Yes, Islam Is Speaking Out Against The Attacks On Charlie Hebdo

Following any type of attack on the West (and let me be clear here…I mean the West) by Muslim extremists, the cry goes out that all moderate and peaceful Muslims must denounce the terrorisms being carried out in the name of their religion. Well in fact, such denouncements have occurred…but they are hard to find in the media…is there no reason to report them? But here is one comment from Religion News Service writer, Kimberly Winston, saying that there are condemnations from Islamic states and organizations:

Still, many Muslims have condemned the attacks. The governments of Saudi Arabia, Iran, Jordan, Bahrain, Morocco, Algeria and Qatar all issued harsh statements. A French organization of 250 Muslim groups condemned the killings, as did the Muslim Council of Britain. Tariq Ramadan, a professor of contemporary Islamic studies at Oxford and a progressive Muslim, said on the television program “Democracy Now“: “This is just a pure betrayal of our religion and our principles.”

Now what about the atrocities being committed in Africa in the name if Islam?

6 thoughts on “Yes, Islam Is Speaking Out Against The Attacks On Charlie Hebdo”

I have been one who over and over has insisted that those who wish to paint all of Islam with one brush take a deep breath and read a few books about the matter before again speaking. I have also been one who calls on members of the faith to highlight another narrative from the one that too often makes for headlines akin to the ones we read this past week. So I applaud the statements from governments about the recent bloodletting in Paris. But we need to be mindful at the same time what some governments do to foment the problems of fanatical elements. At the core of the problem Wahhabism remains front and central and the perverse relationship that started with the Saud family hold on power. The marriage of power for the Saud family and the religious zealots is one that makes any statements from that government this past week a pure joke. The billions of dollars over the decades that has been spent on schools that teach this harsh interpretation of Islam and the funds that have been spent to undermine modernity in the Middle East can not and must not be allowed to be forgotten when we witness events such as the ones we saw this past week. I do not mean to be so strong about this matter except it is one the frustrates me greatly.

The difficulty for the true followers of the Koran is that they do not have a single leader to denounce the actions of the extremists who have reinterpreted the Koran for their own agenda. Without such, it is almost impossible for anyone to have any influence to stop the actions of these terrorists. This may sound crazy, but I believe this is driven in part by the lack of employment opportunities. With an unemployment rate above 30%, they have way too much time to get angry and become irrational. The constant bombardment of the Middle East is not deterring terrorist activities or doing anything to change the economy of this region.

Gregory says:

January 11, 2015 at 1:51 pm

Agree with Rita on the economic front concerning this matter. In regards to the first part of her comment that can actually be a benefit as it means there are more ‘local’ elders and wise men of the church who can perhaps better connect with the faithful to get a message out about tolerance and their religion.
John Casper says:

January 11, 2015 at 6:40 pm

Rita,

FWIW, afaik, most Christians do not accept the pope as their leader. As birth control use among Roman Catholics confirms, a lot of Catholics don’t accept papal leadership on that issue.