Saturday, April 09, 2011

A point of view from Dr Hamid



It is evident that Islam has been linked to violence for almost all of its history.
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Sadly, this is to a great extent true.
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From the beginning of the invasion of most of Europe, North Africa and some parts of the East by early Muslims in order to convert them to Islam.
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Continuously until the modern crisis of "Islamic Terrorism" that shocked the world on Sep 11th, that ended the lives of many innocent Jews in Israel, that ended the lives of many innocent
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Australians in the Bali attack, that caused the catastrophe of bombing the train in Spain, and which has tortured to death many innocent Westerners who live in the Islamic world.
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Many people in the West tried to correlate the recent violence observed in the Islamic world to lack of education, poverty, and a feeling of oppression blamed on the Israeli/Palestinian conflict.
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Unfortunately, the simple facts showed us clearly, and beyond doubt, that these excuses are not the true causes of "Islamic terrorism".
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Most of the leaders of terrorism are highly educated people who range from Doctors, e.g. Alzawaheri the second man and the real brain of Alqaida, lawyers, e.g. the first female Palestinian terrorist, and University students, e.g. Mohammed Atta who was one of the top organisers of Sep the 11th.
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In addition, most of the hijackers on Sep 11th were from Saudi Arabia, the richest Islamic country.
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If the theory of poverty is correct, why then are the poor people who live in Brazilia are not the ones who lead international terrorism?
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Furthermore, Islamic Terrorism was minimal between the declaration of the state of Israel in 1948, until the early 1970's, when the Arabs were in a real war with Israel.
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If the Israeli/Palestinian conflict was the cause of terrorism, we would have found terrorism booming between 1948 until the early 1970's.
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On the contrary, it dramatically increased in the late 1980s and until now when some Arabs states have signed peace agreements with Israel.
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This increase in terrorism directly correlates with the rise of Islamism in the late 1980s until now.
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I have a Muslim/Arabic background, and I know how Muslims (including myself at an early stage of my life) think
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I clearly state that Muslims are using the excuse of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict just to make the world hate Israel.
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It has nothing to do with the current phenomenon of terrorism.
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Which was going to happen any way, as a secondary phenomenon to expanding a violent version of Islam in later years?
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It is also difficult for any normal mind to comprehend that throwing concentrated sulphuric acid on the face of young girls who do not wear the Islamic veil/scarf, by the hands of the Islamic groups in Algeria, is related to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict.
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As one who was a member of one of the most fanatical groups in Islam, GI in Egypt, and as a person who has resisted Islamic fundamentalism when I realized its threat some 20 years ago, I feel that it is my obligation toward mankind to declare that the origin of Islamic Terrorism is deeply rooted in the way Muslims understand their religion.
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In other words, in Islamic teaching itself.
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When you read the Quran, you will find many great verses that promote peace and tolerance.
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But you will also find verses that can make you very violent and intolerant toward Non Muslims.
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Sadly, most Islamic scholars throughout the history of Islam, present it in a way that promotes a very violent and intolerant attitude.
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And more sadly, the oppressive religious system suppresses many attempts to understand Islam in the light of the peaceful verses.
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Not only that, but the majority of Muslims especially those in the Arab world, are brought up in a manner that considers a peaceful understanding of the religion as a sign of weakness rather than a sign of strength.
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A violent understanding of Islam is based on the following fundamental beliefs that are fixed in the mind of many, if not most, knowledgeable Muslims
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Dr. Tawfik Hamid is an Islamic thinker and reformer, and one time Islamic extremist from Egypt.
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He was a member of a terrorist Islamic organization Jamaa Islamiya with Dr. Ayman Al-Zawahiri, who later became the second in command of Al-Qaeda.
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Some twenty-five years ago, Dr. Hamid recognized the threat of radical Islam and the need for a reformation based upon modern peaceful interpretations of classical Islamic core texts. 
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Dr. Hamid provided a fresh and theologically valid interpretation for the Quran to counterbalance the radical teaching.
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As the Daily Express (UK) mentioned, "Dr. Hamid has predicted the attacks on the twin towers, Madrid and London."
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After September 11, Dr. Hamid decided to speak out through western broadcast and print media.
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He has appeared on shows spanning the spectrum from CNN to Fox News, and his articles and Op-Ed pieces have appeared in publications such as the Wall Street Journal, the New YorkDaily News, and the Jerusalem Post.
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Dr. Hamid's exceptional knowledge of the jihadi mindset has caused him to be invited as a guest speaker at private and governmental fora around the world. 
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Dr. Hamid has a unique insight into the minds of radical terrorists and wants to share ways in which he can positively influence their way of thinking and end their violent actions.
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Dr. Hamid, who is also known as Tarek Abdelhamid, has a medical degree in internal medicine and a Master's degree in cognitive psychology and educational techniques.
Currently Dr. Hamid is a Senior Fellow at the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies and President of the Global Movement Against Radical Islam.
Dr. Hamid is also the author of Inside Jihad

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