Reddit user Negro_Napoleon asked this question:
“To Muslims: What are you all talking about amongst yourselves when you read about islamic inspired acts of violence around the world?”
Here are their answers.
From arabdoc:
I’m not sure about others but we usually curse those violent groups and what they’ve done to our reputation and image, Muslims and especially Arab Muslims. It’s a disgrace and nothing about it is admirable. I even had a discussion with an Iraqi Shi’ite (I’m Sunni) and we both cursed those groups and what they’re doing. But we also tend to avoid those topics because we don’t have much free speech over there, and even when we’re in the west…we don’t want someone to overhear us and think something’s up.
Personally I believe a lot of the followers of these groups are uneducated people who also have a very low IQ and are clueless about anything, and most likely very poor and lived in poor violent ghettos that are not open to the outside world. Whereas the leaders are power and wealth hungry people who are supported by various rich politically-involved people in neighboring and non-neighboring countries.
From SYEDSAYS:
I’m a practicing Muslim who lives in a very politically and theologically sound environment. I never came across any Muslim who have directly sympathized with the criminals and didn’t feel anguished at the violent acts.
From onegaminusmuslim:
I am a Muslim who lives in the US, so I might not be someone who you’re looking for… I’m not caught up in it, so to speak. I haven’t been to mosque in a while, but whenever these things come up we always shake our heads and say “Astafrigullah” which means “may Allah forbid it” or “Allah forbids it,” it’s a way of condemning a thing. When you hear someone robbed someone you know, it’s something you say. When someone swears in the mosque you might say it. It’s a term of admonishment.
You also try and think about how lost these people are. How they could have been lead to the light of Allah and still became so corrupted and angry and hateful that the death of others seemed glorious to them. You think about how blessed you are that you’re in an environment where people aren’t able to corrupt you in this way. You pray that Allah will help those that they hurt, and those that they killed will find Paradise. I also pray for the one who did it; even though they are awful they’re clearly lost and in the thrall of Satan when they do such a thing, and that is something terrifying, because it can happen to anyone if they don’t remember their obligations and their lord.
As a Muslim I’ve never found something they were fighting for admirable, unless they were protecting the life of another. There was a 15-year-old Muslim boy some time ago who died keeping a suicide bomber from killing dozens of kids in a school. Him I admire because he did the most selfless thing he could, and I know as much as I can that Allah will have that boy at His side.
You do hear about people who worry about their families back home in affected areas, and you hear about people who have lost their loved ones to violence. That gives you the most sorrow, anger, and fear. You hope someone you know doesn’t end up going home to bury a relative and get hurt themselves. And you also think about how Allah made the Muslim community to be a worldwide loving brotherhood, and this is like your own family killing each other. It makes one feel sick.
From Cackerot:
I just think about all the shitty things that have happened to them that led these people to say just ‘fuck it’, and blow themselves up. One of the great sins in Islam is taking your own life, let alone another person and these people have such little hope that they believe killing themselves will bring them peace.
As for how our community leaders deal with this stuff, and in mosques, almost all the extremists are not mosques goers. Otherwise they would not be extremists. Here’s a lecture that was delivered in English at my mosque just a few days ago.
We think that they’re terrorists.
From: SALADINx:
I was upset about them before they even entered the consciousness of the mainstream. They ruined the Syrian opposition in 2012-2013 by cannibalizing everyone who opposed them and murdering all major Syrian opposition groups asides from them during the 2012-2013 internecine rebel conflict.
ISIS is talked about at my mosque quite frequently, with imams/scholars placing a specific focus on decrying their ideology/actions in their sermons.
From zimrylan:
hi, i’m the 0.01% of the muslims you find who have different views from other muslims about the one you called terrorist. To put things straight, you have to know the prespective and opinion from “their” side, not just your local news opinion which usually have no concrete proof. Second, you need to know what happened to the muslim’s history from the Caliphate ar-rasyidin until the fall of Ottoman empire to understand the real situation.
I love telling my friends about what is truly happening and many people are getting aware of it. The ones are not aware are the ones who are ego to check for the truth.
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Tiffany Willis is a fifth-generation Texan and the founder and editor-in-chief of Liberal America. An unapologetic member of the Christian Left, she has spent most of her career actively working with ?the least of these? and disadvantaged and oppressed populations. She’s passionate about their struggles. To stay on top of topics she discusses,?like her?Facebook page,?follow her on Twitter, or?connect with her via LinkedIn. She also has?a?grossly neglected personal blog?and a?literary quotes blog that is a labor of love. Find her somewhere and join the discussion.
