A new article by Jihad Watch Board member Tashbih Sayyed, editor-in-chief of Muslim World Today:
A number of recent apologies made to the Muslims by non-Muslim leaders clearly indicate that the world has grown increasingly fearful of Muslim rage. Political Islam, as is obvious by the reactions of the socio-cultural and political institutions in countries of Europe, Britain and the U.S. has come of age. It has been allowed to establish itself into a position from where it can manipulate the host country’s social and political systems to its advantage. The significance of this achievement cannot be denied. Political Islam’s disabling fear has already deprived the West of its ability to stand up and defend its values.The Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten apologized for publishing the Prophet Muhammad’s caricatures, next, Pope Benedict XVI felt compelled to repeatedly explain his comments, and now Germany’s leading opera house, the Deutsche Opera of Berlin has cancelled a production of Mozart’s Idomeneo, because it was determined that it would offend Muslim sensibilities.
A report on combating terrorism issued by the Netherlands Interior Minister Johan Remkes and Justice Minister Piet Hein Donner states that radical Muslims are gaining influence in the Netherlands. According to the report, the ultra-orthodox Salafism that seeks to return to the “pure Islam” of the days of Prophet Mohammed is making its presence felt in an increasing number of mosques.The adherents of Salafism shun western society and work against the moderate Muslims who want to integrate into Dutch society. The report pointed out that the followers of radical Islam have successfully used the internet and lectures to win over more followers in order to gain control of moderate mosques, Remkes said.
U.S. experts believe that radical Islam in France was responsible for Last year’s rioting in France that began in a poor, mostly Muslim, neighborhood near Paris and then spread to other suburbs and cities across France and parts of Europe. They claimed that despite the characterization by several media outlets that those perpetuating the violence were primarily disaffected youth upset with French economic and social policies, the reason the unrest spread so quickly and was virtually limited to Muslim neighborhoods signifies a deeper and more ideologically driven motive.
Great Britain, America's closest ally in the war against terrorism is also a major base of operation for some of the most radical Islamic organizations, including some direct supporters of Osama bin Laden. Radical Islam has exploited the cultural and moral vacuum which has been emerging in Britain over the past 30 years. The London terrorist bombings last July, perpetrated by homegrown Islamist terrorists, shocked British society who until then thought radical Islam was confined to distant places of which British people knew little and cared less.
In January of 2002, British military intelligence working in eastern Afghanistan made a shocking discovery in the mountains of Tora Bora. During searches for Osama bin Laden's cave complex, they found the names of 1,200 British citizens, all Muslims, who trained with the Al Qaeda network in Afghanistan.
In the United States of America, Islamists with clear ties to the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, Hamas in Palestine and Hezbollah in Lebanon are not only being awarded by the Administration but are also influencing U.S. policy in the Middle East. Moreover, there are reports that the Muslim cab drivers are imposing their restrictive values on the Americans by refusing to accept passengers who carry liquor in their luggage.
In short, radical Islam has established itself in every part of the globe. No country or community is free from the influences of this fascist strain of political Islam. Islamist leaders are confident that they have been victorious in carrying out the basic mission of Islamism by overwhelming the infidel world. In an interview with an Australian magazine, Nida’ul Islam, ‘The Call of Islam’, bin Laden called for a global holy war against the West. “Our encouragement and call to Muslims to enter Jihad against the American and the Israeli occupiers are actions which we are engaging in as religious obligations. Allah Most High has commanded us in many verses of the Qur’an to fight in His path and to urge the believers to do so… We have given an oath to Allah to continue in the struggle as long as we have blood pumping in our veins or a seeing eye, and we beg of Allah to accept and to grant a good ending for us and for all the Muslims.”
Should I as a Muslim be happy about this situation? The many apologies by Western leaders combined with advances made by radical Islam confirm that the Muslims are winning the jihad against the “infidel” world. The Judeo-Christian World is on the defensive and has chosen to lay down its arms at the feet of the religious fascists instead of standing up for its ideals of openness, tolerance, liberty and freedom.
As an American Muslim who grew up loving his religion, I do not feel any happiness, nor do I see anything positive in realizing that the world now fears Muslims. IN FACT, I AM VERY SADDENED AND DEEPLY TROUBLED BY THESE DEVELOPMENTS. I AM VERY ANGRY AT THE RADICALS WITHIN MY FAITH WHO HAVE USED MY RELIGION AS A PLATFORM TO ESPOUSE HATE, PERPETRATE ACTS OF VIOLENCE AND CREATE FEAR WITHIN THE JUDEO-CHRISTIAN WORLD.
I do not want to be feared. I want to be respected, accepted and loved. I am afraid that Muslim extremism is pushing this world to a point from where its rescue will be almost impossible. I do not see anything good in the situation.
The fact that the world fears Muslims speaks volumes about the image of my co-religionists. These developments are clearly not a positive sign. People do not fear GOOD. They fear EVIL. The majority of Muslims have somehow have failed to convey to the world that they are good. And I am not surprised.
Muslims need to pause and think about why world does not respect them. Why are they feared rather than being loved? Why it is that more and more people in the world have an image of them as being fanatical as a rule, compared to the adherents of other religions where fanaticism is an exception. Muslims will have to contemplate why the communities that welcomed the Muslim immigrants with open arms are now afraid to have them living amongst them. According to Carl Berglund, Muslims have polarized the Swedish society. “Their religion is so stifling and unaccommodating. They expect us to accommodate their religion when they don't respect our beliefs.” Carl Berglund doesn’t want to live with the Muslims any more and wants them to be expelled from Sweden. He states: “We should stop being afraid of Muslims. This is our country, our world, and those who can't accommodate us, should get out of Sweden.”
France has also threatened to deport any Muslim leaders preaching extremist views after fundamentalist Muslims won a strong voice in a new council to represent Islam there. Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy said the council, which will represent the country's five million Muslims, will not be allowed to become a breeding ground for radical Islam. "Islamic law will not apply anywhere because it is not the law of the French republic. Any Imams whose views run contrary to the values of the republic will be deported," Sarkozy told Europe 1 radio.
Previously, Britain revoked the citizenship of a radical Muslim cleric, Abu Hamza al-Masri, who praised the September 11 attacks, and subsequently banned him from preaching at his London mosque because of his extreme statements.
I am deeply concerned that fear of Muslims will result in a serious revulsion of Islam in western society. Contrary to the claims by the political Islamist establishment that Islam is a peaceful faith, their deeds convey just the opposite – there is nothing peaceful in what is happening in the Muslim communities today or what Islamists are doing in the world. The faith that the radical Islamists promotes is one of “perpetual outrage.” In the words of Thomas Jefferson, “I have judged other’s religions by their lives, for it is from our lives and not our words that our religions must be read.”
"Islam can manipulate the host country’s social and political systems to its advantage.." very well describes the parasitic nature of Islamic populations in the West.
It is good that a peaceful Muslim has written this article.
"I do not want to be feared. I want to be respected, accepted and loved. I am afraid that Muslim extremism is pushing this world to a point from where its rescue will be almost impossible. I do not see anything good in the situation."
Toynbee in his Study of History points out that cultures in decline, even in danger of collapse, are increasingly influenced by a Dominant Minority that appeals to force as it looks backward to a "golden age", rather than by a Creative Minority with new ideas to for a current crisis. The Muslim world has become intellectually stagnant because of the cleric parasites that exploit Muslim people, so much so that tiny Israel produces more new intellectual product, including excellent science and technology, than all the Muslim world. (In a bizarre twist, the cell-phone, invented at Motorola-Israel, is used by Muslims to kill Israelis.)
