#islamic whatsapp groups

[gatewaytojannah]

#gatewaytojannah #islamicreminders #islamicquotes #muslim #islam #dua #dawah #jummah #salah #namaz #gatewaytojannah gatewaytojannah hadith quran quranquotes islamicreminder islamicreminders islamicquotes dawah gateway2jannah #gatewaytojannah gatewaytojannah hadith quran quranquotes islamicreminder islamicreminders islamicquotes dawah #gateway2jannah #gatewaytojannah hadith quran quranquotes islamicreminder islamicreminders islamicquotes dawah #jummahreminders #jummahkareem #jummah prayers #jummahmubarak #islamic whatsapp groups #whatsapp groups

[thepeacepigeon]

“Woman, life, freedom.” How the women of Iran protest the hijab

(Clodagh Kilcoyne/Reuters)

In September 2022, 22-year-old Mahsa Amini was arrested by morality police in Tehran, Iran, for refusing to wear a hijab. Hijabs have been mandatory in Iran for women since the revolution in 1979, when the Imperial State of Iran was replaced with the Islamic Republic. Only a month after the victory of the revolution, Iran's new head of state, Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, declared: “Sin is not allowed in Islamic Cabinet ministries. Women should not appear naked in the ministries. Women are allowed only with a hijab. There is no obstacle to them working but only if they wear the hijab as prescribed by Islamic law.”

(Aristotle Saris/AP Photo)

The following day, over 15,000 Iranian women celebrated International Women’s Day, gathering in front of the prime minister’s office in Tehran in protest against the mandatory hijab. As of 1983, Parliament has since passed the Islamic Penal Code, which establishes a punishment of “up to 74 lashes for women appearing without Islamic hijab in public.” In 1996, the law was revised and replaced with “physical punishment with incarceration and fines.” 

In the case of Mahsa Amini, her suspicious death in police custody sparked massive outrage across the country, prompting widespread and large-scale protests. Videos were posted and spread online of Iranian women cutting their hair and burning their hijabs, which served as a powerful way to both protest the morality police responsible for Amini’s death and reject the policy of compulsory hijab. Iranians— both men and women, peacefully protested in the streets of Tehran, and in big and small towns across the country, chanting, “Woman, life, freedom.” 

(Safin Hamed/AFP/GI)

While many of these protests have been shut down or lost traction and attention outside of Iran, political activism in the name of women's equality and freedom continues to thrive in different forms. Widely recognized imprisoned female activists continue to leak statements and voice recordings online, describing and criticizing their living conditions in prison and encouraging other activists to keep working. Discussions and online meetings continue to be held in private online forums such as Twitter, Telegram, and WhatsApp. The women of Iran continue to engage in quiet civil disobedience regardless of the risks or consequences.

In 2017, five years before Mahsa Amini's death, a young woman named Vida Movahed climbed and stood on top of a utility box on one of Tehran's busiest streets. She stood, bareheaded—calmly waving her white scarf on a long stick. Her peaceful yet powerful display of defiance went viral, and photos soon circulated of other Iranian women taking off their headscarves in public. These acts of resistance contrast the violent treatment women like Mahsa Amini face at the hands of the Iranian government and police. They serve as an important example and reminder of the power the people can hold. 

Kenyon, Peter. “Public Protests Are over but More Iranian Women Are Refusing to Wear the Hijab.” NPR, NPR, 20 June 2023, www.npr.org/2023/06/20/1183152677/public-protests-are-over-but-more-iranian-women-are-refusing-to-wear-the-hijab.

Bazoobandi, Sara, et al. “Hijab in Iran: From Religious to Political Symbol.” Carnegie Endowment, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 13 Oct. 2022, carnegieendowment.org/sada/88152. 

Alfoneh, Ali, et al. “The End of Mandatory Hijab in Iran?” Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, 28 Feb. 2024, agsiw.org/the-end-of-mandatory-hijab-in-iran/. 

Tajali, Mona. “Women’s Activism in Iran Continues, despite Street Protests Dying down in Face of State Repression.” The Conversation, 16 Nov. 2023, theconversation.com/womens-activism-in-iran-continues-despite-street-protests-dying-down-in-face-of-state-repression-213514. 

Radio, CBC. “Peace Movement: The Impact of Grassroots Activism, Policy, and Culture.” Gray Group International, Gray Group International LLC, 5 Oct. 2022, www.graygroupintl.com/blog/peace-movement.

