Fundamentalist Islam and the Roots of Terrorism

HUFFINGTON POST – THE BLOG: After witnessing the Islamic Republic of Iran violate human rights, persecute other religions, adopt sharia law, murder dissenters, and compel the judiciary to serve the Ministry of Intelligence, I am now convinced that the worst thing that can happen to a free Western country is to allow Islamic fundamentalists to have a say in government.

Most of the world's 1.6 billion Muslims pray in Arabic, but they do not speak Arabic as their mother tongue; that includes most Iranians. Yet the problem isn't in the translation, rather the problem rests with bad ideology.

Fifteen of the nineteen 9/11 hijackers were Saudi Arabian, two more were from the United Arab Emirates, one was from Egypt, and one from Lebanon. They were all from Arabic-speaking countries, and presumably the terrorists read Islamic scripture in the original Arabic. Muslim scholars did not unite to protest this act of terrorism. Instead, many celebrated a victory, because the Quran permits violence to expand Islam.

Most so-called Muslims are peace-loving, because they do not follow the rules. They practice Islam à la carte, a new religion. » | Janet Tavakoli * | Tuesday, November 11, 2014

* Janet Tavakoli is the author of Unveiled Threat: A Personal Experience of Fundamentalist Islam and the Roots of Terrorism, a newly-released non-fiction book about the current negative implications of Islamic fundamentalism for the United States.

Egypt Unnerved by Rising Religious Fervor
LOS ANGELES TIMES: Scattered violent incidents of 'moral vigilantism' break out in Egypt, which is trying to come to terms with Islam's place in public and private life.

CAIRO — An engineering student is killed for walking with his fiancee by men reportedly linked to a group called the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice. Women are harassed for not wearing veils, owners of liquor stores say they're being threatened, and fundamentalists are calling for sex segregation on buses and in workplaces.

Egypt's recent election of an Islamist president has rekindled a long-suppressed display of public piousness that has aroused both "moral vigilantism" and personal acts of faith, such as demands that police officers and flight attendants be allowed to grow beards. Scattered incidents of violence and intimidation do not appear to have been organized, but they represent a disturbing trend in Egypt's transition to democracy.

Emerging from decades of secular rule, the country is unsteadily calibrating how deeply Islam should infuse public and private life. President Mohamed Morsi, a religious conservative, has called for tolerance, but many Islamic fundamentalists see a historic moment to impose sharia, or Islamic law, on a country left off balance by political unrest and economic turmoil. » | Jeffrey Fleishman, Los Angeles Times | Sunday, July 29, 2012

Egyptian TV Channel Caters to Fully Veiled Women

NEW ZEALAND HERALD: The only visible female face in the Cairo-based studio of a new Islamic TV channel for women is that of a puppet. The human stars are all veiled from head to toe, with only their eyes showing.

Maria TV is run primarily by women. They operate cameras, present shows and interview female guests ranging from doctors to students of Islamic theology. But they cannot show their faces during the broadcasts, and no men are allowed on air during the female programming, not even for phone-ins.

Shrouded in long flowing black robes and scarves known as niqabs, with black gloves to match the women are distinguishable only by their voices and the slits for their eyes.

The channel, which was launched on Saturday to coincide with the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, is the brainchild of Ahmed Abdallah as part of a broader effort to expand his religious pan-Arab satellite station Ummah TV.

The shows range from beauty programs where presenters simply discuss make-up tricks without actually showing any to shows about medicine and marriage.

The puppet is used in a satirical show that pokes fun at major news stories.

"Even if you have the whole house lit with candles, do not be upset when your husband comes home from a long day at work and does not notice," said Abeer Shahin, the presenter of a show called "First Year of Marriage."

Abdallah, known by his nickname Abu Islam, said his goal is to show women that they do not have to reveal their beauty to the world in order to be seen. "I am broadcasting a new era for women who wear niqab, for a new kind of woman," said Abdallah, who wore a traditional white Egyptian robe for men known as a galabeya.

