Posts Tagged ‘interfaith dialogue’

Dr.Tahir-ul-Qadri on “Root Cause” of Global Terrorism :Conservatism Extremism Radicalism

September 23rd, 2010

“Interfaith Dialogue” is Sunnah of Prophet(s) : hypocrisy of Firqparast Propogandist Unveiled

September 22nd, 2010

Islam abolished Slavery ! غلامی

September 22nd, 2010

Interfaith & intra-faith Dialogue is indispensable for World Peace by Dr.Tahir-ul-Qadri

September 22nd, 2010

Prophet (saw) used to receive non-muslim diplomates embassadors in the Mosque of Madina

September 8th, 2010

Minhaj-ul-Quran destined for ” Islamic Revival ” of this Century

September 8th, 2010

‘Muslim Camp’ draws teens to combat extremism

August 19th, 2009

COVENTRY, England (Reuters) – Like any rousing Islamic preacher, Muhammed Tahir ul-Qadri’s voice rises to a shout and his index finger jabs as he hammers home a point.

But rather than angry calls for jihad (holy war) or a vitriolic denunciation of the West and its aggressions against Islam, Qadri’s message, equally forcefully delivered, is about moderation, peace, inclusion and understanding.

Addressing a packed auditorium from a raised platform, his words beamed on to large screen behind him, more than 1,000 young followers hang on his every word, even as his lecture moves into its fourth uninterrupted hour.

“Islam is not a religion of seclusion, it is not a religion of detachment,” he thunders from the dais, occasionally pausing to wipe the sweat from his brow or adjust his spectacles.

“Any killer of a non-Muslim citizen, he will go to hell. Those who are committing terroristic acts from Pakistan and Afghanistan and claiming it is jihad — they do not know what jihad is. It is forbidden. There will not be janna (paradise) for them,” he hollers, to shouts of approval from his listeners.

Qadri, 58, who was born in Pakistan but now lives in Canada, is a renowned scholar of Sufism, a long tradition within Islam that focuses on spirituality, emphasizing peace and moderation.

The author of more than 400 books on Islamic scholarship and law, Qadri travels the world delivering sermons to Sufis, while his organization, called Minhaj ul-Quran, has spread to 80 countries, from Greece to Fiji, since its founding in 1981.

In Britain, he is the main draw at a three-day retreat for young Muslims called “Al Hidayah” (Guidance), which over the past five years has grown into the biggest spiritual camp of its kind, with more than 1,200 attendees from a dozen countries.

Qadri believes camps like his, which attract teenagers — girls and boys wearing traditional dress who sit separately in the auditorium — as well as their parents and children as young as six, can play a part in combating extremism within Islam.

For Britain, that has been particularly important since 2003, when the country joined the invasion of Iraq, and 2005, when four young British Muslims carried out suicide bombings on the London transport network, killing 52 people.

“I feel it is my duty to save the younger generation from radicalization,” Qadri said quietly over lunch on Sunday, shortly after finishing the second of several lectures and question-and-answer sessions, which concluded on Monday.

“We need to prepare them mentally and academically, intellectually and spiritually, against extremist tendencies and radical and terrorist attitudes. We need to provide them with an awakening of the true picture of Islam,” he said.

TACKLING EXTREMISM

Around the world, and particularly in the United States, there has been a steady increase in adherence to Sufism in the past decade. Governments keen to tackle the spread of more radical branches of Islam in their countries have worked with Sufi scholars and tried to emphasize their teachings.

In Britain, home to around 1.7 million Muslims, the bulk from Pakistan, the government at first worked to promote Sufism, supporting the creation in 2006 of the Sufi Muslim Council, a group that took a strong stand against Islamist extremism.

But since then, it has moved away from explicit support, saying that working via the Sufi community — whose exact number in Britain is not known — is just one element of a wider approach to countering Islamic radicalism.

“It’s part of a broader engagement. We don’t want to isolate any one group over another,” a government spokeswoman said.

Supporters of Qadri, though, are adamant about the benefits of his teachings, with students coming from as far as Denmark and Canada to hear him speak during the three-day retreat. Women in particular like his emphasis on female equality within Islam, an element not always touched on by other Islamic scholars.