#thepeacepigeon #hijab #nonviolence #mahsa amini #peace activism #protest #human rights #womens rights #iran revolution

[qqueenofhades]

Bon soir. Do you have resources/recommendations for understanding the Israel/Palestine conflict as it related to American media coverage and American anti-semitism?

I do not have any particular content resources, but as I said on WhatsApp, I am willing to write you a brief (ha) primer of this whole mess, its historical context, and the political issues/positions that inform how it is currently covered and talked about in America and the West. Obviously this will not cover everything, but it will hopefully give you some sense of where this is all coming from and why.

The modern state of Israel was founded in 1948, on territory that is historically associated with the ancient/biblical "Israel." Obviously, this took place in the immediate aftermath of the Holocaust and the attempt to wipe out European Jewry. It was felt that the world at large owed reparations to Jews for that "yet again, we tried to kill all of you, our bad" thing. One might say, understandably so.

However, this was controversial because there were already people living in that territory, and overnight they found themselves stateless, or otherwise long-term/deliberately excluded from the new Israeli state apparatus. The Israeli government has long since promoted an image of the (secular) Israeli citizen as also (religiously) Jewish, even though there are many Middle Eastern Christians, Muslims, Arabs, etc etc., who may not identify with this particular ethnic-religious model of Israeli citizenship.

The Middle East has long been a geopolitically/militarily contested area (dating all the way back to the crusades) due to its huge symbolic importance to the three major Abrahamic faiths (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, exemplified by the incredibly sensitive issue of who gets to lay claim to the city of Jerusalem and how). In the nineteenth century, European colonial powers also occupied and exploited the region, particularly Britain in Egypt and Syria, France in Lebanon, and others.

The Ottoman Empire was also in conflict with its European imperial rivals, further increasing the instability and resulting in the development of various nationalist, religious, separatist, and other proxy groups. This all informed the situation at the time Israel was created in 1948, especially as the Middle East and Northern Africa entered the postwar period of decolonization/independence in the 1950s/60s. Pan-Arab nationalist leaders like President Nasser of Egypt portrayed the creation of Israel as yet another crass imposition of European colonial/imperial interests, rather than any kind of merited settlement/feeling bad about the Holocaust. Many Arab states still refuse to recognize Israel, or have any diplomatic relations with it, as a result.

Because Jews have experienced political, religious, and genocidal persecution throughout history (the manifestation of anti-Semitism), the idea of having an actual territorial homeland, where they can be safe from that, is obviously an important protection. There is a very big difference between religious Judaism and political Zionism, defined as the state of Israel's political activities and agendas. However, legitimate criticism of Israel as a nation-state, the same as any other nation-state in the world, is often coded in implicitly (or wildly explicitly) anti-Semitic dogwhistles. Zionism and Judaism are also often deliberately conflated, used interchangeably, or without any attempt to separate them.

Jews of the diaspora, i.e. those in America and Europe, often find themselves ambushed with criticisms of Israel's political and military excesses, and asked to explicitly renounce any allegiance to Israel in order to be seen as "good Jews." Which is a heaping helping of problematic stereotypes all at once. Many Jews in America are liberal, Democratic voters, members of Reform congregations etc, and do legitimately oppose the militaristic and seemingly apartheid-esque actions of the Israeli nation-state. But when your choice is "totally renounce the homeland for your people that was created in the immediate aftermath of the Holocaust and intended to provide very real and very needed shelter against future atrocities of this type, or be subject to more anti-Semitic vitriol," that is... not good.

The U.S. has long supported Israel as a political entity for various reasons. One, because it is often antagonistic or in opposition to the largely Muslim nation-states in the Middle East, and sees Israel as a more natural ally (so yes, institutional Islamophobia does play a role). Two, because the evangelical Christian right-wing wackjobs think that it's important to support Israel because one day Jesus will come back there and start the Rapture (true story).

Right-wing Republicans are often extremely anti-Semitic because they're Christian nutjobs, and left-wing tankies are ...also extremely anti-Semitic, because they paint Israel as just an extension of the American imperial regime and it should therefore be destroyed/delegitimized. (Remember, everything is America's fault somehow and other countries have no agency and never act independently, just as dumb American puppets!) As usual with tankies, they make no effort to understand the sensitive historical, religious, and identity issues around the necessity of a Jewish homeland and why it happened in the first place.

