Fitna Prevents Muslims From Speaking Out. We Should Not Expect Anything From Muslims Of Any Type

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It Is the Duty of Muslims to Speak Out by Majid Rafizadeh July 11, 2016 at 4:00 am http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/8342/muslims-to-speak-out 48 Comment Islam can provide a powerful language and tool to commit the worst crimes, while at the same time the perpetrators of those attacks feel blessed, privileged, rewarded and on the winning side. This indoctrination evolves into a deep-seated fear of even questioning, let alone leaving, the rules of Allah and Islam. Once you become the slave of Islam, it kills your courage to leave it. Unless we gain a better understanding of the nature of Islam -- its reliance on Qur'anic verses, as well as its values, principles and ideology, we will not be capable of addressing this threat. Simply stating that Islam does not have to do anything with these violent acts is not a constructive; it is just a way to avoid tackling the problem. As Muslims, we need to accept the fact that there exist some parts in the religion of Islam that gives social, political, religious, and cultural legitimacy to violence. Otherwise these Islamist groups would not have flourished. It is sometimes important to talk about things that are tempting to be silent about. It is important to shed light on the intricacies, complexities, and nuances of the religion of Islam as well as the contemporary social, political and economic traditions linked to this faith and the uncontrolled rise of extremism. I used to be a devout follower of Islam: one of the few who actually read the Qur'an word for word and tried to follow the rules in detail. The penalty for renouncing Islam, it is also crucial to note, is death. It is legally administered in Islamic societies by governments, Islamic courts, and even individual Muslims who desire to fulfill their duty prescribed by Allah, the Qur'an and Muhammad. These Islamic laws, of course, create fear about telling the true story. A Muslim, you see, believes that the Qur'an contains the exact words of Allah. The Qur'an does not tell stories about God, as does the Bible; it is viewed as the very word of God, similar to the Ten Commandments. They therefore must be implemented without reservation, regardless of time and place. According to some Islamic teachings, the reward for killing an unbeliever or apostate -- someone who leaves Islam and renounces Allah and Muhammad -- will receive the best place in heaven. If you have been indoctrinated by Islam from your earliest childhood and all your life have been a follower of Islam, abandoning or criticizing it is not going to be easy. This indoctrination evolves into a deep-seated fear of even questioning, let alone leaving, the rules of Allah and Islam. Once you become the slave of Islam, it kills your courage to leave it. Deciding to be free and independent -- liberating yourself from being the slave of the rules of Allah and the chains of Islam -- becomes inconceivable, out of question. Islam can provide a powerful language and tool to commit the worst crimes, while at the same time the perpetrators of those attacks feel blessed, privileged, rewarded and on the winning side. Unless we gain a better understanding of the nature of Islam -- its reliance on Qur'anic verses, as well as its values, principles and ideology, we will not be capable of addressing this threat. The challenge before us is no longer just a Muslim issue belonging solely to the citizens of Muslim countries. The threads of fear and cruelty in Islam infest every country. It is a challenge that needs to be dealt with by everyone, the whole world. Otherwise, Islam will only continue to spread in various forms: al Qaeda, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, Jabhat Al Nusra, Hamas, Hizb ut-Tahrir, Islamic Jihad, individual terrorists, and many others. Islamic teachings provide powerful tools, both psychological and materialistic, that influence ordinary men to commit their crimes. The psychological tools include receiving rewards in Heaven, satisfaction from Allah, imams, the fear of disobeying Allah's rules, and so on. The materialistic tools include blessings in this world, and financial support from the Islamic community and charities, among others. To someone who was born in the Islamic Republic of Iran and worked in Muslim societies, as I was, it is clear that the most serious threat to the current world order -- to Western democratic values, universal human rights, the rule of law, social justice, gender equality, civilized society and all of humanity -- does not come from nuclear bombs, chemical weapons, or other military capabilities. It comes, rather, from ideology -- contemporary Islamist doctrine and the growing popularity of fundamentalist Islam. The threat also comes from the deep social, political and economic differences between democratic Western societies and Muslim societies. When I first came to the United States a few years ago, before most of the terrorist attacks, I tried to warn people that attacks were inevitably going to happen, and happen in the name of Islam. The fear-based culture of many Muslim countries is now threatening to permeate the rest of the world. Once that happens, there is no opportunity to overcome it. It is therefore the responsibility of the silent Muslims, the so-called "moderate" or "reformist" Muslims of the middle class, as well as Western Muslim scholars, to speak out against these dominant Islamist and fundamentalist frameworks. Unfortunately, many hesitate to do so out of fear of the benefits they might lose, so have lost the will and courage to abandon Islam. There is, further, the fear of the consequences, such as being denied visas to Muslim countries to visit their families or to conduct the Hajj. As many fundamentalists hold the purse strings of powerful influential people, many Muslim scholars fear that their funding from powerful Muslim countries will be halted or that powerful Muslim schools will not publish their books. If current Islamic teachings, thoughts and education do not go through a fundamental religious reformation from within the religion itself, the future will bring more colossal tragedies, ones that will make previous terrorist acts --- such as the beheadings of Steven Sotloff and James Foley, the Boston marathon bombing, burnings-alive, drownings, crucifixions, slavery, the tragedy of displaced persons in Syria, America's 9/11, London's 7/7 transportation attacks and the Madrid train bombings -- seem infinitesimal. As someone born in the Islamic Republic of Iran under the rule of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, and having spent much of my youth in Syria under the rule of Hafiz and Bashar al-Assad, it is easy to see that the challenge of the 21st century is fundamentalist Islam: its underlying character contradictions, the Qur'an, Muslim leaders, the silent Muslims, and the underlying principles of Islam. The Qur'an has confined the religion of Islam with such unbending social and legal restrictions that growth is made impossible, and the religion becomes more and more incompatible with Western civilization. Many scholars and imams have been arguing for a long time that Islam will change; their arguments have repeatedly failed. Other religions have adapted to modernization, social justice, and civil liberties, but Islam has been imprisoned in its own unyielding character. The Qur'an has so restricted and surrounded the ideology of Islam that reformation would mean the collapse of Islam altogether. The inflexible nature of Islam is the major impediment to progress and social advancement in Muslim countries. While the rest of the world is modernizing, Islam -- thanks to powerful imams and Islamic governments, which enforce the verses of the Qur'an from 1,500 years ago -- has been moving in reverse. Islam leads its followers to believe that they are the "chosen," superior. But what we have all been seeing in Islamic societies are disturbing patterns of dominance, cruelty, and complete disregard for human life. There is also a predominant pattern in the Western media to refrain from criticizing Islam or anyone in it, apparently in an attempt to be "politically correct." In an already inflamed racial environment, the media appear careful to avoid treading in the relatively unknown territory of Muslim culture and chooses instead to embrace the more colorful aspects of the religion and its traditions. It is urgent therefore to raise awareness of what is happening in the extremely shielded and silent corners of fundamentalist Islam. It is imperative that the American people be educated about extremist Muslims who view them with such intense hatred and contempt. Why has their war on democracy been allowed to grow this fiercely? Why does it continue to grow? With around 1.6 billion followers, or 23% percent of the world's population, Islam is currently the world's second-largest religion after Christianity, and the fastest-growing religion. Violence and injustice stand on the opposite pole from peace. If Islam is the religion of "peace," as Muslim leaders and scholars argue, Muslims need to speak out when injustice and violent terrorist acts are repeatedly committed in the name of Islam. Simply stating that Islam does not have to do anything with these violent acts is not constructive; it is just a way to avoid tackling the problem. As Muslims, we need to accept the fact that there exist some parts in the religion of Islam that give social, political, religious, and cultural legitimacy to violence. Otherwise, these Islamist groups would not have flourished. Muslims need to oppose those Qur'anic verses and Islamic teachings that give social, political, religious, and cultural legitimacy to some groups and individuals to operate freely, recruit and brainwash youths, and commit violence and terrorism. It is important to inform as many people as possible of the day-to-day reality that people no different from you are faced with. My intention is not to be derogatory; my only goal is to provide a clear understanding of the very real danger that the spread of fundamentalist Islam and its modern transformation pose not only to the United States, but to the world -- a warning of what will come if the voices of democratic nations do not rise in unison to stop it. Dr. Majid Rafizadeh, an Iranian-American political scientist, author, and Harvard scholar, is president of the International American Council and serves on the board of Harvard International Review (Harvard University). He is author of the book, "The Muslim Renegade: A Memoir of Struggle, Defiance, and Enlightenment." He can be reached at Dr.Rafizadeh@post.Harvard.edu. Follow Majid Rafizadeh on Twitter © 2016 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.