“What he says is mind-opening, it makes you feel good as a woman,” said Sofia Saeed, 27, a legal assistant who traveled from Manchester to attend the retreat with a friend.

“There’s no discrimination here. It makes you feel like a stronger believer, a stronger person,” she said, comfortably mixing designer sunglasses with her full hijab head covering.

Qadri, a former minister in Pakistan and close associate of Benazir Bhutto, the assassinated former prime minister, does not believe his teachings can change radical minds overnight, but he is a believer that intellect can ultimately defeat extremism.

“If the terrorists are 10 people and the peaceful are 1,000, then they are more powerful than us with their arms, even if we are 5,000,” he said. “But the point is that we have to make the 5,000 more powerful not with arms, but by the communication of the right message of Islam.”

(Reporting by Luke Baker; Editing by Jon Boyle)

This article is taken from http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE5792AL20090810?sp=true

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‘Muslim Camp’ draws U.K. teens to combat extremism

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‘Muslim Camp’ draws U.K. teens to combat extremism

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‘Ideas are the best’ weapons: Islamic scholar

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Messenger of moderation
Sufischolar seeks to save young Muslims from radicalization

The Brunei Times
UK Muslim camp preaches peace

National Post
Messenger of moderation

National Post
Preacher a voice for moderation

The Gazette
‘Muslim Camp’ draws U.K. teens to combat extremism

The Vancouver Sun
‘Muslim Camp’ draws U.K. teens to combat extremism

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‘Muslim Camp’ draws UK teens to combat extremism

Islam Online.net
UK Sufi Camp Combats Extremism

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Kamp Muslim Inggris Melawan Ekstrimis

Reuters Italia
Gran Bretagna, “campo islamico” contro estremismo seduce giovani

Reuters India
‘Muslim Camp’ draws UK teens to combat extremism

Birmingham Post
Islamic author denounces terrorism as a cancer in Muslim world

Islam Online
UK Sufi Camp Combats Extremism

National Post
Preacher a voice for moderation

Point de Bascule Canada
GRANDE BRETAGNE – UN IMAM SOUFISTE CANADIEN PRÊCHE UN AUTRE ISLAM À DES MUSULMANS BRITANNIQUES. IL ENSEIGNE L’INCLUSION, LA “SPIRITUALITÉ”, LA PAIX ET LA MODÉRATION…

The Province
‘Muslim Camp’ draws U.K. teens to combat extremism

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“Muslim Camp” draws UK teens to combat extremism

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‘Muslim Camp’ draws U.K. teens to combat extremism

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“Muslim Camp” draws UK teens to combat extremism

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`Muslim Camp` Draws UK Teens To Combat Extremism

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‘Muslim Camp’ draws UK teens to combat extremism

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“Muslim Camp” draws UK teens to combat extremism!

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“Muslim Camp” draws teens to combat extremism

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‘Muslim Camp’ draws teens to combat extremism

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‘Muslim Camp’ draws teens to combat extremism

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‘Muslim Camp’ draws UK teens to combat extremism

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‘Muslim Camp’ draws U.K. teens to combat extremism

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‘Muslim Camp’ draws U.K. teens to combat extremism

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“Muslim Camp” draws UK teens to combat extremism

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‘Muslim Camp’ draws teens to combat extremism

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“Muslim Camp” Draws Teens to Combat Extremism

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‘Muslim Camp’ draws UK teens to combat extremism

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“Muslim Camp” draws UK teens to combat extremism

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‘Muslim Camp’ draws UK teens to combat extremism

Toronto Star
‘Muslim Camp’ draws UK teens to combat extremism

The Free Library online
“Muslim Camp” draws teens to combat extremism

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‘Muslim Camp’ draws UK teens to combat extremism

Reuters UK
“Muslim Camp” draws UK teens to combat extremism

Reuters
“Muslim Camp” draws teens to combat extremism

Canada
‘Muslim Camp’ draws U.K. teens to combat extremism

The PEW Forum | Religion News
‘Ideas are the best’ weapons: Islamic scholar

The Siasat
‘Muslim Camp’ draws UK teens to combat extremism

Bay Ledger News Zone
“Muslim Camp” draws teens to combat extremism

Maryam-blog Blogspot
‘MUSLIM CAMP’ DRAWS UK TEENS TO COMBAT EXTREMISM

Talk Islam
“Muslim Camp” draws teens to combat extremism.