All that said, Israel as a nation, culture, and military (not Judaism as a religion) has often behaved appallingly toward the Palestinians who also live there, and has rejected any idea of a two-state or power-sharing solution. This is where Palestine would also have the right to organize itself as a state and exert the same level of influence/defend itself from what often reads as deliberate ethnic cleansing of Palestinian Arabs and attempts to set up an apartheid state where only religious/ethnic Jews have full citizenship rights.

This is exemplified by the fact that Benjamin Netanyahu took a brief vacation, a few undistinguished caretaker far-right PMs occupied the chair for a year, and then he came back.

Almost every player in this situation has an interest in promoting themselves as fully blameless and their enemies as fully and even demonically in the wrong, which complicates any complete or objective assessment. There are Palestinian militant groups, i.e. Hamas and Hezbollah, who are painted as obvious terrorists and extensions of al-Qaeda, especially in the wake of 9/11 and the start of more U.S.-led wars in the Middle East. This assessment neatly serves the purposes of both American and Israeli political agendas and should be scrutinized, especially considering that all sides are engaging in armed violence at all times.

Israel often engages in the same kind of imperialistic "we're only attacking our enemies defensively in order to preserve our own survival as a state" rhetoric as, say, Russia, and has been notably slow about providing weapons or assistance to Ukraine, in contrast to other western allies. However, unlike Russia, which is not under legitimate threat from anything except Putin's wild revanchist delusions of grandeur, Israel does have plenty of other nations (particularly Iran) that would like to wipe it off the map, if it was at all possible to do. This does not excuse the terrible things its powerful military apparatus has repeatedly done to Palestinian civilian populations, but it, again, makes it more complicated.

As the basic realities currently stand, the conflict does not have any obvious short-term or long-term end. Israeli gives no indications of shifting its extreme-assimilationist political and military policy, there will continue to be violent friction between the political and religious Abrahamic factions that lay claim to Jerusalem and its larger symbolic legacy, and the wider world will continue to be invested in promoting and using particular depictions of the conflict for its own domestic and international purposes.

So yeah.

#daisyyydaisyyydaisyyy #ask #history #jewish history #modern history #history of religion #israel palestine conflict

[naaseeb]

yesterday i accompanied a girl to the mosque who wanted to convert to islam. i had only known her from a whatsapp group and it was the first time we met in person. i am part of several whatsapp groups for muslim sisters and she had written in one of them, asking if anyone knew about mosques (in my city) where she could convert to islam. i reached out to her and i offered her to support and accompany her to the mosque and it turned out to be one of the most emotional experiences i’ve ever had. the entire day was filled with emotions and feelings of happiness. before we went to the mosque, we sat in a café and had so many deep and emotional conversations. we shed tears several times, her story and her words really touched my heart sm. during the conversion process, she couldn't hold back her tears and you could see the relief in her eyes. it was such an incredible moment subhanAllah. after the conversion, she even expressed her desire to experience that moment again. she wanted to go back and convert all over again, because it went way too fast and she doesn’t want it to end. i reassured her that it's not the end, but rather, it's just the beginning.

#idk when i started to talk that much on here #but i really wanted to share it because it touched me so deeply #personal

[warningsine]

Iran curbed access on Wednesday to Meta Platforms' (META.O) Instagram and WhatsApp, two of the last remaining social networks in the country, amid protests over the death of a woman in police custody, residents and internet watchdog NetBlocks said.

Last week's death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who was arrested by morality police in Tehran for "unsuitable attire", has unleashed anger over issues including freedom in the Islamic Republic and an economy reeling from sanctions. 

NetBlocks also reported a "nation-scale loss of connectivity" on Iran's mail mobile telephone provider and another company's network.

WhatsApp's servers have been disrupted on multiple internet providers, hours after Instagram's services were blocked, London-based NetBlocks said.

The group's data shows a near-total disruption to internet service in parts of Kurdistan province in west Iran since Monday, while the capital city of Tehran and other parts of the country have also faced disruptions since Friday when protests first broke out.

Two residents in Tehran and southern Iran said they could only send text and not pictures on WhatsApp and that Instagram appeared to be completely blocked.

Iran has often curbed internet access to make it difficult for protesters to post videos on social media to generate support and also to obtain reliable reports on the extent of the unrest.

In 2019, the government shut down the internet for about a week to help stifle fuel protests which turned political, sparking the bloodiest crackdown in the 40-year history of the Islamic Republic.

Protests have been particularly intense in Kurdistan where Iran's Revolutionary Guards has a history of suppressing unrest.

