ISIL & the Hijacking of Islam

[Bill Wiltrack]

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..................................................................Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant



............................................ISIL is NOT in any way part of the true philosophy of the Islamic Religion -





From Wikipedia:



ISIL has been at the receiving end of severe criticism from other Muslims, especially religious scholars and theologians. In late August 2014, the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, Abdul-Aziz ibn Abdullah Al ash-Sheikh, condemned the Islamic State and al-Qaeda saying,

"Extremist and militant ideas and terrorism which spread decay on Earth, destroying human civilisation, are not in any way part of Islam, but are enemy number one of Islam, and Muslims are their first victims".

In late September 2014, 126 Sunni imams and Islamic scholars—primarily Sufi—from around the Muslim world signed an open letter to the Islamic State's leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, explicitly rejecting and refuting his group's interpretations of Islamic scriptures, the Qur'an and hadith, used by it to justify its actions.

"[You] have misinterpreted Islam into a religion of harshness, brutality, torture and murder ... this is a great wrong and an offence to Islam, to Muslims and to the entire world",

the letter states. It rebukes the Islamic State for its killing of prisoners, describing the killings as "heinous war crimes" and its persecution of the Yazidis of Iraq as "abominable". Referring to the "self-described 'Islamic State'", the letter censures the group for carrying out killings and acts of brutality under the guise of jihad—holy struggle—saying that its "sacrifice" without legitimate cause, goals and intention "is not jihad at all, but rather, warmongering and criminality". It also accuses the group of instigating fitna—sedition—by instituting slavery under its rule in contravention of the anti-slavery consensus of the Islamic scholarly community. Other scholars have described the group as not Sunnis, but Khawarij.


Kurdish demonstration against ISIL in Vienna, Austria, 10 October 2014
The group's declaration of a caliphate has been criticized and its legitimacy disputed by Middle Eastern governments, other jihadist groups, and Sunni Muslim theologians and historians. Qatar-based TV broadcaster and theologian Yusuf al-Qaradawi stated: "[The] declaration issued by the Islamic State is void under sharia and has dangerous consequences for the Sunnis in Iraq and for the revolt in Syria", adding that the title of caliph can "only be given by the entire Muslim nation", not by a single group.

Two days after the beheading of Hervé Gourdel, hundreds of Muslims gathered in the Grand Mosque of Paris to show solidarity against the beheading. The protest was led by the leader of the French Council of the Muslim Faith, Dalil Boubakeur, and was joined by thousands of other Muslims around the country under the slogan "Not in my name". French president François Hollande said Gourdel's beheading was "cowardly" and "cruel", and confirmed that airstrikes would continue against ISIL in Iraq. Hollande also called for three days of national mourning, with flags flown at half-mast throughout the country and said that security would be increased throughout Paris.





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[Immanuel Can]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7TAAw3oQvg

Well worth the watch.

[Bill Wiltrack]

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Would it suffice to say that in EVERY religious quarter there are radicals?


I hope that this thread will help clarify the fact that ISIL is doing a huge discredit to the very proud and very peaceful Islamic religion.



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[ReliStuPhD]

ISIL is NOT in any way part of the true philosophy of the Islamic Religion

Depends on what the "true philosophy" is. ISIL certainly thinks it's got a handle on the "true philosophy" (and there's support for their position if one appeals to Islamic tradition). Of course, "true philosophies" don't tend to fare so well in the face of airstrikes.

[Immanuel Can]

Isn't it a little imperious to be telling ISIL what they are or aren't?

What does the "I" stand for, anyway?

And since the majority of world Muslims want some form of sharia law imposed on the rest of the world, how do we prove that the minority position (i.e. the peaceful, Westernized Muslims) are the "authentic" ones? Couldn't they be the ones who are "highjacking"?

How would we judge?

[Bill Wiltrack]

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The "I" in ISIL stands for Islamic.


As I may have mentioned somewhere within this thread, ISIL Hijacked the concepts and the word Islam itself.




From Wikipedia:

Criticism of the name "Islamic State" and "caliphate" declaration
The declaration of a new caliphate in June 2014 and the name "Islamic State" have been criticized and ridiculed by Muslim scholars and rival Islamists inside and outside the territory it controls. In a speech in September 2014, President Obama said that, ISIL is not "Islamic" on the basis that no religion condones the killing of innocents and that no government recognises the group as a state, and many object to using the name "Islamic State" owing to the far-reaching religious and political claims to authority which that name implies.

The United Nations Security Council, the United States, Canada, Turkey, Australia, Russia, the United Kingdom and other countries generally call the group "ISIL", while much of the Arab world uses the Arabic acronym "Dāʻish". France's Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said "This is a terrorist group and not a state. I do not recommend using the term Islamic State because it blurs the lines between Islam, Muslims, and Islamists. The Arabs call it 'Daesh' and I will be calling them the 'Daesh cutthroats.'" Retired general John Allen, the U.S. envoy to coordinate the coalition, U.S. military Lieutenant General James Terry, head of operations against the group, and Secretary of State John Kerry have all shifted toward the term DAESH by December 2014.

In late August 2014, a leading Islamic educational institution, Dar al-Ifta al-Misriyyah in Egypt, advised Muslims to stop calling the group "Islamic State" and instead refer to it as "Al-Qaeda Separatists in Iraq and Syria" or "QSIS", because of the militant group's "un-Islamic character". When addressing the United Nations Security Council in September 2014, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott summarized the widespread objections to the name "Islamic State" thus: "To use this term [Islamic State] is to dignify a death cult; a death cult that, in declaring itself a caliphate, has declared war on the world". The group is very sensitive about its name. "They will cut your tongue out even if you call them ISIS – you have to say 'Islamic State'", said a woman in ISIL-controlled Mosul.