Moderate Muslims Are A Misnomer!

A top Shariah lawyer’s stunning response to the question: ‘Is there such a thing as moderate Islam?’

Feb. 26, 2015 9:17am Benjamin Weingarten

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We sat down with a leading Shariah lawyer from Iran, Daniel Akbari, to discuss his illuminating new book ”Honor Killing: A Professional’s Guide to Sexual Relations and Ghayra Violence from the Islamic Sources, in which he seeks to awaken Americans to the generally antithetical nature of Islam to Judeo-Christian society, and specifically Shariah-dictated domestic violence towards women — up to and including so-called honor killings — and how we in the West can prevent such atrocities.

During the extensive interview, which you can skip to here, we had a chance to ask him a series of questions on the nature of Islam, its goals, tactics, how Western Muslims become jihadists, and all manner of other topics.

But it was in response to a question on whether there is such a thing as moderate Islam that Mr. Akbari, a man who studied at the seat of Shia religious learning at the Tehran University School of Law, and specialized in criminal and family law before leaving Iran, gave perhaps his most stunning response of all, stating:

“[T]hese people…deceive Americans not to resist the process of Islam”

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What Erdogan, the Prime Minister of Turkey says is actually perfect and totally Islamic because Islamis Islam. We don’t have such a thing like — “radical Islam extremism” — many things that are said in Islam like beheading, like stoning, like flogging — they are not extremism acts, those are pure Islam.

…The second thing is, this is not “extremism,” this is “fundamentalism.” People who believe in [the] Koran understand it and practice it and take it serious.

About moderate Muslims, we have to…make a distinction between those people who come from Islamic backgrounds, come from [the] Middle East, their names are ‘Mohammed’…they might not believe in [the] Koran at all. They might just be atheists. They just come from that region.

Who are moderate Muslims in reality according to Akbari?

…Moderate Muslims actually are kind of like CAIR [Council on American-Islamic Relations] people — people who are Muslim Brotherhood types…and these people fight for Islam, love it, but they give a peaceful feature, and good-looking [nature] to Islam, to…deceive Americans not to resist the process of Islam.

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Title: Honor Killing: A Professional's Guide to Sexual Relations and Ghayra Violence from the Islamic Sources

Author: Daniel Akbari

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Sometimes they deceive Americans this way that “We are the same as your neighbor who is from the Middle East.” That neighbor might be an atheist, might be a Buddhist at heart. Just by nature and feature, people might assume [him or her] Islamic.

…Moderate Muslims, as we might know as Muslim Brotherhood, they are the backbone of jihad.

Without them, there…[are] not gonna be any jihadis. They support jihad financially. They recruit here for jihadists — they recruit in this country. They have their own Islamic centers. They go to jail and recruit for ISIS.

So without these moderate Muslims — I’m not talking about just people coming from [the] Middle East — I’m talking about those who fight for Islam, or those who love Islam and pay for jihadists and also support to…try to recruit people, or sympathizers. My point about moderates is kind of different than what Americans might say.

Moderates are not anybody from [the] Middle East with an Islamic name.

My point about moderates are people who have Islamic organizations in an organized way, fight to improve Islam, I call those people moderates. To my eyes, those moderates are no different than ISIS or other jihadists.