Iran's minister of communications said earlier on Wednesday he had been misquoted after news outlets cited him as saying the authorities might disrupt internet services for security reasons.

Social media websites such as TikTok, YouTube, Twitter and Facebook are routinely blocked in parts of the Islamic Republic, which has some of the strictest internet controls in the world. But tech-savvy residents bypass curbs using virtual private networks (VPNs).

Meta and Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

#Mahsa Amini #iran #social media

[selamat-linting]

my parents aren't exactly fundamentalist people, but the day to day of living in a culture with a strong eschatological belief was enough to be traumatizing, no matter what religion it is. and im sure this is not just me, most people are just too afraid to even acknowledge how it fucks with them.

take a typical nature phenomenon, like eclipses, stars, black holes, sandstorms, weird animals, or rivers gone red from algae. this thing should have inspired curiosity right? well, in my country, all of the news articles and science videos regarding the subject is filled with people proselytizing, warning others its a sign of the apocalypse. worse when its a disaster like floods or tsunami or heatwaves or even extinction from poaching and environmental destruction. i've had people saying brazenly that climate change isn't man-made but god's punishment because the apocalypse / rapture is coming soon and we have too many LGBT people existing so of course trying to stop it would be a waste of effort, so just pray and prepare for akhirah and abuse others into falling in line.

the media does not help either. they made cheap infographic shows that are literally just about scaring people about the end of the world. a baby born with a life-threatening disability gets turn into shock fodder for tv because its born with one eye on its forehead. thats evil. do they even think of the effect it will cause for disabled people? of course they dont, in their mind theyre doing good because theyre reminding people that the apocalypse is coming soon and they should repent. i wonder, if someone from 2012 see a one-eyed child, would that kid be safe?

and in terms of personal experience, its horrifying to hear adults say, "yeah dajjal (the anti christ) will show up in your lifetime so you'll see the end of the world" and think that your parents didn't care enough to even think of the implication of bringing you to this world when its so corrupt and rotten. especially when you grow up knowing something is wrong and different with you.

and its not just that. its the end of the world, of course people would constantly talk about it in hushed tones. i've seen predictions shared in facebook or whatsapp groups, talked by kids and adults in sermons and hearsays. it turns people hostile to others with a different religion, or at best, they learn to be apathetic or detach their inherent empathy to other people because they have a different religion so theyre going to hell for eternity. so why fucking bother being tolerant or befriending them? you dont want to commit a grave sin since you wished a non-muslim to go to heaven for their good deeds right?

and when i was a kid, my friends would all have this strategy to prepare for judgement day. creating a culture where kids make up survival scenarios to prevent eternal, senseless torture is bad. and hypocritical when you keep saying god's love and care are boundless and unconditional.

my dad and every preacher i know always say to not be afraid of death, its something to look forward to, because you'll meet god, but you cant kill yourself and you must make sure even if its a natural death you live in the right way so you dont go to hell and be tortured for eternity. i agree death shouldnt be feared, but none of these people are truly unafraid of death. they shaped their entire life to make sure their death is the right one, and they force others to have belief out of a misguided sense of love.

i had an uncle who went far into this religious group, and even if the practices are completely identical to mainstream sunni islam, the man stopped providing for his wife and just pray and pray without doing anything else. believing god would simply take care of everything and even if he didn't, the apocalypse is coming soon! becoming too successful will just distract you from akhirah anyway.

its disgusting. i dont care what any religious/spiritual people on this site says. religion never gave people a sense of gratefulness or wonder or fulfillment. it turn them into incurious, selfish, frightened fucks that are too helpless to even fight for themselves and their home because the world is ending and its an inevitability so why bother? but thats the best case scenario. at worst, the eschatological sentiment turn people raging bigots abusing others so they'd convert or fall in line with cisheteropatriarchy and blame every tragedy to powerless minorities instead of the people in power.

i might have some faith left in me, but i would still advocate for state atheism. because its obvious every dominant religion will be used as a tool for terror and submission.

