Islamic teachers? But, but — didn’t they learn that Islam is a religion of peace and tolerance? How could they have missed the Qur’an’s calls to universal brotherhood and harmony?
What’s that? You say they were incited to violence by the Qur’an itself? What are you, some kind of Islamophobe?
Anyway, this article takes the line that the teachers are being targeted unfairly — which would be easier to believe were it not for the fact that Islamic clerics from Indonesia to Britain have been on the front lines of the jihad.
From The Star, with thanks to Nicolei:
MORE than 100 religious teachers in southern Thailand have been detained since the bloody incident in Tak Bai, according to Utusan Malaysia.
Mohd Zain Daud, a religious teacher, was quoted as saying that since October last year, the teachers had become the targets of arrests by the authorities.
“Things became worse since the introduction of the Emergency Act and more than 100 religious teachers were arrested and questioned over offences which they claimed they did not commit,” said Mohd Zain, from Pattani.
Mohd Zain claimed that the teachers became targets because of their “highly political minds” and ability to influence the Muslim community in demanding their rights from the Thai Government.
“In the eyes of the authorities, religious teachers must be detained to prevent them from influencing Muslims from demanding their rights,” he added.