The mosques needed a clear-out. In with the new, out with the old as they say.

I didn't see the programme. If it is true that the views expressed breached British law then how can we complain? We agree to abide by the laws of the country we live in. If people want Mosques to give Khutbahs slagging off the majority of the population then that's really great Dawah isn't it? I'm sure there are plenty of countries that people can move to if they want to hear such Khutbahs.

It's the mosques fault for allowing people with these views to give the Khutbahs, not the MPs. If a Synagogue had the equivalent views about non-Jews we would be complaining and calling for police investigations.

It is true that some people like Dismore are using this as a stick to beat us with but WE Muslims gave him the stick in the first place!

There is no doubt that the Mosques have to buckle up their act, they should all have clear constitutions which are based on equitable, transparent community trusts which can not be hijacked by one or two individuals who in some cases don’t even regularly attend the Masjid and at other times have been know to own off licences!!! Representatives should be selected on meritocracy not autocracy or nepotism. However we can not underestimate the importance of these ‘islands of purity, monotheism and worship’ Hence when they are unjustly attacked, we must respond with a unequivocal and fierce devotion. This is a question of collective brotherhood, which takes precedence over all petty differences. As Allah (swt) says:

O you who believe! Let not a group scoff at another group, it may be that the latter are better than the former; nor let (some) women scoff at other women, it may be that the latter are better than the former, nor defame one another, nor insult one another by nicknames. How bad is it, to insult one's brother after having Faith. And whosoever does not repent, then such are indeed Zâlimûn (wrong-doers). [Surah Al-Hujarat 49:11]

The Prophet Muhammed (pbuh) stated: “The Muslim is the brother of another Muslim; he does not betray him, lie to him or forsake him. The whole Muslim is sacred to his fellow Muslim – his honour, his wealth and his blood. Taqwa (piety) is here. It is sufficient evil for a man to despise his brother.” Sahih Al-Bukhari

Hence the most shattering and disheartening aspect of Channel 4’s un-objective, selective and entrapment based journalism, was that fellow Muslims betrayed and abandoned their fellow brothers by supporting and endorsing these vile, baseless and distorted allegations within this documentary. As a relatively new Muslim I was so saddened by the fact that there were fellow Muslims out there, who no doubt felt pleasure and delight when their brothers in these mosques and communities they serve were aggrieved, hurt and upset.

The malicious, prejudiced and snaring approach used by the programme makers, purposefully aimed to distort, undermine and vilify organisations that have been vanguards of community development and engagement, in their respective arenas for over 40 years, on the back of stray, out-of context, or incomplete statements made by independent individuals.

So I would like to ask, why are we not holding to account and questioning the conduct, motives and intentions of the people who have been encouraging this which-hunt, both within the documentary and outside, knowing full well its Islamophobic agenda and that it will ultimately lead to harassment of sisters and the vandalising of Mosques. People such as Timothy Winters or Sheikh Hakim Murad as he is known (tjw31@can.ac.uk) or Harris Rafiq the self-proclaimed head of the sectarian neo-conservative conspiracy that is the Sufi Muslim Council (hrafiq@bridgetv.com) or Guyasudeen Siddiqi the futile ‘leader’ of the once renowned but now defunct Muslim Parliament (drsiddiqui@talk21.com).


Brothers & Sisters this programme comes after more than a year of sustained Islamophobic attacks both on TV and in the Media against various Muslim organisations. The time has come for us to say enough is enough. We must unite in order to defend ourselves from this onslaught. May Allah (swt) reward you for your efforts and may He protect us from those who seek to cause discord and hurt within our community.

i do not know why you call them neo con
these thugs are old cons nothing new vile evil brutal barbaric and parasites, thieves, sleezebags

Salaam

Asghar Bukhari was British born and educated in state school where English is not taught. The children pick up English in local accents from the peers in the play ground. He and other Muslim youths who went through British education system,are not well versed in standard English ,Arabic, Urdu and other languages spoken by their parents and elders. They are unable to enjoy the beauty of their literature and poetry. They are cut off off from their cultural roots for not learning their own languages. They regard bilingualism as a problem and not an asset.

