Saudi Arabia Bulldozes Over Its Heritage

2014/11/15 Leave a comment

A reminder that our nominal allies in the struggle against ISIS have their own ISIS and Taliban-like tendency to obliterate history and anything that does not conform to their historical and cultural interpretation of Islam:

Over the last few years, mosques and key sites dating from the time of Muhammad have been knocked down or destroyed, as have Ottoman-era mansions, ancient wells and stone bridges. Over 98% of the Kingdom’s historical and religious sites have been destroyed since 1985, estimates the Islamic Heritage Research Foundation in London. “It’s as if they wanted to wipe out history,” says Ali Al-Ahmed, of the Institute for Gulf Affairs in Washington, D.C.

Though the Saudi rulers have a long history of destroying historical sites, activists say the pace and range of destruction has recently increased. A few months ago, the house of Hamza, the Prophet Muhammad’s uncle, was flattened to make way for a Meccan hotel, according to Irfan Al Alawi, executive director of the Islamic Heritage Research Foundation. There have even been rumored threats to Muhammad’s tomb in Medina and his birthplace in Mecca.

Saudi Arabia Bulldozes Over Its Heritage | TIME.

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Austria’s Muslims fear changes to historic Islam law

2014/11/05 Leave a comment

On foreign funding of mosques in Austria:

The draft law has also been criticised by constitutional experts, who say that some of its provisions fail to treat Muslims equally.

Professor Stefan Hammer from the University of Vienna says, while it is legitimate for the government to try and prevent misuse of donations from abroad, a blanket ban on foreign funding for the Islamic Community is constitutionally very problematic.

“Financing of religious communities is part of their internal affairs. This does not mean the state may not address any aspect of that, but it has to be proportional,” he says.

Other religious groups and churches receive external funding, notably the Russian Orthodox Church from Moscow, so differentiating between religions would clearly be excessive, he believes.

“It would be a clear breach of the principle of equal treatment.”Carla Amina Baghajati from the Islamic Community says the draft is infused with “a spirit of mistrust”, which she fears could play into the hands of the radicals.

“The radicals make use of the identity question, telling people: Look at the European societies, you wont ever be on the same level, you will always be an outsider. They wont accept you, so come and join us.

“This is very dangerous. We have to help young people to find their identity and the law is one of the important pieces in this identity building. It has helped in the past and we want it to help in the future.”

Seems like the solution could be a ban on any foreign funding for any religion to address the equal treatment issue.

BBC News – Austrias Muslims fear changes to historic Islam law.

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Islam and hadiths: Sifting and combing

2014/10/30 Leave a comment

Point well made in The Economist on religious and scriptural interpretation, and whether or not they lead to moderation:

Mr [Jonathan] Brown [author of Misquoting Muhammad] takes particular issue with The Economist for predicting that the information age will undermine the authority of old-time scholars and revolutionise the way in which ideas about Islam’s core teachings are formed. Given his fascination with long intellectual traditions, the author insists that nothing good can come of people going straight to texts which can foster extremist ideas unless they are leavened by scholarly wisdom.

In our defence, it is an already observable fact that electronics are making it much easier for ordinary Muslims, or self-taught “experts”, to bypass the older authorities and come to their own judgements on what their holy texts say and how they should be read. And as The Economist writing on the subject has made clear, this change can have bad consequences as well as good. Amateur theologians, bent on bypassing the professionals, can come to enlightened conclusions or appalling ones, such as the gimcrack theology used to justify acts of mega-terror by al-Qaeda or Islamic State.

However it’s also worth pointing out that neither conscientious scholarship nor participation in a centuries-old chain of editing and learning are foolproof guarantees of moderation. True, scholarly activities like hadith-sifting can sometimes help to mellow a religion. But remember, too, that the leaders of the Iranian revolution, who raised the standard of militant political Islam in the modern world, included many conscientious scholars.

Islam and hadiths: Sifting and combing | The Economist.