#religion #religious trauma #ex muslim #apostasy #islamophobes and anti muslim bigots DNI #long post #posts about my life

[learning-islam-together]

We’re human, we make mistakes, Allah ‎ﷻ understands totally. With Compassion and Mercy, He gladly welcomes us back 🕋

🕋 INSTAGRAM:~

https://instagram.com/learning_islam_together?t th igshid=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA==

🕋 X/TWITTER:~https://x.com/learn_islam_now?s=21&t=XZmIaUbOAmkcW3_uOcDTRg

🕋 PINTEREST:~ https://pin.it/ygjhI8t

🕋 TUMBLR:~ https://www.tumblr.com/learning-islam-together

🕋 TIKTOK:~ https://www.tiktok.com/@learning.islam.to?_t=8hjo5abgUn9&_r=1

🕋 FACEBOOK//META:~ https://www.facebook.com/groups/dearmuslims/?ref=share_group_link

🕋 WHATSAPP:~ [phone]

#learningislamtogether #muslim #hadith #islam #quran #hijab #muslimah #qur’an #allahisone #mashallah #dawah

[republicanidiots]

Media Tipsheet for Writing abt Israel And Palestine:

1.). Hamas (terrorist organization) is attacking Israel (country, singular). No mention of Israel’s superior military forces can be made.

2.) Just write whatever Israel says. Example:

“Islamic Jihad, the group Israel blamed for the hospital blast, is an armed group often aligned with Hamas.”

3.) Be shocked at everything Palestine does:

“The use of hostages’ Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp accounts to livestream attacks and issue death threats is a new tactic, experts said.”

#politics #israël #Israel #hamas #palestine #Middle East

[ebtesamwaheedtanoli]

اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَسْأَلُكَ حُبَّكَ وَحُبَّ مَنْ يُحِبُّكَ وَالْعَمَلَ الَّذِي يُبَلِّغُنِي حُبَّكَ اللَّهُمَّ اجْعَلْ حُبَّكَ أَحَبَّ إِلَىَّ مِنْ نَفْسِي وَأَهْلِي وَمِنَ الْمَاءِ الْبَارِدِ ‏‘

O Allah, indeed, I ask You for Your love and the love of those who love You, and for the action that will cause me to attain Your love, O Allah, make Your love more beloved to me than myself, my family and cold water.

To join our Whatsapp group 👇

https://chat.whatsapp.com/JqpqFwuMovfAipK5rc0fHW

FIND US

Instagram link

https://instagram.com/deeninstitute?igshid=ZDdkNTZiNTM=

Facebook id link

https://www.facebook.com/Ebtesam007?mibextid=ZbWKwL

Our ISLAMIC EDUCATIONAL institute link

https://www.facebook.com/deeninstitute786?mibextid=ZbWKwL

WhatsApp link

https://wa.me/[phone]

#duaa allah islam quran muslim dua islamicquotes makkah deen madinah sunnah islamicpost hajj madina islamic urdu muhammad

[salafiway]

New Online Class Announcement

Alhamdulillah, after studying 8 books with Shaykh Abdul-Hamīd Al-Hussarī حفظه الله we are pleased to announce that the Shaykh will now be going through Usūl As-Sunnah (foundations of the Sunnah) by Imām Ahmad.

Timings: Lessons will be every Sunday at 3pm UK time.

About the Shaykh: Shaykh Dr Abdul-Hamīd Al-Husarī is student of the Muhadith of Madinah; Shaykh Abdul-Muhsin Al-Abbād for 15 years. He has also studied with other scholars such as; Sh Salih Sindī, Salih Al-Usaymī, Ali Al-Tuwaijarī and others. The Shaykh attained his BA from the faculty of hadith in the Islamic University of Al-Madīnah, and his MA and PHD from The faculty of Da'wah.

The previous books the Shaykh has explained:

1) The Virtue of the knowledge of the Salaf over the knowledge of the Khalaf, by Ibn Rajab

فضل علم السلف على علم الخلف لابن رجب

2) Inheritors of the Prophets, the explanation of Hadith of Abu Ad-Dardā, by Ibn Rajab

ورثة الأنبياء شرح حديث أبي الدرداء لابن رجب

3 - The consise advice by Shaykh Al-Islam

الوصية الصغرى لشيخ الإسلام

4 - Ibn Al-Qayyims letter to one of his brothers, by Ibn Al-Qayyim

رسالة ابن القيم إلى أحد إخوانه لابن القيم

5 - The Ettiquetes of a student of knowledge by Bakr Abu Zaid

حلية طالب العلم لبكر أبي زيد

6 - The six principles by Muhammad Ibn Abdil-Wahhāb

ألأصول الستة لمحمد بن عبدالوهاب

7 - Al-Hāiyyah by Ibn Abī Dawūd

المنظومة الحائية لابن أبي داود

8 - An course on Misrepsenting Islam compiled by the Shaykh

دورة عن تشويه الإسلام من المنتسبين إليه

All the recordings can be found on Ustadh Muhammad Huzaifah's YouTube channel:

How to sign up: For those wanting to join the classes, then you can join the groups by sending a message on WhatsApp to the following number: [phone]

Note: If you are already in the groups, then you do not need to message the number

#islam #islamicquotes #welcome to islam #manhaj salaf #salaffiyah #sayings of the salaf #salafushalih #hadith #quran #salaf #sunnah #dawah

[gatewaytojannah]

#gatewaytojannah #islamicreminders #islamicquotes #muslim #islam #dua #dawah #jummah #salah #namaz #gateway2jannah #gatewaytojannah gatewaytojannah hadith quran quranquotes islamicreminder islamicreminders islamicquotes dawah gateway2jannah #gatewaytojannah gatewaytojannah hadith quran quranquotes islamicreminder islamicreminders islamicquotes dawah #gatewaytojannah hadith quran quranquotes islamicreminder islamicreminders islamicquotes dawah #islamic reminders #islamic whatsapp groups #whatsapp groups

[belajarngajigratis]

Learn Tilawatil Qur'an Surah Ar-Rahman Irama Bayyati Part 1- Learn Koran for Free

The basic practice of applying bayati tones in Surah Ar-Rahman from verse 1 to completion. Starting with the introduction of basic bayi rhythms, regular repetition and habituation from zero to proficient. The real-time training process is taught naturally according to the stages of understanding of students really from the basics or have never practiced at all.

This recitation is live and open to the public for anyone who wants to study the tahsinul Qur'an together, learn to read the Al-Qur'an with 7 maqam tones. It can also participate directly or present in the assembly.

For fathers / mothers who want to include their children to study together, please contact directly on the WhatsApp number listed below or come directly to the assembly (100% free!).

tilawah #arrahman #bayyati

Help us develop this channel to broadcast Islam based on our guidelines, namely the Qur'anul Karim and what the Prophet sallallahu 'alaihi wasallam taught. We have donated this channel completely for all kinds of activities of the Quran Tilawatil Ansar Assembly (free learning to recite the Koran).

Whatever is produced from this channel, we will later allocate it in full specifically for teaching and learning activities for Islamic religious education; tahsin & tahfidz programs for early childhood to adulthood, compensation for the poor, dhuafa and orphans.

With the support of friends of the Qur'an for the development of this channel, God willing, God has indirectly noted that we are among those who want to learn the Qur'an and practice it. Hopefully we will also be included in the group who will receive mercy and intercession from the Qur'an in the future and may Allah always give His taufiq and guidance to all of us.

MQTA Social Media: LINKEDIN https://www.linkedin.com/company/mqtilawatilanshar/ INSTAGRAM https://www.instagram.com/mqtilawatilanshar/ TWITTER https://twitter.com/MQTA2020 FACEBOOK https://www.facebook.com/MQTilawatilAnshar

For private online recitations, you can contact us at, WA: [phone] (MQTA) Email: [email protected]

#quran kareem #islamquotes #jiharkah

[brexiiton]

Islamist terror plot teen will serve at least six years

2 days ago

Matthew King wore a balaclava in some of the videos he made

By Daniel Sandford & Judith Burns BBC News Home Affairs Team

______ A 19-year-old man has been given life with a minimum term of six years for planning to stab police and soldiers. Police believe Matthew King, who converted to extreme Islamism during lockdown, could have been hours away from carrying out an attack when they arrest him. King will serve a discretionary life sentence of a minimum of six years, minus the 367 days he spent on remand. The judge praised King's mother for reporting her suspicions to police. In January this year, King pleaded guilty at the Old Bailey to the preparation of terrorist acts between December 2021 and 17 May 2022. - Terror plotter threatened imam in jail, court hears

Sentencing him on Friday, Judge Mark Lucraft KC said: "When it comes to the minimum term that you will serve, I make it plain that I am not ordering that you are to be released at the end of it.

"Whether you will be released or not at that stage or at any later stage will be a matter for the parole board to consider only when the minimum term has been served."

Judge Lucraft warned King that if he was released he would remain on licence and liable to recall for the rest of his life.

"In my judgement you are someone where there is a significant risk to members of the public or serious harm," the judge told King.

'Extremist Islamist'

Police believe King turned from being a "troubled young man" to a potential "self-initiated terrorist" while stuck at home during the Covid-19 lockdowns.

