In case you haven’t read it before, Maajid Nawaz, the director and co-founder of the Quilliam Foundation is telling his story in a Malaysian newspaper about being radicalized into Hizb ut-Tahrir, and then leaving the group. I guess it’s part of his job description to tell this story because I keep seeing it again and again. He also has some commentary on Islamism and Islamists.
Islamism is a modern ideology masquerading as an ancient religion. As such, it shares a common trait with many other constructed ideologies. This trait is its fundamental, theoretical justification for change regardless of circumstances. Ideologies do not merely provide “solutions” to perceived problems; they provide a framework within which to define problems in the first place.
By doing this, they effectively “discover” problems where there may be none, and can act as an obstacle to solving other problems when the solution doesn’t fit certain dogma. Islamism is formed by superimposing certain western political paradigms onto the religion of Islam. The absence of such modern Islamist notions in Muslim political systems and society is subsequently equated to the absence of Islam itself. Whatever institutions are found in place are subsequently described as Kufr (disbelief), which must be overthrown as a religious obligation.
A bit of back history: At Talk Islam, the Quilliam Foundation has been blasted with disdain and criticism by my fellow frontpagers Thabet and Plimfix. Maajid Nawaz’s cofounder, Ed Hussain, has been especially criticized. Quilliam has been accused of being “neoconservative,” ‘money grubbing,’ “idiot” and “stupid” (about Ed Hussain), and lambasted for being written about favorably by otherwise Islamophobic pundits like ‘Mad Mel’ (who turned around and villified the Quilliam Foundation when it criticized the Gaza massacre).
Khalid 12:12 pm on November 10, 2009 Permalink |
This “Quilliam Foundation” along with its online blog “Spittoon” is purely a British govt. / MI5 production. Over a year ago near its hyped up launch, some commentators in the British press stated as much here:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/apr/21/allmodcons
its job is to whitewash the British govt. of any responsibility of contributing to terrorism either via discrimination ot its own Muslim citizens (“too many brown people are allowed into the UK” as Ed Husain says) or of its foreign policy (Shiraz Maher and Maajid Nawaz both supported the Israeli bombardment of Gaza against “terrorist sympathizers” and Ed Hussain is on record as having supported Bush/Blair invasion of Iraq).
They are people who have sold their deen for money:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article5549138.ece
and should be shunned and ignored by Muslims as they are simply a state apparatus not any independent body in any way.
johnpi 11:14 pm on November 10, 2009 Permalink |
Really. That’s interesting because Thabet – same guy who pillories Quilliam – recommended Spittoon as a reliable independent critic of Hizb ut-Tahrir. I wouldn’t know it existed if he hadn’t posted and linked with the rec here.
Khalid 1:34 am on November 11, 2009 Permalink |
Spittoon or s*ittoon as it is commonly called by Muslims in the UK was well exposed here:
http://neoconeurope.eu/The_Spittoon
they are brown lackeys (as well as 1 Israeli) who were/are recruited by a wing of British neo-conservatives to attack and defame any and all Muslims — Tablighi, Sufi, Jamaati, Jihadi, Ikhwan, Salafi, Hizb, traditional, conservative, or in between — irregardless of political or philosophical persuasion. The litmus test for “acceptable” “moderate” Muslims is spelled out in a draft of document (Contest 2) leaked to the Guardian here:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/feb/17/counterterrorism-strategy-muslims
If you fail to accept the above you WILL be spied on by the govt, as “Ed” Hussain advocates here:
“Spying Morally Right” Says Thinktank
the right wing nut Frank Gaffney recently had on one of the directors, Houriyah Ahmed, on his show to speak about a report on HT as well as support his thesis on a “Muslim Mafia” in America:
http://www.securefreedomradio.org/2009/10/16/october-16-2009-paul-sperry-and-houriya-ahmed/
plimfix 5:20 pm on November 10, 2009 Permalink |
Recently, Sir Edward Husain defended the UK secret service policy of spying on and collecting data about innocent British Muslims with no links to terror. Data collected apparently includes information about individuals’ sexual behaviour. Human Rights groups, and most other Muslim groups, lambasted this policy. It’s not just me that holds Ed in contempt. It’s pretty much everyone except for the usual suspects – but then again, even Mad Mel all but accused him of fibbing. Even the choice of the groups name was dumb – they paraded Quilliam as the first great British moderate Muslim, when in fact Quilliam’s views had for more in common with today’s “Islamists” than with Ed’s ninny foundation.
Abdullah 1:43 am on November 11, 2009 Permalink |
The Quilliam Foundation is not independent! It is to all intents and purposes part of the Home Office, and everyone who works for it is a de facto civil servant. All of its funding comes from the government – the majority of that being from part of the Home Office called the Office for Security and Counter-Terrorism, an intelligence agency!