Israel, the US, and the West are turning this into a "war of civilisation" while giving rise to, and succouring the very forces they clim to be fighting
"ISIS is Hamas and Hamas is ISIS," , says Netanyahu.
This is a totally false dichotomy, as repeatedly made clear by the Saker - this is something I totally agree with.
"Appreciate
the difference between the Islam of Hezbollah and Iran, on the one
hand, and that of the Saudis, Qatar, ISIS, FSA etc on the other - and
no, it isn't mainly to do with Sunni and Shia …
Here are the responses to Hamas, Hezbollah and Chechen leader, Kadyrov.
This is often painted as a Shi'ia vs Sunni thing. Both Hamas and Kadyrov are Sunnis, not Shi'a
Hezbollah
leader on Charlie Hebdo: ‘Extremists more offensive to Islam than
cartoons’
10
January, 2015
Islamic
extremists following a ‘takfiri’ ideology are more offensive to
the Prophet Mohammed than Western satirical cartoons, chief of the
Lebanese military faction Hezbollah, Hasan Nasrallah, said following
the Charlie Hebdo terrorist attack.
"The
behavior of the takfiri groups that claim to follow Islam have
distorted Islam, the Koran and the Muslim nation more than Islam’s
enemies ... who insulted the prophet in films... or drew cartoons of
the prophet," the
Hezbollah leader said in a televised speech to mark the birthday of
the Prophet Mohammed, according to Lebanon’s Daily Star.
Militant
Islam practices a ‘takfiri’ doctrine that allows it to brand
other Muslims apostates for allegedly going against the faith’s
true teachings.
A
tragic attack on Wednesday took the lives of 12 people, when armed
gunmen stormed the offices of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in
Paris, prompting a citywide manhunt. The magazine had printed
cartoons that mocked the Prophet.
Nasrallah
went on to say that “Takfiris
are the biggest threat to Islam, as a religion [and] as a message.”
The
Charlie Hebdo terror attack should be taken as “revenge
for the honor” of
Islam’s prophet, according to a source allegedly belonging to
Yemen’s branch of Al-Qaeda, who wrote to several news outlets with
the message.
French riot police block the avenue
Kleber after an alert in Paris, January 9, 2015.(Reuters / Philippe
Wojazer )
The
reaction to the attack was one of global outrage, both in the
Christian and Muslim worlds. Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi
sent his condolences to President Hollande, saying, “terrorism
is an international phenomenon that should be faced and terminated
through joint international effort.”
Israeli
leader Benjamin Netanyahu also spoke out against radical Islam,
calling the incident “a
murderous attack on free expression” and
an indication “of
the disdain of radical Islam for the values we hold dear.”
The
Israeli PM drew parallels between the Paris massacre and rocket
attacks on Israeli cities by the Palestinian Islamist group, Hamas.
Hamas
released a statement in French on Saturday, in which it also
condemned the Charlie Hebdo attack.
“Differences
of opinion and thought cannot justify murder," the
group said in a statement, cited by AFP.
Hamas
also slammed Netanyahu for his “desperate
attempts… to make a connection between our movement and the
resistance of our people on the one hand and global terrorism on the
other.”
Similar
comments came from the Palestinian authority, who called the attack
a “heinous
crime.”
As
for Lebanon’s own government, Prime Minister Tamman Salam has
condemned Wednesday’s actions as an “unacceptable
and unjustifiable terrorist act.”
The
manhunt for the Charlie Hebdo terror attack suspects, Cherif and Said
Kouachi, ended dramatically on Friday. Both were killed in a shootout
with police in Dammartin-en-Goele northeast of Paris, while one
policeman was injured. A worker who was taken hostage by the
attackers was freed.
However,
other hostage situations in France arose promptly, with at least one
carried out by accomplices of the Kouachis.
French
Prime Minister Manuel Valls said on Friday that he is not ruling out
the possibility of more terrorist attacks against the country.
Hamas
condemns deadly attacks on French weekly
10
January, 2015
Palestinian
resistance movement Hamas has condemned the recent terrorist attack
on the French satirical magazine, Charlie Hebdo.
The
group issued a statement in French on Saturday, condemning last
Wednesday's deadly shooting on the weekly, which left 12 people dead.
“Difference
of opinion and thought is no justification for killing,” the
statement said.
The
statement also slammed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for
drawing a parallel between attacks in Paris and Hamas’ resistance
against Israel.
