Faith Matters General

ISIS Unearth and Desecrate the 1500 year old Mar Elian Monastery in Syria
August 23, 2015 By Faith Matters

ISIS Unearth and Desecrate the 1500 year old Mar Elian Monastery in Syria

Posting their pictures on Just Paste it, the Kalashnikov wielding young men of ISIS, look down on the bones of saints that were laid to rest many centuries ago in this monastery in Syria. Pictures from the ‘picture dump’ show bulldozers that were used to break the walls of the monastery and with pictures of unearthed […]

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August 13, 2015 By FM

Al Qaeda’s Al-Zawahiri Pledges Allegiance to New Taliban Chief

Al-Qaeda’s Ayman Al-Zawahiri has pledged allegiance to the new head of the Afghan Taliban in an audio on-line message. The move is seen politically to enhance the status of the new leader, (Mullah Mohammad Akhtar Mansour), after the death of the Group’s founder, Mullah Mohammad Omar, some two years ago. Al-Zawahiri stated, “We pledge our allegiance … (to the) commander of the faithful, Mullah Mohammad Akhtar Mansour, may God protect him.” The move is seen as a way of shoring up the waning support for Al-Qaeda, a group which has largely lost traction and support to groups such as ISIS and local splinter extremist groups in countries across the Maghreb to the Middle East. The move is also meant to try and hold the group together as it started to splinter after the reported death of Mullah Omar.

The post Al Qaeda’s Al-Zawahiri Pledges Allegiance to New Taliban Chief appeared first on Religious Reader.

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July 28, 2015 By Tell Mama

Remember this next time you buy your Kebab (from a Turk), say Britain First Facebook posters

The precarious situation in the Middle East has come to the forefront, with the bombing of ISIS positions by the Turkish Air Force. Having taken the decision to militarily degrade ISIS, it seems that Britain First and its supporters have decided to vent their fury at Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The anti-Muslim and anti-Turkish bigotry

The post Remember this next time you buy your Kebab (from a Turk), say Britain First Facebook posters appeared first on TELL MAMA.

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“Muhammad is a Pig,” Shout Hardline Jews at Arab Palestinians in Old City
July 26, 2015 By Faith Matters

“Muhammad is a Pig,” Shout Hardline Jews at Arab Palestinians in Old City

The Haram Al-Sharif or the Al Aqsa mosque and the Dome and the Rock mosque continue to be flashpoints as hard-line and increasingly extreme actions by some Jewish groups inflame tensions and passions in the Old City in Jerusalem. Today, it was reported that hard-line Jewish groups were involved in agitating the very fragile peace […]

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July 23, 2015 By FM

How Twitter users are ridiculing ISIS with cartoon memes

Individuals are using manga to drown out ISIS propaganda. The birth of ISIS-chan (Japanese: ISISちゃん, Aishisu Chan) took place in January to damage ISIS’ image SEO. ISIS-chan’s popularity increased after hacktivist group Anonymous targeted and exposed sympathetic ISIS Twitter accounts. The use of ISIS-chan comes with its own set of rules: do not insult Islam, avoid Islamic iconography and avoid naming Allah or the Prophet Muhammad. Alongside a strict no-gore, no-porn policy. At the turn of 2015, an alleged ISIS account attempted to spread propaganda on unrelated Japanese hashtags. Examples included ‘Daikan’ (a term to describe the coldest day of the year) and ‘Zuwaigani‘ (queen crab). A hashtag dedicated to Hitoshi Saito, the two-time judo Olympic gold medalist, who died on January 20, after a battle with cancer, became a target. The propaganda depicted the impeding peril of hostages Kenji Goto and Haruna Yukawa. Some created the hashtag #ISISクソコラグランプリ (ISIS kusokora guranpuri or ISIS crappy collage grand prix) to invert fear and ridicule the terror group. #ISISクソコラグランプリ pic.twitter.com/PR3BwpJevL — temmo kun (@temmo5) January 20, 2015 ISIS had threatened to murder both men unless Japan paid a $200m ransom – the same amount President Shinzo Abe donated to countries fighting the [...]

The post How Twitter users are ridiculing ISIS with cartoon memes appeared first on Religious Reader.

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David Cameron’s Speech Should Be Welcomed With a Small Note of Caution
July 20, 2015 By Faith Matters

David Cameron’s Speech Should Be Welcomed With a Small Note of Caution

A Prime Minister Who Laid Out A Heartfelt Vision To Tackle Extremism We welcome the speech of the Prime Minister and the need to tackle both non-violent and violent extremism. The Prime Minister’s approach to identifying the problem and putting in measures where grievances are both addressed and tackled was delivered in a heartfelt and […]

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Prime Minister’s Speech on Extremism Will Set the Scene for 5 Years
July 19, 2015 By Faith Matters

Prime Minister’s Speech on Extremism Will Set the Scene for 5 Years

Tomorrow the Prime Minister is to make a key note speech on extremism and ISIS and is set to outline how the group uses men and women, boys and girls, to promote it’s nihilism through death and destruction. Yet the Prime Minister’s speech will also be notable for one other element which the Government has […]

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Raising the Need to Tackle anti-Muslim Bigotry & Reporting It In
July 16, 2015 By Faith Matters

Raising the Need to Tackle anti-Muslim Bigotry & Reporting It In

The Director of Faith Matters and TELL MAMA, Fiyaz Mughal, spoke at the Big Iftar event, organised by Innovate Walsall, and raised the issue of social justice being closely entwined with Islam. The Director stated that this being the case, it was imperative that Muslims play their part in countering hate, intolerance and injustice against […]

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July 16, 2015 By Faith Matters

Faith Matters and British Muslim Youth Launch National Youth Consultation on Extremism

Faith Matters and British Muslim Youth launched a National Youth Consultation on extremism to look at the on-line drivers around what may be influencing young people in our country today. The launch of the Consultation took place on 7/7 and was attended by Bradford West MP Naz Shah and Sir Simon Hughes, the former Southwark […]

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“The 7/7 London Bombings: A Decade of Reflection,” a Joint Publication Between Faith Matters and the Centre for Trust, Peace & Social Relations.
July 7, 2015 By Faith Matters

“The 7/7 London Bombings: A Decade of Reflection,” a Joint Publication Between Faith Matters and the Centre for Trust, Peace & Social Relations.

This report is a set of reflections from key social activists, academics and civil society leaders who experienced the social impacts of 7/7 or who have worked with communities shaped by the experiences of 7/7 and scourge of extremism and terrorism. It is an insight into the private and public experiences of individuals and their […]

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