*** The media will be sure to relegate this to another headline and a few days later, the public AND the media will ask: are Muslims condemning extremist violence. It's a vicious cycle that perpetuates alienation and mistrust. MS ***
OTTAWA — The imam of Ottawa’s largest mosque has appealed to Muslim youth to reject terrorism and not import Middle East conflicts to Canada.
In an interview following Friday prayers, Imam Khaled Abdul-Hamid Syed said Muslim Canadians “live in the best country” in the West, one that gives its citizens the freedom to express differing views.
“We don’t need to go in the direction of violence.
“I appeal to the Muslim youth not to get involved in any acts of violence or terrorism or other criminal behaviour,” Khaled said. “Keep away from this.”
He said that he did not perceive a widespread problem with Muslim youth in Ottawa.
“I think we have good youth. They are active and co-operative in this community.”
The imam’s comments follow the arrest of a fourth terrorism suspect in Ottawa on Friday. He has not yet been identified or charged.
Two other Ottawa men, Misbahuddin Ahmed and Hiva Alizadeh, and a London, Ont., doctor, Khurram Syed Sher, were arrested Wednesday and face terrorism charges related to alleged plot to bomb Canadian targets. Sher appeared in Ottawa court Friday.
In general, Khaled said, “we denounce any criminal behaviour or act of terrorism.”
But at this point, he said, he wasn’t in a position to “denounce or defend” the men who’ve been arrested.
“We trust in the Canadian justice system. So we should wait until the justice system concludes its work. If they are guilty, we will denounce them.”
Young Muslims should not get dragged into the conflicts of the Middle East, the imam said.
“We live in a safe and secure country. Our religion commands us to protect the land where we live.”
Terrorism or radicalism come from “strong emotion and a lack of knowledge,” Khaled said. The solution is for youth to seek education from imams and other scholars so they can “understand the reality of Islam.”
Naeem Malik, the president of the Ottawa Muslim Association, which operates the mosque on Northwestern Avenue, said Ottawa Muslims “are a bit worried” that the arrests could provoke a backlash similar to the one that occurred after the 9/11 attacks on the United States.
At that time, he said, Muslim women were harassed, told to remove their headscarves or go back to where they came from.
“People are saying, is it safe to come to the mosque to pray? Are we now going to be attacked?’”
Nobody has been harassed yet, Malik said. “So far everything is under control, and I hope things will stay that way.”
Friday’s sermon at the packed-to-overflowing mosque dealt with the fallout from this week’s arrests, though they were never mentioned directly.
Ehab El-Komy, a member of the board of the Muslim Association of Canada, delivered the sermon because Khaled, whose wife just had a baby, was too exhausted.
Using stories from the Koran to convey his message, El-Komy said upholding peace and security is a “fundamental principle” of Islam. So too, he said, are the presumption of innocence, the rule of law, and due process.
“It’s our responsibility as Muslims and as Canadians to uphold all those principles.”
When things such as this week’s arrests happen, El-Komy said, Muslims have a duty to speak up.
“It is very important for us to understand that we have a responsibility to speak up, not as victims, not as suspects, but as Muslims. And as Muslim Canadians, we have a responsibility to speak up. We have to act when such incidents happen.”
“Every single one of us is at a checkpoint,” El-Komy told worshippers, who filled the mosque and spilled out on to the surrounding property. “And that checkpoint has to be guarded.”
He said some Canadians harbour fears and suspicions in the wake of the arrests, and some are well-founded.
“It’s our responsibility, not theirs, to understand those fears and deal with them in an appropriate manner.”
Showing posts with label Imam against terrorism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Imam against terrorism. Show all posts
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Friday, August 27, 2010
MUSLIMS DOING ENOUGH TO CONDEMN TERRORISM?
*** BOTH sides - government and community need to work together. No one side can do it alone.
And again as a reminder, Muslims have done plenty to oppose terrorism: Toronto 18 had TWO Muslim agents, Somali community reported the problems with Al Shabab, one fatwa last year, one declaration last WEEK, and one 600-page edict from a major powerhouse scholar, Dr. Tahir al Qadri. Muslims ARE doing quite a bit but I AGREE more can be done.
Government also has quite a bit to do. MS ***
Original title: Terror allegations greeted by shock, disbelief in Muslim community
Oh no, not again.
That was the first thought that went through Alia Hogben’s head after she heard about the arrest of three men in yet another alleged homegrown terror plot this week.
“It’s very shocking and it’s very sad,” said Hogben, executive director of the Canadian Council of Muslim Women. “You wonder what goes on in people’s minds who do these things.”
“I hope the vast majority of Canadians understand that majority of Muslims are just as appalled, shocked and disturbed as they are.”
