MEMRI - Fiighting Terrorism: Recommendations by Arab Reformists
The question of how to fight Islamic terrorism preoccupies many Arab reformists who are working to denounce Islamist thought, to encourage independent and critical thinking, and to establish values of democracy and human rights in the Muslim world. For example, in February 2005, a group of reformists submitted to the U.N. a request that it establish an international court to judge Muslim clerics who incite to violence and bloodshed. The request was examined by the U.N. legal counseland distributed to the U.N. Security Council.
Following the July 7, 2005 London bombings, Arab reformists further expanded their criticism and honed their arguments, not only regarding Muslim extremists, but also regarding the European countries, particularly Britain, which allows extremist activity within its borders in the name of protecting individual rights. They also increased their criticism of the silent Muslim majority and moderate Muslim intellectuals, who capitulate to Islamist pressure and do not speak out decisively against it.
The following are some of the recommendations by reformist Arab writers:
- Europe Must Change its Lenient Treatment of Muslim Extremists
- Incitement on the Internet Must Be Stopped
- Arab Intellectuals Must Stop Speaking in Two Voices
- The Terrorists Must Be Separated from Their Sympathizers
- Muslims Must Denounce the Terrorists; The West Must Stop Being Naive
- Muslims Must Ban Suicide Bombings for Moral Reasons
- The Religious Institutions Must Take Practical Measures Against the Terrorists
- The Muslims Must Form a New Religious Culture
- The Silent Majority Must Speak Out Against the Terrorists
- The War on Terrorism Requires Extensive Intellectual, Political and Educational Activity
Read the details.
My favorite highlight is this...
Egyptian commentator and Al-Sharq Al-Awsat columnist Muna Al-Tahawi brought up the issue of the aspirations of some intellectuals to please their target audience: "The time has come for us to declare resolutely that the claim heard whenever Muslims stage a terror attack – 'George Bush made me do it' – is a stupid one… The time has come for us to stop rebuking others. We all know the extent to which extremism has increased in our societies, but it is easy to ignore this fact and to say 'we aren't like that' instead of dealing with the matter…
Only problem I see with their suggestions is that many of them rely on followers of Islam to solve a problem within Islam that many of its followers don't consider a problem. Isn't that a problem?
So far it has been. The most prominent Islamic organization here in America is a known supporter of terrorism and has only recently begun to publicly, not to say sincerely, denounce terrorists. In fact, today, they will issue a FATWA against terrorists and extremism. Which, of course, stands to make us an even better terrorist target. C'est la vie.
Update 7.30.05: The American Islamic Leaders' "Fatwa" is Bogus
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