“There is nothing kind about this process,” Sharma says of his pilgrimage to Mecca. “He calls his first experience at the Kaaba ‘probably the most violent night of my entire life.’” Those who are surprised by this have not been paying attention to the daily headlines. “Islam is imploding upon itself right now and there’s […]
Syria: Assad orders release of “revised” Qur’an to stop “distortion”
It would be very interesting to see how exactly Assad’s Qur’an is revised, but this article contains no specific information. If it changes any of the wording, it is unlikely to be accepted by any Muslims, in part because Assad is himself not an orthodox Muslim but an Alawite, and primarily because Muslims consider the […]
Nigeria: Islamic State bombs mosque where imam preached peaceful coexistence
Why we don’t see more genuine Islamic reformers. “Bombs at Mosque, Restaurant in Central Nigerian City Kill 44,” by Ahmed Mohammed, Associated Press, July 6, 2015: Two bombs blamed on the Islamic extremist group Boko Haram exploded at a crowded mosque and an elite Muslim restaurant in Nigeria’s central city of Jos, killing 44 people, […]
That Imaginary War Room
We have all had fantasies — have we not? — of being President or Chief of Staff, and being present, somewhere in the Pentagon, in a War Room that, we like to think, directs that campaign of self-defense against the hydra-headed Jihad. And we like to imagine, too, what might go on in that room, […]
Catholic scholar of Islam: Caliph’s saying Islam is religion of war “very shrewd”
“Islam was never a religion of peace. Islam is the religion of fighting,” says the Islamic State’s caliph. Fr. Samir Khalil Samir, the leading Catholic scholar of Islam, says this is “very shrewd,” because it “corresponds to the expectations of a part of the Islamic world,” which will exclaim, “Finally, we find the true Islam!” […]
Islam’s ‘Reformation’ Is Already Here—and It’s Called ‘ISIS’
The idea that Islam needs to reform is again in the spotlight following the recent publication of Ayaan Hirsi Ali’s new book, Heretic: Why Islam Needs a Reformation Now. While Hirsi Ali makes the argument that Islam can reform—and is in desperate need of taking the extreme measures she suggests to do so—many of her […]
Al-Azhar Sheikh: “Islam cannot prevail and spread by means of weapons”
Al-Tayeb says here that “what the Islamist armed movements are doing is wrong.” However, rejoicing over his “moderation” may be premature: he has justified anti-Semitism on Qur’anic grounds; called for the Islamic State murderers of the Jordanian pilot to be crucified or have their hands and feet amputated on opposite sides (as per the penalty […]
Muslim Youth League UK declares jihad against the Islamic State
“Our efforts are aimed at deterring further ISIS recruitment in Britain and defending the Muslim community, who feel their religion has been hijacked.” Stopping Islamic State recruitment in the West is just what we have not seen from Muslims who condemn the Islamic State, so that’s all to the good. But “a seven-point declaration calling […]
Kuwaiti researcher: Islamic State is product of Islamic heritage
“Kuwaiti Researcher Abdulazziz Al-Qattan: ISIS Is the Product of Islamic Heritage,” MEMRI, March 5, 2015. He says, referring to the ideology of the Islamic State: “Our Islamic heritage is a minefield of these deviant ideas…The problem of us Arabs is that we are not being honest with ourselves…All the books of Islamic heritage, without exception, […]
Muslim prof in The Atlantic hits “the phony Islam” of the Islamic State
I’ve noted several times lately that the Western intelligentsia is deeply concerned that you have a positive view of Islam — hence the steady barrage of articles explaining that those masked men brandishing Qur’ans and screaming “Allahu akbar” as they saw off Infidel heads don’t really have anything, anything at all, to do with the […]