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“Everything Poisons Religion” « The Dish

2014/10/29 Leave a comment

Interesting discussion on Karen Armstrong’s book, Fields of Blood: Religion and the History of Violence, and the links between religion and imperial power and the degree that religion can be separate from economics, social issues and politics:

The conversion of Constantine also meant the conscription of Christianity. It was not long before Augustine of Hippo was developing the convenient theory of the ‘just war’. Similarly the ahadith, the later reports of the Prophet’s sayings, confer a spiritual dimension on warfare which it doesn’t have in the Koran. Militant Sikhs today prefer to quote the martial teachings of the Tenth Guru rather than those of their founder Guru Nanak, who taught that only ‘he who regards all men as equals is religious’.

“Everything Poisons Religion” « The Dish.

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Noah shows the path against zealotry: Marmur | Toronto Star

2014/10/28 Leave a comment

Good piece by Dov Murmur on liberal religion within each tradition:

Looking at the havoc caused by those who purport to be God’s trailblazers, in our time no less than in ages past, we may have good reason to reconsider our admiration for Abraham’s readiness to sacrifice his son in ostensible obedience to God. The story seems to hint at the potentially destructive nature of religious zeal and reminds us that we should judge biblical characters by their actions, not by their apparently heroic intentions.

This may shock pious Muslims, Christians and Jews, but it will strengthen the resolve of progressive dissenters who seek to distance themselves from religious fanaticism, even when it appears to be devout.

Scripture indicates that God is on the side of the dissenters. It is God who prevents Abraham from carrying out the execution. God doesn’t seem to tolerate Abrahamic zeal, even when the good intentions are acknowledged. Child sacrifice is always senseless murder and a scandalous affront to God.

Malala Yousafzai and Kailash Satyarthi are powerful witnesses to it. Their Nobel Peace Prize is an acknowledgement that good people in the world are on the side of God when they stand up against zealots, especially on behalf of children.

…To opt for Noah is to follow in the footsteps of the prophet Micah who teaches that God requires of us “only to do justice and to love goodness, and to walk humbly with your God.” Humility — walking with God — manifests true and wholesome faith; fanaticism — purporting to make way for God — often becomes its lethal opposite.

This is the credo of liberal religion within each tradition. It’s also the basis for mature interfaith relations. What binds adherents of different faiths isn’t their zeal but their humility before God. Holy Writ endorses their stance.

Religious fanaticism, on the other hand, is invariably divisive. Zealots always fight others, not only non-believers but often also people within their own religious tradition who don’t share their zeal. Which is yet another reason to opt for Noah.

Noah shows the path against zealotry: Marmur | Toronto Star.

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Afghanistan Blasphemy Charge

2014/10/27 Leave a comment

A reminder that of the limits of all the efforts in Afghanistan, and how deeply a traditional country it remains in Afghan newspaper’s ‘blasphemy’ causes protests after rebuking Isis and Islam.

In Kabul, a crowd of approximately 500 people, including clerics and several members of parliament, gathered in front of the Eid Gah Mosque, the city’s second largest house of worship.

“The government must stop the people who insulted the prophet, the Qur’an and Islam, and prevent them from leaving the country,” said Fazl Hadi Wazin, an Islamic scholar at Salam University who spoke from the outdoor podium.

In an opinion piece published last week in the English-language daily the Afghanistan Express, a journalist named AJ Ahwar admonished Muslims for remaining silent in the face of Isis and the Taliban.

He also criticised Islam for not accepting other religions and minorities such as homosexuals and Hazaras, a Shia minority in Afghanistan.

The article ended by concluding that human beings are more important than God, which seemed to particularly incense protesters.

“The newspaper said God can’t control people and that God is unwise,” said Mangal Bader, 38, one of the protesters. He joined others in calling for the newspaper staff to suffer the same fate as five men who were recently convicted of rape and hanged, after great public furore.

