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**craditc** · 04-30-2008, 05:38 PM

A dawah organisation funded by the government, to help tackle "extremist ideology" says it all.

Several things come to my mind here:
- it isn't technically a 'dawah' organisation
- there is extremist ideology festering amongst our people, which I know you know. I am not talking about the legitimate anger and frustration over foreign policy, domestic policy, Islamophobia, etc. I am talking about people who feel it is their Islamic duty to sympathise with those who say suicide bombings is the way forward for our community and our faith
- not one of the scholars invited by RMW came out of the blue. All the scholars: http://www.radicalmiddleway.co.uk/scholars.php have an established reputation amongst the awam and have been doing similar work for years if not decades. If there was a dodgy agenda to mutate our faith and our traditions, wouldn't it make more sense *not* to pick the traditional ulema?
- it is not helpful to say that it 'says it all', because we should not judge a book by its cover. If we find something specific that RMW has done or the scholars have done, then we should say so.

And thats how the media and establishment promoted it. It is a double standard to mistrust the media/establishment normally (don't we always complain about the prevalent Islamophobia amongst journalists and politicians?), but then believe them entirely, as you are suggesting, when it comes to efforts like RMW.

Since when do we care how the media and establishment spin things?

Muslim Youth helpline is a Youth Helpline not an organisation which according to the establishment will help the emergence of a uniquely "British Islam". That's a slippery slope - to say govt funding is okay for some organisations, and not for others. The Muslim Youth Helpline project which has recently received a grant from DCLG is almost entirely to do with figuring out what young British Muslims are feeling and how they should express it.

I looked at the website and sofar the frequently asked questions page has not actually got any frequent questions on it. Yes - it does say 'coming soon'. I hope they will cover all the points raised here.

But having said that it can in noway be compared to the "SUFI" Muslim Council...Which is a neo-con organisation. Agreed.

04-30-2008, 05:38 PM	#22
craditc Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 524 Senior Member	A dawah organisation funded by the government, to help tackle "extremist ideology" says it all. Several things come to my mind here: - it isn't technically a 'dawah' organisation - there is extremist ideology festering amongst our people, which I know you know. I am not talking about the legitimate anger and frustration over foreign policy, domestic policy, Islamophobia, etc. I am talking about people who feel it is their Islamic duty to sympathise with those who say suicide bombings is the way forward for our community and our faith - not one of the scholars invited by RMW came out of the blue. All the scholars: http://www.radicalmiddleway.co.uk/scholars.php have an established reputation amongst the awam and have been doing similar work for years if not decades. If there was a dodgy agenda to mutate our faith and our traditions, wouldn't it make more sense not to pick the traditional ulema? - it is not helpful to say that it 'says it all', because we should not judge a book by its cover. If we find something specific that RMW has done or the scholars have done, then we should say so. And thats how the media and establishment promoted it. It is a double standard to mistrust the media/establishment normally (don't we always complain about the prevalent Islamophobia amongst journalists and politicians?), but then believe them entirely, as you are suggesting, when it comes to efforts like RMW. Since when do we care how the media and establishment spin things? Muslim Youth helpline is a Youth Helpline not an organisation which according to the establishment will help the emergence of a uniquely "British Islam". That's a slippery slope - to say govt funding is okay for some organisations, and not for others. The Muslim Youth Helpline project which has recently received a grant from DCLG is almost entirely to do with figuring out what young British Muslims are feeling and how they should express it. I looked at the website and sofar the frequently asked questions page has not actually got any frequent questions on it. Yes - it does say 'coming soon'. I hope they will cover all the points raised here. But having said that it can in noway be compared to the "SUFI" Muslim Council...Which is a neo-con organisation. Agreed.
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