On Friday, September 28, imams (prayer leaders) of seven of Southern California’s largest mosques denounced terrorism during their Friday sermons, or “khutbahs.” They also reiterated the need for Muslims in America and abroad to stand on the side of justice and peace, and against violence.

The sermons were conducted during the monthlong fast of Ramadan, which is a time of reflection and spiritual renewal for Muslims around the world.

“We stand with our brothers and sisters of all faiths in speaking out against the abundant violence throughout this world,” said Jihad Turk, Religious Director of the Islamic Center of Southern California, Los Angeles. “While Islam by no means holds a monopoly on violence, we cannot shrink from condemning and denouncing violence, especially when it harms innocent lives and especially when it is committed by those who claim to act on behalf of our beautiful faith.”

Speaking to over 6,000 worshippers at these mosques, the imams stressed respect for the sanctity of life, rejection of violence and encouraged worshippers to act as agents of peace and goodwill in their local communities.

“During Ramadan, we are reminded to strive harder for the values at the core of our faith: peace, equality, love and justice,” said Shaykh Mohammed Faqih, religious director of the Islamic Institute of Orange County, Anaheim. “Muslims should play a key role in transforming the world positively -- through an honest and realistic quest for social justice for all people.”

The imams also urged Muslims to reach out to their neighbors and co-workers to build friendships and promote mutual understanding in Ramadan and throughout the year.

The Greater Los Angeles Area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations helped coordinate and publicize the Imams’ sermons.

“These efforts come on the heels of many other endeavors by the American Muslim community to express Islam’s principled rejection of terrorism and all forms of extremism,” said Hussam Ayloush, executive director of CAIR-LA. “We hope that further plans to replicate similar efforts nationwide will refute allegations of those falsely accusing Muslims of being silent on terrorism.”

Participating mosques in Southern California were:

1. Islamic Society of Orange County, Garden Grove.
2. Islamic Center of Southern California, Los Angeles.
3. Orange County Islamic Foundation, Mission Viejo.  
4. Islamic Center of Irvine, Irvine.  
5. Islamic Institute of Orange County, Anaheim.  
6. Islamic Center of Hawthorne, Hawthorne.
7. King Fahd Mosque, Culver City.

CONTACT: Munira Syeda, communications coordinator for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, Greater Los Angeles Area. Phone: (714) 776-1847, (714) 851-4851. E-Mail: socal@cair.com

CBNNews.com - Some of the biggest Muslim pop stars in Pakistan have joined forces to denounce terrorism in a popular new song.

The singers have 60 million album sales among them.

The group repeatedly sings in their collective hit that terrorism is not Islam.

The British paper The Guardian reports the song is one of the biggest hits of 2007.

It's been the number one music video, and has been downloaded more than 65,000 times.

 

 

 

TODAY'S EDITORIAL: This Is Not Us
13 Jul 2007, 0003 hrs IST

'Hamein jis naam se tum jantay ho, woh hum nahien' — the name by which you know us, we are not that — sums up the sentiment and message of a song by a group of Pakistani pop stars that is reportedly a hit among young Pakistanis. Titled 'Yeh hum nahien' , the song and subsequent music video are in response, and in opposition, to the growing radicalisation of youngsters in the name of Islam. The group says it is imperative that those Muslims who do not condone acts of terror borne of ideological goals, or perceived slights to the Muslim world by the West, must speak out loud and clear.

The need for moderate Muslims to stand apart from radical elements is pressing. There must be a countervailing force from within the community to extremists who seek to distort and hijack Islam to suit their perverse interests. This is the rationale that has motivated scores of British Muslims to borrow from the anti-Iraq war movement and launch a campaign that goes by 'Not in our name'. The voluntary movement has issued advertisements in papers condemning the attempted attacks on London and Glasgow and has dissociated itself from those who advocate and perpetrate violence. The crux of the campaign is to emphasise the allegiance of British Muslims to Britain.

Ever since the Indian link to the recent UK terror plot has been uncovered, there is concern that Indians may have to bear considerable negative profiling. There have been reports of patients refusing to be treated by Indian doctors in Australia after the detention of Indians in connection with the plot. Racial prejudice is an unfortunate reality of our times, though sometimes the initial alarm at sudden threats exposes more a normal human response than overt racism. It is important to understand that this kind of prejudice is often a reaction to radical and violent expressions of sectarian grievances, real or imagined.

There are groups of people in every society that nurture one grievance or another. However, in a democracy the expression of grievances must necessarily involve frank debate and discussion. And that necessarily includes denouncing those who resort to violence to push their end. The onus ison moderates within communities to take the lead instead of retreating — metaphorically or otherwise — to ghettoes. There is an urgent need for substantive gestures. If governments are to tackle terrorism effectively, it is crucial that citizens cooperate. To that end, there can be no ambiguity in condemning violent co-religionists. British Muslims have taken the lead. It is a worthy example for moderates elsewhere to emulate.

