Muslim Responsibility in Countering Violent Extremism

Obama counters violent extremism

Have Muslim organizations in the U.S. issued any guidelines to Mosques and Islamic centers on how to deal with troubled youths and extremist elements who are trying to recruit in their midst? Have they created outreach programs to Muslim families dealing with radicalized youths in an attempt to help them come back to the mainstream? Have they set up special camps that can help in these matters? Are they providing specialized training to Imams on how to deal with these and other related issues? Have they created educational guidelines on how certain issues related to Islamic teachings, such as Jihad and Dhimmitude, among others, should be breached?

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Killers, Cowards and Charlatans

On March 15, 2011, the Syrian street was divided between those who wanted freedom and those who kept opting for security at all costs. This cartoon shows why liberty is a much better idea, for all the risks it brings.

At the beginning of the Syrian revolution there were many millions who wanted to oust Assad, and many who wanted him to stay. Each group motivated by their own concerns, most of which were pretty legitimate. The systematic violence unleashed by Assad and his supporters, and the lies they perpetrated to get support for this policy from their sympathizers paved the path to where we are today. Nonviolence could not continue to work in the face of such mass and systematic violence, coupled with international indifference and opposition ineptitude.

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More Lies & Manipulation

Followers of the Shi'ite Houthi group pray during a rally to denounce fuel price hikes and to demand for the resignation of the government in Sanaa, Yemen, Aug. 22, 2014. — Followers of the Shi’ite Houthi group pray during a rally to denounce fuel price hikes and to demand for the resignation of the government in Sanaa, Yemen, Aug. 22, 2014.

I see: Iranian officials are not involved in directing the Houthis because the latter follow a different branch of Shiism. Indeed. Did such a difference, by the way, prevent these officials from taking over command and control in Syria? Or from playing host to members of Al-Qaeda who actually call for the extermination of all Shia? What sort of logic is this really?

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Modernization & Perfectibility

Have-No-Fear

The Qur’an and other traditional religious texts may indeed contain verses that are objectionable by modern standards, but that does not mean that we can reduce all these texts to these verses. Beyond the arcane mythology and certain specific objectionable rulings, there is also much wisdom contained in these texts, wisdom that allows them to keep their followers inspired and capable of coping with the requirements of modern life provided that they can understand the true nature of the relationship between the specific and the general in these texts.

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