Times of Malta
Without attacks, Qaeda’s roars ring hollow

In Sing
‘Muslim Camp’ draws UK teens to combat extremism

msnbc
‘Muslim Camp’ draws UK teens to combat extremism

‘Ideas are the best’ weapons: Islamic scholar

August 19th, 2009

Mohammed Tahir ul-Qadri launches ‘intellectual war’ on terrorism with sermons on peace and tolerance

Mohammed Tahir ul-Qadri is on the phone, talking about war, but he is not referring to guns.

“I don’t know how to use a pistol,” admits the Pakistani-born Islamic scholar, who is in Birmingham, England, at the moment, though he spends roughly 10 months a year in Canada, his adopted home for the past several years. “If you put a pistol in my hand, I wouldn’t know how to use it.”

The 58-year-old spiritual leader does know how to use words and ideas, however, and he is recruiting them both in the cause of peace.

“I have, you can say, announced an intellectual and spiritual war against extremism and terrorism. I believe this is the time to stand up for moderate Islamic scholars who believe in peace.”

Forget for now the lurid images of hatred and bloodshed that have dominated Western perceptions of Islam in recent years, and lend an ear to this voluble, bespectacled Canadian grandfather, who is at the forefront of what some might call a renaissance of moderate Islam, preaching a doctrine of inclusion and tolerance.

“He is definitely a scholar who should be highlighted,” says Asad Dean, a Muslim community organizer in Toronto. “He has a fantastic relationship with all the communities.”

In their struggle for the hearts and minds of the world’s 1.4 billion Muslims, Qadri and other like-minded clerics are squaring off against ruthless organizations, such as the Taliban and Al Qaeda, which present a very different facet of Islam, one that celebrates violence while rejecting any prospect of accommodation with the West.

The welfare, livelihood and dreams of tens of millions of people around the globe depend on which side triumphs in this battle of words and ideas, a battle that is also a contest of military might – in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq.

Qadri is far from alone in this fight.

Partly in response to U.S. President Barack Obama’s recent opening to the Muslim world, moderate Islamic clerics in many lands have been emboldened to speak out against those who traffic in the weapons of hate.

“Ideas are the best arms,” Qadri says. “Societies should be armed with better ideas.

“To me, the ideal society in the world is Canadian society,” he says. “We believe in the letter and spirit of multiculturalism.”

Qadri has no patience with violent extremists who claim to represent his faith.

Lately, it is Osama bin Laden and his ilk who have transfixed the attention of the West, but Qadri regards them as exceptions – traitors to Islam – who have achieved an influence out of proportion to their numbers.

In large measure, he holds the news media responsible for presenting a distorted picture of Islam, one that depicts its adherents as fist-waving advocates of hate.

“Millions and millions of Muslim people – more than a billion – are living a peaceful life,” he says, “but their life does not create news.”

Violence, of course, does create news, as do tyranny and intolerance.

“They make women stay in their homes,” he says of Muslim extremists. “They destroy girls’ schools. This is against Islam, totally wrong. This has created a very bad image.”

Qadri, who has served for a time as a member of Pakistan’s National Assembly, has spent years promoting interfaith dialogue, largely through Minhaj-ul-Quran International, a non-governmental organization he founded in 1980 and still heads.

Qadri, who will return to Canada early next month, lives near Hamilton, where he devotes himself to writing about Islam. He says he is determined to change the negative images now associated with his faith, while also stopping radical Islam in its tracks.

It’s a tall order but an urgent one.

“We want a secure future for everybody,” he says. “I speak of the human race.”

This article is taken from http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE5792AL20090810?sp=true

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Google News, UK
‘Ideas are the best’ weapons
‘Muslim Camp’ draws UK teens to combat extremism
Kamp Muslim Inggris Melawan Ekstrimis

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“Muslim Camp” draws teens to combat extremism

euronews
“Muslim Camp” draws UK teens to combat extremism

Stv
“Muslim Camp” draws UK teens to combat extremism

Global Tv . Com
‘Muslim Camp’ draws U.K. teens to combat extremism

The Star phoenix
‘Muslim Camp’ draws U.K. teens to combat extremism

Toronto Star
‘Ideas are the best’ weapons: Islamic scholar

Canada.com
Messenger of moderation
Sufischolar seeks to save young Muslims from radicalization