In mid-October 2014, representatives of the Islamic Society of Britain, the Association of British Muslims and the UK's Association of Muslim Lawyers proposed that "'Un-Islamic State' (UIS) could be an accurate and fair alternative name to describe this group and its agenda", further stating, "We need to work together and make sure that these fanatics don't get the propaganda that they feed off." The "Islamic State" is mocked on social media websites such as Twitter and YouTube, with the use of hashtags, mock recruiting ads, fake news articles and YouTube videos. One parody, by a Palestinian TV satire show, portrays ISIL as "buffoon-like hypocrites", and has had more than half a million views on YouTube.






Hope that helps...by the way, Wikipedia is open to EVERYONE. Really should do some research upon yourself. It will make you look more intelligent.


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[ReliStuPhD]

As I may have mentioned somewhere within this thread, ISIL Hijacked the concepts and the word Islam itself.

As I may have mentioned somewhere within this thread, ISIL can (and does) support their position by an appeal to the tradition itself. As someone who is writing a dissertation on this very topic, I'm going to go ahead and defer to my own expertise on the subject rather than Wikipedia's. That is to say, I have done the research myself. In this case, I can tell you that an appeal to Wikipedia does not make you look more intelligent.

PS A great place to start would be to ask why Wikipedia references Obama as a source for determining what constitutes proper Islamic practice. (This is actually where my dissertation will make a contribution.) All the other stuff is ground other scholars have covered, so it's pretty easy to track down. Quintan Wiktorowicz would be a good place to start. His work on al-Qaeda's justification for 9/11 will point you in the direction of the relevant primary sources, though you'll need to brush up on your Arabic for some of the references. US Gov has some stuff they've translated following the raid on bin Laden's compound that helps for getting at just what it is AQ, ISIL, et al are using to make their case.

PPS You really shouldn't cherry-pick from Wikipedia. From the same article: "Although Saudi Arabia's government rejected these claims, the Iraqi President Nouri al-Maliki and some media outlets like NBC, BBC, and NYTimes stated that Saudi Arabia is funding ISIL." There's a reason NBC, BBC, and NYT are reporting that, in spite of KSA's protestations of innocence...

PPPS Your defense of Islam is admirable, so lest my position be "over-construed," I am not arguing that ISISL is "true" Islam and others aren't. I am, however, arguing that to say ISIL has "hijacked" Islam is demonstrably false.

[Bill Wiltrack]

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Whatever you just said, it sounds splattered.

Wikipedia = the fountain of human knowledge.

Now, if you think YOU have a better source, or YOU are actually a better source, than the recognized leaders of the free world I sit here speechless.


Think whatever you want. I'm not here to change you.




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[ReliStuPhD]

Now, if you think ... YOU are actually a better source, than the recognized leaders of the free world

Yes, I do. It comes with the territory of "Ph.D. Candidacy" (as in, why would I be writing a dissertation arguing that American presidents back to Carter have argued incorrectly that terrorists are "not Islamic?"). Come on. You don't seriously think that the "recognized leaders of the free world," when it comes to the serious decisions, get their information from something other than experts on the subject, did you? Obama wasn't born knowing this stuff. Heck, he didn't even take office knowing this stuff. Heck, he doesn't even know fusha (not that i fault him for that). He gets his info from one set of experts instead of another. You have to be aware of this.

I sit here speechless.

Somehow I doubt that. Seriously, anytime you want to get into the deep end and look at the evidence rather than a website, I'm happy to continue the debate. But if all you've got is Wikipedia, I can't really help. Bring some primary sources to the table and then we get really get into this. Do this rather than post another evasive, nonsensical response. I mean it. Get in there and wrestle with the subject matter. Evaluate the counter-narrative rather than simply dismissing it. There's a lot of ground to be covered and I'm always happy to have another pair of eyes to look at it with.

(Edited some of the snark out. Left some of it in.)

[ReliStuPhD]

One last thought, Bill: maybe, just maybe, you're trolling me. After all, you seem rather hostile to religion in other places, so your defense of Islam seems a little out of place. And you did say Wikipedia was the "fountain of knowledge," so that was obviously sarcastic. If so, and you've just managed to troll this addled Ph.D. Candidate, I can only take my hat of to you. Well played. I can definitely respect a good troll.

[Bill Wiltrack]

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I supported the position that I have accepted with fact.

Overwhelming, internationally accepted fact.


From what I can discern you have YOUR opinion.

Your opinion is based upon prejudice.

I want individuals like you to keep, hold, and defend their prejudice.


You serve to be viewed by other active members for who you are.


I completely understand why you can't take your skirt off, even for a minute, to reveal your real name. You are ashamed.

I'm not sure you should be. But apparently you know something about yourself. Perhaps it's the same thing that we see.


Good luck to you.



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[ReliStuPhD]

Overwhelming, internationally accepted fact.

Yeah, you weren't trolling. OK. Fair enough. Back to not wasting my time with your drivel.

"supported with fact."

[Bill Wiltrack]

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ISIL works hard to inject fear into the hearts of people, people to which they could never win over by their ideals or their ideology.

~ President Barack Obama ~
......February 11, 2015





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[Melchior]

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Would it suffice to say that in EVERY religious quarter there are radicals?


I hope that this thread will help clarify the fact that ISIL is doing a huge discredit to the very proud and very peaceful Islamic religion.

Lies.



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[Bill Wiltrack]

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How so?


What do you mean by that?



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