The Muslim community has increasingly come under scrutiny since 9/11, most recently in 2006 after the arrest of the so-called Toronto 18. Now, once again, ordinary Muslims are in the spotlight as they struggle to come to terms with the arrests.
“Like other Canadians, I went through a series of emotions from disbelief, dismay, despondency, to even some anger that, should these charges prove to be true, how and why could these individuals have possibly been involved in something like this — especially after the events of the so-called Toronto 18?” said Ihsaan Gardee, the executive director of the Canadian Council on American-Islamic Relations in an email on Friday.
To many Muslims, the arrests of seemingly normal Canadian Muslims — fathers, a doctor and a medical technician — are doubly troubling: they not only put every Muslim under scrutiny from those outside the community, but also create suspicion of each other from within.
The uncle of Khurram Sher, the Canadian-born doctor who was charged with conspiring to facilitate a terrorist activity, echoed such feelings when speaking to media Wednesday.
“These days, frankly speaking, you cannot even trust your brother or sister. The world is getting nasty,” he said.
And there’s some evidence that it may get worse for the community before it gets better. Since the arrests, there have been online posts of a few isolated incidents of verbal attacks and harassment of Muslims across the GTA.
On Thursday, Public Safety Minister Vic Toews appealed to Canadian and immigrants again to track and report suspicious actions or individuals. Community leaders say incidents of self-reporting have increased as extremism has become more of a reality.
“At the time of Toronto 18, there was a denial at the time about this (extremism) being a problem,” said Gardee, who attended a meeting with RCMP and Ottawa police on Thursday to discuss ways of increasing internal vigilance. “But I think now people know this is something we all need to be part of to find a solution.”
But acknowledgement of the problem leads to even more challenging questions for the Muslim leadership: how do you quell homegrown terror? And why is it happening in the first place?
“Just as there is no single path that leads someone from being a normal and positive contributing member of society to becoming a terrorism suspect, there is no ‘one-size-fits-all solution’ to the problem,” said Gardee.
He believes there needs to be more denunciation of extremism from religious leaders, increased community discussion on extremists and efforts to enhance civic engagement of Muslims in the mainstream as a start.
But despite feelings of anger and concern, most Muslim groups say there is an unwavering faith in the rule of law and due process — and a belief that perhaps it is only through the courts that the motives of the accused will be revealed and truly understood.
And again as a reminder, Muslims have done plenty to oppose terrorism: Toronto 18 had TWO Muslim agents, Somali community reported the problems with Al Shabab, one fatwa last year, one declaration last WEEK, and one 600-page edict from a major powerhouse scholar, Dr. Tahir al Qadri. Muslims ARE doing quite a bit but I AGREE more can be done.
Government also has quite a bit to do. MS ***
Original title: Terror allegations greeted by shock, disbelief in Muslim community
Oh no, not again.
That was the first thought that went through Alia Hogben’s head after she heard about the arrest of three men in yet another alleged homegrown terror plot this week.
“It’s very shocking and it’s very sad,” said Hogben, executive director of the Canadian Council of Muslim Women. “You wonder what goes on in people’s minds who do these things.”
“I hope the vast majority of Canadians understand that majority of Muslims are just as appalled, shocked and disturbed as they are.”
The Muslim community has increasingly come under scrutiny since 9/11, most recently in 2006 after the arrest of the so-called Toronto 18. Now, once again, ordinary Muslims are in the spotlight as they struggle to come to terms with the arrests.
“Like other Canadians, I went through a series of emotions from disbelief, dismay, despondency, to even some anger that, should these charges prove to be true, how and why could these individuals have possibly been involved in something like this — especially after the events of the so-called Toronto 18?” said Ihsaan Gardee, the executive director of the Canadian Council on American-Islamic Relations in an email on Friday.
To many Muslims, the arrests of seemingly normal Canadian Muslims — fathers, a doctor and a medical technician — are doubly troubling: they not only put every Muslim under scrutiny from those outside the community, but also create suspicion of each other from within.
The uncle of Khurram Sher, the Canadian-born doctor who was charged with conspiring to facilitate a terrorist activity, echoed such feelings when speaking to media Wednesday.
“These days, frankly speaking, you cannot even trust your brother or sister. The world is getting nasty,” he said.
And there’s some evidence that it may get worse for the community before it gets better. Since the arrests, there have been online posts of a few isolated incidents of verbal attacks and harassment of Muslims across the GTA.
On Thursday, Public Safety Minister Vic Toews appealed to Canadian and immigrants again to track and report suspicious actions or individuals. Community leaders say incidents of self-reporting have increased as extremism has become more of a reality.