There is no doubt that the Internet (another non-Muslim creation) is being used to spread and coordinate the fear caused by Jihad. It's well orchestrated via the Internet. But the Internet also provides a window into the mind of Islam's Dominant Minority. To non-Muslims, deception and fear (from CAIR style to Bin Laden style) and hate for Jews, make Islam ugly, unlovable.
No one can love that which they cannot trust, that which is feared.
In human relationships love is based on trust and respect. When we lose trust and respect for another, love is not far behind. People go to that which they love and respect and leave (when given the choice) that which they fear. It's human to do that.
The fact that the world fears Muslims speaks volumes about the image of my co-religionists. These developments are clearly not a positive sign. People do not fear GOOD. They fear EVIL. The majority of Muslims have somehow have failed to convey to the world that they are good. And I am not surprised.
___________________________
Actions speak louder than words.
They cry peace, but their hands make war.
It is no longer a case of an image, or a mirage, but rather a real, physical, tangible threat.
The moderate Muslims may talk, but they fail to act. As someone else once said: All it takes for evil to win is for the good people to do nothing.
Pretty soon, and it has already started, the West will have to start doing something.
"People do not fear GOOD. They fear EVIL"
A perfect reply to anyone makes the accusation of 'islamophobia'.
Excellent article.
Ooops sorry, forgot the word 'who':
"People do not fear GOOD. They fear EVIL"
A perfect reply to anyone who makes the accusation of 'islamophobia'.
It's interesting that in Toynbees' view, the Creative Minority offers new ideas as a response to the challenge of crisis and its power and influence are through "discipleship" whereas the Dominant Minority's power is based in conformity and and appeals to "martyrdom". As per Toynbee, Intellectual stagnation is a symptom of decline in a culture as it increasingly looks backward and tries reestablish the past in the present. It's "putting old wine in new bottles".
Well, Mr. Tashbih Sayyed, you must be now in good knowledge that Islam has been a cult of utter selfishness - so much so that even Muslims are not safe from Muslims. You must have read the Sira-ul-Rasool well by now, and must have very well made out Muhammed's selfish, violent and fraudulent psychology. It does not require a Doctorate in Science to come to that conclusion.
If you want to be respected rather than feared, then you must move away from the evil of Islam. After all, people justifiably fear evil, and respect and love good.
Another advice from me - good gives peace. Evil gives only hatred and fear. Islam cannot give peace. Arabia, true to its desert condition, has produced a mega mirage called Islam.
So true! I find even Richard Dawkins, who minces no words when criticizing Christianity, and religion in general, is somewhat muted when criticizing Islam. I believe that there are two reasons for this:
(i) After the trashing of communism to the ash heap of history, muslims have replaced the proletariat as the cause célèbre;. Outspoken muslims have successfully exploited the collective guilt of misty-eyed intellectuals, by brandishing a hunted-underdog image. The mistimed wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, when their general populaces were in distress, have only helped in this process.
(ii) The pragmatists of the energy hungry West, joined more recently by China and India, on the other hand, are beholden to the oil. Competition for access to energy rich Arab countries is the sine qua non of today's realpolitik. Notwithstanding the sectarian rivalries in the muslim world, the muslim diaspora is united in its defence of Islam in the infidel world. Divided, the infidels will fall.
What is a six-pack, if you could fly around the world to deliver Iranian or Saudi paid lectures, riling against the inequity and insjustice meted out to the muslims?
"A lightbulb burns brightest just before it blows out"
Why is the world afraid of Muslims??...Oh, no special reason...Only that their "holy" book condones KILLING!!!!!!!...Killing of those who DON'T FOLLOW ISLAM!!!!.......Other than that, there's no reason to be concerned, eh?.....
Allahu akbahr is not a Fear Prayer anymore. When I hear it I'm not afraid. And it's not really a prayer either. They never can state anything correctly.
Is that all you've got, you douche bags?
I have had enough. Islam, which glorifies slavery, intolerance, deception, lying, and vindictive violence, is not only morally repulsive, but is a self-defined direct threat to the Constitution and the hard won freedoms protected by the Bill of Rights. Muslim believers are not fit to live beside and amongst free men. They should not be permitted to set foot on our soil, for any reason, no matter how briefly, ever.
Quarantine the Islamic world, and never let the Muslims forget why they are reviled. Through their words and deeds across the centuries, and through their violent predations against every culture and religion they have ever made contact with, they have truly earned their pariah status.
how they survived so misguided is a mystery
"And by the way, why is a muslim on the Jihad Watch Board? Doesn't make sense to me.
Maybe Mr. Sayyed should take another look at his religion and his people."
Posted by: americaningermany
Could we get some official enlightenment?
Is it just me, or is this article dripping with taqiyya? In fact, it comes across as the most subtle approach yet to conveying the "Islam has been hijacked" canard:
1. Introduction of the term "Political Islam." What does that mean? What specifically must be added to "Islam" to make it "Political"? Or vice versa, what should be removed from "Political Islam" to make it just "Islam"?
2. In all-caps no less: "I AM VERY ANGRY AT THE RADICALS WITHIN MY FAITH WHO HAVE USED MY RELIGION AS A PLATFOR TO ESPOUSE HATE, PERPERTRATE ACTS OF VIOLENCE AND CREATE FEAR WITHIN THE JUDEO-CHRISTIAN WORLD." How is this any different from saying that radicals have "hijacked" a peaceful religion to espouse hate, perpetrate violence, and create fear among non-Muslims?
3. "Contrary to the claims by the political Islamist establishment that Islam is a peaceful faith, their deeds convey just the opposite – there is nothing peaceful in what is happening in the Muslim communities today or what Islamists are doing in the world." How subtle: yet again, implying that Islam is indeed peaceful, that it's the actions of "political Islamists" that create the opposite impression.
Robert--you've invited Tashbih Sayyed to your board. What am I missing?
Out of Love and Respect I fear the power and wrath of God. Not allah, God. As should anyone who worships the false prophet mohamed (piss be upon him).
Mr Sayyed,
I assume you feel more comfortable with the sufi movement of islam than with either sunni or shi'ite?
Contrary to some of the people above, who probably never even been to the middle east, I am still willing to grant you the benefit of the doubt as someone who really just wants to leave in peace and harmony with the rest of the world.
As Mohandas Gandhi once said: You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty.
"Contrary to some of the people above, who probably never even been to the middle east, I am still willing to grant you the benefit of the doubt"
posted above
Yes, I've never been to the middle east, and I don't speak or read more than a relatively limited number of transliterated words or phrases of Classical Arabic. So what? I DO "grant [him] the benefit of a doubt".
I (and apparently others) would merely like an official introduction to this new and unique member of the JW board, and some assurances from a long term JW board member that his appointment in no way represents a compromise of previous positions on Islam, Muhammad, Muslims in general, recommendations for governmental policies, etc., etc.
As to the quote from Ghandi, I have no "faith in humanity". My faith is in the JudaeoChristian God, and I believe in the doctrines of the Fall, Original Sin and Total Depravity. The concept of man as inherently and intrinsically good in and of himself holds no sway with me.
“Obsession: Radical Islam’s war against the West”
“Obsession” is available again.
It was available for a while on google and then mysteriously disappeared. It is back!
“Obsession” is I think, one of the most important political films ever made.
The film is available in it’s entirety here.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-692071627799119020&q=obsession+islam
It is just as important as “An inconvenient truth.”
You will need broadband to watch this.
