Muslim preacher ‘who advocated dying while fighting jihad’ given platform at London U

[Deleted]

Muslim preacher ‘who advocated dying while fighting jihad’ given platform at London university

A preacher who has advocated “dying while fighting jihad” and claimed men can use “physical force” on their wives was given a platform at a London university, the Standard can reveal.

Abdurraheem Green, a Muslim convert from Roman Catholicism who was once banned from Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium for making anti-Semitic comments, preached to students at a SOAS Islamic Society charity event this month.

Green has previously written that conflict between Islam and Western societies is “ordered in the Koran”. He has also claimed: “Dying while fighting jihad is one of the surest ways to paradise and Allah’s good pleasure.”

In 2005 he was barred from boarding a flight to Australia after being placed on a “movement alert list” amid concern over his radical comments.

This month the Islamic Education and Research Academy, a charity he co-founded and chairs, was warned by the Charity Commission to distance itself from extremists. Green has since said he does not support terrorism and acknowledged saying “some radical things in the past”.

During his SOAS University of London address he told the audience that the “whole world is a prison”. Discussing the plight of people in Gaza, he said: “They’re blessed in a way that we’re not blessed, because they’re not deluded.

“They’re not deluded into thinking that there’s some enjoyment in this life. They know the reality. They really know that this world is a prison.”

Green told the Standard that he did not support terrorism and his comments about jihad were years old and related to traditional Islamic teachings.

He said: “Jihad wasn’t a dirty word 20 years ago. Now if you say ‘jihad’ you probably think of terrorism or Isis. I don’t encourage anyone who lives here to go and participate and to go abroad and fight.” The preacher also denied encouraging violence against women and claimed he now only advocated “self-improvement”.

But Adam Deen, managing director, of the Quilliam Foundation, which challenges extremism, said: “Abdurraheem Green and his organisation push a reading of Islam that upholds noxious theological views and is simply incompatible with universal values. As a consequence, his activities have tainted young Muslim minds.”

A spokesman for the university said: “SOAS is committed to maintaining a neutral platform and ensuring that all members of our diverse community are free to express their opinions. However, this does not permit the expression of views that are against the law.”

A spokeswoman for the SOAS students’ union said: “The union supports the school’s values on freedom of speech. This can only be conducted effectively in an atmosphere of open inquiry, mutual tolerance and intellectual freedom.

“However, freedom of expression may not be exercised to threaten the safety or freedom of expression of others.”

Scary, isn't it?

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http://www.standard.co.uk/news/londo...-a3400911.html

[Darkeon]

We must not be intolerant of intolerance!

[Rend Blackhand]

Conservatives really denied a platform but terrorists are given a free pass.

Fuck universities and the wankers that run them.

[tehealadin]

Was this at an NUS affiliated place? If so, their inconsistency on no platforming is annoying. Granted, different places have their own rules, it isn't dictated by a central body, however that doesn't make them consistent as a whole.

[May90]

Ugh... read what you yourself cite. This guy talks about Jihad as an internal struggle, he specifically says that it has nothing to do with violence.

Actual trouble are someone like this guy:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yasser_Arafat
Who ironically got a Nobel Peace Prize.

[jackofwind]

Green told the Standard that he did not support terrorism and his comments about jihad were years old and related to traditional Islamic teachings.

He said: “Jihad wasn’t a dirty word 20 years ago. Now if you say ‘jihad’ you probably think of terrorism or Isis. I don’t encourage anyone who lives here to go and participate and to go abroad and fight.” The preacher also denied encouraging violence against women and claimed he now only advocated “self-improvement”.

Let's take shit out of context instead of actually reading and understanding it! The traditional meaning of jihad is the internal struggle one has within oneself against sin. In an academic context it gets used a lot in discussions of philosophy and theology.

Instead of just having a split-second reaction you guys could try to actually learn something for once.

[Justpassing]

Let's take shit out of context instead of actually reading and understanding it! The traditional meaning of jihad is the internal struggle one has with oneself against sin.

Instead of just having a split-second reaction you guys could try to actually learn something for once.

Yeah but if I'm not gonna blindly rage at brown people, what would I do with all my outrage??

[Draco-Onis]

Ugh... read what you yourself cite. This guy talks about Jihad as an internal struggle, he specifically says that it has nothing to do with violence.

Actual trouble are someone like this guy:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yasser_Arafat
Who ironically got a Nobel Peace Prize.

Don't confuse people with level headed arguments, terrorists brown person rawr rawr!