That effort mirrors the cultural changes under way in Egypt since conservative Muslims rose to power after Hosni Mubarak's secular regime was ousted during last year's revolution. » | AP | Wednesday, July 25, 2012

New Dark Age Alert! Female Circumcision Fear as Fundamentalists Roll Back Women's Rights

THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD: Maldives women face more repression under a rising tide of religious fundamentalism, reports Ben Doherty from Male.

When the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, visited the Maldives late last year, she urged that the practice of flogging women for having sex outside marriage - while very rarely punishing men for the same - should be abolished.

"This practice constitutes one of the most inhumane and degrading forms of violence against women," she told local reporters then.

The response was as fierce as it was unexpected. The next day protesters rallied outside the UN building, carrying placards that read "Ban UN" and "Islam is not a toy" and threatened to "Flog Pillay". A website later promised to "slaughter anyone against Islam".

Similar protests have followed, and a growing religious divide between moderate and fundamentalist Muslims - constitutionally, all Maldivians are obliged to follow Islam - has led many to question the direction of religion in the Maldives and, in particular, the place of women in Maldivian society.

In an interview with the Herald, the Maldivian President, Mohamed Nasheed, conceded an emergent religious fundamentalism had changed the way women were viewed, and treated, in his country. » | Wednesday, January 25, 2012

The Pinnacle of Incompetence
THE JERUSALEM POST: When the US director of national intelligence calls the Muslim Brotherhood a ‘largely secular’ organization we know we’re in trouble.

It is commonplace for the views of people in power to receive widespread exposure. Having presumably won their stripes in an arduous climb to the top, they are believed to know best what’s going on.

This presumption, however, is not only wrong, but is often the inverse of the truth. Given bureaucracy’s predilection for conformity, it is rarely the best and brightest who reach the top, but rather the yes-men sycophants – whether by rising to their level of incompetence, as the Peter Principle famously asserts, or by stumbling upward through successive failures, or by simply “being there” long enough.

Thus we have England’s national soccer team manager, Sven Goran Eriksson, putting Wayne Rooney on a par with soccer’s best-ever player, the legendary Pele. Yet rather than have his professional judgment questioned, the overpaid manager was allowed to lead his under performing team for three more trophy-less years.

Or take US Director of National Intelligence James Clapper’s astounding description of the Muslim Brotherhood as a “largely secular” organization.

Shouldn’t he know what countless newspaper readers know full well – the Brotherhood is probably the world’s foremost Islamist organization, committed to the establishment of a worldwide caliphate. How else is one to interpret its motto – “Allah is our objective. The prophet is our leader. The Koran is our law. Jihad is our way. Dying in the way of Allah is our highest hope”? Now Baroness Eliza Manningham- Buller, former director of MI5 (Britain’s FBI equivalent), has joined the march of folly. In her first television interview since leaving her job four years ago, she argued that the “war on terror” is unwinnable, and urged the British government to “reach out” to al-Qaida. “It’s always better to talk to the people who are attacking you than attacking them, if you can,” she explained.

This gives the idea of appeasement a whole new meaning. Even the most notorious incident – the Anglo- French surrender of Czechoslovakia to Hitler in the 1938 Munich agreement – took place prior to any German military aggression. Once the Nazis invaded Poland on September 1, 1939, London and Paris attempted no further talks, but declared war on Germany.

In contrast, by the time Manningham-Buller made her startling suggestion, al-Qaida had massacred tens of thousands in the name of Islam – from the 9/11 attacks, to the ongoing slaughter in Iraq, to bombings in Yemen, Bali, Sharm e- Sheikh and Madrid. Yet neither these atrocities, nor the July 2005 London bombing, which took place under her watch, seem to have shaken the former director’s belief that outreach to the Islamist group would curb its murderous zeal: “If we can get to a state where there are fewer attacks, less lethal attacks..., fewer young people being drawn into this, less causes – resolution of the Palestinian question, less impetus for this activity, I think we can get to a stage where the threat is thus reduced.” » | Efraim Karsh | Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Egypt’s Fundamentalist Salafists Rise in Wake of Mubarak’s Fall
THE WASHINGTON POST: DUBANAH AL-KABIRAH, Egypt — The Egyptian revolution has brightened the future for many of the 3,000 people in this dusty farming village. Bribery has diminished at city hall, police have stopped harassing peasants and city-slicker businessmen can no longer buy their way into juicy land deals.

