International Crisis Group Indonesia Backgrounder: Why Salafism and Terrorism Mostly Don't Mix

Posted on February 28th, 2005 by martijn.
Categories: Religious and Political Radicalization, Some personal considerations.

Salafism seems to be the new ‘buzz-word’ in The netherlands these days. Perhaps not completely comparable it might be helpfull to look at salafism in other countries such as Indonesia. On
International Crisis Group (Crisis Group) a report on Conflict prevention and resolution

Salafism may be more of a barrier to the expansion of jihadist activities than a facilitator.

I don’t know about that conclusion but it provides an interesting thinking excercise.
(more…)

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International Crisis Group Indonesia Backgrounder: Why Salafism and Terrorism Mostly Don’t Mix

Posted on February 28th, 2005 by .
Categories: Religious and Political Radicalization, Some personal considerations.

Salafism seems to be the new ‘buzz-word’ in The netherlands these days. Perhaps not completely comparable it might be helpfull to look at salafism in other countries such as Indonesia. On
International Crisis Group (Crisis Group) a report on Conflict prevention and resolution

Salafism may be more of a barrier to the expansion of jihadist activities than a facilitator.

I don’t know about that conclusion but it provides an interesting thinking excercise.
(more…)

0 comments.

ISIM Publications ISIM Review 15

Posted on February 28th, 2005 by .
Categories: Important Publications.


ISIM ISIM Review 15 The ISIM Newsletter has been transformed into the ISIM Review. A lot of interesting articles:

(more…)

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Protected: Verzet tegen uitzetting imams

Posted on February 28th, 2005 by martijn.
Categories: Internal Debates, Islamnews, Uncategorized.

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Islam with Chinese characteristics begins to take hold – World – www.smh.com.au

Posted on February 26th, 2005 by .
Categories: Research International.

A very interesting article about Muslims in China: Islam with Chinese characteristics begins to take hold – World – www.smh.com.au

Their long immersion in China and isolation from Muslim-majority countries has lent their practice of Islam a distinctive flavour. Centuries back, it was influenced by Confucianism with its veneration for ancestors and secular virtue, and Confucian terms were used to explain Islamic concepts.

The last century and a half has seen the emergence of women-only mosques or “nusi” and female imams, unique in the Islamic world, where elsewhere women worship in the same mosque as the men, albeit in a separate curtained or partitioned space, and hear the same male preacher.

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Protected: Zoektocht naar de 'echte islam'

Posted on February 26th, 2005 by martijn.
Categories: My Research.

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Protected: Zoektocht naar de ‘echte islam’

Posted on February 26th, 2005 by martijn.
Categories: My Research.

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Changing policies towards alleged extremist groups

Posted on February 23rd, 2005 by .
Categories: Islam in the Netherlands, Murder on theo Van Gogh and related issues, Religious and Political Radicalization.

The Dutch government announced after the murder on Van Gogh to expel several extremist imams. The Dutch intelligence and security agency (AIVD) is keeping an eye on six
suspicious Islamic groups. This week three imams van Al-Fourqaan mosque in Eindhoven were given notice that they had to leave the country because they were, as minister Verdonk of Integration stated in the 8 o’clock news:

radicalizing Muslims and stimulating them to Jihad. They call for a holy war and in a war their will be victims and we can not tolerate that in the Netherlands.

The groups, of which the Al-Fourqaan mosque is one of them, have been earlier described as “mosque organisations with an outspoken Salafist character originating from a mission and finance from Saudi Arabia”. This can be read in a report by the AIVD, called Saudi influences in the Netherlands (PDF file). You can read the following in this report:

The Netherlands has several mosque foundations of a straight Salafist persuasion. These are the result of missionary and funding activities carried out from Saudi Arabia. These foundations are the El Tawheed Foundation in Amsterdam, the As Soennah Foundation � Centre Sheikh Al Islam ibn Taymia in The Hague, the Islamic Centre Al Fourkaan Foundation in Eindhoven, the Mosque Al Mouahidine Foundation (Omar ibn Khattab Mosque) in Helmond, the Foundation for Islamic Youth in Breda and the Islamic Foundation for Education and Transfer of Knowledge in Tilburg. The involvement of large Saudi missionary organisations can most clearly be seen with four of these mosques. At the Tawheed mosque in Amsterdam there is a financial, organisational and personal intertwinement with the organisation referred to above, Al Haramain, whereas in case of the Fourkaan mosque in Eindhoven, the Al Mouahidine mosque in Helmond and the Foundation for Islamic Youth in Breda there is a clear intertwinement with the private (but, also, closely associated to persons within the Saudi establishment) missionary organisation Al Waqf Al Islami Foundation. Besides these mosques which can be characterised as explicitly Salafist, there are several others (probably up to several dozen) that are less easy to typify as such, but which also receive financial support from Saudi charities, private benefactors or government bodies. Although not explicitly Salafist, as a result of the very orthodox
message propagated these mosques attract certain groups of Muslims that can be characterised as Salafist, a designation which they often use themselves. This was for example the case with the Foundation Mosque Annasr in Rotterdam, to which Salafists are drawn because of the sermons and personality of the imam preaching there. As regards the financial support for these mosques from Saudi Arabia it should be noted that it is not necessarily a matter of formal financing of mosque foundations, but rather allowances to specific persons (in particular imams). Especially the large Saudi NGOs Muslim World League and Al-Haramain have �branches� in the Netherlands. These are the Muslim World League Foundation the Netherlands and the Al Haramain Humanitarian Aid Foundation in Amsterdam. The former head of the parent office of Al-Haramain in Saudi Arabia, Aqeel al Aqeel and his assistant Mansour al-Kadi, in the past also acquired board positions in the El Tawheed Foundation and the Al Haramain Humanitarian Aid Foundation in Amsterdam, in exchange for financing to build the Tawheed mosque in Amsterdam. The AIVD does not have any indications that the two board members actually used their influence to become involved in the daily running of the Tawheed mosque. In practice, the involvement of the two was restricted to formal yearly inspections.

To expel the three imams of Al Fourqaan can be seen as a first attempt to confirm the change of policies in the Netherlands. Their lawyer stated today that, according to him and what he has read in the AIVD-notes, these people are not accused of preaching Jihad and/or radicalizing young people. These AIVD-notes are not official judicial documents but experts expect that they will be allowed, the more because in this specific case they will not be tried in a penal court but in an administrative court because their permit to stay is the topic of discussion. This will shift the burden of proof more to the imams.

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Protected: De grote vergissing…./2

Posted on February 23rd, 2005 by martijn.
Categories: Islam in the Netherlands, My Research.

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Protected: Salafisme en filosofen als leermeesters

Posted on February 22nd, 2005 by martijn.
Categories: Internal Debates, Islam in the Netherlands, Religious and Political Radicalization, Young Muslims.

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Islamic Blog, Muslims Blog, or…

Posted on February 21st, 2005 by martijn.
Categories: Public Islam, Some personal considerations.

The traceless warrior is quite awake and has noticed that I categorized him as an Islamic Blog.

The Traceless Warrior: Bloggingsphere Update
Well this is not an “Islamic Blog”. While I am a Muslim, I consider a lot of what some people try to pass off as “Islamic” blogs or websites to actually be examples of obsessive-compulsive mono-maniacal religious ideation. It has been my experience that focusing on any one aspect of one’s life to the exclusion of all others produces dangerously unbalanced individuals.

He is right of course.
(more…)

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Islam In The West: The Threat Of Internal Extremism

Posted on February 21st, 2005 by .
Categories: Internal Debates, Islam in the Netherlands, Murder on theo Van Gogh and related issues, Religious and Political Radicalization, Research International, Young Muslims.

alt.muslim – your muslim news community
Islam In The West: The Threat Of Internal Extremism
By Muqtedar Khan and John L. Esposito, February 17, 2005

The world has never been more interdependent, and the plight of Western Muslims is illustrative of how global integration is now a palpable reality. The murder of a Dutch film producer, Theo Van Gogh, allegedly by a disenchanted Dutch Muslim [Mohammed Bouyeri, 26], the denial of a visa to the US for a Swiss Muslim scholar, Tariq Ramadan, or the humiliating deportation of a British Muslim, Yusuf Islam, from the US immediately on arrival are all front page news all over the world. Not only do these episodes draw widespread attention from the media, they feed upon and fuel the new crisis in Western Civilization – “Islam in the West”.

(more…)

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Trouw, religie & filosofie – Imamopleiding / Dingen om de gunsten van moslimorganisaties

Posted on February 21st, 2005 by martijn.
Categories: Islam in the Netherlands.

