For going to school in Indonesia in a Madrassa, he sure gets a lot of things wrong.
Oh wait… David > On Feb 20, 2015, at 3:35 PM, BILROJ via Centroids: The Center of the Radical > Centrist Community <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > NY Post > Obama’s elementary errors on Islam > > By Amir Taheri <http://nypost.com/author/amir-taheri/> > > February 20, 2015 > > > “This is not true Islam,” President Obama has again insisted of the Islamic > State and other terror groups. That he doesn’t realize this is not for him to > say is only one of his elementary errors here. > > The three-day White House conference on “violent extremism” exposed anew > Obama’s inability or unwillingness to understand the challenge of Islamist > terrorism, let alone to lead the fight against it. > > The conference was billed as a global event bringing together people of > different views from more than 60 countries. In practice, however, it acted > more as an echo chamber for Obama’s politically correct approach. > > “Violent extremism” is misleading, to say the least. (Is there extremism > without violence?) The generic term obscures the fact that we face a specific > form of terrorism rooted, nurtured and waged in the name of Islam. > > Obama did defend his evasion: “Al Qaeda and ISIL [a k a ISIS] and groups like > it . . . try to portray themselves as religious leaders, holy warriors in > defense of Islam,” he said. “We must never accept the premise that they put > forward, because it is a lie.” Operatives of al Qaeda and ISIS “are not > religious leaders — they’re terrorists,” he said. > > In fact, these terrorists now call their outfit the Islamic State, or IS, > under a caliph. And no higher authority has the legitimacy and power to > challenge their claim. > > Islam has no mechanism for excommunication. Individuals can leave the ummah > and be regarded as apostates (murtad). But no one who swears he is a Muslim > can be excluded. > > Even very bad Muslims are still Muslims as long as they haven’t thrice > publicly rejected the two testimonies. (The two testimonies are accepting the > oneness of God and that Muhammad is His Prophet.) Thus, neither Obama nor > anyone else is qualified to decide who is a Muslim — or what is “true Islam.” > > Islam does allow believers to part ways with anyone they deem misguided or > deviant. At the theological level, this is known as Itizal (seeking > solitude). At a more mundane level, we have Bira’ah (self-exoneration). The > “violent extremists” charge their foes within Islam of Takfir (covering up > the truth). > > Yet Muslims aren’t using any of these three mechanisms to denounce the > Islamic State or other Islamist terror groups. We’ve seen no Bira’ah marches > in any Muslim-majority country, nor organized efforts by Muslim “communities” > in the West to “exonerate” themselves from the IS throat-cutters. > > If Islamic leaders can bring a million people in the streets of Tehran, > Islamabad or Cairo to burn the US flag and Obama effigies, how is it that > they do not authorize Bira’ah marches against IS? > > “Ordinary” Muslims may feel that, since Obama insists that IS has nothing to > do with Islam, there’s no need for Bira’ah. > > Go to any mosque in any democratic country and you’ll hear sermons filled > with a “lite” version of the same tale of Muslim victimhood that the “Caliph” > Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi churns out in cyberspace. > > Obama’s analysis has other faults. > > At the conference, he said: “If we are going to prevent people from being > susceptible to false promises of extremism, then the international community > has to offer something better” — specifically, “economic growth and devoting > more resources on education, including for girls and women.” > > This is painfully naïve. The “Caliphate” isn’t recruiting among the world’s > downtrodden. Its administration is run by highly educated individuals, many > from wealthy families in Arab countries as well as Pakistan, Russia, China > and Afghanistan. > > The “caliph” has also attracted at least 15,000 jihadis and volunteers for > martyrdom from almost all Western democracies. Indeed, more Western citizens > are fighting for the “caliph” than against him. > > His army, including many women from the West, does not consist of > poverty-stricken individuals protesting against Western imperialism and > oppression, as Obama implies. > > They all seem fairly well-fed and stylishly dressed, bearing smartphones and > expensive Swiss watches and cruising in bullet-proof limos. > > To say that IS has nothing to do with Islam is disingenuous and dangerous. > > IS is part of Islam, though Islam cannot and must not be reduced to IS or any > other throat-cutting outfit. Humanity, including the overwhelming majority of > “ordinary Muslims,” faces a growing movement dedicated to conquering the > world for its brand of Islam. > > While humanity is not at war against Islam, a part of Islam is certainly at > war against humanity. To ignore that fact amounts to a dereliction of > intellectual responsibility. > > > -- > -- > Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community > <[email protected]> > Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism > <http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism> > Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org > <http://radicalcentrism.org/> > > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected] > <mailto:[email protected]>. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout > <https://groups.google.com/d/optout>. -- -- Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community <[email protected]> Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community" group. 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