Netanyahu
on Wednesday rushed to issue a statement on Paris attacks, by
claiming that Israel has experienced similar attacks by Hamas and
Hezbollah.
Hamas
criticized Netanyahu for making “such connection” and described
the move as “disparate.”
Terrorist
groups in the Middle East, including ISIL and al-Qaeda branches, have
claimed responsibility for the attacks in France, threatening to
target the United States and Britain next.
Netanyahu's
recruitment of the Hebdo attack
9
January, 2015
On
Wednesday two gunmen attacked
the office of
Charlie Hebdo, the French satirical magazine, killing eight of the
publication's journalists, including its chief editor, along with
four other people, including a maintenance worker, a visitor and two
police officers. Paris is mourning the tragic incident, and
condolences have flooded in from across the globe.
The
goal of Islamic terror "is not agreement or borders or even
Israel", Netanyahu said on Wednesday night in response to the
attack. "Not mainly Israel and not primarily Israel. The key
goal of Islamic terror is to destroy our societies and our
countries." In a separate comment he
said:
"The terrorists want to destroy our freedoms and our
civilization therefore all free countries and all the civilized
societies have to band together to fight this scourge."
He
stressed: "These extremists are part of a global movement and
this necessitates a global response." The "terror" of
Hamas, Hezbollah, ISIS and Al-Qaeda won't end "unless the West
fights it physically, rather than fighting its false arguments."
Netanyahu
has repeatedly attempted to widen the threat Hamas and other
Palestinian militant factions pose beyond Israel to Western nations
in order to garner support. The rise of the Islamic State (ISIS) was
capitalised upon by Netanyahu for exactly this; it rallied support as
criticism over the summer's relentless bombing of Gaza grew. In an
address to the United Nations General Assembly, Netanyahu sought to
justify the bombardment, dubbed "Operation Protective Edge",
by tying Palestinian militant resistance to ISIS and painting
Israel's battle against the resistance groups as a "microcosm of
the fight against global jihad".
"ISIS
is Hamas and Hamas is ISIS," he said. By uniting Palestinian
militant groups such as Hamas with organisations like Al-Qaeda under
the umbrella of radical Islamic terrorism, he is hoping to unite
Israel with the leaders of the US and Europe.
France
voted in favour of a Palestinian
resolution at
the UN Security Council at the end of December. The resolution
demanded an end to the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian
territories within three years. In response, Israel summoned its
ambassador to Paris. Aside from the resolution, there was also a vote
in the French parliament calling on the government to recognise the
Palestinian state, as well as the French
initiative to formulate a Security Council resolution setting
a timetable for an permanent peace treaty with a framework for the
negotiations on the core issues such as borders and Jerusalem.
France's
vote, and other moves, will have aroused concern in Netanyahu. Israel
is embroiled in a battle for public opinion. After "Operation
Protective Edge", people and politicians started to question
Israel's argument of self-defence in the face of such high
Palestinian civilian causalities. Moves within parliaments in various
European countries reflected that, even if they were merely symbolic.
Netanyahu
will attempt to capitalise on the incident in Paris as much as
possible. By pitting states such as France against one global enemy:
radical Islam, he is grasping for unity. The vision of this enemy is
one which fails to distinguish between Palestinian militants
attempting to resist occupation and two gunman not yet affiliated
with any group or faction who shot people who worked for a magazine
which published cartoons that they presumably found offensive. It is
a vision which hankers for an "us" versus "them"
or "Islam" versus the "West" mentality, a vision
which divides more than it unites.
PressTV's
The Debate: How
Muslims can counter
Takfirism?
Muslim
scholars and pundits from different parts of the world have
participated in a conference in Iran’s holy city of Qom in a bid to
find ways of countering the threat of Takfiri ideology and extremism.
Iran’s
Grand Ayatollah Nasser Makarem Shirazi, the chairman of the
conference, emphasized during the opening ceremony that Takfiris harm
both Islam and the human society, adding, that there must be serious
efforts in order to root out the extremist ideology of the Takfiris.
Iraqi
Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jafari, a participant of the conference,
also called on Muslim scholars to enlighten the world that how much
ISIL is un-Islamic, saying that the issue of Takfiris is not
sectarian as both Sunnis and Shias have been targeted.
In
this edition of The Debate, Press TV has conducted an interview with
Kevin Barrett, Islamic scholar form Madison, and Anjem Choudary,
Salafi cleric from London, to delve into Takfirism, its causes, and
the ways of countering it.
Posts
