not well informed. Nowadays it is easy to educate oneself on other cultures and religions but unfortunately some people don't do that and the news media know it. I read the Danish press daily and it is interesting to note the wide ranging views of Moslems in that country. What is noteworthy is that the many average and moderate ones doesn't get nearly as much press as the very few extremists. That said; it is indeed better to avoid generalizations - especially regarding individual cultures and religions.

[askrieger]

Re: Muslim summer camp preaches 'anti-terror' message

Wasn't it a Danish cartoonist who was attacked for "sacrilege toward Mohammed"? Which to my mind simply goes to show that the whackoes are everywhere!

[Ole Juul]

Re: Muslim summer camp preaches 'anti-terror' message

Wasn't it a Danish cartoonist who was attacked for "sacrilege toward Mohammed"? Which to my mind simply goes to show that the whackoes are everywhere!

Yes, it was Kurt Westergaard from Jyllands-Posten. However his drawing was only one of a group of submissions which came about as an expression of the environment of fear which had developed among Danish illustrators because of religious extremists. Westergaard himself is quite sympathetic towards Muslims, but in his illustration chose to address the idea that extremists were actually holding their own religion hostage. It seems like Dr Muhammad Tahir ul-Qadri (in the OP link) is talking about similar ideas.

What happened later was that a very small group of extremists, and one imam in particular, put in a huge effort to whip this whole thing up to something which was not really related. In fact quite of number of drawings which were directly rude to Muslims, and which were not part of the original collection (nor even originating in Denmark!) were shown abroad. I noticed from the many articles that I read in the three major Danish papers, that the Muslims there were mostly not concerned, or even interested, but some eventually got dragged into it because of the pressure from overseas. What started as a local expression of a local problem, became international because of a few. There is an excellent summary (in English!) on this page.

Anyway, Kurt Westergaard is just an old (75) cartoonist with a concern for free speech (including for Muslims) who ended up being targeted. Recently someone went after him with an axe, which is considered inappropriate in Denmark.

Yes, whackoes are everywhere.