Trouw, religie & filosofie – Imamopleiding / Dingen om de gunsten van moslimorganisaties
Er komt een ‘eigen’, door de moslimorganisaties opgezette islamitische theologiestudie, toegankelijk voor sjiïeten en soennieten, mannen én vrouwen.

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Trouw, religie & filosofie – Imamopleiding / Dingen om de gunsten van moslimorganisaties

Posted on February 21st, 2005 by .
Categories: Islam in the Netherlands.

Trouw, religie & filosofie – Imamopleiding / Dingen om de gunsten van moslimorganisaties
Er komt een ‘eigen’, door de moslimorganisaties opgezette islamitische theologiestudie, toegankelijk voor sjiïeten en soennieten, mannen én vrouwen.

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Iranian Weblogs

Posted on February 21st, 2005 by .
Categories: Misc. News.

Articles on Iranian webloggers.

In a country where free speech has price, Iranian bloggers are having a bonanza – and the hardliners have begun to take notice.

Words are weapons for Iranian bloggers – (United Press International)

But not only the critics are using internet:

Blogging might not sound an appropriate hobby for a senior Iranian government official, particularly one who is a Muslim cleric.
[…]
Mohammad Ali Abthai has turned the practice of writing Internet journals, or (we) blogging, into a powerful tool against the reformist government�s hardline foes and a means to reach out to the country�s disenchanted youth.


Khaleej Times Online: Iranian clerics blogs for free expression.

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nu.nl/algemeen | Moslimorganisaties beginnen imamopleiding

Posted on February 20th, 2005 by martijn.
Categories: Islam in the Netherlands.

nu.nl/algemeen | Moslimorganisaties beginnen imamopleiding
Moslimorganisaties beginnen imamopleiding

ELSPEET – Het Contactorgaan Moslims en Overheid (CMO) en de Sjiitische Islamitische Raad (SIR) willen per 1 september 2006 een eigen islamitisch instituut oprichten dat imams gaat opleiden. Ze willen dat samen met een van de universiteiten doen.

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nu.nl/algemeen | Moslimorganisaties beginnen imamopleiding

Posted on February 20th, 2005 by .
Categories: Islam in the Netherlands.

nu.nl/algemeen | Moslimorganisaties beginnen imamopleiding
Moslimorganisaties beginnen imamopleiding

ELSPEET – Het Contactorgaan Moslims en Overheid (CMO) en de Sjiitische Islamitische Raad (SIR) willen per 1 september 2006 een eigen islamitisch instituut oprichten dat imams gaat opleiden. Ze willen dat samen met een van de universiteiten doen.

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Lagonda: Toklims

Posted on February 16th, 2005 by .
Categories: Multiculti Issues.

Soms krijg je wel eens wat opgestuurd zoals deze entry van Lagonda over ‘Toklims‘ door A.M.

Er staan enkele merkwaardige opmerkingen in. (more…)

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Dagblad De Limburger – Moslimterreur en andere misverstanden

Posted on February 16th, 2005 by .
Categories: Islam in the Netherlands, Religious and Political Radicalization.

Een interview met de vrouwelijke voorzitter van de Ihlas-moskee in Geleen, Leyla Cakir.

Geleen – Ze is een witte raaf in de moslimwereld: de vrouwelijke voorzitter van de Ihlas-moskee in Geleen, Leyla Cakir. Zondag zit ze in het forum van een discussie over integratie. Reden om haar daarover vooraf acht prikkelende stellingen voor te leggen. Over misverstanden als mishandeling en moslimterreur. En de provocaties van Hirschi Ali.

Dagblad De Limburger

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Stille Oproep in Hoofddorp

Posted on February 16th, 2005 by .
Categories: Islam in the Netherlands, Multiculti Issues.

Moskee Ar-Rahman in Hoofddorp is aan het verbouwen. Men wil graag de mensen met geluid oproepen tot gebed, maar besloten dat dat toch ook met lichtsignalen kan; houdt niet in, ga naar de moskee en waarschuw met lichtsignalen.

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Valentine's Day

Posted on February 15th, 2005 by martijn.
Categories: Misc. News.