The Brunei Times
UK Muslim camp preaches peace

National Post
Messenger of moderation

National Post
Preacher a voice for moderation

The Gazette
‘Muslim Camp’ draws U.K. teens to combat extremism

The Vancouver Sun
‘Muslim Camp’ draws U.K. teens to combat extremism

The Malaysia Insider
‘Muslim Camp’ draws UK teens to combat extremism

Islam Online.net
UK Sufi Camp Combats Extremism

Republika Online
Kamp Muslim Inggris Melawan Ekstrimis

Reuters Italia
Gran Bretagna, “campo islamico” contro estremismo seduce giovani

Reuters India
‘Muslim Camp’ draws UK teens to combat extremism

Birmingham Post
Islamic author denounces terrorism as a cancer in Muslim world

Islam Online
UK Sufi Camp Combats Extremism

National Post
Preacher a voice for moderation

Point de Bascule Canada
GRANDE BRETAGNE – UN IMAM SOUFISTE CANADIEN PRÊCHE UN AUTRE ISLAM À DES MUSULMANS BRITANNIQUES. IL ENSEIGNE L’INCLUSION, LA “SPIRITUALITÉ”, LA PAIX ET LA MODÉRATION…

The Province
‘Muslim Camp’ draws U.K. teens to combat extremism

Euro News
“Muslim Camp” draws UK teens to combat extremism

The Windsor Star
‘Muslim Camp’ draws U.K. teens to combat extremism

IB Times
“Muslim Camp” draws UK teens to combat extremism

Javno
`Muslim Camp` Draws UK Teens To Combat Extremism

Aussie Muslims
‘Muslim Camp’ draws UK teens to combat extremism

The Revival
“Muslim Camp” draws UK teens to combat extremism!

NEWS Tin
“Muslim Camp” draws teens to combat extremism

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“Muslim Camp” draws teens to combat extremism…

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‘Muslim Camp’ draws teens to combat extremism

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‘Muslim Camp’ draws teens to combat extremism

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‘Muslim Camp’ draws UK teens to combat extremism

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‘Muslim Camp’ draws U.K. teens to combat extremism

Leader Post
‘Muslim Camp’ draws U.K. teens to combat extremism

Best News
“Muslim Camp” draws UK teens to combat extremism

World Peace
‘Muslim Camp’ draws teens to combat extremism

ABC News
“Muslim Camp” Draws Teens to Combat Extremism

Euro Islam . Info
‘Muslim Camp’ draws UK teens to combat extremism

Hizb ut-Tahrir
“Muslim Camp” draws UK teens to combat extremism

World News
‘Muslim Camp’ draws UK teens to combat extremism

Toronto Star
‘Muslim Camp’ draws UK teens to combat extremism

The Free Library online
“Muslim Camp” draws teens to combat extremism

Daily Times
‘Muslim Camp’ draws UK teens to combat extremism

Reuters UK
“Muslim Camp” draws UK teens to combat extremism

Reuters
“Muslim Camp” draws teens to combat extremism

Canada
‘Muslim Camp’ draws U.K. teens to combat extremism

The PEW Forum | Religion News
‘Ideas are the best’ weapons: Islamic scholar

The Siasat
‘Muslim Camp’ draws UK teens to combat extremism

Bay Ledger News Zone
“Muslim Camp” draws teens to combat extremism

Maryam-blog Blogspot
‘MUSLIM CAMP’ DRAWS UK TEENS TO COMBAT EXTREMISM

Talk Islam
“Muslim Camp” draws teens to combat extremism.

Times of Malta
Without attacks, Qaeda’s roars ring hollow

In Sing
‘Muslim Camp’ draws UK teens to combat extremism

msnbc
‘Muslim Camp’ draws UK teens to combat extremism

Messenger of moderation

August 19th, 2009

Sufischolar seeks to save young Muslims from radicalization

Like any rousing Islamic preacher, Muhammed Tahir ul-Qadri’s voice rises to a shout and his index finger jabs as he hammers home a point.

But rather than angry calls for jihad or a vitriolic denunciation of the West and its aggressions against Islam, Mr. Qadri’s message, equally forcefully delivered, is about moderation, peace, inclusion and understanding.