Email the website address onto all the people in your address book who you think will benefit from watching it.
(Be careful who you send it to; you do not want to provoke a backlash)
Having said that, I think that the vast majority of all the points made in it are fair.
"The adherents of Salafism shun western society and work against the moderate Muslims who want to integrate into Dutch society. "
"radical"
,"extremism",
"USED MY RELIGION"
Let me guesss they are hijacking Islam by following a literal interpretation.
You dont support mohammad inspired genocide , leave his hatecult.
Word up Concerned Citizen, well spoken. As for the comment posted by asmodai, I smell dhimmitude. One other thing, I don't have to visit the middle east to know about the various movements within pigslam. Brooklyn, Queens, Jersey City & lets not forget Islamaberg, are within my locals. So I'm pretty sure of what I know. The only movement I care about, is the movement to deport all that want to destroy our country, in order to impose some stupid false religion on everyone.
There is nothing surprising in Mr. Spencer having a muzlim (muslim) on this board. Mr. Spencer has said his goal is to see Islam reform itself. Perhaps Tashbih Sayyed is someone trying to reform the religion.
I personally see no hope for reform in what I believe to be work of the devil, satan, lucifer, iblis, shaitan. But that's me.
Nevertheless, a more realistic hope for the immediate future might be reform and if there are Moslems who passionately want a "reform" Islam than more power to them.
Having said I support Mr. Spencer's decision to host a Muslim board member in favor of reform, I must say that izlam will not reform itself in the same way that Judaism and Christianity have.
izlam has borrowed all the most egregious, holier-than-thou, racial supremecist claptrap from Judaism. Example: The koran was dictated by allah to mohommad.
Where'd they get that?
Why, from the Jews of course, who claim that the Torah (the Five Books of Moses) were handed down (dictated) directly to Moses. Obviously you can't change one letter of it.
Just as Judaism is split into innumerable sects (Satmar, Bratzlavers, Lubavitch, Chabad, Reconstruction, Karaites, Niturei Carta, etc. etc. etc.)so izlam will teeter, splinter and divide, chaotically, violently, unhappily, until its final apocalyptic end. There's no middle ground, no common denominator, no light at the end of the tunnel. You can't shine the light on the devil and his work and expect it to morph into the holy.
The Europeans are hoping for assimilation and reform.
No chance. Absolutely not.
I'll tell you why: because the Muslims mught blow them up and/or saw off their heads! That's why!!!
Actions do indeed speak louder than words. Yet despite this, many Muslims often defend Islam in the face of extremist behavior by simply quoting Quranic verses to non-Muslims, as if mere words somehow prove Islam's inherent peacefulness (e.g. citing sura 5:32 ad nauseum).
I've been more than moved in the past few days at the otherworldly forgiving behavior and humbleness of the Christian Amish over the atrocity that recently befell their community. Few words uttered, backed up by amazingly gracious actions. A true religion of peace there, if I ever saw one.
Aye carumba, people! Stop bitching about Tashbih Sayyed and LOOK at the comments from Swedes in the link in his article.
http://forum.ebaumsworld.com/showthread.php?t=41358
Which do I consider more dangerous, a muslim who calls a spade a spade the or a non-muslim who is blind to reality?
Easy answer for me.
I've bookmarked Sayyed's web site MuslimWorldToday.Com to get a sense about what he believes.
First glance looks promising, and he comes (implicitly) well recommended by being on the board of JihadWatch.Com
But I've learned to be suspicious of Muslims, so time, and reading his website for awhile, will tell.
GreatShaitan,
I don't feel it is "bitching" to simply request the official endorsement of and perspective on this apparently unique (?) appointment. A description of the duties, privileges and responsibilities of JW Board members might also be illuminating, as well as an updated list of the Board's members.
I am not opposed to this man. I don't know this man. As pointed out above, he does (and understandably) state some things differently than other JW Board members.
I support this site by
1) wearing the gray shirt
2) displaying the white bumper sticker on my car
3) purchasing the endorsed books, videos, etc.
4) advertising #3 by word of mouth
5) sending money
6) attempting to contribute to the discussions (perhaps the jury is out on that one)
I just feel a more formal public introduction of new Board members would acknowledge our efforts. A bio, some links....
Kamala,
I think that it is dripping with taqqiya, too. He mentions "radical islam", and note the words, "I am deeply concerned that fear of Muslims will result in a serious revulsion of Islam in western society." He is making out as if islam were peaceful, hijacked by a "tiny minority". I just want to ask him if he saws off the head of goats/sheep/camels/cows in the "holy tradition" of islam. Also if he "prays" 5 times a day.
I am deeply concerned that fear of Muslims will result in a serious revulsion of Islam in western society.
The results are now in and are obvious on this site. It's refreshing to hear a Muslim make such comments but it's pretty much too late. Any sensible person has to think negatively about Islam considering its words and deeds-after all, how many people like scorpions and vipers? While I myself have no problem with a Muslim believing in his Allah and his Mohammed I have serious problems when it shrieks to the world that it's the ONLY religion, that all others are trash, that if you don't convert you're subhuman and must die. The shrieking itself is bad enough but with these crazies they add violence to the shrieking, stooping to every low to achieve world domination and yet they try to tell us how peaceful they are. Throw in the thin skinnedness and the constant whining of how THEY are victims (of Zionists, racists, imperialists, the media, the Crusades, etc.) and their tireless belief in crazy conspiracy theories (the Protocols, Bin Loser is a US agent,etc.) what sane person would want to look at Islam in a favorable light, much less embrace it? If Islam really wants to benefit humanity, the best thing it could do for it would be to simply disappear.
Mr. Tashbih Sayyed is one of the bravest campaigners working within Islamic culture for reform for them and for YOU- at his own peril. Enlighten yourself by watching him speak for yourself. We filmed his acceptance speech (along with Salman Rusdie, Wafa Sultan, Nonie Darwish, & Salim Mansur) by the (non-dhimmied) American Jewish Congress as "Profile in Courage" recipient (consider how extraordinary are these Muslims to be honored by a Zionist organization)!
Fortify Mr. Sayyed, he's one of your greatest advocates. Guard him, like Robert Spencer, from pressure (particularly ignorant, reactionary friendly-fire).
Witness oracle Tashbih's insights here on
DemoCast.Org's Video News Magazine (aka "Joo-Tube")
Direct links (please share) to 3 videos :
(1) Support Moderate Muslim Leadership to Save The West: Tashbih Sayyed & Salman Rushdie
(2) Award Winner, Tashbih Sayyed, Warns Press of Islamist PR-Spinsters, eg, CAIR, MPAC
(3) Tashbih Sayyed Warns About Islamists Masquerading as Moderates to Attain Support for their Power
arjun writes:
I think that it is dripping with taqqiya, too. He mentions "radical islam", and note the words, "I am deeply concerned that fear of Muslims will result in a serious revulsion of Islam in western society."
That sentiment of Jihad Watch Board member Tashbih Sayyed which arjun quotes above has been profoundly and definitively exposed numerous times in various essays here and at Dhimmi Watch by Jihad Watch Board Vice-President Hugh Fitzgerald as a way to facilitate the spread of Islam through Dawa and Demography, considered by Mr. Fitzgerald to be more insidious and more dangerous than Jihad.
Jihad Watch Board member Tashbih Sayyed is concerned about, and opposed to, the increase of a "serious revulsion of Islam in western society" -- while Jihad Watch Board Vice-President Hugh Fitzgerald positively encourages such a "serious revulsion of Islam" in order to extricate Islam from the Dar-al-Harb, whether it's the West, or the Rest of the world.