During the interview, we also had the opportunity to discuss a series of other topics with Mr. Akbari including:

• How Islam fundamentally differs from Judaism and Christianity
• Whether Islam is a religion of peace, and how pious ISIS actually is
• The ultimate goal of Islam and the role of strategic deception as compelled under Islamic law
• How Muhammad’s strategy at Mecca versus Medina as detailed in core Islamic texts impacts Muslim actions in the West
• Shariah-dictated ghayra violence against women
• The Obama administration’s intellectual dishonesty about the nature of jihad
• What Akbari thinks about the idea of working with mosques and Islamic leaders to “counter violent extremism”
• Why uneducated, ignorant/non-practicing Muslims are the most susceptible to barbaric acts like honor killings
• Why honor killings and female genital mutilation naturally flow from Islam in general and Shariah in particular
• What the recent surge in Muslim immigrants to the U.S. portends for the country
• A systematic analysis of how Muslims in the West become jihadists
• And much much more

Note: The links to the book in this post will give you an option to elect to donate a percentage of the proceeds from the sale to a charity of your choice. Mercury One, the charity founded by TheBlaze’s Glenn Beck, is one of the options. Donations to Mercury One go towards efforts such as disaster relief, support for education, support for Israel and support for veterans and our military. You can read more about Amazon Smile and Mercury One here.

Islam Needs A Reformation, However, It Will Not Happen Until Moderates Take Over Control Of The Mosques And Become Imams.

"Boxed and Packaged Islam" Trying to Pass Itself Off as Mainstream Islam

by Raheel Raza
October 17, 2014 at 4:00 am

http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/4792/boxed-packaged-islam

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In one short interview, the two Muslim speakers had ensured that: a Zionist conspiracy is in place; ISIS is not really dangerous; the West is at war with Muslims, and the killing must continue; Muslims must not speak out on Western media about violence within the faith, and those who do are liars desperately seeking the limelight. So most Muslims stay silent.
This brand of boxed and packaged Islam, started by Iran's Ayatollah Khomeini, has been so cleverly marketed that most Muslims do not even know what hit them.
Then there are those have moved outside the box -- scholars, reformers and academics, who, like me, are considered heretics but are still part of the faith. We do not accept the branded, "boxed" version of Islam -- exported largely from Saudi Arabia on the wings of billions of petro-dollars in unobtrusive packaging -- that is trying to pass itself off as mainstream Islam.

The debate about "Moderate Muslims" has gone viral. From Bill Maher to Ali Rizvi in his Huffington Post article, it is trending.
As someone who used to call herself a moderate, I am now moving away from that terminology. One reason is arecent interview a cable TV talk show called Bilatakalluf.
On the program were two members of The North American Muslim Foundation (NAMF) -- Imam Shehryar and Farooq Khan -- and the discussion was about ISIS and being a Canadian Muslim. Below is a translation of some of the "quotable quotes":

• "I honestly think the news about ISIS is extremely exaggerated – there are other interests fanning the flames -- we do not know if ISIS is Muslim or not, could be anyone."
• "When we look at history and the way the West has lied, it is obvious... I refer to Iraq -- this drama has been done before, so the reports we are getting are not credible as they are coming from Western media, which has a track record of being No. # 1 liars -- once you tell a lie over and over again it becomes credible -- look at the Jihad/Sharia hype?"
• "We must establish authenticity of the [beheading] TV clips -- it is a man wearing a niqab so how do we know whether he is a Mossad guy or ISIS?"
• "I have heard reports that some people living under ISIS are peaceful -- at least the Sunni areas are better patrolled."
• "Having a Caliphate is an integral part of faith. Every believing Muslim prays for a true Khalifah."

And on the topic of Canadians going for Jihad?