Addressing a packed auditorium from a raised platform, his words beamed on to large screen behind him, more than 1,000 young followers hang on his every word, even as his lecture moves into its fourth uninterrupted hour.

“Islam is not a religion of seclusion, it is not a religion of detachment,” he thunders from the dais, occasionally pausing to wipe the sweat from his brow or adjust his spectacles.

“Any killer of a non-Muslim citizen, he will go to hell. Those who are committing terroristic acts from Pakistan and Afghanistan and claiming it is jihad — they do not know what jihad is. It is forbidden. There will not be janna [paradise] for them,” he hollers, to shouts of approval.

Mr. Qadri, 58, who was born in Pakistan but now lives in Canada, is a renowned scholar of Sufism, a long tradition within Islam that focuses on spirituality, emphasizing peace and moderation.

The author of more than 400 books on Islamic scholarship and law, he travels the world delivering sermons to Sufis, while his organization, called Minhaj ul-Quran, has spread to 80 countries, from Greece to Fiji, since its founding in 1981.

In Britain, he is the main draw at a three-day retreat for young Muslims called Al Hidayah (guidance), which over the past five years has grown into the biggest spiritual camp of its kind, with more than 1,200 attendees from a dozen countries.

Mr. Qadri believes camps such as his, which attract teenagers — girls and boys wearing traditional dress who sit separately in the auditorium– as well as their parents and children as young as six, can play a part in combating extremism within Islam.

For Britain, that has been particularly important since 2003, when the country joined the invasion of Iraq, and 2005, when four young British Muslims carried out suicide bombings on the London transport network, killing 52 people.

“I feel it is my duty to save the younger generation from radicalization,” Mr. Qadri said quietly over lunch on Sunday, shortly after finishing the second of several lectures and question-and-answer sessions, which concluded yesterday.

“We need to prepare them mentally and academically, intellectually and spiritually, against extremist tendencies and radical and terrorist attitudes. We need to provide them with an awakening of the true picture of Islam.”

Around the world, and particularly in the United States, there has been a steady increase in adherence to Sufism in the past decade. Governments keen to tackle the spread of more radical branches of Islam in their countries have worked with Sufischolars and tried to emphasize their teachings.

In Britain, home to about 1.7 million Muslims, mostly from Pakistan, the government at first worked to promote Sufism, supporting the creation in 2006 of the Sufi Muslim Council, a group that took a strong stand against Islamist extremism.

But since then, it has moved away from explicit support, saying that working via the Suficommunity — whose exact number in Britain is not known — is just one element of a wider approach to countering Islamic radicalism.

“It’s part of a broader engagement. We don’t want to isolate any one group over another,” a government spokeswoman said.

Supporters of Mr. Qadri, though, are adamant about the benefits of his teachings, with students coming from as far as Denmark and Canada to hear him speak during the retreat.

Women in particular like his emphasis on female equality within Islam, an element not always touched on by other Islamic scholars.

“What he says is mind-opening, it makes you feel good as a woman,” said Sofia Saeed, 27, a legal assistant who travelled from Manchester to attend the retreat with a friend.

“There’s no discrimination here. It makes you feel like a stronger believer, a stronger person,” she said, comfortably wearing both designer sunglasses and her full hijab head covering.

Mr. Qadri, a former minister in Pakistan and close associate of Benazir Bhutto, the assassinated former prime minister, does not believe his teachings can change radical minds overnight, but he is a believer that intellect can ultimately defeat extremism.

“If the terrorists are 10 people and the peaceful are 1,000, then they are more powerful than us with their arms, even if we are 5,000,” he said.

“But the point is that we have to make the 5,000 more powerful not with arms, but by the communication of the right message of Islam.”

