Tag Archives: Islamism

Murder Suspect Admits Killing Shopkeeper Because He ‘disrespected’ Islam

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There’s been a spate of ‘Islamophobic killings’ and ‘attacks on Muslims’ in Europe of late. With one significant twist of course; the perpetrators themselves turned out to be Muslims. The public indignation over these senseless attacks seemed to dissipate once it was revealed who exactly was responsible, strangely.

From the Imam killed in Rochdale, the Muslim woman ran down in Brussels to the shopkeeper beaten to death on the streets of Glasgow.

Tanveer Ahmed, the suspect accused of murdering shopkeeper Asad Shah in Glasgow had his lawyer read out a statement on his behalf in court today. See if you can decipher a motive or general theme at play here:

“This all happened for one reason and no other issues and no other intentions.

“Asad Shah disrespected the messenger of Islam the Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him. Mr Shah claimed to be a Prophet.

“When 1400 years ago the Prophet of Islam Muhammad peace be upon him has clearly said that ‘I am the final messenger of Allah there is no more prophets or messengers from God Allah after me.

“‘I am leaving you the final Quran. There is no changes. It is the final book of Allah and this is the final completion of Islam. There is no more changes to it and no one has the right to claim to be a Prophet or to change the Quran or change Islam.’

“It is mentioned in the Quran that there is no doubt in this book no one has the right to disrespect the sayings of the Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him and no one has the right to disrespect the Prophet of Islam Muhammad Peace be upon him.

“If I had not done this others would and there would have been more killing and violence in the world.

“I wish to make it clear that the incident was nothing at all to do with Christianity or any other religious beliefs even although I am a follower of the Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him I also love and respect Jesus Christ.”

The fact that Tanveer Ahmed’s motivations could not be more lucid and unambiguously stated will not stop the ‘nothing to do with Islam brigade’ making excuses on his behalf that he never asked for. The lack of outrage over Muslim on Muslim violence proves one thing however: the ‘Islamophobia!’ crowd have no concern or compassion for Muslim lives – they just want people to think they do. Only when it’s safe for them to virtue signal as much of course.

Stephen Knight is host of The #GSPodcast. You can listen to The Godless Spellchecker Podcast here, and support it by becoming a patron here.

Will Mo Shafiq Please Outline The Correct Application Of ‘Blasphemy’ Law?

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I recently wrote about the British Imam from Bradford who openly proclaimed his support for Malik Mumtaz Qadri, a man who gunned down a Pakistani governor named Salman Taseer in the service of ‘blasphemy’. Qadri was executed for this crime last week1, sparking outrage amongst many Muslims who consider Qadri be more of a martyr than a murderer.

Over at The Daily Beast, anti-extremist Maajid Nawaz laments the support for Qadri amongst his fellow Muslims and highlights a number of examples from so-called ‘moderates’.

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  1. I do not support the death penalty or this execution ↩

Influential British Imam Speaks Out In Support Of ‘Blasphemy’ Murderer

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One of the main stumbling blocks for progression in many Islamic societies is the very real threat to those speaking out against religious orthodoxy present there.

Salman Taseer was a governor in Pakistan whose comments regarding the countries’ blasphemy laws earned him 27 bullets – courtesy of his own bodyguard, Malik Mumtaz Qadri.

Qadri was executed for this crime earlier in the week, which sparked a number of protests in support of the killer, not to mention thousands attending his funeral.

As abhorrent as support for this murderer may be, it comes as no surprise that you would find it in a place such as Pakistan, given its relationship and track record with blasphemy laws.

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What’s Being Said About Atheists In Arabic?

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I’ve previously wondered what horrors I might uncover were I able to see what the Arabic speaking world were saying about atheists on Twitter. Well, thanks to the good work of Twitter user @Ahmedaa1k, I need wonder no more. And it’s not good news. Please note, Ahmed is not the individual making these statements, but the one translating them. Here are some Arabic responses to the hash tag ‘atheism is not a crime’:

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Raza Nadim: ‘Israel Is 100% Worse Than Isis’.

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Raza Nadim is a spokesperson for The Muslim Public Affairs Committee (MPAC), which is essentially a soft Islamist group based in the UK. You may remember Raza’s fellow MPAC cohort Asghar Bukhari and the case of the missing shoe. Those sneaky Jews. You may also remember Raza’s inability to condemn stoning people to death. Here is his latest pearl of wisdom:

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You don’t have to deny all the ills of the Israeli government to recognise that Nadim is offering his opinion from another planet (and orifice) here. And 100%? What does that even mean? Is that less or equal to 9/11 times 100?

“Why waste your time with these clueless Islamists?” I hear you ask. Well, because Raza is afforded prominent media platforms, including appearances on the BBC. This is a man wheeled out to represent ‘the Muslim voice’. This raises some uncomfortable questions. Are TV executives shunning progressive Muslim voices in favour of reactionaries in the service of controversy (and ratings)? Or are they simply presented with a lack of progressive Muslim voices to choose from? Or worse of all: could this kind of thing actually be the mainstream Muslim opinion? 

Stephen Knight is host of The #GSPodcast. You can listen to The Godless Spellchecker Podcast here, and support it by becoming a patron here.

‘Rescuing Ex-Muslims: Leaving Islam’ Documentary

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At the start of the week, I released my interview with co-founder of Faith To Faithless, Imtiaz Shams. We spoke about a wide variety of topics including an upcoming VICE News documentary he contributed to called ‘Rescuing ex-Muslims: Leaving Islam’. It has now been released and you can watch it in full below.

I’m always keen to hear ex-Muslim voices given the unique obstacles they often face when attempting to leave their faith, or convert to another. This mini-film is heart-breaking and terrifying in equal measure.

Keep in mind when you see the violence and intimidation visited on some of these ‘apostates’: this isn’t just happening in problematic regions of the middle east, but in parts of England too.

Imtiaz’s network is doing a fine job providing support for these people and giving them a voice. Please support them and spread the word however you can.

 

 

Stephen Knight is host of The #GSPodcast. You can listen to The Godless Spellchecker Podcast here, and support it by becoming a patron here.

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