Dispatches - Undercover Mosque

dent

Disturbing look at the spread of Wahabism in British Mosques.

http://video.google.com.au/videoplay?docid=2668560761490749816&q=uk

I just hope they are not gaining influence here.

InFront

I know it is a lot of extra viewing to already extensive footage. But here is Abu Usama's response, and clarification of his point of view

LINK

I personally don't like this guy's apparently rough approach to Islam, nor indeed the messages behind this extremist sort of wahabism, but I do prefer his response.
I think that Abu Usama's preachings were disjointed and cut short, so we cannot tell how far they are taken out of context. It comes across as sensationalism. Those cameras were at the Birmingham Mosque four months, it would be quite easy to grab words and phrases out of context to make people look foolish within that time.

I also think that the show completely failed to interpret Kufr properly, or explain it with any fairness

From islamonline.co.uk

By Dr. Jamal Badawi**

June 03, 2006

Question:

Why does the Qur'an refer to Jews and Christians as kuffar or infidels? What kind of respect and tolerance is that?

Answer:

Here is a big mistake with translation, one that is sometimes committed by Muslims, too. If you look at the English dictionary meaning of infidel, you would find that it means someone who does not have a faith or does not believe in Allah. Does the Qur'an say that the Jews and Christians do not believe in Allah? No. In Surat Al-`Ankabut (29:46), Allah says that the God of Christians, Jews, and Muslims is one and the same. The word infidel is an inaccurate translation of the word kafir in this case.

The term kafir, referring to a person, or kufr, referring to an act, is used in the Qur'an in a variety of contextual meanings. This is why I hesitate to use even the terms non-believer or disbeliever for the translation, as is it is not clear from these English terms what is the object of unbelief or disbelief, it is God, a particular prophet, or others?

I would prefer to use the term non-Muslim, as it applies to various categories of kufr, whether it refers to knowingly rejecting the message of Islam (disbelief) or being a non-Muslim due to the lack of awareness of the authentic message of Islam (unbelief). Following are examples of the varied contextual uses of the term kufr in the Qur'an as follows:

*

Kufr is sometimes used in a positive sense. A good believer can also be a kafir. How so? The Qur'an says [Faman yakfur bil taghut wayu'mim billah] (Whoever rejects (yakfur) taghut (oppression) and believes in Allah) (Al-Baqarah 2:56). Anyone who believes in one thing is a kafir (rejecter) of its opposite.
*

Kufr can be used in a neutral or benign sense, as the origin of kufr in the Arabic language means "to cover up." A farmer who puts a seed in the ground and covers it up is performing kufr. Spiritually, deliberate deviation from the true and authentic prophets is a form of "covering-up" the truth.
*

The word kufr can also be applied to Muslims who do something wrong, although not necessarily something that would place them outside the state of belief in Islam. For example, a Muslim who is able to go for Hajj but does not go, without denying the need to go, would be committing an act of kufr in a sense of their being ungrateful to Allah (3:96-97).
*

Kufr is used in the Qur'an as the opposite of shukr (to be grateful) (Luqman 31:12).
*

Kafir is used in the Qur'an, not only to refer to Jews or Christians, but also those who rejected the prophets and denied the existence of God. It has been used to refer to the people of Noah and the people of Abraham. It has also been used to refer to those who denied prophethood and rejected the existence of Allah altogether, which obviously is not the case with Christians and Jews.
*

Kafir can also be used in a more serious sense, but with a variety of meanings. It refers to the rejection of Islam. It describes one who knows the truth, but rejects it out of pride or vanity. It describes a person who knows the truth in his or her heart and deliberately rejects it.

Nonetheless, we cannot clearly assess this situation. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) gave Muslims very clear instructions after one incident when people assumed to know why someone had professed belief in Islam. He asked them whether they had opened up his heart, and if they knew whether what was in his heart was sincere or not. The bottom line is that we have to leave judging people's faith to Allah; only Allah knows the sincerity of a particular person's acceptance. Allah is All-Knowing, and He is the only Judge of all of us.

That is a far cry from the show's claim that "Kufr is pejorative, intolerant"

So while I wouldn't be running to the defense of some of the guys in that documentary, I doubt it is very balanced at all, I don't think we got a fair assessment of the true situation in Birmingham and in the other cities. By the way is it true that the London central mosque was funded by Saudi like the clip said? I thought it was a gift from the British King?

The producers also completely avoid an explanation of Jihad to impressionable viewers of the show. I hope people do not buy into this.

Schuhart

I faithfully promise to shut up after this, because at the end of the day its up to Muslims themselves to decide if they accept particular views to be a valid part of their faith.

I watched just a few minutes of the video response. He seemed to be setting the context by making an appeal for solidarity with his co-religionists. The message I got from that was simply ‘agree with me, even if you think I’m wrong, because otherwise you’re letting non-Muslims get one over on all of us’. Obviously, I can’t tell you how to react to such an appeal.

Because I didn’t watch all of his statement, I’m not going to comment any more on what I did see. But I would contrast his appeal for group solidarity with this article on tolerance from islamonline.net,

Islam is often said to be a tolerant religion. Then why is it that so many Muslims develop a harsh “us-and-them” attitude? People who have no problem with helping their neighbors or celebrating holidays with their family or doing volunteer work in the community become Muslim and then think that they can have nothing to do with “those” people with whom they freely interacted only days or weeks before. On top of that, the Muslims often refer to the others as “kafirs” (non-Muslims) and pronounce it as if they would spit, as if it were a vulgar word. What goes wrong?

As usual, the problem is not in Islam itself but in people’s misunderstanding.

This struck me as at least an attempt to address a reality. As an aside, it does suggest that if Channel 4’s suggestion that ‘Kufr’ is a term with pejorative meanings only reflects that some Muslims use it in that sense. When you consider how it features in some rhetoric, that conclusion is pretty undeniable.

That said, I utterly understand that in all human organisations issues that should be confronted and discussed get excused or explained away. I see no particular reason for Islam to be any different.

InFront

Schuhart wrote:

I watched just a few minutes of the video response. He seemed to be setting the context by making an appeal for solidarity with his co-religionists. The message I got from that was simply ‘agree with me, even if you think I’m wrong, because otherwise you’re letting non-Muslims get one over on all of us’. Obviously, I can’t tell you how to react to such an appeal.

I think he simply presented his response to the documentary and left us to ourselves to decide whether we agree or not.

Well he did start off by saying that there are three dimensions to the issues raised: some quotes are taken from the Qur'an and the Hadeeth, and as such we cannot be false so maybe this is what you are thinking of? But then he went onto say there are those accusations which are taken out of context (such as the jihad accusations) and then there are those that are simply lies.

He then went on to sort all the accusations into those three sections, so I don't think he was saying 'agree and dont let them get one over on us' at all.

It isn't another Muslim's job to back him up, I don't know him and I don't know which presentation is more correct. Despite saying some things in it which I found uncomfortable, I certainly hope it is the latter.

As an aside, it does suggest that if Channel 4’s suggestion that ‘Kufr’ is a term with pejorative meanings only reflects that some Muslims use it in that sense. When you consider how it features in some rhetoric, that conclusion is pretty undeniable.

The explanation for this, Abu Usamah said, was hatred of the kafir's disbelief, not kafir themselves. Because it was interesting to note that Abu Usama is a revert and his parents are non-Muslims - kafir - and he loves them.