Despite this blatant contradiction in the heart of Jihad Watch, we do have to face the facts of the real world: one of those facts is that a safer and more peaceful future will have to be built, in part, upon a growing network of schizophrenic and self-contradictory moderate Muslims like Jihad Watch Board member Tashbih Sayyed who continue to revere Mohammed and the Koran even though these two cornerstones of their religion profoundly confute the most significant good and liberal impulses they otherwise value.
I don't know whether Robert Spencer, Director of Jihad Watch, embraces Jihad Watch Board member Tashbih Sayyed in the logical terms, articulated above, of this fundamental contradiction, but he should; and if he has some other reason(s) for doing so, it would be reasonable and fair for him to publish them at Jihad Watch for the benefit of his faithful and supportive followers who buy his books and help persuade others to buy his books and, by spending their personal time for which they receive no money at all, help to spread his fame which further helps to sell his books.
So, this radical-vs.-moderate-Islam nonsense has crept onto JihadWatch. Depressing indeed.
Sayyed: I do not want to be feared. I want to be respected, accepted and loved... People do not fear GOOD. They fear EVIL. The majority of Muslims have somehow have [sic] failed to convey to the world that they are good.
Mr. Sayyed, thanks for your writing. I too share your concerns. I probably differ strongly with you, however, that somehow this is an image problem or a problem in the interpretation of the Koran. Might I suggest that Islam itself is fundamentally evil? I know that sounds harsh, but it is frankly the elephant in the room that most of the "moderate Muslims" and others simply won't acknowledge.
While I agree with you that most Muslims desire to be good, I disagree with you that goodness can be found inside Islam. Saying that "the majority of Muslims have somehow failed to convey to the world that they are good" is a bit like saying "the majory of Nazis have somehow failed to convey to the world that they are good." In my opinion, the first step to becoming good is rejecting the fundamental ideology that drives the evil.
I don't want to be insulting, but perhaps you could find some comfort in the teachings of Jesus, a "prophet" who was truly good. Perhaps, someday, you'll also discover him as the son of God. Following Jesus won't make you respected, accepted, and loved by anybody here on earth, whether by your former Muslim friends, who will want to kill you, or by your secular neighbors, who believe that all religion is stupid and want to ban it all. Rather, it will make you respected, accepted, and loved by the only one who really matters: God himself.
I think that each individual needs to not generalize about Islam. What they must do is read the qur'an and good commentary on it and to pray to Allah asking for guidance. Allah will grant the heart a deep peace and love for the world. When one prays and believes and works deeds of rightousness the Qur'an promises that Allah will lead those people to gardens watered by underground rivers. Essentially the soul becomes an oasis of peace and refreshment...that is the promise of submission to the one true God. May Allah guide you to Himself..
Peace be upon you all...
Sa'id
"I think that each individual needs to not generalize about Islam. What they must do is read the qur'an and good commentary on it and to pray to Allah asking for guidance."
I have read the Koran and the experience was like poking pins into my eyes. It's a horrible and violent book in Arabic (which I read) and any other language.
It does not bring peace. It is the work of the devil and brings violence and destruction only.
May it disappear from the world.
Amen.
Aye carumba, people! Stop bitching about Tashbih Sayyed and LOOK at the comments from Swedes in the link in his article.
I've just had a look, and it makes very depressing reading. How can people be so stupid and uninformed? How can they be so unaware of the threat to their society? Moral equivalence certainly rules on that thread, and the posters are trying to use Rwanda as a means to get back at Christianity, and use the leftist canard of accusing those who tell the truth about Islam as being racist. It isn't Rwandans who threaten to Islamise Sweden, the rest of Europe and the entire West. I'm afraid that if this is what the typical Swedes are like, their country is doomed and flying down the tubes at lightning speed.
www.jewishpress.com/page.do/19575/Publisher_Pulls_Book_On_Muslim_Violence.html
Publisher Pulls Book On Muslim Violence
By: Shlomo Greenwald, Jewish Press Staff Reporter
Wednesday, October 4, 2006
The latest example of radical Muslim interference with free speech took place without even a hint of a fatwah.
Last week a book publisher told Nancy Kobrin, a psychoanalyst and lecturer on counter-terrorism, that they were withdrawing the publication of her book, "The Sheikh's New Clothes," because they were afraid of fundamentalist repercussions, according to Kobrin.
The book, subtitled "The Naked Truth about Islamic Suicide Terrorism," tackles the psychology of fundamentalist Islamic terrorists and tries to understand the roots of their radical behavior.
Kobrin had been working on the book for about a year, and signed a contract with Looseleaf Law Publications in September 2005. The book was scheduled for publication in about a month..
Tashbih Sayyed:
It's reassuring that you see something wrong with what is being done by your co-religionists, but what do YOU intend to do about it? What are ALL American Muslims doing about it?
1. Will you cease sending money to Islamic charities all over the world, and make your donations instead to secular charities that seek to help the poor?
2. Will you cease performing the hajj until Saudi Arabia opens itself to non-Muslims and allows us to practice our faith without fear?
3. Will you publicly condemn those who destroy Christian and Jewish holy places and historic sites and who burn down churches in response to a single sentence in a papal address?
4. Will you respect the separation of church and state that has allowed Muslims to prosper in America? Will you oppose those who seek to impose sharia law in some American cities?
You identified yourself as an American Muslim "who grew up loving his religion" and who is "very saddened by these developments".
What made you realize there was a problem? We have been fighting Islamism for three decades. Did you feel no apprehension when the country you grew up in was denounced by the Ayatollah Khomeini as the "great Satan"? That was twenty seven years ago. What about when Ramzi Youssef tried to bring down the World Trade Center in 1993? If he had succeeded, he could have killed a minimum of fifty thousand people. That was thirteen years ago. In the intervening years between that attack and 9/11, Bill Clinton did his utmost to find a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, supposedly the root cause of all anti-Western Islamic violence. What did the US get for its efforts? Multiple terror attacks on many locations, including the destruction of two embassies. What gave you the first clue that there was a problem in Islam?
It appears that it took the active opposition of your fellow Americans to wake you up. Why?
A general note:
All this criticism of Tashbih Sayyed as practicing taqiyya is out of focus. You cannot, and should not, form a judgment of the man based on tendentious readings of statements in one article.
I encourage you all to go to Muslim World Today and look around. And read his writings.
And read this. in response to Stephen Schwartz's contention that "Islam needs no Reformation," Tashbih said this: "If Schwartz believes that there is nothing wrong with Muslim theology, I cannot be part of this group [Schwartz's Center for Islamic Pluralism]. My whole life is devoted to one end: to make the Muslims understand that their theology needs to be reformed and reinterpreted. Anybody who thinks that there's nothing wrong with their theology is either a blind person or an apologist. There are many things in Muslim Scripture that need to be reshaped and reframed and reinterpreted, so that they cannot be used by terrorists to justify homicide bombings and honor killings."
I apologize for misspelling Tashbih Sayyed's name in that article. It is here:
http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=7084
His statements here are a refreshing alternative to the baldfaced and deceptive denial that comes from most self-professed Muslim reformers -- which is a topic to which I will be returning shortly.
As for all the claims about Jihad Watch, the positions of Jihad Watch haven't changed at all. See the FAQ, which is essentially the same as it was when I began the site in 2003, although I have added to it here and there. http://www.jihadwatch.org/spencer/
Cordially
Robert Spencer
How can one "love Islam" and bemoan the fact that it--koran ahadith, etc.--are the source of jihad and the drive via all the non-violent weapons to Islamizise the entire world? Islam IS what its adherents are doing--or not doing to stop the evil- doers.
