I've just watched a television interview (I've linked it here) with Wassim Doureihi the young spokesman for Hizb ut Tahrir in Australia.
The group, clearly an Islamist organisation with strongly wahabi influenced views, is running a conference right here, right in Australia, where the guest speaker Ismail Yusanto from Indonesia went on about the responsibility of every Muslim to undertake training and fight the 'enemy'.
Doureihi defended Yusanto's calls to arms stating that Muslims needed to prepare for the return of the Caliphate and that it was the duty of all Muslims to learn self defence in the case of an "agressive" attempt by the enemy against Muslims- he used Iraq as an example. Hmmm- funny that he doesn't mention the acts of agression by Muslims against Muslims- perhaps he has not heard of Darfur.
My question is...
What the fuck is the Australian Government doing? If the Egyptians can manage to keep a fairly tight lid on extremists to the point that people like Zawahri have to flee Egypt and head to Afghanistan; to the point that Islamists have actually called on the UNHCR to assist them seek asylum in countries like the UK and France because the Egyptian government does not allow them to breathe- then what on earth is the Australian government doing allowing them to come here and attempt to steal the minds of our young with their warped ideologies?
What am I supposed to do as a mother of young boys to protect them and ensure that they do not succumb to the mindset of the extremists when my own government won't lift a finger?
This is just ridiculous. How can this be allowed. If Yusanto and Doureihi want to blow themselves up because they have some kind of warped idea that Allah wants this from us- then go right ahead- do it- blow your own fuckin brains out and have a great time as you head to straight to hell in a bucket. BUT LEAVE US ALONE. LEAVE OUR CHILDREN ALONE.
Honestly, I just don't know what to do anymore. How do you fight something like this? How? When is the Australian government going to realise that dealing with terrorism is not just about 3D blast modelling and CTV and identity cards and police raids- it's about winning hearts and minds. It's about stealing back from the jihadis what they stole from us- peace, harmony, the beauty of Islam, and the minds of thousands of dead young men who believed in their "jihad".
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11 comments:
Why do you object to Muslims calling for self determination in their own lands. Or maybe you wanna spread democracy by the sword like GWB?
Anon
I do not object to self determination at all- it is the kind of self determination that the jihadis and Islamists desire that I object to. True Islamic self determination does not result in Taliban rule. True Islamic self determination does not result in the oppression of women and discrimination against minorities. True Islamic self determination IS DEMOCRATIC by the very nature of Quranic principles. True Islamic self determination encourages debate and discussion- it does not suppress criticism- it encourages all humans to use the capacity Allah has endowed us with to think critically, to find pearls of wisdom and beauty in the Quranic text and to be BETTER PEOPLE- NOT MURDERERS. It is NOT the brand of Islamic self determination touted by people like Zawahri, Bin Laden and the Taliban who wish only to impose their own interpretations on the minds and lives of Muslims. It is NOT about young men dying while old men talk incessantly about violence and hatred and war. Why haven't Bin Laden and Zawahri carried out any suicide missions? They are so keen to recruit our young men to blow themselves up and kill other innocents in the process- but would they ever offer themselves up? NO THEY WON'T- NOT EVER.
Understand that I am a mother of young men. I worry about drugs, about alcohol, about their futures and their happiness- the same things that all mothers worry about. But I must also worry that they do not become so disenchanted that they become vulnerable not only to drugs but also to the brainwashing of people like Hizb ulTahrir. What has Islam become that I am forced to worry about my children losing the path to true Islam and the true beauty of the Quran? What has our religion become when I am forced to sit down with my boys and remind them that there IS beauty among the ugliness for those who are prepared to seek the truth?
Peter
Exactly- I always say it is so much easier for people to look outward than to look inward. It is so much easier to blame the US, Jews, the West for our own maladies but it is much more difficult to accept that it is perhaps our own faults that need attention.
Honestly, why should the West respect the Muslim countries when they don't even respect themselves? Why should Muslims bemoan the deaths of Muslims through the actions of the US when we are also the ones doing the killing? What kind of example do we set if we are too quick to kill our own? When we place so little value on the lives of our young men that we would send them on suicide missions without a second thought and then their fathers proudly walk around because they have gained the respect of their communities- you want respect- earn it- don't try to get it by sending your sons to a death sentence.
As MJ says "I'm starting with the man in the mirror".
Howie
Indeed freedom of speech is a conundrum. How do you balance the freedom of speech with responsibility?
I understand that we should always hold freedom of speech dear, treasure it and protect it- but when those freedoms are abused, then what?
You are completely right in stating that there has never been any critical analysis of the limitations of free speech- really quite ironic when you think about it- I think people are too scared to talk about the limits of free speech. We treasure free speech so much that we have self imposed taboos about talking about it!
TUS, why you're not protesting outside the halls and mosques when those monsters are speaking? When I say "you", I mean those normal Muslim people like yourself. The one that are stuck in between. You're wright in asking Australian government what the hell they are thinking when they are leting such criminals to come and spread pure and open hate, but you also MUST take harder stand and say ENOUGH!
Very good post, Suspect. Regarding freedom of speech, it should end where incitement to violence begins. Problem is, how do you define that? How far can you limit without it being too much?
As for winning back the hearts of Muslims, that would require the ability to fairly critisize first and foremost. Until the blatant manipulation on the PC mentality ends, such matters won't even be contemplated.
And finally, it's chiefly up to Muslims to win back the hearts and minds of fellow Muslims.
Great post. Teach your sons to think, that's the best you can do.
I would protest in person if the conference were held in my home city- it is however, a 6 hour plane trip away (I live in the most remote city in the world- everthing is 6 hours away).
My options are limited- the most that I can do is write letters- to the Government and the papers. I work in Government and have a good relationship with some high level politicians and influentials- I have spoken to them- expressed my concern. They do tend to listen to me and have, in the past, withdrawn funding from some Islamic organisations on my advice- so I know they take me seriously. I will attend a meeting on Sunday where I will again express my concerns.
The problem is that I am often a lone voice- people will object behind closed doors but most are too lazy to do anything active about it. I don't think they are scared- just can't be bothered or else will prefer to have their dialogues in closed spaces among those who are like minded- no changing the world if you only speak to those who are like minded, is there?
Unfortanely I am cursed with a big mouth and a strong desire to make my opinions known to the world!!!!
You're one great woman, TUS, so make use of that loud mouth of yours! ;)
It isn't laziness or even the ego-feeding behavior of just speaking to people like them that's holding the Muslim diaspora silent, by the way. It's mainly self-interest ("I'll be fine, so will mine, the rest can handle themselves"). No sense of community responsibility. Few truly care beyond their own four walls of home or work-place.
I do not speak of just Muslims on that account, by the way, but rather people in general.
And the other side of the same dark coin are those who will not even *think* for fear of losing their community's respect and acceptance.
This Wahabi fundementalist bullshit has to stop! Its only destroying Islam!
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