This article is taken from http://www.canada.com/news/story.html?id=1879637

More Links

Google News, UK
‘Ideas are the best’ weapons
‘Muslim Camp’ draws UK teens to combat extremism
Kamp Muslim Inggris Melawan Ekstrimis

Yahoo News
“Muslim Camp” draws teens to combat extremism

euronews
“Muslim Camp” draws UK teens to combat extremism

Stv
“Muslim Camp” draws UK teens to combat extremism

Global Tv . Com
‘Muslim Camp’ draws U.K. teens to combat extremism

The Star phoenix
‘Muslim Camp’ draws U.K. teens to combat extremism

Toronto Star
‘Ideas are the best’ weapons: Islamic scholar

Canada.com
Messenger of moderation
Sufischolar seeks to save young Muslims from radicalization

The Brunei Times
UK Muslim camp preaches peace

National Post
Messenger of moderation

National Post
Preacher a voice for moderation

The Gazette
‘Muslim Camp’ draws U.K. teens to combat extremism

The Vancouver Sun
‘Muslim Camp’ draws U.K. teens to combat extremism

The Malaysia Insider
‘Muslim Camp’ draws UK teens to combat extremism

Islam Online.net
UK Sufi Camp Combats Extremism

Republika Online
Kamp Muslim Inggris Melawan Ekstrimis

Reuters Italia
Gran Bretagna, “campo islamico” contro estremismo seduce giovani

Reuters India
‘Muslim Camp’ draws UK teens to combat extremism

Birmingham Post
Islamic author denounces terrorism as a cancer in Muslim world

Islam Online
UK Sufi Camp Combats Extremism

National Post
Preacher a voice for moderation

Point de Bascule Canada
GRANDE BRETAGNE – UN IMAM SOUFISTE CANADIEN PRÊCHE UN AUTRE ISLAM À DES MUSULMANS BRITANNIQUES. IL ENSEIGNE L’INCLUSION, LA “SPIRITUALITÉ”, LA PAIX ET LA MODÉRATION…

The Province
‘Muslim Camp’ draws U.K. teens to combat extremism

Euro News
“Muslim Camp” draws UK teens to combat extremism

The Windsor Star
‘Muslim Camp’ draws U.K. teens to combat extremism

IB Times
“Muslim Camp” draws UK teens to combat extremism

Javno
`Muslim Camp` Draws UK Teens To Combat Extremism

Aussie Muslims
‘Muslim Camp’ draws UK teens to combat extremism

The Revival
“Muslim Camp” draws UK teens to combat extremism!

NEWS Tin
“Muslim Camp” draws teens to combat extremism

Yanabi . Com
“Muslim Camp” draws teens to combat extremism…

Digg
‘Muslim Camp’ draws teens to combat extremism

Nicer News
‘Muslim Camp’ draws teens to combat extremism

Topix
‘Muslim Camp’ draws UK teens to combat extremism

Canada
‘Muslim Camp’ draws U.K. teens to combat extremism

Leader Post
‘Muslim Camp’ draws U.K. teens to combat extremism

Best News
“Muslim Camp” draws UK teens to combat extremism

World Peace
‘Muslim Camp’ draws teens to combat extremism

ABC News
“Muslim Camp” Draws Teens to Combat Extremism

Euro Islam . Info
‘Muslim Camp’ draws UK teens to combat extremism

Hizb ut-Tahrir
“Muslim Camp” draws UK teens to combat extremism

World News
‘Muslim Camp’ draws UK teens to combat extremism

Toronto Star
‘Muslim Camp’ draws UK teens to combat extremism

The Free Library online
“Muslim Camp” draws teens to combat extremism

Daily Times
‘Muslim Camp’ draws UK teens to combat extremism

Reuters UK
“Muslim Camp” draws UK teens to combat extremism

Reuters
“Muslim Camp” draws teens to combat extremism

Canada
‘Muslim Camp’ draws U.K. teens to combat extremism

The PEW Forum | Religion News
‘Ideas are the best’ weapons: Islamic scholar

The Siasat
‘Muslim Camp’ draws UK teens to combat extremism

Bay Ledger News Zone
“Muslim Camp” draws teens to combat extremism

Maryam-blog Blogspot
‘MUSLIM CAMP’ DRAWS UK TEENS TO COMBAT EXTREMISM

Talk Islam
“Muslim Camp” draws teens to combat extremism.

Times of Malta
Without attacks, Qaeda’s roars ring hollow

In Sing
‘Muslim Camp’ draws UK teens to combat extremism

msnbc
‘Muslim Camp’ draws UK teens to combat extremism

Preacher a voice for moderation

August 19th, 2009

COVENTRY, England — Like any rousing Islamic preacher, Muhammed Tahir ul-Qadri’s voice rises to a shout and his index finger jabs as he hammers home a point.