If you love--or ever have loved Islam and still do--you are not on our side--at least not on MY side.
I don't give a sh--fig--for REFORMING Islam, I want it to stop trying to force me to respect it---or even accept it as a possibility this world. I do not. I do not respect it. It gives me the creeps. To hell with its 1000+1 nights imagery, its "purity," its "civilization." I don't want, nor do I need any of it. Moderate or not Islam makes me puke.
It's time to call a spade a spade and to hell with political correctness. It may well be that the Islamic fascists are a distinct minority, but they not only hold sway over a large element of modern Islam, but they also have ocnsiderable support and sympathy among the so called moderate elements. If the leadership of this nation with the backing of it's people does not begin to take a strong stand against Islam, it's roots, it's propaganda and indoctrination activities, we will see a lot worse than 911. France and England are much worse off than we are, but if we don't learn from their open door policies, then we will continue to face and experience large casualty detonations-not a pleasant prospect, but indeed a real one
The fanfare seems to be to deport illegal Mexicans. The priority needs to be shifted to deporting radical Muslims along with their sympathizers. Mexicans may possibly take someone's job. Radical Islam will not only take your life, but your wife and children as well and not even blink an eye.
Islam is an imperialist belief system. It cannot co-exist with civilization.
Dear Robert, I would like to say given the deceptive nature of Islam... but instead I will say it this way - given the depth of the deceptive nature of millions upon millions of followers of Islam, I, and many, many others do not think it is appropriate at all to have any Muslim as a Board Member on JihadWatch. If a Muslim contributor or spokesperson is desired, then please create lesser levels of participation, perhaps "Associate" or whatever title and authority level which would then be appropriate. Are groups like CAIR going to suddenly see the light now that a Muslim person is on the JihadWatch staff? Will such groups now admit the error of their ways? Come on, the deception levels are way too psychologically deep, embedded in centuries of teaching. JihadWatch should do nothing other than externally expose the error of Islam, without the contribution of Muslim individuals. Is helping Islam police itself going to be fruitful in any way? It's way too early in the "game" to put any confidence in that. Globally speaking, we're going to help the bully when he isn't even convinced he's a bully yet.
It was said in Tashbih Sayyed's response:
Here we go with the moral equivalency creeping in, "Anybody who thinks that there's nothing wrong with their theology" i.e. we're all wrong, etc., etc. That is not the level of admission that would be appropriate for the beginning of Islamic reform.
Please allow Reformist Muslims to perhaps participate, all the while let them earn respect, prove themselves, and be tested, over and over again.
Please steer away from accepting Muslim Board Members.
Many JihadWatch readers have commented about this not from the motive of committing a "judgment of the man based on tendentious readings of statements in one article" but rather from experience and intuition of knowing how deceptive Islam is, and what level of consistent trustworthy admission would be appropriate for the beginning of Islamic reform.
Well said mimamsaka and asmodai, as for most of the rest of the posters, they come off exactly like the muslims who threaten Spencer and behead kaffirs.. wild eyed, irrational, self righteouos, arrogant, threatening and IGNORANT. you ASSUME that your God is The God, that your truth is the Truth, but then denounce Muslims for the same..
A pox on both houses.
You alienate potential allies, make enemies out of friends.. and sadly, oh so sadly, you come off sounding just like the muslims..
Your posts drip with irony.
From the website of Jihad Watch Board member Tashbih Sayyed, Muslim World Today (which Robert Spencer invited us to visit and "look around"), there is an article called "Islam Needs Renewal From Within, Not Withdrawal Into Itself, To Overcome Its Crisis" by one Samir Khalil Samir sj, in which one finds this quote:
"...for the very reason that it [Islam today] feels weak, it protects itself by closing in on itself, thinking that it can save itself by going back to a "golden age" of the first caliphs. Muslim history teaches us the opposite: Islam was strongest and able to conquer when, in the 10th century, it opened itself to other cultures, in particular Greek culture, assimilating it and surpassing it. It thus offered the world its contribution in almost all sectors of knowledge, from philosophy to medicine, from technology to astronomy, etc."
So the 10th century was a good time for Muslims to hark back to because, in great part, it was "strongest and able to conquer"!!!???
Jeez Louise.
Someone who had abjured Islam on the JW board, I could understand. A person who regarded Mohammed as the perfect man and an exmple for all time on that board would not only be in disagreement with 99% of the posters - he'd almost certainly be up to something.
P.S.: Not to mention the egregious fact that the article from Jihad Watch Board member Tashbih Sayyed's website which I quoted above contains the canard that Islam made major contributions to science and philosophy -- and even "surpassed" the Greeks!!!!!!!!!!
Sayid wrote: " I think that each individual needs to not generalize about Islam. What they must do is read the qur'an and good commentary on it and to pray to Allah asking for guidance.
"Essentially the soul becomes an oasis of peace and refreshment...that is the promise of submission to the one true God. May Allah guide you to Himself..
Peace be upon you all..."
____________________________________________________
Allah won't ever guide me because I don't believe in Allah nor will I ever submit to Allah.
I read the qur'an and I understand its inner meaning. I won't change my opinion based upon your recommended commentary. I don't believe that Muhammad was a prophet nor do I believe that the qur'an was an inspired book.
Sayid, I don't like Muslims proselytizing to me. I won't ever be convert to Islam. I am a Christian and will defend my faith at all costs.
Why be surprised to hear the voice of a Muslim from Jihadwatch? This is clearly not a hate site (and believe me, there are plenty of those.) When I first checked out this site I wasn't sure what to expect, because there is so much vile crap on the Web. And even if I was so inclined, I wouldn't be accessing a hate site at work as I frequently do, because if anyone found out my ass would be fired faster than you could blink, and I wouldn't have a legal leg to stand on. I know the difference between hate sites and those which are merely controversial, and am prepared to defend my legal right to access and use the latter wherever I so choose.
It's pretty clear to me that Jihadwatch/Dhimmiwatch is not an anti-Muslim or anti-Islamic organization or site, even though it's frequently portrayed as such by people who don't bother to actually read about what the organization is really about. I suspect a number of people who post comments on this site really don't have a clue about what JihadWatch is, either; they just hate Muslims (or liberals or atheists or intellectuals or feminists or "moderate" Christians or Europeans, you name it) and just like having a relatively free place to rant. Comments are like Letters to the Editor; they aren't necessarily reflective of the official position of the site.
As a final note; I can't help noticing that those comments which are the most virulently anti-Muslim also tend to be loaded with spelling errors and bad grammar and devoid of punctuation, not to mention gross misinformation. People's level of education comes through loud and clear in the quality of their writing. However, let them rant, I say.
As for the rest - for the putative glories of Mr. Mansur’s "Unofficial Islam," forgive me if I continue to regard them rather the way I regard the unicorn. When I begin to see this Unofficial Islam wield significant influence in the Islamic world in convincing mujahedin to lay down their arms, I will change this view. When I begin to see this Unofficial Islam countering the dreary deception, half-truth, and shameless character assassination of those who tell the truth about Islamic teaching that today dominates the discourse of almost all those who proclaim themselves "moderate Muslims," I will be the first to stand up and applaud.
Posted by Robert at April 28, 2006 09:05 AM
...since an Islamic case against violent jihad is the great unicorn of the post-9/11 world. No one has ever actually seen it, although many are certain it exists and wax quite wroth if anyone suggests it doesn't.
