Extremist thought is allowed to linger too long in this country and freedom of speech is no excuse5/30/2017 It was a welcome move by LBC to finally remove Katie Hopkins from her provocative show. However, it took an especially grotesque tweet to do so which shows how overly tolerant or simply blind we’ve become to the abuse of free speech taking place. For far too long we’ve allowed extremists, Muslim and non-Muslim the airtime to spout their hate-filled and divisive rhetoric. Anjum Choudary similarly was was placed on platform upon platform, news channel upon news channel before being sentenced to imprisonment for supporting terrorism. Why does it take a heinous attack and a vile tweet calling for mass extermination of Muslims, to make us realise what the issue is here? The Caliph of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, His Holiness Mirza Masroor Ahmad said: “publicity is the oxygen sustaining most terrorist or extremist groups”. And he was right because without publicity the recruiting mechanism of extremists would fail. And yet we play right into their hands by giving extremists ample airtime. He also recommended arming police (something we’re now seeing on the streets), monitoring Mosque sermons and for the media to limit extremist exposure. The Caliph’s own sermons are broadcast live throughout the world and published often the same day on various media platforms. Fortunately, Britain has a good record of curbing extremism, be it political or otherwise. In the 1930s the National Government was successful in repressing political extremism through legislation and likewise limited the IRA’s influence in the late 1980s to the mid 1990s. Similarly the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015 outlined measures to prevent radicalisation and cease terrorist activities. In recent years the government has banned certain hate speakers from entering the UK - a thoroughly commendable step. Some however seem to think removing hate-filled rhetoric is an attack on free speech. It isn’t, it’s an attack on toxic messages which lead to terror. We did it in the past with the IRA and we do it today by banning those who would create disorder. Hate speech, provocation and taking advantage of the climate of extremism are not justified under free speech. Otherwise we wouldn’t have laws, regulations and rules banning racism, anti-semitism and hate. Those defending Hopkins’ right to air her poisonous views like to cherry-pick our laws just as the extremists cherry-pick religious verses. Article 10 of the Human Rights Act while upholding freedom of expression does not permit the misuse of it. It allows restrictions to protect morals, public safety and prevent disorder. Extremists don’t win when we censor material which is likely to pervert our young. They win when their ideology is publicly aired and shared by all the media outlets. Our tabloid newspapers are quick to jump on the divisive bandwagon too. It’s about time we have greater restrictions on such who flagrantly flout principles of journalistic integrity let alone of human decency. We saw this when Kelvin McKenzie was rightly sacked for his crude comments against Everton footballer, Ross Barkley. McKenzie has a history of impropriety and it shouldn’t have taken this long to remove him. The media is bound by reporting restrictions anyway when it comes to court proceedings or police investigations. Why should it be any different when it’s about public safety, decency and limiting extremist output? Freedoms come with responsibility and restrictions because there exist among us those who use those freedoms to further their own perverse and selfish agendas. Muslim or non-Muslim, extremists are among us. But so are the infinitely decent and right-minded people who value diversity, respect and responsible free speech. And as long as these people exist, there’s hope yet that the radicals will never gain ground.
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A survey has revealed that less than a fifth of Christians in the UK believe the resurrection of Jesus as told in the Bible. The survey was commissioned by the BBC and found exactly half of those surveyed did not believe in the resurrection at all. However, the concept still exists in some form or another in other religions. Faith leaders spoke about what resurrection meant to them and what their religion taught. Gen Kelsang Wangmo, Buddhist Nun said: “This body can’t come back because we can observe it and see exactly what happens to it.” Zvi Solomons, Jewish Rabbi said: “We read of the national resurrection during passover because that’s when we became a people.” Salman Muzaffar, Muslim Youth leader said: “Your soul is affected by your actions in this life.” The concept also exists in Hinduism as reincarnation. Of those who said they believe in an afterlife, 32% said they think it will be a type of physical reincarnation while 65% said your soul will simply live on. Belief in an afterlife was split equally between those that did believe and those that did not.
More than 2,000 adults demographically representative of Britons were interviewed by phone for the study. Also published in The Muslim Times. The leader of the oldest and largest organised Muslim community in Britain said hundreds of thousands are joining his community because of its peaceful teachings. The comments, made at the annual Peace Symposium of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community this year, came after renewed fears of radicalisation in the aftermath of the London attack. The Caliph of the community, His Holiness Mirza Masroor Ahmad said: “You will never find any case of radicalisation in our community. “Hundreds of thousands are joining the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community because of our teachings of love, peace and harmony. Just last year, 535,000 joined us.” He explained the reasons why members of his community are never radicalised. He said the teachings and fundamentals of the religion are made clear with guidance directly through the Caliph in any points of dissension. He explained, for example, Islamic terminology like Jihad is often misunderstood and misrepresented. He said: “The true Jihad is the one where you strive for self-reformation”. This is in contrast to many other Muslim organisations who still have to provide such a distinct interpretation of commonly misunderstood Islamic concepts. The Ahmadiyya community has been clear on this interpretation since its founder started the organisation in 1889. It has published thousands of books and leaflets clarifying such misconceptions. He further explained that according to him, integration did not mean abandoning the principles of one’s faith. Rather, he said it meant one should love one’s nation and work for its betterment. The community’s organised structure and extensive work with its youth is another factor preventing radicalisation. The auxiliary branch of the organisation - the Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association engages its members in various activities like tree-planting, homeless feeding, workshops, sports days and spring retreats. However, many Muslims do not consider the group to be true representatives of Islam. A contentious theological point has caused rifts between mainstream Muslims and Ahmadis often resulting in persecution and ostracization of the latter. Mainstream Muslims say Prophet Muhammad was the final Prophet and none can come after him. However, Ahmadi Muslims say Prophet Muhammad was the final ‘law-bearing’ Prophet but Prophets subordinate to him can still appear. They say their founder Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad was the awaited Messiah and a subordinate Prophet to Muhammad. This has led Ahmadis to be labeled as heretics and non-Muslims and even resulted in persecution in the UK and abroad. Algeria has begun a recent crackdown on the community, arresting its national president in February as human rights groups call on the government to uphold religious freedom. The government says arrests were for individual crimes and not targeted at the community. Likewise, last year an Ahmadi shopkeeper was murdered in Glasgow by a man from Bradford who was radicalised by hate-speech against the group. The community was forced to migrate from Pakistan to London in 1984 after the dictator General Zia outlawed it and cracked down on its followers. Since then, they have been headquartered in Wandsworth, London. They are spread in over 200 countries with tens of millions of members.
Hundreds of Muslim youth from across Surrey and Hampshire gathered in Haslemere for moral, spiritual and physical training.
It was organised by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association UK (AMYA UK), a Muslim men's group made up of members up to the age of 40.
The purpose of the conference was to train young Muslims to serve their faith and country, teaching them how religion and loyalty to one's nation go hand in hand.
Over the course of the day, there were lectures, competitions and workshops designed to engage the delegates.
The conference ended with prize distribution and a final speech by the president of AMYA UK, Mirza Waqas Ahmad. |
AuthorAtif Rashid writes about faith, extremism & mental health. Categories
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