Teaching of Islam is 'out-dated'

This was the title of a BBC News article just three days ago. It is already widely known that Blair offered one million pounds to mosques in order to “aid” the training of home grown imams, who need to teach a more modern, British version of Islam. Education authorities are now looking to modernise what kind of Islam is taught at universities also. In order to support their argument a government commissioned report has been carried out.

Academic Ataullah Siddiqui's review paints a picture of Islamic studies departments where the post-9/11 and 7 July world has largely passed them by. It argues that more emphasis should be placed on Islam in a modern context.
Ministers will now label Islamic studies a "strategic subject" because of its role "in preventing extremism".

Higher Education Minister Bill Rammell said the review provided a helpful contribution to a particularly complex and sensitive subject.
"The effective and accurate delivery of Islamic studies within our universities is important for a multitude of reasons including wider community cohesion and preventing violent extremism in the name of Islam," he said.

Furthermore, the research, for BBC News and the BBC Asian Network, also suggests that only 6% of imams in Britain speak English as a first language. Professor Greaves from the University of Chester said

“The imams were "overwhelmingly" qualified in the traditional Islamic curriculum, which he said had changed little since medieval times.”

These reports all seem to lead to one conclusion. Local mosques and university courses are breeding extremism! After all, they are “out dated” and “medieval”. If this were the case then why is it that no “Islamist” attack has ever taken place prior to 7/7 in the UK. Muslims have lived in this country for over 50 years with our foreign imams. Why is the government so concerned now?

It is blatantly obvious. They refuse to acknowledge that their foreign policy has a huge effect on Muslims living in the UK, whether they are born here or not. There have been studies done by the likes of Oxford University that prove this. However, it is not in the governments interests to admit to this fact. As long as we in this country are blinded by the smoke screens of home grown imams then we will not have time to concern ourselves with the illegal wars carried out abroad.

Email from Melanie Philips

Dear Amar,

Thank you for your message. I appreciate the strength of feeling that
led you to write to me. I'm sure that if I believed the things you have
written, I would be just as angry.

The problem is that I'm afraid they are all totally wrong -- factually
untrue, as can be discovered from reading any truly objective history as
opposed to the kind of propaganda which I suspect is all that you read.
Of course, you will say that I would say such a thing since I am Jewish
and a supporter of Israel. But the basic facts, verifiable through
historical sources and legal documents, are plain for all to see.

Israel is not an illegal occupation. It is the ancestral home of the
Jewish people, their nation state for 1000 years -- hundreds of years
before Islam was even invented. The Jews did not drive out the Arabs
when Israel was restored as a Jewish state in 1948: on the contrary, the
Arabs tried to prevent the Jews from being restored to their own
homeland and have not stopped trying to wipe them out ever since. Most
of the land built upon by the Jews was either empty or sold to them by
Arab landlords. The vast majority of those Arabs who fled in 1948 did
so, as has been acknowledged by numerous Arab sources, because they were
told to flee by their leaders who believed the Jews would be annihilated
and the Arabs could then return.

Of course, there are things that Israel does which can legitimately be
criticised. However, all its military actions have always been carried
out solely to defend itself against illegal Arab and Muslim aggression,
which has been waged illegally against the Jews in that area for more
than ninety years. The occupation of the West Bank (and previously Gaza)
is entirely legal, as attested by all reputable international legal
authorities, because it is a principle of international law that a
country is entitled to defend itself against aggression by occupying the
territory of those who continue to wage war against it.

As for the violence and killings being inflicted upon Muslims in Iraq
and elsewhere, of course it is absolutely appalling. But it is being
inflicted in the main by Muslims, a fact which you do not acknowledge.

There is much else I could tell you, but I fear you will dismiss it as
Zionist propaganda. It happens, however, to be the truth. The reason for
7/7 is that radical Islamists have declared a jihad against
'unbelievers' - and Muslims are amongst their most numerous victims
around the world. The tragedy is that people like yourself are fed
incitement and lies by both Islamists who want to recruit for terror and
by Arab states who have deliberately and cynically perpetuated the
plight of the Palestinians and who promulgate a torrent of lies about
Israel and prejudice against the Jews in order to deflect upon Israel,
America and the west the anger of their populations at the tyranny they
impose upon them. Unfortunately, the brainwashing has worked, as your
comments to me only too tragically demonstrate.

Don't take my word for it; read what present and former Muslims say
here: http://www.arabsforisrael.com/ or here http://www.shoebat.com/ to
realise the truth and what terrible lies you are being fed.

I hope you find this helpful.

Kind regards,

Melanie



amar hussain wrote:
Dear Melanie,

I understand that this email may never reach you and if it does you will
have very little spare time to read it.
However, I still feel it necessary to write.

As you can guess from the email address, I am a young Muslim male. I was
born and raised in Manchester and lived like the average 80's kid. Life
was good, I never experienced any racism and so never felt like an
outsider. I'm British after all. I was not concerned in world affairs as
I was happy, content. You could say I was extremely individualistic.

Having said this, my life was turned upside down after 9/11. What you
need to realise Mel is that I am the voice of the Muslim youth. We all
feel the same way. After 9/11 racism increased and we witnessed the
birth of Islamaphobia. Trust me, it exists. From here I wanted to know
why people are so quick to hate. I began to look into my own religion,
the fundamental of which is the belief in 1 ummah or community. Muslims
around the world are all part of the same global community. When
my brothers and sisters in Iraq are being tortured it hurts me, when my
brothers are being boiled alive in Uzbekistan it hurts me and when my
sisters and children are being massacred in Palestine it hurts me.

At first, I was naive, hoping to see the good in all people. I wondered
why International Laws can be broken by the likes of Israel and America
while the rest of the world just stands by. Please do not take offence,
I know that you are pro-Israel.

What I'm trying to say is, we feel hurt, we feel pain because of British
Foreign Policy. This is why you get foolish young men committing crimes
as seen on 7/7. But why do you think 7/7 happened? Why did 9/11 happen
and why is there so much animosity towards tyrant leaders such as Bush
and Karimov, Mubarak and the Saudi Royals.

In my opinion if American troops were not plundering the Iraqis oil
reserve and Israelis would stop stealing Palestinian land then there
would be no fighting in those regions or anywhere else. What do you think?

Make no mistake, young Muslims do feel hurt due to the betrayal of the
British Government. What ever happened to the Rule of Law? Blair should
be tried as a war criminal. What happened to Freedom of Speech? You can
attack the very core of our faith but we can't argue that Israel is an
illegal occupation? Does that make me an Anti-Semite? I love Jews who
believe in God such as Rabbi Cohen but I feel resentment towards
Zionists, whether they be Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Buddhist or
anything else. Zionism, in my view, is an evil ideology.

Who gave Britain the right to say that Jews could have their own
country, but first they would have to eradicate the host population. If
you break into my house and refuse to leave do I not have the right to
remove you? And then to add insult to injury, you say you can have the
garden but I get the living room, the kitchen and all the
bedrooms!!!! Is that what you call fair? Of course not. No Muslim will
ever agree that Israel is a legitimate State. It is occupation.

Now please tell me why we need mosques and schools and universities to
"radicalise" our youth when the government is doing an amazing job in
its own right?

Finally, If I offend I apologise. I only speak the truth. I fear non but
God so if do see any repercussions I accept them whole heartedly.


Yours Sincereley,


Amar