Posted by Robert at September 13, 2006 11:42 AM
Unfortunately, like so many hundreds of other articles that casually invoke the presence of a significant non-jihadist vision of Islam that is competing with jihadism within the Islamic world, they give no example of those "competing interpretations," or any indication of how successfully they are competing. Thus the moderates' competing interpretation of Islam remains the great unicorn, the wonderful kingdom of Prester John, the thing that everyone knows is there but no one can quite find.
Posted by Robert at August 19, 2006 08:03 AM
"You alienate potential allies, make enemies out of friends.. and sadly, oh so sadly, you come off sounding just like the muslims.."
Posted by: Nariz
I'm sorry, Nariz. I was just expecting an official announcement that we had found the "unicorn". Allowing unfettered posting by Muslim activists and apologists for "pedagogical" purposes is one thing, naming a Board member with access to my IP address is quite another.
All people are born pure and sacred, like a clear plastic cup. Then life pures itself into them like paint. Some light, some dark. Islam, like Nazism and Communism, is one of those things "not of the flesh" that He and His must do battle against. I have news for all you "moderate muslims" who think there is a huge moral chasm between you and those muslims who want to rule the world through fear, violence and force. If you want islam and shari'a to rule the world you are the same. Whether you wish to enslave women and non-muslims with a ballot or a bullet the end is the same. If you accept an evil ideology that says homosexuals should be killed in the most brutal way possible, you are an evil person. If you accept an evil idea that teenage girls should be subjected to FGM, you are an evil person. If you allow youself to believe that human beings should be permanently maimed for petty crimes then you are an evil person. If you accept that six year old girls should be married to old men so they do not begin to menstrate in their fathers homes, you are an evil person. If you believe that virtuous people need religious police to whip them into the mosques, you are an evil person. If you accept that half of the human race should be kept a virtual prisoners in their homes you are an evil person. If you believe that a woman should be trussed up, buried up to her waist and stoned to death because she had been raped then you are an evil person. If you give zakat, or other support to a mosque or any organization that promotes the speading of these evil contemptuous ideas then you are an evil person. If you allow yourself to believe that it is GOD who says, "get yee forth and kill your neighbors, take their lands, goods and chattels, rape their women, and enslave their children", you are a blind and evil person. islam is an IDEA. It is an evil idea. But you can throw it off whenever you choose to do so. Save yourself, save the planet. Find your inner mahdi and set him or her free! It's your choise. When you get tired of seeing the good and decent people around you HATING everything you stand for, quit. If you don't like the color, DON'T WEAR THE COAT.
Is it only when the non-Muslim world "fears Muslims" that moderates become concerned about Islam's reputation? What about the appalling penalties (not just death) in the lawbooks of many Islamic countries against Muslims who simply want the freedom to follow another religion and against anyone criticizing Muhammad or Islam? There's a "serious revulsion in western society" with that aspect of Islam as well.
As much as I applaud the boldness of Mr. Sayyed's article, I can't help but wonder if he's against political Islam in general or against the fear that political Islam has instilled in the West and the P.R. problem it presents. Does Mr. Sayyed want to see political Islam defeated only in the West? What about in Saudi Arabia, Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Sudan, and Malaysia as well? Because frankly, that same fear of political Islam has already been instilled in those countries, keeping its citizens from caricaturing Muhammad, criticizing the Quran, banning hijabs, apostasizing, and behaving "anti-Islamically" for centuries. The only difference is that citizens in Islamic countries have accepted and are accustomed to political Islam's ways....the West, on the other hand, is not. Political Islam's infiltration into the West is only a few decades old and the West is just now trying to figure out what to do with it and what it means for them. From this perspective, political Islam's violence can be seen as a not-so-surprising reaction in its spurned attempts to tame the West's free-wheeling, "irreverant" ways....something it doesn't have to put up with in the more subservient Islamic nations.
Someone said people are only afraid of EVIL, not good. That's not so. People fallen into the depths of evil are often profoundly afraid of goodness. Perhaps more afraid than a good person who is facing evil.
I would disagree not only with those who insist everything can be characterized only in moral shades of gray. I would also disagree with those who insist things are perfectly black and white. Black and white AND grays exist. A vague line exists between good and evil, but just because it's somewhat vague doesn't mean it's not real or that good and evil are always just relative. In the rainbow, shades of color flow without any break into each other, yet orange is not red, yellow not green. This is an irreducible paradox.
This paradox is summed up in one of Coleridge's questions to himself: Is the difference between kind and degree, a difference of kind or a difference of degree? He answered paradoxically that it was a difference of degree -- a real difference -- yet a difference of degree.
In morality we need Aristotle's principles of identity and non-contradiction, but we should also paradoxically keep the middle his logic excludes. Liberals push the middle-ground at the expense of the non-contradiction and identity principles, and conservatives tend push identity and non-contradiction at the expense of the middle-ground. But both approaches should be synthesized, just as the spectrum paradoxically synthesizes continuity and discontinuity. Which of the two principles one emphasizes should vary depending on the specific situation. It shouldn't be a matter of ideology. Nuance is good, yet so are simple distinctions.
After watching the film "Obsession," and seeing the way the Jihadists work so hard at demonizing Israel and the West, I am starting to wonder if there is a parallel in the way "white America" is being demonized these days.
Robert and Hugh, do you think there is a demonizing of the white America going? Does anyone else see this going on? Before we jump on the band-wagon, maybe we need to ask if there is a link between the demonizing of the Jews and the demonizing of the white race.
Islam Has Been Perfected For Muslims
Allah said,
﴿الْيَوْمَ أَكْمَلْتُ لَكُمْ دِينَكُمْ وَأَتْمَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ نِعْمَتِى وَرَضِيتُ لَكُمُ الأِسْلاَمَ دِيناً﴾
(This day, I have perfected your religion for you, completed My favor upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion.)
This, indeed, is the biggest favor from Allah to this Ummah, for He has completed their religion for them, and they, thus, do not need any other religion or any other Prophet except Muhammad .
This is why Allah made Muhammad the Final Prophet and sent him to all humans and Jinn. Therefore, the permissible is what he allows, the impermissible is what he prohibits, the Law is what he legislates and everything that he conveys is true and authentic and does not contain lies or contradictions. Allah said;
﴿وَتَمَّتْ كَلِمَةُ رَبِّكَ صِدْقاً وَعَدْلاً﴾
(And the Word of your Lord has been fulfilled in truth and in justice,) meaning, it is true in what it conveys and just in what it commands and forbids. When Allah completed the religion for Muslims, His favor became complete for them as well. Allah said,
﴿الْيَوْمَ أَكْمَلْتُ لَكُمْ دِينَكُمْ وَأَتْمَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ نِعْمَتِى وَرَضِيتُ لَكُمُ الأِسْلاَمَ دِيناً﴾
(This day, I have perfected your religion for you, completed My favor upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion.)
meaning, accept Islam for yourselves, for it is the religion that Allah likes and which He chose for you, and it is that with which He sent the best of the honorable Messengers and the most glorious of His Books.