But rather than angry calls for jihad or a vitriolic denunciation of the West and its aggressions against Islam, Mr. Qadri’s message, equally forcefully delivered, is about moderation, peace, inclusion and understanding.

Addressing a packed auditorium from a raised platform, his words beamed on to large screen behind him, more than 1,000 young followers hang on his every word, even as his lecture moves into its fourth uninterrupted hour.

“Islam is not a religion of seclusion, it is not a religion of detachment,” he thunders from the dais, occasionally pausing to wipe the sweat from his brow or adjust his spectacles.

“Any killer of a non-Muslim citizen, he will go to hell. Those who are committing terroristic acts from Pakistan and Afghanistan and claiming it is jihad – they do not know what jihad is. It is forbidden. There will not be janna [paradise] for them,” he hollers, to shouts of approval.

Mr. Qadri, 58, who was born in Pakistan but now lives in Canada, is a renowned scholar of Sufism, a long tradition within Islam that focuses on spirituality, emphasizing peace and moderation.

The author of more than 400 books on Islamic scholarship and law, he travels the world delivering sermons to Sufis, while his organization, called Minhaj ul-Quran, has spread to 80 countries, from Greece to Fiji, since its founding in 1981.

In Britain, he is the main draw at a three-day retreat for young Muslims called Al Hidayah (Guidance), which over the past five years has grown into the biggest spiritual camp of its kind, with more than 1,200 attendees from a dozen countries.

Mr. Qadri believes camps such as his, which attract teenagers – girls and boys wearing traditional dress who sit separately in the auditorium – as well as their parents and children as young as six, can play a part in combating extremism within Islam.

For Britain, that has been particularly important since 2003, when the country joined the invasion of Iraq, and 2005, when four young British Muslims carried out suicide bombings on the London transport network, killing 52 people.

“I feel it is my duty to save the younger generation from radicalization,” Mr. Qadri said quietly over lunch on Sunday, shortly after finishing the second of several lectures and question-and-answer sessions, which concluded yesterday.

“We need to prepare them mentally and academically, intellectually and spiritually, against extremist tendencies and radical and terrorist attitudes. We need to provide them with an awakening of the true picture of Islam.”

Around the world, and particularly in the United States, there has been a steady increase in adherence to Sufism in the past decade. Governments keen to tackle the spread of more radical branches of Islam in their countries have worked with Sufi scholars and tried to emphasize their teachings.

In Britain, home to about 1.7 million Muslims, mostly from Pakistan, the government at first worked to promote Sufism, supporting the creation in 2006 of the Sufi Muslim Council, a group that took a strong stand against Islamist extremism.

But since then, it has moved away from explicit support, saying that working via the Sufi community – whose exact number in Britain is not known – is just one element of a wider approach to countering Islamic radicalism.

“It’s part of a broader engagement. We don’t want to isolate any one group over another,” a government spokeswoman said.

Supporters of Mr. Qadri, though, are adamant about the benefits of his teachings, with students coming from as far as Denmark and Canada to hear him speak during the three-day retreat.

Women in particular like his emphasis on female equality within Islam, an element not always touched on by other Islamic scholars.

“What he says is mind-opening, it makes you feel good as a woman,” said Sofia Saeed, 27, a legal assistant who travelled from Manchester to attend the retreat with a friend.

“There’s no discrimination here. It makes you feel like a stronger believer, a stronger person,” she said, comfortably wearing both designer sunglasses and her full hijab head covering.

Mr. Qadri, a former minister in Pakistan and close associate of Benazir Bhutto, the assassinated former prime minister, does not believe his teachings can change radical minds overnight, but he is a believer that intellect can ultimately defeat extremism.

“If the terrorists are 10 people and the peaceful are 1,000, then they are more powerful than us with their arms, even if we are 5,000,” he said.

“But the point is that we have to make the 5,000 more powerful not with arms, but by the communication of the right message of Islam.”