Cdr Dominic Murphy, the Met's head of counter-terrorism, told journalists that King "held really extreme anti-Western views, he had an extremist Islamist mindset and he was intending to carry out a terrorist attack either here or abroad.".

"It was imminent," Cdr Murphy said.

Prosecuting barrister Paul Jarvis told the court King had dabbled in drugs since early secondary school, was expelled and left education at 16 with no qualifications.

He converted to Islam in 2020 and, at first, his behaviour improved, but in 2021 he began criticising his sisters' clothing as immodest. His mother contacted the government anti-extremism agency, Prevent, because she feared the videos he was watching promoted hatred.

Officers from the Metropolitan Police arrested King at his home at Wickford in Essex on 18 May last year.

Examination of his phone revealed evidence of him viewing extremist videos which officers believe had convinced him he should kill or torture a British soldier either in the UK or abroad.

The phone also showed he had joined an online chat group where he discussed terrorist funding and travel routes to Syria.

He had changed his WhatsApp status to "kill non-Muslims" and recorded himself rapping to his own lyrics about fellow terrorists in Belmarsh Prison and detonating a bomb, officers found.

In 2022, in the weeks before his arrest, King began carrying out reconnaisance in east London, including on police officers patrolling outside Stratford railway station, as well as at Stratford police station and magistrates' court.

Mr Jarvis told the court that among videos found on his phone was oe near the police station, overlaid with a soundtrack including the words: "Coldly kill them with hate and rage. Plan your perfect killing spree."

On 17 May 2022, a CCTV camera had captured him filming after dark outside the 7 rRifles army barracks in east London.

CCTV showed King filming outside an east London barracks

He had also purchased military goggles and gloves, and carried a balaclava and a "shihada" jihadist flag, sometimes wearing combat clothing to the mosque.

Several of the mosques he attended warned him several times about his behaviour, and one decided he was no longer welcome, Mr Jarvis told the court.

Members of the public who called the police about King included members of two WhatsApp groups he had joined called Southend Brothers and Southend Shurah.

King was put under surveillance, and his social media posts of police officers, captioned with the words "Target Acquired", heightened concerns at how fast he appeared to be moving towards an attack. These concerns led to his arrest.

Evidence of King's efforts to buy a hunting knife online helped police build the case against him - he had to give passport details to prove his age, under new rules brought in since 2019.

Although King never bought a weapon, police say he would have easily been able to obtain a kitchen knife to carry out attacks, though potential terrorists often prefer bigger hunting knives for their shock factor.

Officers also obtained Snapchat messages King sent to a girl who was still in the sixth form, in which he said he wanted to travel to Syria to become a martyr.

They exchanged messages about how they would like to mutilate members of the British and American armed forces.

Miss A wrote to him: "We can't let them die quick tho. Slow painful death akhi... I'll guide you through it. Or bring him or her home."

He said he was "training for Jihad" and just wanted "to kill people".

Mr Jarvis told the court that on 17 May 2022, the day before King's arrest, the girl messaged him to say she wanted to concentrate on her exams. King replied he would "be worshipping Allah" and he might soon be "on the news".

#islamist #islam #bbc #bbc news

[yasmijn]

On drawing lines

I am pretty good at reading between the lines. And it helped me to emit the right signal to the corresponding person. And yet at times, certain people might send puzzling messages that confuse me. But I make sure to steer clear from the unclear and go for people who are as straightforward and as sure as I am. 

When I was in Delft, I had two pretty close guy friends. The first one is an Estonian guy who belonged to my orientation group. We were the only two people from the same program, there were no other Estonian in the class, and he was very friendly. He looked so much like a typical Russian guy with pale blonde hair and light blue eyes, with big muscly body like Gaston from Beauty and the Beast. We studied together several times, and we worked on some assignments in the same group. He was just super friendly. I made sure that I kept my distance, and I remembered a particular chunk of his WhatsApp messages where he said that he was so grateful to have me as a friend in the class. 

And that’s one way on how you draw a line. 

The second guy, I can say that he is the closest foreigner I have as a friend. A very, very close one. He knew some stories I never shared with anyone, and we talked about so many things. He showed me his drafts of personal essays (which were similarly written like a telenovela). Sent me videos of his playing the guitar (unfortunately he does not have the voice). Asked me out to ramen joints. He invited me over for multiple lunch, dinner, and even to his baptism (me with probably 6+ people from our class). In some of the occasions, I also met with his friends and cousins (and also his then girlfriend). I also kept my distance with him - I almost never send a message to him first. But I must admit that I was confused, many times. But I shrugged things off and normalize them in my head - after all he is an Italian-Venezuelan with starkly different culture and courtesies compared to my eastern background. I took everything at face value, telling myself that that is how he treats people. I invited him over to our Eid al Adha feast. 