Ibn Jarir recorded that Harun bin `Antarah said that his father said, "When the Ayah,
﴿الْيَوْمَ أَكْمَلْتُ لَكُمْ دِينَكُمْ﴾
(This day, I have perfected your religion for you...) was revealed, during the great day of Hajj (the Day of `Arafah, the ninth day of Dhul-Hijjah) `Umar cried. The Prophet said, `What makes you cry' He said, `What made me cry is that our religion is being perfected for us. Now it is perfect, nothing is perfect, but it is bound to deteriorate.' The Prophet said,
«صَدَقْت»
(You have said the truth.)'' What supports the meaning of this Hadith is the authentic Hadith,
«إِنَّ الْإِسْلَامَ بَدَأَ غَرِيبًا، وَسَيَعُودُ غَرِيبًا، فَطُوبَى لِلْغُرَبَاء»
(Islam was strange in its beginning and will return strange once more. Therefore, Tuba for the strangers.)
Imam Ahmad recorded that Tariq bin Shihab said, "A Jewish man said to `Umar bin Al-Khattab, `O Leader of the Believers! There is a verse in your Book, which is read by all of you (Muslims), and had it been revealed to us, we would have taken that day (on which it was revealed) as a day of celebration.' `Umar bin Al-Khattab asked, `Which is that verse' The Jew replied, s
﴿الْيَوْمَ أَكْمَلْتُ لَكُمْ دِينَكُمْ وَأَتْمَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ نِعْمَتِى﴾
(This day, I have perfected your religion for you, completed My favor upon you...) `Umar replied, `By Allah! I know when and where this verse was revealed to Allah's Messenger .
It was the evening on the Day of `Arafah on a Friday.''' Al-Bukhari recorded this Hadith through Al-Hasan bin As-Sabbah from Ja`far bin `Awn. Muslim, At-Tirmidhi and An-Nasa'i also recorded this Hadith.
In the narration collected by Al-Bukhari in the book of Tafsir, through Tariq, he said, "The Jews said to `Umar, `By Allah! There is a verse that is read by all of you (Muslims), and had it been revealed to us, we would have taken that day (on which it was revealed) as a day of celebration.' `Umar said, `By Allah!
I know when and where this verse was revealed and where the Messenger of Allah was at that time. It was the day of `Arafah, and I was at `Arafah, by Allah.'' Sufyan (one of the narrators) doubted if Friday was mentioned in this narration. Sufyan's confusion was either because he was unsure if his teacher included this statement in the Hadith or not.
Otherwise, if it was because he doubted that the particular day during the Farewell Hajj was a Friday, it would be a mistake that could not and should not have come from someone like Sufyan Ath-Thawri.
The fact that it was a Friday, is agreed on by the scholars of Sirah and Fiqh. There are numerous Hadiths that support this fact that are definitely authentic and of the Mutawatir type. This Hadith was also reported from `Umar through various chains of narration.
Shirk is worse than Killing
Since Jihad involves killing and shedding the blood of men, Allah indicated that these men are committing disbelief in Allah, associating with Him (in the worship) and hindering from His path, and this is a much greater evil and more disastrous than killing. Abu Malik commented about what Allah said:
﴿وَالْفِتْنَةُ أَشَدُّ مِنَ الْقَتْلِ﴾
(And Al-Fitnah is worse than killing.) Meaning what you (disbelievers) are committing is much worse than killing.'' Abu Al-`Aliyah, Mujahid, Sa`id bin Jubayr, `Ikrimah, Al-Hasan, Qatadah, Ad-Dahhak and Ar-Rabi` bin Anas said that what Allah said:
﴿وَالْفِتْنَةُ أَشَدُّ مِنَ الْقَتْلِ﴾
(And Al-Fitnah is worse than killing.) "Shirk (polytheism) is worse than killing.''
Im not seeing any wiggle room here.
"Europeans now see a need not to massage the Muslim ethos but to remove it. One can talk forever of the necessity for Islam to reform itself, but that fails to resonate within Muslim societies, Europeans tell me."
Europe Is Growing Skeptical Of Dialogue With Muslims
BY YOUSSEF IBRAHIM
October 6, 2006
URL: http://www.nysun.com/article/41106
After years of dithering over political correctness with Muslims and Islam, Europe is waking up to a different morning.
A three-week tour of Italy, France, and Britain last month was enough for me to conclude that Western Europeans have moved way beyond dialogue. Confrontation, indeed even provocation, is their preferred approach to the Muslims in their midst.
Long before Pope Benedict XVI's scathing comments in mid-September on the fallacy of phony Muslim-Christian dialogue, signs of hardening European views toward current Islamic values were plentiful on the Continent.
It was telling, for example, to see how Europeans greeted the naïve commentary that surfaced in America's National Intelligence Estimate, titled "Trends in Global Terrorism: Implications for the United States." The NIE told bemused Europeans, among other things, that "greater pluralism and more responsive political systems in Muslim majority nations would alleviate some of the grievances jihadists exploit."
Situated closer than America to that rough neighborhood called the Middle East, Europeans reacted by noting that the chances for "greater pluralism" in any Muslim country are about as plausible as hell freezing over.
Should the region's despotic regimes be toppled, a number of press outlets observed, their successors would be even nastier murderers. Possibilities include the saber-wielding soldiers of the Muslim Brotherhood and its tributaries — Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah, and the Algerian Armed Islamic Group, among others — men who believe in carrying out ritual killings of their fellow Muslims even before the slaughter of infidels.
The common view in Europe is that pseudo-secularist tyrants in Muslim lands like Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan, Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, and King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia share the same aspirations to dominate, wage war, and rule as Osama bin Laden, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, and Ayman al-Zawahiri of Al Qaeda.
A more relevant passage in the NIE reads: "Jihadists regard Europe as an important venue for attacking Western interests. Extremist networks inside the extensive Muslim diaspora in Europe facilitate recruitment and staging for urban attacks, as illustrated by the 2004 Madrid and 2005 London bombings."
Indeed, what can one say about Britain's Muslims, when 10% of those polled after the August airliner plot said they would be "willing" to wage suicide attacks against their fellow Britons, and another 70% refused to condemn that view?
Europeans now see a need not to massage the Muslim ethos but to remove it. One can talk forever of the necessity for Islam to reform itself, but that fails to resonate within Muslim societies, Europeans tell me.
My European tour made it eminently clear that Western Europeans — if not their more liberal, compromised ruling and business elites — believe that for Muslims living in the West, it's either Western ways or the highway.
Harsh, maybe, but that is how it stands.
When the Italian journalist Oriana Fallaci died in September, newspapers across Europe celebrated her for her journalistic exploits with the likes of Ayatollah Khomeini and Henry Kissinger. But above all, they celebrated her for her fierce, uncompromising, "rejectionist" book about Islam in Europe, "The Rage and the Pride," which called for nothing less than the expulsion of Muslims who insist on separate societies.
Shortly before and after the pope's pointed remarks on Islam — in which he added to his earlier statements that Turkey's 70 million Muslims have no place in "Christian Europe" — there were numerous other mini-explosions. They included Dutch revulsion over the ritual Muslim killing of the movie director Theo van Gogh; the Danish cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad; and, most recently, a September 19 article in Le Figaro by the French philosopher and schoolteacher Robert Redeker that made the case that Muslims are bent on muzzling Europe's democratic values.
Europe is no longer dithering. Every other week, parliaments are restricting the freedom of expression of Muslim fundamentalists, preachers, and madrassas, and questioning every value that militant Islam has attempted to sneak into the Continent over the past 20 years.
The dialogue is over. The time for action is closing in.
Good morning and peace be upon all of you...