“They need to be executed so humans know that you cannot insult the religion of Allah,” said Ahmad, 22, another protester.

In pauses between speakers, protesters chanted “death to America”. According to one demonstrator, the US instils ideas of freedom of expression in the minds of Afghan journalists, then grants them asylum once they anger their compatriots.

“The international community pretend to be heroes of freedom of expression,” said Wazin after his speech. “They have to come out and say they are not behind this. If they don’t, these protests will grow.”

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The Trouble With Religion – Reza Aslan

2014/10/23 2 Comments

Reza Aslan on scripture and interpretation is shaped by values:

This is the thing — it’s not that you can interpret away problematic parts of a scripture. It’s that the scriptures are inundated with conflicting sentiments about almost every subject. In other words, the same Torah that tells Jews to love their neighbor also tells them to kill every single man, woman, and child who doesn’t worship Yahweh. The same Jesus who told his disciples to give away their cloaks to the needy also told them to sell their cloaks and buy swords. The same Quran that tells believers if you kill a single individual, it’s as though you’ve killed all of humanity, also tells them to slay every idolater wherever you find them.

So, how do you, as an individual, confront that text? It’s so basic, a child can understand: The way that you would give credence or emphasis to one verse as opposed to the other has everything to do with who you are. That’s why they have to sort of constantly go back to this notion of an almost comical lack of sophistication in the conversations that we are having about religion. And to me, there’s a shocking inability to understand what, as I say, a child would understand, which is that religions are neither peaceful nor violent, neither pluralistic nor misogynistic — people are peaceful, violent, pluralistic, or misogynistic, and you bring to your religion what you yourself already believe.

The Trouble With Religion « The Dish.

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Lady Warsi on Palestine, Islam, quitting … and how to stay true to your beliefs | The Observer

2014/10/16 Leave a comment

Good interview with former UK Minister Sayeeda Warsi:

On domestic issues such as extremism and the government’s approach to counter-radicalisation, Warsi refuses to be drawn. “My argument is that extremists are more of a threat to British Muslims than the community as whole; not only do those people cause us harm like everybody else – they’re indiscriminate – but also the backlash. It’s a double whammy. British Muslims have more incentive to rid society of extremists.”

However, she says there is mounting concern among Muslim organisations that the government is failing to engage enough and build trust. “If the British government doesn’t keep the majority of the community on board then they are not helping resolve the issue.”

For her, the issue is how will Islam evolve and overcome an atmosphere of mistrust and misunderstanding towards it. “What will British Islam look like for my kids, grandkids? Chinese Islam is very different to Saudi Islam; the challenge for our times is how we find this place.”

In the immediate future, she says, the challenge is tackling the normalisation of anti-Islamic views among some, an Islamophobic mindset she referred to in 2011 as having “passed the dinner table test”.

Another concern is the threat to repeal the Human Rights Act and withdraw from the European convention on human rights. “I hope we don’t move away from our commitment to human rights, domestically and internationally. We have to be careful we aren’t seen as defenders of human rights overseas but behave differently at home.”

Lady Warsi on Palestine, Islam, quitting … and how to stay true to your beliefs | Politics | The Observer.

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How the world is dealing with the militant threat

2014/10/15 Leave a comment

Good reporting on radicalization in Belgium (the country with the dubious honour of the highest number of “terror tourists” per capita among Western countries) and the current trial of those accused of recruiting them:

For some of the members of Sharia4Belgium, their journey to Syria did not go as planned. Mr. Bontinck, for instance, has maintained that he did not take part in any fighting, which earned him the mistrust of his comrades. He was imprisoned at various points by the al-Qaeda affiliate the Nusra Front and the Islamic State and has co-operated with Belgian authorities since his return to the country.

Family members of some of those still in Syria have attended the start of the trial looking for answers and, in some cases, accountability. The mother of one young woman who went to Syria was removed from the courtroom after she began shouting and trying to approach Mr. Belkacem, Le Soir reported.

