Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Muslims around the world protest against Islamic State/I.S.I.S./I.S.I.L., extremism, updated 9/17/2014

These are some recent protests against ISIL by Muslims, that I found quickly.


[Iran]
http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/isis-terror/irans-rouhani-blasts-isis-ridiculous-u-s-led-coalition-n205496

Sept. 17, 2014

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, in an exclusive interview with NBC News' Ann Curry, denounced ISIS for its savagery but also branded the U.S.-led coalition against the terror group as "ridiculous." Speaking from the presidential palace in Tehran ahead of his visit to the United Nations, Rouhani questioned President Obama's decision to go after ISIS with airstrikes.

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Asked about the extremists' beheading of American James Foley and Steven Sotloff and Briton David Haines, Rouhani said ISIS' actions are at odds with Islamic tenets.

"They want to kill humanity," he said. "And from the viewpoint of the Islamic tenets and culture, killing an innocent people equals the killing of the whole humanity. And therefore, the killing and beheading of innocent people in fact is a matter of shame for them and it's the matter of concern and sorrow for all the human and all the mankind."

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[Denmark]
http://www.demotix.com/news/5751558/danish-muslims-protest-against-islamic-state

Danish Muslims protest against Islamic State

13 September 2014

Danish Muslims and sympathizers demonstrate against the brutal Jihadist group Islamic State, IS (Formerly known as ISIS). The protesters marched peacefully, condemning the IS’s extreme violent behavior and the killing of innocent people.

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[Germany]
http://www.dw.de/german-muslim-community-announces-protest-against-extremism/a-17926770

German Muslim community announces protest against extremism

Sept. 19, 2014

Speaking to at a news conference in Berlin on Tuesday, Muslim leaders from around Germany announced a nationwide demonstration on the misrepresentation of Islam.

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The central council of Muslims has also condemned recent fundamentalist activities, accusing them of "perverting the name of [Islam]."

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[Canada]
http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/calgary/Hundreds+expected+march+City+Hall+protest+Islamic/10201971/story.html

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Calgarians of all faiths gather at City Hall in protest of Islamic extremism

[Calgay, Canada]
By Reid Southwick and Erika Stark, Calgary Herald September 14, 2014

A small group of demonstrators gathered outside City Hall Saturday afternoon in protest of Islamic radicals — including several from Calgary — fighting with terrorist groups in the Middle East.

Muslim organizers of the rally say militants fighting with the Islamic State, Al Nusrah and other groups do not belong to the mainstream Islamic faith, but are members of a cult.

The organizers say they are united with other faiths in condemning violence perpetrated by these militants, who control a spreading swath of Middle Eastern territory.

“We just want to make the people aware of these events and that they don’t represent Islam,” said Riayaz Khawaja, who helped organize the rally, which drew about 75 people to City Hall. “The youth of Canada should be aware of such brainwashing by elements inside the country who brainwash the youth and drive them to the IS ideology.”

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[Britain]
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/13/term-islamic-state-slur-faith-david-cameron

'Islamic State' is a slur on our faith, say leading Muslims
Daniel Boffey, policy editor
The Observer, Saturday 13 September 2014

The prime minister and media should stop legitimising the terror group rampaging through Syria and Iraq by describing it as Islamic State, according to a coalition of imams and organisations representing British Muslims. Use of the jihadis' preferred title, they argue, gives credibility to the Sunni militants and slurs the Islamic faith.

Signatories to a letter to David Cameron, including Sughra Ahmed, president of the Islamic Society of Britain, admit that UK Muslims need to do more to dissuade their young men from being misled into taking part in the group's "hatred and poison". "We shall take every opportunity to continue to say clearly and loudly 'not in our name' and 'not for our faith,' " they write.

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Signatories including Mohammed Abbasi, from the Association of British Muslims, and Amjad Malik QC, president of the Association of Muslim Lawyers, write: "We do not believe the terror group responsible should be given the credence and standing they seek by styling themselves Islamic State. It is neither Islamic, nor is it a state.

"The group has no standing with faithful Muslims, nor among the international community of nations. It clearly will never accept the obligations that any legitimate state has, including the responsibility to protect citizens and uphold human rights.

"So we believe the media, civic society and governments should refuse to legitimise these ludicrous caliphate fantasies by accepting or propagating this name. We propose that 'UnIslamic State' (UIS) could be an accurate and fair alternative name to describe this group and its agenda – and we will begin to call it that."

The intervention marks an intensification of a campaign by prominent British Muslims to deter young men from seeking adventure with the militants. It follows a recent decision by Muslim leaders to issue a fatwa condemning British jihadis.

Six senior Islamic scholars endorsed the fatwa last month, describing Britons allied to Islamic State (Isis) cells as "heretics" and prohibiting would-be jihadis from joining the "oppressive and tyrannical" group in Iraq and Syria.

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[United States, Michigan]
http://www.ijreview.com/2014/08/171666-muslims-denounce-isis-enemies-humanity-dearborn-michigan/

Muslims Denounce ISIS As ‘The Enemies Of Humanity’ at Public Protest in Michigan

By Kevin Boyd
Aug. 27, 2014

On Monday, a protest was held in Dearborn, Michigan, home to one of the nation’s largest Muslim populations. The object of protest wasn’t the U.S. government, but instead the Islamic State (or ISIS/ISIL.)

The rally was actually put on by local Muslim imams, and they had harsh words for ISIS. The Detroit Free Press has more:

Muslim leaders gathered Monday on the steps of Dearborn City Hall to strongly condemn ISIS, saying the militant group in Iraq and Syria doesn’t represent Islam or Muslims.

ISIS members are “crazy criminals who are abusing our religion,” said Imam Mohammed Elahi of the Islamic House of Wisdom in Dearborn Heights. “You’re a bunch of gangsters … you’re not Islamic.”

[...]About 50 attended Monday’s rally, which included remarks by local imams, Osama Siblani, publisher of Arab American News in Dearborn, Dawud Walid, director of the Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, and Steve Spreitzer, president and CEO of the Michigan Roundtable for Diversity and Inclusion.

“They are the enemies of humanity,” Siblani said of ISIS.

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