• "There are one million Muslims in Canada... only 0.13% have "allegedly" joined ISIS, and they have gone for many reasons -- it is a hot issue with media -- 150 Jewish Zionists have gone to Gaza for a one-sided slaughter."
• "Mossad had an integral part in creating Hamas. The PLO Al-Fatah meetings in 1960's were held in the house of a guy who was an Israeli agent -- a Jewish Zionist Israeli agent."
• "There are vested interests -- 1.8 million Muslims cannot be digested by the powerbrokers so they aim to keep the area troubled -- the grand policy of the West is to have rivers of blood flowing -- they don't say it, but they are at war with the Muslims. The West will keep propping up proxy groups so that the violence does not end."

There is more, but suffice it to say that this was enough. Today, that is the voice of so-called moderate Islam. This cable program reaches over 100,000 homes across North America. These are the voices heard in Muslim homes, where they have credibility because they come from an Imam and his sidekick who are well dressed, well-spoken and articulate. In one short interview, the two speakers had ensured that: a Zionist conspiracy is in place; Western media are liars and cannot be trusted; ISIS is not really dangerous; the West is at war with Muslims, and that the killing must continue to adjust the world population.
Is there concern that most Muslims will believe what was said on this show? Yes. They live within the "Box of Islam," where the majority of Muslims hide today, to avoid facing reality. They are not interested in discussion or debate; they look upon the best years of Islam as during the early Caliphates. This boxed and packaged version of Islam was first branded by Iran's then Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who wanted to export his revolution in the late 1970s. At that time, the branding was that of a fiery bearded Mullah with an extreme message.
Since then this brand of Islam has taken on a modern, moderate look; it is "the new normal." Today, it is being exported largely from Saudi Arabia on the wings of billions of petro-dollars in an unobtrusive packaging. Case in point: There is a version of the Quran that is given away free at Dundas Square in Toronto, where the opening prayer has been tampered with. The original ends with the words "keep us on the straight path and not the path of those who have gone astray." To the "Dundas" version have been added the words "like the Jews and Christians."
This brand of boxed and packaged Islam has been so cleverly and cunningly marketed through the mosque pulpits, print media and electronic media that most Muslims do not even know what has hit them. It is beamed directly into their homes and hearts; they are not encouraged to dissent. This point was made by the Imam on the Bilatakalluf talk show: he said that Muslims should not speak out on Western media about sectarian issues or about violence within the faith. He went on to say that those Muslims who do speak out are liars desperately seeking the limelight. So most Muslims either stay silent or deflect the problems into conspiracy theories.
"Boxed" Muslims therefore now believe (among other issues) that anyone who does not toe their line of Islamist thinking is an infidel and will go to hell; anyone who leaves the faith by choice is an apostate (the punishment for which is death); homosexuals should be thrown off the highest cliff; Sharia law and jihad are benign; an authentic Muslim woman must wear a niqab or at least a hijab; every problem across the Muslim world is due to outside influences; adultery should be punished by 100 lashes, and that hanging and amputation of hands is justified.
Then there are those who have moved outside the box -- scholars, reformers and academics who, like me, are considered heretics but are still part of the faith. We do not accept the branded, "boxed" version of Islam that is trying to pass itself off as mainstream Islam. We believe that there are many paths one can follow and that there really is "no compulsion in religion" (from the Quran); that all believers are equal; we accept that there is special mention of "people of the book" in the Quran that includes Zoroastrians, Jews and Christians, whom we must respect. Sharia law needs to be reformed and brought into the 21st century; we cannot live with archaic laws any longer. Armed jihad is no longer valid. The Quran asks women only for modesty, but the hijab has become a political symbol. The Quran does not speak about killing homosexuals but prohibits lust; and beheading, hanging and cutting off hands should be abolished along with slavery.
The author Ibn Warraq says that "moderate Muslims" do exist, but that he does not believe "Islam is moderate." He is also not optimistic about how quickly moderate Muslim theologians will be able to bring about a religious reformation that will be acceptable.
What does this make us who are genuinely moderate: progressive, liberal or heretics? Whatever we are "branded," we will continue to speak out and light a fire under the feet of all of us: the reform needs to begin.

Raheel Raza is the President of the Council of Muslims Facing Tomorrow.