Some experts caution that prosecutors could find it difficult to prove charges against returned fighters, particularly where they concern the activities of the defendants overseas. “The courts will not take Twitter feeds as sufficient evidence of what they have done,” said Jytte Klausen, a professor at Brandeis University outside of Boston and founder of the Western Jihadism Project, on a conference call earlier this week.

Still, others said the high-profile case is a chance for the Belgian authorities to send a message. “I am quite sure that they want to set an example for the guys who are in Syria or who want to fight in Syria in the ranks of Islamic State,” said Pieter Van Ostaeyen, an independent historian who tracks Belgian jihadis. “I do believe there will be convictions.”

How the world is dealing with the militant threat – The Globe and Mail.

Along with a good summary of how some countries are handling the issue:

 A look at how countries are battling terror networks 

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Salman Rushdie condemns hate-filled rhetoric of Islamic fanaticism

2014/10/14 Leave a comment

Salman Rushdie on Islamic fanaticism:

 “A word I dislike greatly, Islamophobia, has been coined to discredit those who point at these excesses, by labelling them as bigots. But in the first place, if I don’t like your ideas, it must be acceptable for me to say so, just as it is acceptable for you to say that you don’t like mine. Ideas cannot be ring-fenced just because they claim to have this or that fictional sky god on their side.

“And in the second place, its important to remember that most of those who suffer under the yoke of the new Islamic fanaticism are other Muslims…

“It is right to feel phobia towards such matters. As several commentators have said, what is being killed in Iraq is not just human beings, but a whole culture. To feel aversion towards such a force is not bigotry. It is the only possible response to the horror of events.

“I can’t, as a citizen, avoid speaking of the horror of the world in this new age of religious mayhem, and of the language that conjures it up and justifies it, so that young men, including young Britons, led towards acts of extreme bestiality, believe themselves to be fighting a just war.”

The author said members of other religions have distorted language, but to a much lesser degree.

“It’s fair to say that more than one religion deserves scrutiny. Christian extremists in the United States today attack womens’ liberties and gay rights in language they claim comes from God. Hindu extremists in India today are launching an assault on free expression and trying, literally, to rewrite history, proposing the alteration of school textbooks to serve their narrow saffron dogmatism.

“But the overwhelming weight of the problem lies in the world of Islam, and much of it has its roots in the ideological language of blood and war emanating from the Salafist movement within Islam, globally backed by Saudi Arabia.

“For these ideologues, “modernity itself is the enemy, modernity with its language of liberty, for women as well as men, with its insistence of legitimacy in government rather than tyranny, and with its strong inclination towards secularism and away from religion.”

Strong yet much more focussed and nuanced than Maher or Harris.

Salman Rushdie condemns hate-filled rhetoric of Islamic fanaticism – Telegraph.

Fareed Zakaria echoes comments on Maher and Harris made by others on how counterproductive, in addition to being wrong, their comments are:

Harris should read Zachary Karabell’s book “Peace Be Upon You: Fourteen Centuries of Muslim, Christian and Jewish Conflict and Cooperation.” What he would discover is that there have been wars but also many centuries of peace. Islam has at times been at the cutting edge of modernity, but like today, it has also been the great laggard. As Karabell explained to me, “If you exclude the last 70 years or so, in general the Islamic world was more tolerant of minorities than the Christian world. That’s why there were more than a million Jews living in the Arab world until the early 1950s — nearly 200,000 in Iraq alone.”

If there were periods when the Islamic world was open, modern, tolerant and peaceful, this suggests that the problem is not in the religion’s essence and that things can change once more. So why is Maher making these comments? I understand that as a public intellectual he feels the need to speak what he sees as the unvarnished truth (though his “truth” is simplified and exaggerated). But surely there is another task for public intellectuals as well — to try to change the world for good.

Fareed Zakaria: Let’s be honest, Islam has a problem right now

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