“At the time of Toronto 18, there was a denial at the time about this (extremism) being a problem,” said Gardee, who attended a meeting with RCMP and Ottawa police on Thursday to discuss ways of increasing internal vigilance. “But I think now people know this is something we all need to be part of to find a solution.”
But acknowledgement of the problem leads to even more challenging questions for the Muslim leadership: how do you quell homegrown terror? And why is it happening in the first place?
“Just as there is no single path that leads someone from being a normal and positive contributing member of society to becoming a terrorism suspect, there is no ‘one-size-fits-all solution’ to the problem,” said Gardee.
He believes there needs to be more denunciation of extremism from religious leaders, increased community discussion on extremists and efforts to enhance civic engagement of Muslims in the mainstream as a start.
But despite feelings of anger and concern, most Muslim groups say there is an unwavering faith in the rule of law and due process — and a belief that perhaps it is only through the courts that the motives of the accused will be revealed and truly understood.
Monday, January 11, 2010
MUSLIM UMMAH KILLING ITSELF: SAUDI SCHOLAR
*** Brilliant, just brilliant. Wannabe Jihadi's and extremists ought to reflect on his words, study them and pray for the understanding they are intended to convey. MS ***
FROM: http://www.aawsat.com/english/news.asp?section=2&id=19475
If you look at the world's map, you will find that acts of killing and bombing are primarily rife in the Islamic countries. In Palestine, Iraq, Somalia, Pakistan, and Afghanistan you can see bloodshed, death, attacks on the infrastructure, and destruction of buildings. You will see factions accusing each other of apostasy. You will see fatwas flying around rendering someone's blood forfeit, declaring him exiled from the Muslim community, and banning him from Paradise.
What has happened to the nation of Islam? What has happened to the Shariaa rules that command amity, fraternity, unity, and peace? Is anyone heeding the injunction of the Creator, the Exalted and Majestic “and hold fast, all together, by the rope which God stretches out for you,” and the injunction “the Believers are but a single brotherhood.” (Koranic verses, the Family of Imran 3:103, the Dwellings 49:10)
Does anyone heed the prophet's declaration, may God's prayers and peace be upon him: “He who raises arms in our face is not of us.” Remember also the prophet's command: “You are forbidden to shed each other's blood or encroach on each other's property or honor. It is forbidden to you to do this just as it is forbidden to you to violate this holy day in this holy month in this holy land.”
Why is the rest of the world engaged in manufacture, construction, production, creativity, invention, and discovery while the nation of Islam is immersed in hostility, divisions, infighting, and mutual accusations of apostasy? The nation of Islam's news is at the forefront of the world's news bulletins in the newspapers and satellite television stations. You hear nothing except the news of bodies torn limb from limb, skulls crushed, children orphaned, wives widowed, buildings demolished, bridges blown up, cities set on fire, economic development hindered, innocent people terrorized, and the progress of knowledge and development obstructed.
Where are the nation's Ulema, statesmen, wise men, and intellectuals? Until when will these massacres continue? When will the bloodshed end? When will the chapters of this satanic, hate-filled saga be closed? When will this filthy game be terminated? When will our conscience awake? When will we go back to our senses and obey our holy scriptures in the Koran and the prophet's Sunnah, which call for mercy, security, concord, and the renunciation of divisions, hatred, and infighting? Do not those killers in the cities of Islam who raise arms against innocent, unarmed civilians and their children feel any shame? Do not we have enough poverty, unemployment, and injustice in the Islamic countries so that new sects should arise to add calamities to our calamities?
The world's nations are occupied with their economic, intellectual, and creative activities while our nation is in a state of mourning over its dead, wounded, and missing. Whenever we turn on our television sets, we hear news of such disasters in the Muslim countries as are sufficient to dazzle the mind, blind the senses, and kill the soul. Our nerves are wracked and our minds are dismayed by the events we see in the Muslim lands: crushed skulls on the roads, blood flowing in the streets, and mosques abandoned by worshipers, homes burned before the world's eyes, universities, schools, and factories razed to the ground or demolished over their occupants` heads. Is there no religion to forbid this, no minds to deter, no gallant feelings to forbear, no zeal to defend, no eyes to shed tears?
Until when will this sad saga continue? When will the siren proclaim the end of this bloody tragedy that is unfolding in Muslim lands, in the name of Islam, buttressed by quotations from scriptures, and carried out by Muslim hands? Each side makes preparations, builds an army, and waits for an opportunity to pounce on its brothers in faith. Factions raise the banners of Islam, exhort their followers to become martyrs in God's cause, promise them paradise, assure them of victory and empowerment, and declare the lives of the members of other parties forfeit after branding them as apostates and announcing their eternal damnation in hell.
