SPLC called Maajid an anti-Muslim extremist; Maajid fights back

[The Emperor of Mankind]

About 2 years ago the Southern Poverty Law Centre, as part of the ongoing histrionics against people who have valid concerns about Islam or aspects of Islam, labelled Maajid Nawaz - who is a practising Muslim - an 'anti-Muslim extremist'. According to a Joe Rogan Experience podcast released about 6 hours ago, Maajid has started fighting to get himself removed from the SPLC's hate watch list.

On that list are Neo-Nazis, other far-right nutjobs and religious extremists. But there are/were also people like Maajid, Sam Harris & even Ayaan Hirsi Ali there. Apparently they've now taken the entire list (which is/was supposed to be a sort of Who's who for media outlets) down as part of their reaction to hearing about this oncoming lawsuit.

Nawaz has retained the services of a solicitor firm and is apparently suing for libel or defamation.

The podcast is nearly two hours long so I can't blame anyone for not watching it.

 

[illykitty]

I'm going to watch it, since I've been listening to Sam Harris for a long time, I knew of Maajid's and how he got put on that list. So I'm really interested in what they have to say.

And two hours long? Pffffft! Amateur. It's nothing. I've listened to stuff much longer than that.

 

[Altfish]

Wasn't Ayaan Hirsi Ali on the same list?

 

[The Emperor of Mankind]

Wasn't Ayaan Hirsi Ali on the same list?

Yes. That's mentioned in the second paragraph of my OP.

 

[Altfish]

Yes. That's mentioned in the second paragraph of my OP.

So it was, apologies.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

He was on Real Time awhile ago and he and Bill Maher discussed the issue. One of the main points of that discussion was how the SPLC is essentially backwards when it comes to Islam, and a reflection of a double standard hypocrisy that it's OK that bash Christianity all day long but apparently something you're not supposed to do with Islam.

 

[YmirGF]

He was on Real Time awhile ago and he and Bill Maher discussed the issue. One of the main points of that discussion was how the SPLC is essentially backwards when it comes to Islam, and a reflection of a double standard hypocrisy that it's OK that bash Christianity all day long but apparently something you're not supposed to do with Islam.

That is a very astute analysis. It is not that SPLC is all bad, they just seemed to have lost their minds in regards to Islam.

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

I love the SPLC. It is my favorite source to keep up with news and the who's who of the extremist fringe, and they do a lot of great work combating hate groups. That said, they probably made a mistake in including this guy alongside raving loons like Bridget Gabriel and Pamela Gellar. I don't know a whole lot about this guy, though. I think the others mentioned deserve to be on such a list, however.

I'm not listening to any Joe Rogan crap, sorry. Lol.

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

He was on Real Time awhile ago and he and Bill Maher discussed the issue. One of the main points of that discussion was how the SPLC is essentially backwards when it comes to Islam, and a reflection of a double standard hypocrisy that it's OK that bash Christianity all day long but apparently something you're not supposed to do with Islam.

Except that actual Islamophobia - not mere criticism of Islam - is tied into racism, xenophobia, discrimination and violence against even those just perceived as Muslim. People bash Christianity all day long but they don't face that sort of treatment in the West. They're the ones in power here. It's a lot like anti-Catholicism has some similarities to anti-Semitism.

 

[illykitty]

Except that actual Islamophobia - not mere criticism of Islam - is tied into racism, xenophobia, discrimination and violence against even those just perceived as Muslim. People bash Christianity all day long but they don't face that sort of treatment in the West. They're the ones in power here. It's a lot like anti-Catholicism has some similarities to anti-Semitism.

I'm not going to say that he's all flowers and rainbows with Islam, but his critique is out of concern that the extremists are going to win. Especially when people treat *all* critique as an attack against Islam. He's himself a Muslim, he used to be an Islamist, got in prison and reformed. His work is mainly focused on anti-extremism.

Here's part of a summary:

"Maajid Nawaz is a counter-extremist, author, columnist, broadcaster and Founding Chairman of Quilliam – a globally active organisation focusing on matters of integration, citizenship & identity, religious freedom, immigration, extremism and terrorism.

Maajid’s work is informed by years spent in his youth as a leadership member of a global Islamist group, and his gradual transformation towards liberal democratic values. Having served four years as an Amnesty International adopted ‘prisoner of conscience’ in Egypt, Maajid is now a leading critic of his former Islamist ideological dogma, while remaining a secular liberal Muslim.

Maajid encourages the reform of Islam today, inclusive citizenship-based participation of Muslims in their respective countries, and seeks to synergise a respect for human rights with the civic liberal imperative to defend those in danger of being stigmatised by extremists of all stripes due to their personal choices."


The rest can be found here: Maajid Nawaz – Quilliam

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

I'm not going to say that he's all flowers and rainbows with Islam, but his critique is out of concern that the extremists are going to win. Especially when people treat *all* critique as an attack against Islam. He's himself a Muslim, he used to be an Islamist, got in prison and reformed. His work is mainly focused on anti-extremism.