[Army Dreamer]

Let's take shit out of context instead of actually reading and understanding it! The traditional meaning of jihad is the internal struggle one has within oneself against sin. In an academic context it gets used a lot in discussions of philosophy and theology.

You are absolutely right. All these jihad fighters keep killing people exclusively for the sake of academic discussion of philosophy and theology.

[Tyrianth]

Ugh... read what you yourself cite. This guy talks about Jihad as an internal struggle, he specifically says that it has nothing to do with violence.

Actual trouble are someone like this guy:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yasser_Arafat
Who ironically got a Nobel Peace Prize.

Do you actually expect the majority of people on this forum to actually be able to read and comprehend things other than what Breitbart tells them?

[Astalnar]

So let me get this straight: In 2016 AD, a flamboyant homosexual is banned from giving a lecture on freedom of speech, while a proponent of radical islam is given a platform. And this is all taking place in Great Britain, not in Saudi Arabia?

I don't know if I should cry or laugh...

[Kalis]

Yeah but if I'm not gonna blindly rage at brown people, what would I do with all my outrage??

Brown people like Abdurraheem Green?

[Tyrianth]

So let me get this straight: In 2016 AD, a flamboyant homosexual is banned from giving a lecture on freedom of speech, while a proponent of radical islam is given a platform. And this is all taking place in Great Britain, not in Saudi Arabia?

I don't know if I should cry or laugh...

This guy isn't a radical Muslim. Source on the gay guy being banned from giving a lecture because I'm guessing that's also not the whole story. In fact, my google searching only brought up a Colorado student from being banned from giving a speech because he intended on coming out during it.

[Deleted]

Conservatives really denied a platform but terrorists are given a free pass.

Fuck universities and the wankers that run them.

Yeah. Terrifiing.

[Deleted]

Dying while fighting Jihad. I am wrong, but wouldn't that indicate that you were fighting against Jihad?

[Endus]

Dying while fighting Jihad. I am wrong, but wouldn't that indicate that you were fighting against Jihad?

The issue is really that all "jihad" means is "struggle". An alcoholic fighting his addiction is fighting a jihad. A feminist like Malala Yousafzai fighting for women's education rights in Afghanistan, that's jihad. There's no explicit connection to violence in there. It's a term that can INCLUDE violent struggles, just like the English word "fight" can refer to both non-violent struggles (fighting an illness) and violence. Really, people mostly react badly because it's OH MY GOD SCARY ARABIC WORD. Like ALGEBRA.

"Dying while fighting jihad" is basically just a way of saying "fighting to the death". That's it. You could paraphrase Voltaire as "i disagree with what you say, but I'll engage in jihad to the death to defend your right to say it". And that doesn't change the meaning.

[Kalis]

Dying while fighting Jihad. I am wrong, but wouldn't that indicate that you were fighting against Jihad?

It can mean both 'dying whilst fighting against jihad' and 'dying whilst fighting for jihad', it is somewhat ambiguous.

However the statement “Dying while fighting jihad is one of the surest ways to paradise and Allah’s good pleasure” is less ambiguous and clearly meant as 'dying whilst fighting for jihad'. What he means by jihad is up for debate.

[Tyrianth]

The issue is really that all "jihad" means is "struggle". An alcoholic fighting his addiction is fighting a jihad. A feminist like Malala Yousafzai fighting for women's education rights in Afghanistan, that's jihad. There's no explicit connection to violence in there. It's a term that can INCLUDE violent struggles, just like the English word "fight" can refer to both non-violent struggles (fighting an illness) and violence. Really, people mostly react badly because it's OH MY GOD SCARY ARABIC WORD. Like ALGEBRA.

"Dying while fighting jihad" is basically just a way of saying "fighting to the death". That's it. You could paraphrase Voltaire as "i disagree with what you say, but I'll engage in jihad to the death to defend your right to say it". And that doesn't change the meaning.

Fun fact that I just learned today! Voltaire never said that. It's a quote from Evelyn Beatrice Hall, she used the phrase to summarize Voltaire's attitude.

https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Evelyn_Beatrice_Hall

[Kraenen]

It is kind of scary to think of the kinds of people who get deplatformed (e.g. Richard Dawkins) and the people who get platformed. It's almost as if they're trying to rig the game in favor of Islamists.

[Damajin]

It is kind of scary to think of the kinds of people who get deplatformed (e.g. Richard Dawkins) and the people who get platformed. It's almost as if they're trying to rig the game in favor of Islamists.

We call that normalizing.