Nineteen years after; is this a "moderate" Muslim?

[davidbfpo]

Last week we briefly considered what a "moderate" Muslim was, on the current Iraq thread (Posts 506, 509, 512 & 515). I fully recognise anti-jiahdists voices seldom get MSM coverage, those that do are often labelled by their enemies as "sell outs" etc.

Today I was reminded is the Srebrenica massacre happened in Bosnia, when Serbian forces captured a UN 'safe area'; a matter debated elsewhere on SWC IIRC, mainly in 2013 on:http://council.smallwarsjournal.com/...ad.php?t=18969

As the Srebrenica Memorial Day anniversary on the 11th of July approaches its 18th year, we are once again reminded of the lengths that man could potentially go to when immersed in a state of fear, hatred and division. The Memorial Day puts to rest any naivety that the lessons of the past have not only been learned, but well and truly headed. Not only are human beings chronically capable of committing the most repugnant of acts against fellow human beings, regardless of the advancement of time, the catalysts for these crimes are invariably similar whatever the different and unique circumstances of each.
The Srebrenica Memorial Day provides a timely reminder to us all of the challenges that can only be met in a sense of togetherness and community.

The Memorial Day puts to rest any naivety that the lessons of the past have not only been learned, but well and truly headed. Not only are human beings chronically capable of committing the most repugnant of acts against fellow human beings, regardless of the advancement of time, the catalysts for these crimes are invariably similar whatever the different and unique circumstances of each.
The Cordoba Foundation has been working tirelessly to raise awareness of the threat man poses against his fellow man, should particular conditions become established on the ground. Whether Srebrenica, Auswitz, Rwanda, Gaza, Kashmir, Myanmar or Somalia, and whether in the last century, this or the one coming, injustice establishes fear which breads suspicion and ultimately hatred. From there, the move on to violence is neither a difficult nor inconceivable step to undertake. Our objective is to work in common collaboration to remove the very initial elements on that tragic path, and to counter the root causes for clashes based on false and misguided understanding and implementation of the concepts of ‘self’ and ‘the other’.

There's also a link to a sermon by the Grand Mufti of Bosnia-Herzogovina:http://www.thecordobafoundation.com/...mon%202014.pdf

This I thought was powerful:

I call upon the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina to reject the glorification of criminals and denial of crimes. That will bring them neither good nor fortune.

I am aware the Cordoba Foundation is regarded by many as a Muslim Brotherhood affiliated group.

[davidbfpo]

BBC News report:

Leading UK-based Shia and Sunni imams and clerics have filmed a video message urging young British Muslims against fighting in Iraq and Syria. They say their film is designed to be distributed online and via social media to counter "digital propaganda" put out by Isis and other extremist groups

Link to story:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-28270296 and the message:http://imamsonline.com/blog/2014/07/...itment-videos/

[davidbfpo]

A twenty minute TED talk, March 2014:

Karima Bennoune shares four powerful stories of real people fighting against fundamentalism in their own communities — refusing to allow the faith they love to become a tool for crime, attacks and murder. These personal stories humanize one of the most overlooked human-rights struggles in the world.

Link:http://www.ted.com/talks/karima_benn...make_headlines

She is an Arab-American, of Algerian heritage and now a university law professor; her bio:http://www.karimabennoune.com/about-karima/

[carl]

A twenty minute TED talk, March 2014:

Link:http://www.ted.com/talks/karima_benn...make_headlines

She is an Arab-American, of Algerian heritage and now a university law professor; her bio:http://www.karimabennoune.com/about-karima/

People like Ms. Bennoune and those she describes and writes about are the most important people in the world when it comes to combating the takfiri killers. Probably more important than the spec-ops super soldiers, the intelligence community upon which we spend so much and all the Preds, Reapers and carrier battle groups that sail the seas and the skies. We must find a way to support them if we can if only by acknowledging their existence and importance.

At the same time, as the experience of Algeria seems to demonstrate, those people have to be protected and I suppose that is where the force comes in. I don't think the one can prevail without the other but we need to see that without the kinds of people Ms. Bennoune describes, the force means nothing.

This brings to my mind once more the importance of the war in Algeria in the 90s. We must learn in detail about that war and how it was conducted.

[davidbfpo]

This was circulated on Twitter AM today by the Quilliam Foundation (a counter-extremism think tank in London) and is on the front page of The Sunday Times here (behind a pay wall). I am uncertain whether it is a Fatwa for Imans to use or solely the work of Quilliam. One Tweet refers to Sunni Imans in London signing.
Link to the 'Fatwa':https://twitter.com/Charles_Lister/s...626240/photo/1

[KingJaja]

Very interesting perspective on ISIS and the shaping of the Muslim mind.

The Six “Fathers” of ISIS

“ISIS is the offspring of more than one father, and the product of more than one longstanding and widespread sickness.”
1. “ISIS is first the child of despotism in the most heinous form that has plagued the region.”
2. “ISIS is second the progeny of the American invasion of Iraq in 2003, both the way in which it was initially conducted and the catastrophic mismanagement that followed.”
3. “ISIS is third the son of Iranian aggressive regional policies that have worsened in recent years.”
4. “ISIS is fourth the child of some of the Salafist networks in the Gulf (in Saudi Arabia and other states).”
5. “ISIS is fifth the offspring of a profound crisis, deeply rooted in the thinking of some Islamist groups seeking to escape from their terrible failure to confront the challenges of the present toward a delusional model ostensibly taken from the seventh century, believing that they have found within its imaginary folds the answer to all contemporary or future questions.” <- Read this one again.
6. “ISIS is sixth the progeny of violence or of an environment that has been subjected to striking brutality.”

https://medium.com/@AmirAhmadNasr/is...s-4888330dabac

[carl]

This was circulated on Twitter AM today by the Quilliam Foundation (a counter-extremism think tank in London) and is on the front page of The Sunday Times here (behind a pay wall). I am uncertain whether it is a Fatwa for Imans to use or solely the work of Quilliam. One Tweet refers to Sunni Imans in London signing.
Link to the 'Fatwa':https://twitter.com/Charles_Lister/s...626240/photo/1

This is, in my opinion, a hugely important thing. This is the kind of thing that will ultimately defeat the takfiri killers, breaking their theological underpinnings.

Theologically important people in Cairo must come out with the same kind of thing.

[Tukhachevskii]

This was circulated on Twitter AM today by the Quilliam Foundation (a counter-extremism think tank in London) and is on the front page of The Sunday Times here (behind a pay wall). I am uncertain whether it is a Fatwa for Imans to use or solely the work of Quilliam. One Tweet refers to Sunni Imans in London signing.
Link to the 'Fatwa':https://twitter.com/Charles_Lister/s...626240/photo/1

Ah yes, to the uninitiated this looks all peace and flowers and happy, happy, joy, joy. To those familiar with Islamic theology and law the key passages/sections (and the most telling) are nos. 3 and 7.

The key words are "covenants" (para.3) and "treaty" (para.7). Understanding what these terms and their usage means in Islam (and more importantly in terms of Prophetic sunna) results in a very different interpretation (along the lines of, "we're accomplishing our goals so don't rock the boat"; a difference of opinion of how Islamic revolution is to be undertaken; peacefully through subversion of host nation laws (lawfare) or violently; the goal is identical).

As for Quillam, excuse me while throw up... they are masters of "lawfare", "taqqiya" (which, as can be seen from the above quote seems to have been successful) and "legal revolution".

Just had to post this (the level of discourse on SWC has really gone downhill).