But perhaps the most obvious winners are the scowling men in long, black beards. They are the Salafists, Islamic fundamentalists who would like to see the strictest form of Islam applied to the way people live in Dubanah al-Kabirah, all of Egypt and across the Middle East.

Under President Hosni Mubarak, thousands were jailed indefinitely without trial or charges, part of Mubarak’s campaign to prevent Egypt from heeding the call to jihad from Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaeda underground. That left most of the traditionally easygoing Muslims of Dubanah al-Kabirah free to practice the conservative but tolerant strain of Islam for which Egypt has long been known.

But since Mubarak fell Feb. 11, many Salafists held for years without a legal basis have been released, here and across the country. In Dubanah al-Kabirah, they have returned home, and the most aggressive of them are seeking to impose their radical views with a boldness they would never have dared exhibit in Mubarak’s days.

Dubanah al-Kabirah, near the Nile about 70 miles south of Cairo, is just one tiny village in a nation of 80 million people and an Arab region of 340 million. But what is happening here is a cautionary tale about the unforeseeable consequences of nearly all the political uprisings that have exploded across the Middle East since December.

The youthful protesters who occupied Cairo’s Tahrir Square demanded genuine Western-style democracy, a goal applauded in Washington and around the world. The generals who took over from Mubarak have promised that goal will be reached eventually. But Mubarak’s departure set in motion a process that could change Egypt in many other ways as well, ways that Washington would find harder to applaud. » | Edward Cody | Friday, March 25, 2011

Sam Harris: The Problem with Islamic Fundamentalism Is the Fundamentals of Islam

The Nightline Interview - Sam Harris

The True Horrific Face of Islam: Woman Flogged in Public in Sudan

THE TIMES: Sudan protesters arrested after video shows woman flogged by police >>> Tristan McConnell, Nairobi | Tuesday, December 14, 2010 (£)

Andrew Gilligan – Islamic Fundamentalism in London: The Threat Is Not Over
TELEGRAPH BLOGS: Rather humblingly, some of the local Bengalis who have campaigned against the fundamentalist Islamic Forum of Europe in Tower Hamlets gave me a thankyou lunch today. As I said to them, and not in any kind of faux-modest way, it is we who should be thanking them for putting their heads above the parapet in the Telegraph and my recent Channel 4 Dispatches film about the IFE.

They are extremely pleased about the election results, which saw the Islamists and their supporters comprehensively crushed. We discussed our next steps, some of which you will soon be hearing about here. In the meantime, you might be interested in this article the Guardian asked me to write, and particularly the cautionary note at the end.

As I say in the Guardian piece, “the danger in Tower Hamlets is not over. The IFE did win one victory this month – in its campaign for a directly-elected Tower Hamlets mayor, which was approved by a referendum held on polling day. The election for the new post will take place later this year. Read on and comment >>> Andrew Gilligan | Thursday, May 20, 2010

Buy The Dawning of a New Dark Age here and here and look inside it on Amazon too. Don't say you haven't been warned of the dangers that lie ahead! – Mark

Somalia: Islamisten verbieten Musik im Radio
Somalische Milizionäre: Keine Musik, keine Filme, kein Fußball. Bild: Spiegel Online
SPIEGEL ONLINE: Somalische Rundfunksender dürfen keine Musik mehr spielen. Ein entsprechendes Verbot verkündeten die radikal-islamischen Milizen. Musik sei Sünde, begründeten sie. Aus Angst vor drakonischen Strafen befolgen fast alle Sender die Anordnung.

