From the Australian Courier Mail, “Controversial cleric replaces Muslim leader,” with thanks to Dolphin. An outspoken Sydney Muslim leader has been sacked and replaced by supporters of a radical cleric he criticised for claiming women incited rape. Keysar Trad was on Saturday night deposed as president of the Lebanese Muslim Association after a falling-out with […]
Egyptian Journalist Calls Muslim Liberals in the West Apostates
The Egyptian journalist Rim Azmi speaks out against Muslim reformers. “Egyptian Journalist on Muslim Liberals in the West: ‘Muslims in Name, Apostates in Fact,’” from MEMRI: “They aren’t Westerners and they have not attained this honor in the eyes of the West, however, the West embraced them, not out of love for them, but rather […]
Jihadist activity in Jordan
This AP story, “A city at the centre of a storm,” raises the curtain a bit on jihadist activity in “moderate” Jordan: SALT (Jordan): This city – with its numerous churches, its liquor stores and its past as a cosmopolitan trading hub – was an unusual one to suddenly develop a reputation as a centre […]
Moderate Muslims use Quran against jihad
The other day I criticized FMCAT’s statement supporting the Spanish fatwa. Some have accused me of supporting the terrorists by trying to make things difficult for moderate Muslims. Nothing could be farther from the truth. All I am saying is this: if someone wants to identify himself as a Muslim and yet eschew the jihad […]
FMCAT condemns Al-Qaeda, suicide bombers
A message from the Free Muslim Coalition Against Terrorism: Resolution of Condemnation by Muslims Against Al Qaeda, ALL Suicide Bombers and other Terrorists On Friday, March 11, a remarkable thing happened in Madrid, Spain. A large number of clerics from the Islamic Conference of Spain issued a very tough fatwa (religious opinion) which condemned Osama […]
Moderate Muslims in Switzerland speak out
From Swissinfo via swisspolitics.org, with thanks to Ali Dashti: The woman behind the forum, Saida Keller-Messahli, told swissinfo there were many moderate Muslims in Switzerland, who have had limited opportunity until now to voice their opinions. According to Keller-Messahli, there are currently many religious Muslim organisations in Switzerland but no associations for those who do […]
Cairo Conference: Reform Islam. Al-Azhar: Not So Fast
In Islam Unveiled I discuss why Islamic reformers will always face an uphill battle: whenever they attempt to depart from Qur’anic literalism, they become vulnerable to charges from radicals of infidelity to Islam. This poses what is probably an insurmountable problem for those who would reform Islam. Why, then, have I called for such reform […]
What a Muslim Learned on Yom Kippur
This is the kind of openness and ability to engage in self-criticism that is so sadly lacking in the Islamic world today. From Nonie Darwish in FrontPage: I was born a Muslim and raised in the 1950’s in Cairo, Egypt and in the Gaza strip. A moderate form of Islam was prevalent in those days. […]
Free Muslim Coalition Against Terrorism: We Are So Sorry for 9-11
Now this is a group to watch. From the Free Muslim Coalition Against Terrorism: This September 11 marks the third unforgettable anniversary of the worst mass murder in American history. After September 11, many in the Muslim world chose denial and hallucination rather than face up to the sad fact that Muslims perpetrated the 9-11 […]
Chechen leaders’ relatives say stop terrorism, punish massacre perpetrators
Have the Chechen jihadists gone too far even for their own supporters? From AsianNews, with thanks to Nicolei: Moscow (AsiaNews) – Events in Beslan have had an unusual and unexpected impact in Chechnya. The local population, which had largely backed the actions by Chechen terrorists, seems to have turned against them. Separatists’ families, including those […]