Lay off ISIS or else, SA imams warned

Grant

Grant

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Muslim clerics in South Africa are being threatened for speaking out against the Islamic State terrorist organisation.

One of those threatened is the principal of the Zakariyya Park madrassa, south of Johannesburg - one of the largest Muslim religious schools in South Africa.

Shabbier Ahmed Saloojee recently received threatening calls after warning congregants about IS.
Anonymous threats have also been made to other highly respected clerics across South Africa who have condemned the barbaric actions of the militants in the Middle East, including the murders of clerics and the destruction of ancient religious sites.

"It was an anonymous call," said Saloojee. "The person, a coward, warned me to be careful. To watch my step, to stop what I am doing.
"But I won't. I won't be a coward. I am not afraid of these faceless people and will continue to speak out.
"I am not the only one to receive threats. There are a few [Islamic] clerics who have received these calls and messages, but none of us will be stopped from speaking out," Saloojee said.

He revealed the threats just days after a 15-year-old Cape Town girl en route to the Middle East to allegedly join IS was removed from a plane bound for Johannesburg. She had a forwarding ticket to Saudi Arabia.

Saloojee said in all its areas of operation IS had murdered and maimed Islamic clerics.
"They see us as infidels. People who don't deserve to live. There's concern among the Islamic leadership that IS could be trying to extend its reach to South Africa, but if they do try something we don't believe that they would survive for long, not like they have in Iraq and Syria."

He said that within weeks of launching operations in Iraq, the militants had murdered the muftis [senior Islamic religious leaders] of Mosul, Kirkuk, Fallujah and Ramada, killing some as they preached .
"For IS, the clerics are the No1 target, their greatest adversaries because we are preaching that what they [IS] are doing is against Islam. They do not act in the name of Islam or any religion. No religion condones murder," Saloojee said.

Several Islamic leaders are to meet government representatives to discuss IS and other terrorist organisations. The threats to clerics will be raised at this meeting.
Ibrahim Bham of the Jamiatul Ulama South Africa, a council of Muslim theologians, said it condemned the threats.
Bham said he did not have personal knowledge of the threats.
"We must keep in mind that the Muslim community, though largely homogeneous, has people with different opinions, as in every community. But different views do not mean you can oppress others.
"We are completely against IS and will not bow to pressure. We will continue to speak out against them. We are not afraid of threats. Why should we be?" Bham said.
He said the council had instructed members to read out its statements against IS and use them as the basis for their Friday sermon.

Yesterday, 80 Muslim clerics and scholars who met at the Muslim Judicial Council in Cape Town were encouraged to speak out against IS. Spokesman Nabeweya Malick, said: "They will take the message to their [communities] on Friday when they have the jumuah sermons."
Professor Farid Esak, head of religious studies at the University of Johannesburg, said there was no significant support for IS among South African Muslims.
"All the religious institutions, organisations and seminaries have unequivocally condemned IS."

Esak said he suspected the telephone threats were made by a few Muslims, "precisely to upset" the consensus against IS.
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http://www.timeslive.co.za/thetimes/2015/04/09/lay-off-isis-or-else-sa-imams-warned
 
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this article appeared in the bowels of another thread.
when it appears on front page news, it's probably worthy of it's own thread
 
to quote mybb's beam of light:

Rusty0 said:
I know the muslim community, there is no ISIS links in SA, just like there are no Al Queda links, but the news will continue to spew out false and baseless reports and promote hysteria, its what they do...
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it's all a huge conspiracy - the imams are liars
 
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Nice to see senior clerics in the Muslim community speaking out against the barbaric ISIS .
People that kill in the name of any religion have no place on this earth and need to be eradicated like the cockroaches that they are .
 
Just for interest's sake; I would like to know how come Saudi Arabia formed a coalition against Yemen rebels and got a few other nations to buy in....though the same was not even remotely considered against ISIS?
Just curious...considering ISIS reputation, are the Yemen rebels more of a threat?
 
Knock knock. Who's there? IS. IS who? Internet Solutions, do you have a minute to speak about our Lord fibre to the home?
 
Wasabee! said:
Knock knock. Who's there? IS. IS who? Internet Solutions, do you have a minute to speak about our Lord fibre to the home?
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I welcome our photon overlords into my house.

Please?
 
grantza said:
who is "you guys" in this them and us
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Ag didn't mean anything by it. Its just that I always see people comping and bemoaning that fact that, according to them there is deafening silence about ISIS in the Muslim community. When there are articles posting about people speaking out, they choose to concentrate on the threats they are getting and interpret it as ISIS having support in SA.
 
I see you posted above that the Imam did the right thing. When I posted the comment all I saw was that "ISIS has support in SA"
 
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Suspect99 said:
Ag didn't mean anything by it. Its just that I always see people comping and bemoaning that fact that, according to them there is deafening silence about ISIS in the Muslim community. When there are articles posting about people speaking out, they choose to concentrate on the threats they are getting and interpret it as ISIS having support in SA.
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there is usually a deafening silence, and the entire world would love to see religious leaders reigning in the nutjobs they have produced.

when those leaders speak out against the insanity of some of their flock, that voice should be heard - which is precisely why i created a thread for this article instead of just leaving it buried in the body of a different discussion.
 
grantza said:
there is usually a deafening silence, and the entire world would love to see religious leaders reigning in the nutjobs they have produced.

when those leaders speak out against the insanity of some of their flock, that voice should be heard - which is precisely why i created a thread for this article instead of just leaving it buried in the body of a different discussion.
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Then I misinterpreted your intentions. Apologies
 
grantza said:
??
dont understand what you are saying
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Suspect99 said:
I see you posted above that the Imam did the right thing. When I posted the comment all I saw was that "ISIS has support in SA"
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grantza said:
to quote mybb's beam of light:
it's all a huge conspiracy - the imams are liars
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I made a grammatical error. Damn autocorrect. I've edited it above.

As I said, I thought you were concentrating on the fact that they received threats rather that the fact that they are speaking out. But, again, if I misinterpreted, apologies
 
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