This article is taken from http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=1879055

More Links

Google News, UK
‘Ideas are the best’ weapons
‘Muslim Camp’ draws UK teens to combat extremism
Kamp Muslim Inggris Melawan Ekstrimis

Yahoo News
“Muslim Camp” draws teens to combat extremism

euronews
“Muslim Camp” draws UK teens to combat extremism

Stv
“Muslim Camp” draws UK teens to combat extremism

Global Tv . Com
‘Muslim Camp’ draws U.K. teens to combat extremism

The Star phoenix
‘Muslim Camp’ draws U.K. teens to combat extremism

Toronto Star
‘Ideas are the best’ weapons: Islamic scholar

Canada.com
Messenger of moderation
Sufischolar seeks to save young Muslims from radicalization

The Brunei Times
UK Muslim camp preaches peace

National Post
Messenger of moderation

National Post
Preacher a voice for moderation

The Gazette
‘Muslim Camp’ draws U.K. teens to combat extremism

The Vancouver Sun
‘Muslim Camp’ draws U.K. teens to combat extremism

The Malaysia Insider
‘Muslim Camp’ draws UK teens to combat extremism

Islam Online.net
UK Sufi Camp Combats Extremism

Republika Online
Kamp Muslim Inggris Melawan Ekstrimis

Reuters Italia
Gran Bretagna, “campo islamico” contro estremismo seduce giovani

Reuters India
‘Muslim Camp’ draws UK teens to combat extremism

Birmingham Post
Islamic author denounces terrorism as a cancer in Muslim world

Islam Online
UK Sufi Camp Combats Extremism

National Post
Preacher a voice for moderation

Point de Bascule Canada
GRANDE BRETAGNE – UN IMAM SOUFISTE CANADIEN PRÊCHE UN AUTRE ISLAM À DES MUSULMANS BRITANNIQUES. IL ENSEIGNE L’INCLUSION, LA “SPIRITUALITÉ”, LA PAIX ET LA MODÉRATION…

The Province
‘Muslim Camp’ draws U.K. teens to combat extremism

Euro News
“Muslim Camp” draws UK teens to combat extremism

The Windsor Star
‘Muslim Camp’ draws U.K. teens to combat extremism

IB Times
“Muslim Camp” draws UK teens to combat extremism

Javno
`Muslim Camp` Draws UK Teens To Combat Extremism

Aussie Muslims
‘Muslim Camp’ draws UK teens to combat extremism

The Revival
“Muslim Camp” draws UK teens to combat extremism!

NEWS Tin
“Muslim Camp” draws teens to combat extremism

Yanabi . Com
“Muslim Camp” draws teens to combat extremism…

Digg
‘Muslim Camp’ draws teens to combat extremism

Nicer News
‘Muslim Camp’ draws teens to combat extremism

Topix
‘Muslim Camp’ draws UK teens to combat extremism

Canada
‘Muslim Camp’ draws U.K. teens to combat extremism

Leader Post
‘Muslim Camp’ draws U.K. teens to combat extremism

Best News
“Muslim Camp” draws UK teens to combat extremism

World Peace
‘Muslim Camp’ draws teens to combat extremism

ABC News
“Muslim Camp” Draws Teens to Combat Extremism

Euro Islam . Info
‘Muslim Camp’ draws UK teens to combat extremism

Hizb ut-Tahrir
“Muslim Camp” draws UK teens to combat extremism

World News
‘Muslim Camp’ draws UK teens to combat extremism

Toronto Star
‘Muslim Camp’ draws UK teens to combat extremism

The Free Library online
“Muslim Camp” draws teens to combat extremism

Daily Times
‘Muslim Camp’ draws UK teens to combat extremism

Reuters UK
“Muslim Camp” draws UK teens to combat extremism

Reuters
“Muslim Camp” draws teens to combat extremism

Canada
‘Muslim Camp’ draws U.K. teens to combat extremism

The PEW Forum | Religion News
‘Ideas are the best’ weapons: Islamic scholar

The Siasat
‘Muslim Camp’ draws UK teens to combat extremism

Bay Ledger News Zone
“Muslim Camp” draws teens to combat extremism

Maryam-blog Blogspot
‘MUSLIM CAMP’ DRAWS UK TEENS TO COMBAT EXTREMISM

Talk Islam
“Muslim Camp” draws teens to combat extremism.

Times of Malta
Without attacks, Qaeda’s roars ring hollow

In Sing
‘Muslim Camp’ draws UK teens to combat extremism

msnbc
‘Muslim Camp’ draws UK teens to combat extremism