Below you will find an entry on Valentine among the Saudi’s. In this entry two stories, both reject Valentine’s Day but from an entirely different perspective:
FrontPage magazine.com :: Valentine’s Day Enrages Jihadists by Dr. Walid Phares

A weekend before Valentine’s Day, jihadist souls were not questioning the �commercialization� of romance, but inquiring about the ban on �being in love.� The �scholars� said human love is evil. The simple feeling of being attracted to or in love with someone is a terrifying sin if it is committed outside of their religious dogma — and it warrants serious punishment.

and: Valentine’s Day from The New Nation’s Opinion article Islamic perspective

Hence, commemorating that special day known as the Valentine�s Day is an innovation or bid`ah that has no religious backing. Every innovation of that kind is rejected, as far as Islam is concerned. Islam requires all Muslims to love one another all over the whole year, and reducing the whole year to a single day is totally rejected. Hence, we Muslims ought not to follow in the footsteps of such innovations and superstitions that are common in what is known as the Valentine�s Day. No doubt that there are many irreligious practices that occur on that day, and those practices are capable of dissuading people from the true meanings of love and altruism to the extent that the celebration is reduced to a moral decline.

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Valentine’s Day

Posted on February 15th, 2005 by .
Categories: Misc. News.

Below you will find an entry on Valentine among the Saudi’s. In this entry two stories, both reject Valentine’s Day but from an entirely different perspective:
FrontPage magazine.com :: Valentine’s Day Enrages Jihadists by Dr. Walid Phares

A weekend before Valentine’s Day, jihadist souls were not questioning the �commercialization� of romance, but inquiring about the ban on �being in love.� The �scholars� said human love is evil. The simple feeling of being attracted to or in love with someone is a terrifying sin if it is committed outside of their religious dogma — and it warrants serious punishment.

and: Valentine’s Day from The New Nation’s Opinion article Islamic perspective

Hence, commemorating that special day known as the Valentine�s Day is an innovation or bid`ah that has no religious backing. Every innovation of that kind is rejected, as far as Islam is concerned. Islam requires all Muslims to love one another all over the whole year, and reducing the whole year to a single day is totally rejected. Hence, we Muslims ought not to follow in the footsteps of such innovations and superstitions that are common in what is known as the Valentine�s Day. No doubt that there are many irreligious practices that occur on that day, and those practices are capable of dissuading people from the true meanings of love and altruism to the extent that the celebration is reduced to a moral decline.

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ABC News: Koranic duels ease terror

Posted on February 15th, 2005 by .
Categories: International Terrorism.

ABC News: Koranic duels ease terror

SANAA, YEMEN When Judge Hamoud al-Hitar announced that he and four other Islamic scholars would challenge Yemen’s Al Qaeda prisoners to a theological contest, Western antiterrorism experts warned that this high-stakes gamble would end in disaster.

Seated amid stacks of Korans and religious texts, Hitar explains that his system is simple. He invites militants to use the Koran to justify attacks on innocent civilians and when they cannot, he shows them numerous passages commanding Muslims not to attack civilians, to respect other religions, and fight only in self-defense.

For example, he quotes: “Whoever kills a soul, unless for a soul, or for corruption done in the land – it is as if he had slain all mankind entirely. And, whoever saves one, it is as if he had saved mankind entirely.” He uses the passage to bolster his argument against bombing Western targets in Yemen – attacks he says defy the Koran. And, he says, the Koran says under no circumstances should women and children be killed.

“Before the dialogues began, there was only one way to fight terrorism, and that was through force,” he says. “Now there is another way: dialogue.”

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A possible end to Egypt's Islamic jihad

Posted on February 15th, 2005 by martijn.
Categories: International Terrorism.

A possible end to Egypt’s Islamic jihad

A possible end to Egypt�s Islamic jihad

The decline of the militant Islamic movement in Egypt has ironically boosted the strength of the broader international movement coalescing around Osama Bin Laden.

By Khalil Gebara for The Jamestown Foundation (14/02/05)

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A possible end to Egypt’s Islamic jihad

Posted on February 15th, 2005 by .
Categories: International Terrorism.

A possible end to Egypt’s Islamic jihad

A possible end to Egypt�s Islamic jihad

The decline of the militant Islamic movement in Egypt has ironically boosted the strength of the broader international movement coalescing around Osama Bin Laden.

By Khalil Gebara for The Jamestown Foundation (14/02/05)

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