To, Rashid Ismail and all others who feel that the programme was a conspiracy against Islam and Muslims, I say this was a favour to Muslims by Channel 4. By doing what Muslims themselves should have done ages ago, they have provided us with an opportunity to start challenging the bigotry and racist/offensive remarks that are part of almost all Khutbas and "speical teaching sessions" around the country's mosques. If we do not condmen this behaviour and control our Imams, the time will come very soon when the government will take away the privilidges that Muslims enjoy in this country. Believe it or not, we have more freedom to practice our religion (the way we want, privately and publicly) in Britain than we have in Saudi Arabia, Pakistan or any other European country). So, lets be sensible and not just side with a Muslim doing something wrong because they are Muslims! Its better for us to correct them and retain our priviledges, rather than let the situation get out of hand and the government agencies force any such correction upon us.
Just because the Sufi Council and Dr Ghayasuddin Siddiqui condemn such actions, does not mean they are neo-cons. Remember, during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, the same Mullahs were best buddies with the Americans to ward off the communist threat, using their money and weapons to fight.
Just be sensible and put the country first, co-religionists second!

In the Name of Allah the Most Beneficent the Most Merciful

Dear Patriotic British Muslim, at no stage did I condone any of the more inflammatory, un-civic or bigoted comments made by some of the individuals, in fact I began my statement by advocating the need for reform in a vast number of our Masajid. I would be the first to commend and salute the many liberties and freedoms of conscience and religion that we enjoy in the country we call home. I attacked the media modus operandi and approach which only the naive or uninformed amongst us would fail to register, being someone who works in the media I have weekly first-hand experience of the calls that many of the national media make every day, overtly and maliciously trying to chase some story about something some Muslim has said concerning, homosexuality, or men only swimming classes, or vaccination in Islam, or the work of some Palestinian or Muslim charity or the veil, or extremism on University campus etc etc. Now British Muslim Patriot, how would you explain this type of obvious media-witch-hunt?

Please do not tarnish all of our 1000 Mosques with same brush of a few stray preachers, who though wrong, were also definitely the victims of entrapment and cherry-picked editing. Some further points for you reference, having personally visited some of the mosques in question, I have never heard any hatred or anti-establishment rhetoric from any of their pulpits, unless you categorise speaking against the complicity in the mass slaughter of 700,000 Iraqi Muslims, 100,000 Afghani Muslims or the rampant social vices of our community, such as promiscuity, drunkenness, the breakdown of the family unit, drug use, underage sex and a complete disregard and disdain for anything religious...as bigotry??

The institutions being slandered and ridiculed have been active in inter-community development, engagement and bridge building for over 30 years and furthermore you give anyone with biased and malicious intent access to a Hindu, Sikh, Christian, or Jewish organisation for 12 whole months and they could probably piece together a similar programme on intolerance and hate. (The BNP do it in Pubs, does that make the pub radical...?)Sensationalist documentaries such this, in their eagerness to find radicals, are alienating vast swathes of our community. We are British and we will always abide by the rule of law and defend the goodness within, but that doesn't mean we will not speak out against imperialism or unwarranted aggression across the world.

Furthermore my patriotic friend, the Sufi Muslim Council is definitely the brainchild and illegitimate offspring of the American Neo-conservatives. They are not afraid to hide this on their website or in their statements, so why can't you admit this. Astonishingly they received congratulations from the chief Neo-con Mr GW Bush himself, at their inaugural launch at the Houses of Parliament last year. You obviously haven't read the scholarly article on their motives and background, please wake up and smell the coffee and may Allah (swt) raise us on the Day of Judgement with the scholars, the martyred, the Prophets and the righteous..Ameen.

Sufi Muslim Council Exposed
http://sufimuslimcouncil.blogspot.com/