Here's part of a summary:

"Maajid Nawaz is a counter-extremist, author, columnist, broadcaster and Founding Chairman of Quilliam – a globally active organisation focusing on matters of integration, citizenship & identity, religious freedom, immigration, extremism and terrorism.

Maajid’s work is informed by years spent in his youth as a leadership member of a global Islamist group, and his gradual transformation towards liberal democratic values. Having served four years as an Amnesty International adopted ‘prisoner of conscience’ in Egypt, Maajid is now a leading critic of his former Islamist ideological dogma, while remaining a secular liberal Muslim.

Maajid encourages the reform of Islam today, inclusive citizenship-based participation of Muslims in their respective countries, and seeks to synergise a respect for human rights with the civic liberal imperative to defend those in danger of being stigmatised by extremists of all stripes due to their personal choices."


The rest can be found here: Maajid Nawaz – Quilliam

Thanks for the info. I know who he is. I'm just not sure what the the SPLC was saying about him.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

I love the SPLC. It is my favorite source to keep up with news and the who's who of the extremist fringe, and they do a lot of great work combating hate groups. That said, they probably made a mistake in including this guy alongside raving loons like Bridget Gabriel and Pamela Gellar. I don't know a whole lot about this guy, though. I think the others mentioned deserve to be on such a list, however.

Pretty much. It's a huge "seriously, WTF?" that they include him. It's people like him and Malala Yousafzai who need supported and empowered if this crisis of Islamic extremism is ever going to end. They have lived through the cruelty of extreme Sharia law, assassinated or attempts made on their lives, they'll tell why they aren't there anymore and instead are in the West, but yet Liberal Yuppies want to call them Islamaphobes because they criticize the very thing that was going to kill them (and may yet if it hasn't).
Of course, however, I am not optimistic about it because Western and Soviet powers support the very thing poisoning the Middle East.

 

[The Emperor of Mankind]

Thanks for the info. I know who he is. I'm just not sure what the the SPLC was saying about him.

Which is your own fault for dismissing the video for no good reason because it explains in detail what the SPLC said about Maajid.

 

[The Emperor of Mankind]

Except that actual Islamophobia - not mere criticism of Islam - is tied into racism, xenophobia, discrimination and violence against even those just perceived as Muslim.

Islamophobia has such a wide-ranging & ill-defined meaning that it is essentially meaningless. Islamophobia to one person means xenophobia & bigotry against Muslims but to another it merely means raising a critical voice against the religion for whatever reason.

People bash Christianity all day long but they don't face that sort of treatment in the West. They're the ones in power here.

And this sort of double-standard falls apart when you start to appreciate just how West-centric a way in which this whole oppressor-oppressed dichotomy is being applied. Yes, Muslims are a minority; here. But you simply cannot punch down against the second largest religion on the planet unless you're part of the largest. The notion that a bunch of atheists; Charlie Hebdo or a Pagan such as myself could be punching down against Islam is ridiculous. Also, the oppressor-oppressed dichotomy on its own is pointless unless you deliberately ignore the multitude of settings in which Muslims are the oppressor elsewhere in the world.

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

Which is your own fault for dismissing the video for no good reason because it explains in detail what the SPLC said about Maajid.

You could, you know, summarize it or post another source instead of making people watch a 2 hour long video.

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

Islamophobia has such a wide-ranging & ill-defined meaning that it is essentially meaningless. Islamophobia to one person means xenophobia & bigotry against Muslims but to another it merely means raising a critical voice against the religion for whatever reason.




And this sort of double-standard falls apart when you start to appreciate just how West-centric a way in which this whole oppressor-oppressed dichotomy is being applied. Yes, Muslims are a minority; here. But you simply cannot punch down against the second largest religion on the planet unless you're part of the largest. The notion that a bunch of atheists; Charlie Hebdo or a Pagan such as myself could be punching down against Islam is ridiculous. Also, the oppressor-oppressed dichotomy on its own is pointless unless you deliberately ignore the multitude of settings in which Muslims are the oppressor elsewhere in the world.

You can call it whatever you please, but bigotry, discrimination and violence against Muslims simply for being Muslim does exist. Islamophobia is just the most well-known word for it. I see people ***** about the word "homophobia" too (usually homophobes) but that is besides the point. People misusing the term in a manner that's too broad doesn't change the reality of it. People misuse claims of homophobia, transphobia and anti-Semitism, too. But it doesn't change that those misuses are in the minority and those forms of bigotry are real social problems.

I personally don't view Charlie Hebdo as Islamophobic and what happened to much of their staff was simply horrific. But a site like Bare Naked Islam? That would be an example of Islamophobia of an extremely vile sort. It's like Der Sturmer but with Muslims targeted instead of Jews.

 

[The Emperor of Mankind]

Good news, everyone! SPLC have admitted to falsely labelling the Quilliam Foundation as 'extremist' and agreed to pay $3.375 million as settlement!