Mogadischu - Fast alle Radio-Stationen in Somalia haben ihr Musikprogramm eingestellt. Nur ein von der Übergansregierung in Mogadischu kontrollierter und ein Uno-Sender widersetzten sich am Dienstag noch dem Verbot. Die Islamisten in dem Land sind dafür bekannt, Anweisungen wie das Musikverbot mit brutaler Gewalt durchzusetzen und Zuwiderhandlungen beispielsweise mit Morden oder Amputationen zu bestrafen.

Man habe keine andere Wahl, als ihre Forderung umzusetzen, sagte Abdulahi Yasin Jama von der Rundfunkstation Tusmo am Dienstag. "Wir haben Angst vor möglichen Angriffen gegen den Sender", sagte Hassan Osman Abdi vom Rundfunksender "Radio Shabelle". Die Islamisten hätten mit der Schließung aller Radiosender gedroht, die sich dem Verbot widersetzten. Nur einige regierungstreue Sender spielen noch Musik.

"Wir erleben heute den offiziellen Zusammenbruch der unabhängigen Medien", klagte Mohamed Ibrahim vom nationalen Journalistenverband Somalias. Der Verband verurteile die Anordnung als "grobe Verletzung" der Meinungsfreiheit, sagte Ibrahim.

Die von der internationalen Gemeinschaft unterstützte Interimsregierung hat ihren Herrschaftsanspruch bislang nicht durchsetzen können und kämpft mit islamistischen Milizen um die Macht in Somalia. >>> ler/apn/dpa/AFP | Dienstag, 13. April 2010

Somali Radio Stations Bow to Islamist Ban on Music
Horn Afrik Radio presenters read the news at a studio in Mogadishu. Photograph: The Guardian
THE GUARDIAN: All but two stations in Mogadishu comply with order to cease broadcasts that militants say violate Islamic principles

A majority of radio stations in southern and central Somalia today stopped playing music and jingles, to comply with a ban by Islamist militants.

Hizbul Islam, one of the two main insurgent forces in Somalia, issued the order on 3 April, saying music broadcasts violated Islamic principles. It gave FM radio stations – the main form of news and entertainment in the country – 10 days to comply or be shut down.

Islamic groups have previously outlawed music in some areas under their control, along with beards, football, movies, women's beauty salons and bras. The latest ban on all tunes – including those used in commercials – appears to be the most widely applied yet, and indicative of the rebels' ability to instil fear.

In the capital, Mogadishu, where there are 16 FM radio stations, only the government-controlled Radio Mogadishu, which is protected by African Union peacekeepers, and the UN-funded Radio Bar-Kulan, whose studio is in Nairobi, resisted the order.

"I've listened to three of my regular stations today, and there's no music at all," said Abdulkadir Khalif, a Mogadishu resident. "There's not even a jingle."

Instead, some stations used birdsong or vehicle noises to introduce programmes. One of the broadcasters aired "a recording from a warzone" to signal the start of the news, as an ironic gesture, Khalif said. >>> Xan Rice | Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Islamists Got Voters Out for Livingstone
THE TELEGRAPH: A fundamentalist group which believes in sharia law, jihad and creating an "Islamic social and political order" in Britain arranged an "unprecedented mobilisation" of voters for the former London mayor, Ken Livingstone, at the last mayoral election.

In an election lost by Mr Livingstone, the Islamic Forum of Europe helped secure massive and unexpected swings towards him in its east London heartland.

In one ward, Spitalfields, his vote share rose from 29.6 per cent in 2004 - an election he won - to 68.4 per cent in 2008, a rise of nearly 39 percentage points.

In every other ward in Tower Hamlets and Newham with a sizeable Muslim population, his vote rose by between 23 and 36 percentage points. His vote in other Muslim and ethnic minority areas of London also rose, but by far smaller amounts.