Bismillah hir rahmaneer rahim...
first i think Yankee doodle 2's remark about pins in the eyes is humorous..i have a good sense of humor...true islam is not for everyone but i read the Holy Book everyday and find comfort and solace within its words. This world we live in is a place of suffering and injustice as well as beauty. For those times of hurt the quran provides the oasis of peace. I read it and i do not feel inspired to go out a murder...if any thing i am inspired to kill my own selfishness in order to recognize the trancendancy of Allah (SWT) and the famiyhood of all. My fears are the slow death that so many corporations impose upon people who are nothing more than resources or energy units like batteries. For me Islam is a call for freedom and not a license to kill...i am a recent convert to Islam and find a deep sense of peace within it. It must be remembered that islam welcomes, or at least ideally, the writings of all the prophets of Allah SWT...thus the faithful Muslim should read the Tora and the Gospels side by side with teh Qu'ran...
Peace be with all of you and your family circles...
Sa'id...
From post by Buzz:
"France and England are much worse off than we are, but if we don't learn from their open door policies, then we will continue to face and experience large casualty detonations-not a pleasant prospect, but indeed a real one"
Some web research shows % muslim population as follows:
England 2.5%
USA 3.5%
Interesting!, look who has the largest apparent "open door policy"
Nariz said:
Oh, so again, non-Muslims are to blame for Muslims not admitting the error of their ways and fixing their own problems. Every Islamic country on the face of the earth is a disaster and Islam is beginning to ruin successful western societies.
sayid said:
Herein lies a deceptive suggestion for one to not conclude about Islam. In other words, again, don't criticize Islam. The very root of the entire deception i.e. don't question Islam, move along, what a brain-washing psychological manipulation.
Dear brother Still Fed Up...
thank you for your questions:
reagarding "do you find comfort, solace and peace in the description of jews as apes and pigs?" please be kind enough to provide me with the Sura and verse that i may look that up too and get back to you...
regarding: "so tell us about last time you did voluntary work to assist populations that were NON-muslims?"
we must remember what Prophet Isa(PBUH)said that Allah is Love. So any random act of kindness towards anyone is my type of voluntary work. I will help people whoever they are if they truly are in need. I unfortunatly have to work 40+ hours a week so i dont really have alot of time to professionally devote to others but Allah brings those in need into all of our paths including yours my brother.
Regarding:"so tell us how you view the muslims that are NOT ALLOWED to change religion. Do you think they need to be brainwashed into islam again or simply become 2nd rate citizens."
no of course they do not need to be brainwashed. I leave the brain washing up to the corporations and the MTV...anyway...the Qu'ran says that there is to be no compulsion in religion an di hold to this. If one wishes to change there religion they are free to. I tend to believe that in reality since God is one and there is no other reality than God, all paths will lead the true seeker of One Love to the path of OneGod. God is Love, there is only one God therefore OneLove is God...
i hope that helps clarify your questions brother stillfed up..
please provide that verse and chapter to me thanks...
Sa'id
Baddala deenahu faqtuhulu
Sahih Bukhari, vol. 9, bk. 84, no. 57
002.065
And well ye knew those amongst you who transgressed in the matter of the Sabbath: We said to them: "Be ye apes, despised and rejected."
005.060
Say: "Shall I point out to you something much worse than this, (as judged) by the treatment it received from Allah? those who incurred the curse of Allah and His wrath, those of whom some He transformed into apes and swine, those who worshipped evil;- these are (many times) worse in rank, and far more astray from the even path!"
007.166
When in their insolence they transgressed (all) prohibitions, We said to them: "Be ye apes, despised and rejected."
(YUSUF ALI)
You know, of greater interest to me, is that as a kufr I was aware of these verses and you were not. Either you are feigning ignorance (i.e. taqiyya), or you truly have never encountered them.
If the latter, where do you get your selective reading list of verses?
Now watch "sayid" disappear.
assalaam alaikum Remote control...
No my friend i have not disappeared...i am just processing everything...
Peace upon you...
sa'id
peace concerned citizen...
i thank you for the verses i will read them tonight in their context.
May Allah guide us all to happiness and contenment...
sa'id
Wa Alaikum Salaam Sa'id,
While you are considering asbab an-nazool (context, circumstances), please do not neglect the Sahih Sittah.
In addition to apes (monkeys) and pigs (swine), if you would not mind also considering the disparagement of metamorphosis into rats.
Sahih Muslim Chapter 12, Book 042, Number 7135:
Abu Huraira reported that Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) said: A group of Bani Isra'il was lost. I do not know what happened to it, but I think (that it 'underwent a process of metamorphosis) and assumed the shape of rats. Don't you see when the milk of the camel is placed before them, these do not drink and when the milk of goat is placed before them, these do drink. Abu Huraira said: I narrated this very hadith to Ka'b and he said: Did you hear this from Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him)? I (Abu Huraira) said: Yes. He said this again and again, and I said: Have I read Torah? This hadith has been transmitted on the authority of Ishaq with a slight variation of wording.
Sayid wrote:
Dear brother Still Fed Up...
thank you for your questions:
reagarding "do you find comfort, solace and peace in the description of jews as apes and pigs?" please be kind enough to provide me with the Sura and verse that i may look that up too and get back to you...
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Here are two Suras with this reference:
2:65 You have heard of those that broke the Sabbath. We said to them, 'You shall be changed into detested apes.'
5:59 'Those whom God has cursed and with whom He has been angry, transforming them into apes and swine, and those who serve the devil. Worse is the plight of these, and they have strayed farther from the right path.'
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Regarding:"so tell us how you view the muslims that are NOT ALLOWED to change religion. Do you think they need to be brainwashed into islam again or simply become 2nd rate citizens."
no of course they do not need to be brainwashed. I leave the brain washing up to the corporations and the MTV...anyway...the Qu'ran says that there is to be no compulsion in religion an di hold to this. If one wishes to change there religion they are free to. I tend to believe that in reality since God is one and there is no other reality than God, all paths will lead the true seeker of One Love to the path of OneGod. God is Love, there is only one God therefore OneLove is God...
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Here are two Suras on the fate of apostates:
2:218 ...whoever of you recants and dies an unbeliever, his works shall come to nothing in this world and in the world to come. Such men shall be tenants of the fire, wherein they shall abide for ever.
3:108 'Did you recant after embracing the true Faith? Taste then our scourge, for you were unbelievers!'
There are quite a number of other references to the fiery fate of apostates. All references from N.J. Dawood's translation of the Koran.
Not to pressure you, Sa'id, but Robert is adding articles quite quickly and this is fourth from the bottom. When it falls off the homepage, it will be archived and closed to comments.
You haven't "disappeared", have you?
As asallaam alaikum my freinds...
and thank you for the hadiths references...as a recent convert to Islam and one who had always had a moderate bent on a variety of issues, any hadith that references to kill or destroy others humans, except in the case of self-defense, i would reject. Like when the Wahabists murdered groups of Shi'a and SUnnis this totally turned my stomach against their irrational approaches to Islam. I do not totally accept the Hadith as binding upon me, instead where the hadith contradicts sound reason and coomon sense, i would reject the hadith in favor of rationality.
In terms of the suras about pigs and apes, to me they seemed more along the lines of metaphor. When the Jews turned and violated all the prohibitions and the Shabbat, obviously Hashem (Allah) would turn against them too but always allowing the path of teshuvah as does Islam. The prophet Isa in matthew's gospel called the jewish leaders a brood of vipers and later reffered to the eintire generation as evil and adulterous. So for Allah to refer to those who violate all the commandments as apes and swine means that they are no better than animals cuz they have abandoned the civilizing nature of divine commandments. But i dont think that therefore they should be murdered in genocidal rage.
But anyway my dear brothers and sisters. I have to go and i will look into the hadiths provided by you all...
May the peace and blessings of God be with you and your family circles...
Sa'id...