The Local: Islamic groups raided in three German cities (hat tip Sicily via IBA)
Published: 14 Dec 10 16:26 CET
German authorities on Tuesday mounted raids against two Islamist groups suspected of seeking to overthrow the government and establish a religious state, the Interior Ministry said.
The searches targeted homes and religious schools linked to Salafist jihadist group Invitation to Paradise (EZP) in the northwestern cities of Braunschweig and Mönchengladbach, and the Islamic Cultural Center Bremen (IKZB) in northern German port.
"The EZP and the IKZB are accused of opposing the constitutional order with the aim of replacing it in Germany with an Islamic religious state," the ministry said in a statement.
The raids were part of a long-running investigation against the groups and had no link to warnings of potential impending terrorist attacks issued last month by Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière, it added.
The groups reject parliamentary democracy and believe that Islamic law should replace the constitution, the ministry said.
"In a well-fortified democracy it is advisable and necessary not to wait for jihad in the form of an armed struggle before taking action against anti-constitutional groups," the ministry said.
The raids will show whether or not government suspicions about the groups can be confirmed, it added.
A security official told news agency the Associated Press that officials had searched dozens of private homes, religious schools, a small publisher, and a store owned by EZP that sells traditional caftans and veils.
Meanwhile an EZP leader in Mönchengladbach condemned the raid, the news agency said.
"We're sad about this raid, we haven't done anything illegal," Sven Lau said.
But the leader of the anti-Salafist initiative “Citizens for Mönchengladbach” told AP his group welcomed the searches.
"We are happy that the Interior Ministry moved so fast against them and hope that it won't take much longer until the group will be banned altogether," Wilfried Schultz said.
Residents in Mönchengladbach have held frequent protests against attempts to build a religious school there by the Salafist group, whose strict Islamist ideology has been linked to several terrorist plots.
Their message has been particularly appealing to young Muslim immigrants and converts, the news agency reported.
Showing posts with label religious coercion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label religious coercion. Show all posts
Friday, December 17, 2010
Monday, August 9, 2010
There is no Islam without Jihad
Obama's policy on this? Obama's counterterrorism adviser, John Brennan calls jihad a "legitimate tenet of Islam," arguing that the term "jihadists" should not be used to describe America's enemies.
Saudi Columnist: 'There Is No Islam without Jihad' Memri
Anas Zahed, a columnist for the Saudi government daily Al-Madina, criticized Arab and Muslim intellectuals who limit the term jihad to a personal, spiritual struggle and reject its interpretation as waging war against occupation, which he said is its principle meaning.
Following are excerpts:
"Islam without jihad is the product of colonialism and is in no way connected to the Islam of Muhammad. Without question, the greatest jihad is personal jihad, and therein lies the proof that the term jihad in Islam is not limited [solely] to waging war... [But] this does not mean that the term jihad does not include many other aspects, among them those which relate to the individual's responsibilities to society, and the relations of the [Muslim] society and ummah with societies and countries that declare war on a Muslim state.
"[However,] ever since the American [declaration of] war against what is called terrorism, there has emerged a group of Arab and Muslim authors and academics who try to limit jihad to one dimension, namely to personal jihad. This is exactly what happened in India during the period of British colonialism, when the Qadian sect, also known as Ahmadiyya, emerged and rejected the principle of fighting the colonialists. [They] abolished the duty of jihad in the sense of waging war, and were content with preaching merely personal jihad.
"What is striking is that these preachings, which were intended to rescind the duty of jihad from Islam, existed then, and still exist now, alongside the most brutal type of imperialism and occupation ever known to the Islamic world, and specifically to the Arab world. This fact sheds doubt on the intent of the philosophers, authors, and members of the media who took it upon themselves to disseminate a 'friendly' Islam that obligates its followers to live with occupation, [population] transfer, the resettlement of land, and the expulsion of its inhabitants by force of arms.
"I completely understand that we Muslims must reexamine the term jihad, after the extremist terrorist gangs have attempted to appropriate this noble term. Likewise, I completely understand that we are bound by the conditions and limitations of [declaring] jihad, namely [that jihad can only be declared when] Muslims are being expelled from their land and [are subjected] to religious coercion.
"But I do not at all understand Muslims' calls for the reexamination of the term jihad from a viewpoint that rejects declaring war on those who occupy their land, kill the innocent, destroy homes, and expel millions. Islam is a religion of justice, and the most basic principle of justice demands that evil be opposed and not surrendered to. It goes without saying that occupation is the severest form of evil. If we add to occupation the resettlement of land and expulsion [of population], we arrive at the greatest degree of evil that can befall man. There is no Islam without jihad."[1]
Endnotes:
Saudi Columnist: 'There Is No Islam without Jihad' Memri
Anas Zahed, a columnist for the Saudi government daily Al-Madina, criticized Arab and Muslim intellectuals who limit the term jihad to a personal, spiritual struggle and reject its interpretation as waging war against occupation, which he said is its principle meaning.
Following are excerpts:
"Islam without jihad is the product of colonialism and is in no way connected to the Islam of Muhammad. Without question, the greatest jihad is personal jihad, and therein lies the proof that the term jihad in Islam is not limited [solely] to waging war... [But] this does not mean that the term jihad does not include many other aspects, among them those which relate to the individual's responsibilities to society, and the relations of the [Muslim] society and ummah with societies and countries that declare war on a Muslim state.
"[However,] ever since the American [declaration of] war against what is called terrorism, there has emerged a group of Arab and Muslim authors and academics who try to limit jihad to one dimension, namely to personal jihad. This is exactly what happened in India during the period of British colonialism, when the Qadian sect, also known as Ahmadiyya, emerged and rejected the principle of fighting the colonialists. [They] abolished the duty of jihad in the sense of waging war, and were content with preaching merely personal jihad.
"What is striking is that these preachings, which were intended to rescind the duty of jihad from Islam, existed then, and still exist now, alongside the most brutal type of imperialism and occupation ever known to the Islamic world, and specifically to the Arab world. This fact sheds doubt on the intent of the philosophers, authors, and members of the media who took it upon themselves to disseminate a 'friendly' Islam that obligates its followers to live with occupation, [population] transfer, the resettlement of land, and the expulsion of its inhabitants by force of arms.
"I completely understand that we Muslims must reexamine the term jihad, after the extremist terrorist gangs have attempted to appropriate this noble term. Likewise, I completely understand that we are bound by the conditions and limitations of [declaring] jihad, namely [that jihad can only be declared when] Muslims are being expelled from their land and [are subjected] to religious coercion.
"But I do not at all understand Muslims' calls for the reexamination of the term jihad from a viewpoint that rejects declaring war on those who occupy their land, kill the innocent, destroy homes, and expel millions. Islam is a religion of justice, and the most basic principle of justice demands that evil be opposed and not surrendered to. It goes without saying that occupation is the severest form of evil. If we add to occupation the resettlement of land and expulsion [of population], we arrive at the greatest degree of evil that can befall man. There is no Islam without jihad."[1]
Endnotes:
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