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Muslims: how to win hearts and minds

Sacrifices will have to be made by British Muslims in order to engender trust. Here is an eight-point plan, a statement of intent.

Ajmal Masroor

July 12, 2007 9:00 PM

Too often headlines appear along the lines of "politicians try to win the hearts and minds of British Muslim community" in the British media. It is now time for the Muslim community to tell everyone else what they intend to do to win the hearts of non-Muslims.

Muslims must explain in a clear and unambiguous manner about their plans to deal with some of the misunderstanding and misinformation that has become part and parcel of their everyday lives. It must start from a statement of intent and followed by clear and comprehensive programmes that would engender confidence and trust in the hearts and minds of non-Muslims.

As a Muslim I have been horrified to see some things that have been done and carried out in the name of my faith. Here is a plan that I would like the Muslim community to consider as a statement of intent. I have used "we" to include myself in the statement:

1. We must stop thinking this is not our home and the people of this country are not our people. We must demonstrate in our actions that Britain is our home. We must do everything for this country's wellbeing. This is the hardest task, as this will require some serious personal sacrifice and willingness to embrace others. This means Muslims will need to integrate fully and be part of the civil and social fabric of the British society. One can be a very good Muslim and be a very good British citizen - they are not mutually exclusive.

2. We must use a consistent language. There are some Muslims who use one language when addressing other Muslims and another for non-Muslims. I think this is most unacceptable. What we cannot say in public should not be said in the first place. It is one clear language we must use at all times.

3. We must do all our activities openly. Our mosques and centres should be open to all people. We must invite people of all communities to take part in our social and religious activities, especially those that are open to public. This includes inviting non-Muslims in our mosques; allow them to join with us in our prayers, fast with us in the month of Ramadan and adopt a Muslim lifestyle, even if it is only for few hours or days. This will help them experience Islam and see for themselves what we Muslims really do, and what kinds of things we get up to in our mosques and centres.

4. We should only speak about what we know and not fall victims of conspiracy theories. Some Muslims believe that 9/11 was a conspiracy and the London bombing was actually staged by some shadowy secret agents working for some global secret empire. This is too far-fetched and borders on paranoia in view. Let me put it simply, "if you cannot speak the truth it is better for you to stay silent".

5. We must stand firm for justice even if it means we go against ourselves, our families and friends. Injustice is simply wrong no matter who perpetrates it and anyone who suffers injustice deserves our sympathy and support. We must do everything possible to prevent violence and indiscriminate killing of innocent people, whether it is done by NATO forces in Afghanistan or Palestinians in Israel. Our cause must be uncompromising when it comes to fighting against injustice.

6. We must create a new Islamic intellectual discourse. Muslim scholars in the Muslim world are not always free to express their views and the views that they express are often censored or politically loaded. We must develop a new discourse based on our own realities here in Britain and not rely on importing fatwas that come out of conditions that are not conducive to the current climate.

7. We must end the fatwa dependency culture. Fatwa dependency has crippled the Muslim mind; it has made the Muslims unable to take responsibility for their decisions and has given rise to ill-educated masses. We must develop our own capacity to be able to engage in and take active steps towards an intellectually sound British Muslim community. We have to raise our standard.

8. We must distance ourselves from the emotionally charged angry rhetoric of the Muslim world. Many Muslims are very angry because of the socio-political conditions under which they live, they are victims of many problems, some self-imposed and some externally imposed on them. Their angry rhetoric is also due to the lack of freedom, democratic reform and opportunities for education and economic prosperity. In Britain we are not living under such conditions. Why should we be angry? We certainly feel for them but our response must be rational, measured and proportionate. If we want to help them out of their predicament we must distance ourselves from their anger.

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Salman Ahmad's "No More" is the only song denouncing terrorism to come from the region of the world where terrorism has thrived...

September 2006    Watch video >>

 

Read ARticle >>

 

WHO CHOSE OSAMA AS A MUSLIM LEADER?
By Seeme Gull Hasan

September 11 is a painful memory for all AMERICANS but it is also a horrible nightmare for AMERICAN MUSLIMS.

This was one day we would have just liked to mourn our fellow AMERICANS who gave their life for this country.

We American Muslims did not need to see the faces of those Satanic terrorists living in the caves of some mountains giving Muslims their lectures. Who are they talking to in any case. I never saw an election where any Muslim choose them as their leader. They do not speak for us Muslims much less American Muslims.

These are vicious horrible people who kill children and women, old and young, Shia and Sunni Muslim and Christian, Jew and catholic, without any remorse.

No one should ever be live in their lies and twisted logic especially the AMERICAN people. The War on Terrorism is needed and until these people are eliminated none of us will be safe.

THANK YOU AMERICAN SOLDIERS. May GOD protect and guide you. Thank you all those people who help the soldiers. May GOD bless you. Thank you AMERICA for standing tall in the face of sorrow and despair. GOD has blessed you.

We all stand united one nation under GOD, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Seeme Gull Hasan

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