All this is accompanied by hate-filled indoctrination that causes young men to grow up full of anger and aggression and ready to brand their opponents as apostates. They bear arms against their own societies and demonstrate an intention to kill their people.
We pray to God to lift this lash of suffering from the Islamic nation's back, end its calamitous condition, remove this dark cloud from its mind, restore it to its senses, unite its ranks, and guide it again to the right path. AMEN.
Dr. al-Qarni is a Saudi-born Islamic preacher and scholar. His book "Don't Feel Sad" (La Tahzan) has sold millions world wide.
FROM: http://www.aawsat.com/english/news.asp?section=2&id=19475
If you look at the world's map, you will find that acts of killing and bombing are primarily rife in the Islamic countries. In Palestine, Iraq, Somalia, Pakistan, and Afghanistan you can see bloodshed, death, attacks on the infrastructure, and destruction of buildings. You will see factions accusing each other of apostasy. You will see fatwas flying around rendering someone's blood forfeit, declaring him exiled from the Muslim community, and banning him from Paradise.
What has happened to the nation of Islam? What has happened to the Shariaa rules that command amity, fraternity, unity, and peace? Is anyone heeding the injunction of the Creator, the Exalted and Majestic “and hold fast, all together, by the rope which God stretches out for you,” and the injunction “the Believers are but a single brotherhood.” (Koranic verses, the Family of Imran 3:103, the Dwellings 49:10)
Does anyone heed the prophet's declaration, may God's prayers and peace be upon him: “He who raises arms in our face is not of us.” Remember also the prophet's command: “You are forbidden to shed each other's blood or encroach on each other's property or honor. It is forbidden to you to do this just as it is forbidden to you to violate this holy day in this holy month in this holy land.”
Why is the rest of the world engaged in manufacture, construction, production, creativity, invention, and discovery while the nation of Islam is immersed in hostility, divisions, infighting, and mutual accusations of apostasy? The nation of Islam's news is at the forefront of the world's news bulletins in the newspapers and satellite television stations. You hear nothing except the news of bodies torn limb from limb, skulls crushed, children orphaned, wives widowed, buildings demolished, bridges blown up, cities set on fire, economic development hindered, innocent people terrorized, and the progress of knowledge and development obstructed.
Where are the nation's Ulema, statesmen, wise men, and intellectuals? Until when will these massacres continue? When will the bloodshed end? When will the chapters of this satanic, hate-filled saga be closed? When will this filthy game be terminated? When will our conscience awake? When will we go back to our senses and obey our holy scriptures in the Koran and the prophet's Sunnah, which call for mercy, security, concord, and the renunciation of divisions, hatred, and infighting? Do not those killers in the cities of Islam who raise arms against innocent, unarmed civilians and their children feel any shame? Do not we have enough poverty, unemployment, and injustice in the Islamic countries so that new sects should arise to add calamities to our calamities?
The world's nations are occupied with their economic, intellectual, and creative activities while our nation is in a state of mourning over its dead, wounded, and missing. Whenever we turn on our television sets, we hear news of such disasters in the Muslim countries as are sufficient to dazzle the mind, blind the senses, and kill the soul. Our nerves are wracked and our minds are dismayed by the events we see in the Muslim lands: crushed skulls on the roads, blood flowing in the streets, and mosques abandoned by worshipers, homes burned before the world's eyes, universities, schools, and factories razed to the ground or demolished over their occupants` heads. Is there no religion to forbid this, no minds to deter, no gallant feelings to forbear, no zeal to defend, no eyes to shed tears?
Until when will this sad saga continue? When will the siren proclaim the end of this bloody tragedy that is unfolding in Muslim lands, in the name of Islam, buttressed by quotations from scriptures, and carried out by Muslim hands? Each side makes preparations, builds an army, and waits for an opportunity to pounce on its brothers in faith. Factions raise the banners of Islam, exhort their followers to become martyrs in God's cause, promise them paradise, assure them of victory and empowerment, and declare the lives of the members of other parties forfeit after branding them as apostates and announcing their eternal damnation in hell.
All this is accompanied by hate-filled indoctrination that causes young men to grow up full of anger and aggression and ready to brand their opponents as apostates. They bear arms against their own societies and demonstrate an intention to kill their people.
We pray to God to lift this lash of suffering from the Islamic nation's back, end its calamitous condition, remove this dark cloud from its mind, restore it to its senses, unite its ranks, and guide it again to the right path. AMEN.
Dr. al-Qarni is a Saudi-born Islamic preacher and scholar. His book "Don't Feel Sad" (La Tahzan) has sold millions world wide.
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