But in our chats, both on WhatsApp and in real life, he always refer to me as a ‘friend’. Pretty much like how an Australian would end their messages with ‘mate’. I enjoyed the friendship that we had in Delft. Partly because I enjoyed having him cook for me, and partly because I enjoyed being able to discuss about what we discussed. From our shared experience as a citizen from a third world country, to our thoughts on Kurzgesagt or Alain de Botton or Jiddu Krishnamurti or Doug Stanhope or Sam Morril or Jordan Peterson. So whenever he invited me over, or ask me out, I would cling to the word ‘friend’ and rolled with whatever he offered. He would still send me a message every once in a while. Last year he called me right after he broke up with his girlfriend (this guy go from one relationship to the next like no other). 

And there was also another guy friend from the same class. He was a muslim Indian so I was even more careful with how we interact. Unlike my two other friends, for which our cultural and religious difference might be enough to keep the relationship normal, this other guy differs slightly. At first I didn’t even realize that he was a muslim (my being a pretty stereotyping girl, I thought all Indians are Hindus), but he would first ask about islamic community (I thought he was just curious). And he sent some messages to discuss about Ramadan. And there was this one time he asked me out on lunch. He started talking about being a muslim in India, about Kashmir (which was actually a very interesting topic), and other things. But I was uncomfortable and when we parted I told him that I had a boyfriend (fact), that I would be fine with talking over WhatsApp but in case he has plans on inviting me over for lunch, I would say no. 

I knew that his interest for me was unconfirmed but I did not want to take any risk. I’d rather be viewed as someone who is ‘kegeeran’ rather than to led people on and giving them mixed signals. (What is a right translation for the term ‘kegeeran’, anyway?)

For other people, when I felt like their advances might lead somewhere out of the ‘friends’ zone, one of my many moves is to start telling them about the people I have a crush on. And send them updates on a regular basis. Tee-hee.

Well, anyway. Conclusion: Lines are helpful.

#personal

[atheistcartoons]

Today is international Draw Muhammad Day. 

While there are lots of people who “draw Muhammad” on this day specifically to celebrate free speech and protest blasphemy laws (that’s certainly the reason I did it in 2018), there is a growing number of people who use it to gratuitously provoke or harass Muslims and I will have no part in that.

Two weeks ago, Deborah Samuel Yakubu, a second-year college student, was killed by a mob of Muslim students in Nigeria after being accused of blasphemy. She was beaten and then set on fire in the little building above. Her body was burned beyond recognition.

Her transgression was that she insulted Muhammad and Islam in a Whatsapp group. Her last words, in between lots of helpless screaming, were: "What do you hope to achieve with this?" A celebratory video of the murder was widely circulated on social media.

Muslims may find it offensive to see mocking images of their prophet but I find it offensive that anyone should be killed for having an opinion. Murdering people is worse than drawing pictures, regardless of context. 

Instead of drawing pictures of Muhammad which does nothing to challenge blasphemy laws anywhere and needlessly antagonises our natural allies (Muslims who agree that murder is not a reasonable response to mockery), we should organise locally and nationally to pressure our governments to remove any and all blasphemy laws and educate our communities that violence is never a justified response to any opinion. 

If you feel that’s a cop-out or unrealistic, that’s what we did in Ireland and our blasphemy laws were repealed in 2018.

If the brutal murder of Deborah Samuel Yakubu helps concentrate the efforts of Muslim (and other religious) leaders and secular organisations to push the Nigerian government to repeal their blasphemy laws, then this horrible crime will not be meaningless.

#draw muhammad day #Islam #murder #Deborah Samuel Yakubu #atheist #blasphemy

[secular-jew]

A girl, a Nigerian student, is beaten, murdered with stones, and then set on fire, based on comments she made critical of Islam, in a WhatsApp social group. So the school mob killed her. The police were on hand and failed to stop a mob of fellow students in Sokoto who set victim on fire.   https://amp.theguardian.com/world/2022/may/12/female-student-nigeria-beaten-to-death-sokoto?fbclid=IwAR2b5IRw0YdifVgZXMZT4Jc-dmjiLSlOV0nyblqdhXhsOikCsak4VU7sz8A

#islam #islamic #terrorism #nigeria