2017 03 The Light March 2017

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February 2017 The Light 10 pression, unemployment, and greedy political leaders in the Muslim world can push many of the youth to take the matter into their own hands. For those with no hope, fanaticism and over-zealousness gives them some hope. When there is no alternative, extremism becomes normal. 5. Lack of Islamic Knowledge A very common trait among extremist fighters is that they are largely composed of young, overzealous recruits that are relatively new to Islam or have a very superficial understanding of the faith. (Two arrested extremists admitted to buying “Islam for Dummies” and “The Koran for Dummies”. You could not ask for better evidence to bolster the argument that the 1,400-year- old Islamic faith has little to do with the modern jihadist movement). A quick read of the Quran and exposure to the first Muslim group you encounter can easily lead you to think that this group is on the right Islamic path. The more Islamic knowledge you have, the easier it is to recognize heretical groups and movements and to avoid making ill-advised choices. 6. Unwelcomed in the West With each new terrorist attack, Muslims living in the West prepare themselves for more backlash from their community. Right after the Charlie Hebdo incident, 50 anti-Muslim incidents were reported in France in just 1 week. And many Muslims expressed the difficulty they have experienced with their neighbours after 9/11. Young Muslims may feel like that they can never belong in the West and may even question whether they should be supporting the other side. 7. Distrust: I Shall Love All Mankind. You can find those who support these groups online talking about how we should not trust mainstream media on the topic of Muslim terrorists, because of the previous lies these sources have told us. There are those who honestly believe that the extremist group they support are in the right that they are only attacking to prevent further harm. They will disregard any source that counters these claims despite how strong the evidence is against their group. 8. Lack of Unity: Religious leadership among Muslims is disunited today; every loud voice can potentially become a leader merely by shouting loud enough. Anyone can potentially take on the lead without understanding Islam and the contemporary world or start takfiri 1 preaching further dividing the Muslims into more smaller segments. Since there is no official Caliphate, you can find some smaller segments coming up with their own pseudo-Islamic state or their own pseudo-caliph. Lack of unity makes it hard for actual Muslims to voice their condemnation against any particular extremist group because they cannot have an official opinion on a matter. 9. Misunderstanding Jihad: The concept of jihad is a legitimate concept if applied properly in Islam; and it can be a type of terrorism if misunderstood and misapplied. It is like a loaded weapon: it can be used for good and to defend, and it can also be misused for harming others. Many other faiths do not have such a concept. Because Islam does, it can and will be misapplied. Religious leadership among Muslims is disunited today; anyone can potentially take on the lead without understanding Islam and the contemporary world . . . 10. Silence on Jihad Muslim teachers in the West are restricted from speaking about physical jihad or have classes where Muslims can learn the proper context of battles in Islamic history, the conditions for fighting, etc. Because of this silence, young Muslims can be duped by extremist recruiters into accepting the alternative view and the permissibility of fighting with modern militant groups. Someone can easily show them 1 Calling each other heretics.
February 2017 The Light 11 hadith of the rewards of jihad while being completely unaware of the major contextual differences in our time and can convince them of the greater good in fighting. When the only voices that address issues of concern are the voices of radical militant jihadis they find on the internet, it is only natural that young and impressionable minds will gravitate to these voices. 11. The Media The media empowers terrorist groups. The more attention they get, the more powerful their threats become and the more newrecruits they can potentially secure. Violent groups, no matter how small, will always get more attention than peaceful groups. We can see this from both sides of the American election where both extreme left and extreme right groups have been making headlines for their attacks on one another. Hundreds of Muslim scholars can condemn terrorism, 10,000 Muslims can protest for peace, but the 1 Muslim who blows himself up or beheads a civilian, will be the person who receives more attention in this age, and more attention gives him a better chance for more people to join his cause. 12. Scholars Are Ignored: Muslims already supporting extremist groups will ignore Muslim Scholars who comment on their groups. Calling them “sell-outs” or saying that they are “aiding the kuffar” because they are condemning a Muslim group. You cannot criticize those Muslims fighting! At least those Muslims are doing something while you are just living comfortably in your home. Extremists are emotional and impatient, and will not bother to take the time to read/listen to the entire message of Muslim scholars who often critique both sides and can explain to The media empowers Terrorist groups. The more attention they get, the more powerful their threats become and the more new-recruits they can potentially secure I Shall Love All Mankind. extremists about their flawed understanding. I would like to thank you all for listening to what I have shared with you today, and would like to summarise with this. The Muslim world today is in an entirely different economic and political context than the Western world. The Muslim world lacks unity, suffers from poverty, oppression, unemployment, greedy political leaders, and have been subjected to witnessing the continual slaughter of other Muslims by opposing forces in their lands for decades. These factors, along with others, can push some to join extremist groups. But I would like to leave you with this final message. Our jamaat has always promoted peaceful living and integration with other religions and cultures. Even in our own small jamaat, we have different walks of life, maybe different political views, different habits, and different backgrounds. But we are all brought together for our love and appreciation of our peaceful Islam and for one another. The propagation, and expansion of our Islam can only be a positive — not only for ourselves but for the entire world. It is our responsibility to do just that. It seems that many passionate Muslims are eager to die for the sake of Allah, but how many are willing to live for the sake of Allah? The Lost Tribe of Jews in India By Tamara Zieve (Attributed to www.jpost.com February 14th, 2017, this news item shows that the Jewish religious authorities have accepted that thousands of years ago, Jews migrated to India. This is what The Promised Messiah said over 100 years earlier. Jesus had been sent by Allah to preach to all the tribes of Israel. It follows that if some Jewish tribes had migrated to In-
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2017 03 The Light March 2017

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