Mr Livingstone's economic development body, the London Development Agency, had agreed to pay more than £1.3 million to the East London Mosque, controlled by the IFE, and described by critics as hardline. >>> Andrew Gilligan | Saturday, March 06, 2010

The Taliban on the Move in Pakistan. The Disease Spreads
Watch Journeyman Pictures video here | Monday, July 20, 2009
THE TELEGRAPH: Pakistan prepares for South Waziristan offensive against Taliban: Pakistan's armed forces are preparing to launch an all-out offensive against the Taliban's tribal stronghold in South Waziristan after almost 170 people were killed in terror attacks in the country in just 11 days. >>> Dean Nelson in New Delhi, Javed Siddiq in Islamabad and Emal Khan in Peshawar | Friday, October 16, 2009

Pakistan Offensive: Troops Meet Heavy Taliban Resistance
THE TELEGRAPH: Pakistani troops are facing heavy resistance from the Taliban after beginning an offensive in South Waziristan.

Ground forces moved out of their bases in three different direction towards territory dominated by fighters loyal to the warlord Hakimullah Mehsud and his predecessor, Baitullah Mehsud, the notorious Pakistani Taliban leader killed in a US missile attack and his successor Hakimullah Mehsud.

Four soldiers were killed and 12 others wounded when their advance from Shakai ran into resistance in Sharwangi, one of the first areas of Mehsud's territory they reached, a local administration official said. He added that the Taliban were using "heavy weapons" against the army.

An army official confirmed that soldiers had already met resistance within hours of the start of the operation, which has been planned for months and follows weeks of air and artillery strikes.

A senior government official said that the government and party leaders gave the military full backing on Friday, vowing to weed out militants and restore the writ of the state. >>> | Saturday, October 17, 2009

Struggle for the Soul of Pakistan
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC: If there is an address, an exact location for the rift tearing Pakistan apart, and possibly the world, it is a spot 17 miles (28 kilometers) west of Islamabad called the Margalla Pass. Here, at a limestone cliff in the middle of Pakistan, the mountainous west meets the Indus River Valley, and two ancient, and very different, civilizations collide. To the southeast, unfurled to the horizon, lie the fertile lowlands of the Indian subcontinent, realm of peasant farmers on steamy plots of land, bright with colors and the splash of serendipitous gods. To the west and north stretch the harsh, windswept mountains of Central Asia, land of herders and raiders on horseback, where man fears one God and takes no prisoners.

This is also where two conflicting forms of Islam meet: the relatively relaxed and tolerant Islam of India, versus the rigid fundamentalism of the Afghan frontier. Beneath the surface of Pakistan, these opposing forces grind against each other like two vast geologic plates, rattling teacups from Lahore to London, Karachi to New York. The clash between moderates and extremists in Pakistan today reflects this rift, and can be seen as a microcosm for a larger struggle among Muslims everywhere. So when the earth trembles in Pakistan, the world pays attention. Struggle for the Soul of Pakistan: The nation's efforts to straddle the fault line between moderate and militant Islam offer a cautionary tale for the post-9/11 world

Mark Alexander

Wahhabism, Financed By Saudi Arabia, Quickly Gains Ground in Bosnia
SPIEGELONLINE INTERNATIONAL: The Dayton Peace Accords called for the removal of foreign combatants from Bosnia after the Balkans war. But hundreds of mujahedeen fighters stayed, and today they are successfully spreading their fundamentalist Islamist views.

Thick iron bars block the entrance to Abu Hamza's store in Sarajevo's Islamic shopping center. Affixed to the bars is a handwritten note: "My Bosnian citizenship has been revoked. I have to defend myself, and for this reason my store is only open sporadically."

Abu Hamza, a bearded 42-year-old man originally from Syria, sits in his store among colorful veils and gold-embroidered tunics and speaks in a gentle voice about Bosnia's fate. Which, he says, will be either an evolution of true Islam, or a revolution. Fundamentalist Islam Finds Fertile Ground in Bosnia (more) By Renate Flottau

Mark Alexander