[kertUtire]

This is an article I just read from al Arabiya.net. This website is designed to propagate liberal humanism and secularism in the Arab speaking countries and to project the image of secular liberal Arabs to english readership from its english version.

____________________


By Al Arabiya

A prominent Kuwaiti scholar and popular TV talk show host reiterated his belief that freedom must come before Sharia.

Tariq al-Suwaidan, who is head of the Kuwait-based Al-Risala TV station, and has his own TV program, was speaking at the al-Nahdha conference for a graduates association in Kuwait on Saturday when he said “If Islamists start to become tyrants in the countries that were hit by the Arab Spring, we will revolt against them just like we did against their predecessors.”

“Freedom is a holy right and is one of the principles in Islam ... Freedom is to do and say what a person wishes but in a polite manner and without hurting others.”

Suwaidan who was later defensive over his remarks, took to his Twitter page and wrote: “I gave the same lecture three years ago, and [my views] do not represent the views the graduates association or the al-Nahdha Conference, but are my beliefs.”

The scholar, who said that it was liberals who eradicated slavery in Islam and not the Islamists, added, “a human being is free in his movements and where he wants to belong, and convictions are what move people, and not force...”

Suwaidan has spoken before on freedom coming before Sharia on his TV program three years ago and was reiterating his belief.

He also questioned how Muslims shun Christian missionaries in their countries while Christians allow Muslims to propagate Islam on their lands.

He also expressed his disdain on not allowing churches to be built in some Muslim countries.

(Written by Dina al-Shibeeb)


http://english.alarabiya.net/article...25/203152.html
_________________________________________


Could this respected lecturer and alim have actually have meant something other than this article's title?
And is he really ignorant of the nature of Christian and Muslim relations? Does he really think Kuwait is a sovereign nation?

[Btw, I've tried to post several comments on the Arabiya website, only for them to be rejected by its moderators who are likely murtad or kafir. Al Arabiya english is literally full of terrible anti-Islamic comments and yet Muslims and believers are stopped from posting. Feel free to try to comment yourself]

[mashabox]

I remember an oft-quoted incident in the life of Shaikh Abdul Qadir Jeelani (RA). One he saw a an angel like figure all spread over the sky. The figure said, "O, Abdul Qadir I am your Lord. I have been pleased with your striving and sacrifices in the path of my deen. I am happy to free you from the requirements of Shariah henceforth." Shaikh (RA) said La haul and the figure immediately disintegrated. It was Iblis. Unfortunately to many of us love this freedom thing more than the commandments of our Lord Most High. And they are very vocal also.

[LoohornePharp]

I agree with you about al-Arabiya. Just now, they are running the story about some idiot in my city (Toronto) who found guidelines on beating women in a book by Mawlana Ashraf 'Ali Thanvi . The book is called "A Gift for Muslim Couple" or تحفة الزوجين. The story has been picked up by almost every single anti-Islamic website out there and doesn't appear on mainstream news outlet websites. Their ignorance is apparent when they say that the author is "Hazrat Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi", not realizing that "Hazrat" is a title of respect, similar to honourable. They also fail to mention that Hakeem-ul-Ummat passed away nearly 70 years ago.

The real sad part about all this? Many Muslims, including those who are supposedly Deobandis or should represent Deobandis have jumped on the condemnation bandwagon. They have probably not even read the book and have accepted quotes provided to them by the non-Muslims who themselves haven't read the book.

[elektikakass]

bro these secularlists are the biggest piece of trash in this ummah. Many are clear cut apostates. Instead of focusing on petty issues we need to deal with this venom amongst us. This is not the first time Tariq as suwaidan has said something dodgy.

[mashabox]

bro these secularlists are the biggest piece of trash in this ummah. Many are clear cut apostates. Instead of focusing on petty issues we need to deal with this venom amongst us.

You said it.

[viagraman]

Freedom only comes through following Shari'ah.

[gymnAnemoe]

Who owns al-Arabiyah? Why was it created in the first place? Does it, by any chance, have a link with certain members of the Saudi royal-family? I believe the answer is yes.

And yes, it's secular agenda is clear for all to see - from the clothes the presenters wear, the language they use etc It's name is quite ironic, given its role in eroding away the aseel Arab culture.

[sandracuk]

Who owns al-Arabiyah? Why was it created in the first place? Does it, by any chance, have a link with certain members of the Saudi royal-family? I believe the answer is yes.

And yes, it's secular agenda is clear for all to see - from the clothes the presenters wear, the language they use etc It's name is quite ironic, given its role in eroding away the aseel Arab culture.

is it connected to walid bin talal?

[Hsmrcahr]

Better to focus on responding coherently to the crux of the attack I.e., freedom of thought and expression, freedom for non-muslim places of worship and missioneries, and about eradication of slavery allegedly by liberals(which i supppse is factually wrong aas it was headed by some Christian priest. But im nnot sure. ). But more important from this last point is how islamic thought would not prevent and instead helps such dramatic goodness for humanity like the end of slavery. I remember reading muslims being initially oppposed to the latter equating it with changing the law of Allah and shirk and kufr. So I guess we need to look at it why it took time for muslims to accept, how much of islamic law can change in the manner of the end of slavery, pros and cons of such change and how Muslims can respond positively.

[xyznicks]

I agree with you about al-Arabiya. Just now, they are running the story about some idiot in my city (Toronto) who found guidelines on beating women in a book by Mawlana Ashraf 'Ali Thanvi . The book is called "A Gift for Muslim Couple" or تحفة الزوجين. The story has been picked up by almost every single anti-Islamic website out there and doesn't appear on mainstream news outlet websites. Their ignorance is apparent when they say that the author is "Hazrat Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi", not realizing that "Hazrat" is a title of respect, similar to honourable. They also fail to mention that Hakeem-ul-Ummat passed away nearly 70 years ago.

The real sad part about all this? Many Muslims, including those who are supposedly Deobandis or should represent Deobandis have jumped on the condemnation bandwagon. They have probably not even read the book and have accepted quotes provided to them by the non-Muslims who themselves haven't read the book.

Assalaam'aaleykum!

Unfortunately, same news was doing the rounds in Indian mainstream media yesterday. It was first published by Hindustan times and the same news was then copied by ToI word for word. Headline was so misleading giving the readers an impression that the book was solely written on beating the wives. This is what the headline in ToI read - 'Islamic book on how to beat wives irks UK'

Comment section on internet was full with the hate comments in no time, something which the newspaper was supposedly aiming for.

I think, Indian Muslims need to comeup with something like 'Newswatch' or 'ViewsonNews' to counter the anti-Muslim propaganda in the Indian media.

[mashabox]

Assalaam'aaleykum!

Unfortunately, same news was doing the rounds in Indian mainstream media yesterday. It was first published by Hindustan times and the same news was then copied by ToI word for word. Headline was so misleading giving the readers an impression that the book was solely written on beating the wives. This is what the headline in ToI read - 'Islamic book on how to beat wives irks UK'

Comment section on internet was full with the hate comments in no time, something which the newspaper was supposedly aiming for.

I think, Indian Muslims need to comeup with something like 'Newswatch' or 'ViewsonNews' to counter the anti-Muslim propaganda in the Indian media.

Not a bad idea at all.
Why not give it a try? It can be called India Watch.

[kertUtire]

A quick study of media and private enterprise reveals some interesting points.

Al Arabiya.net is the internet website of al Arabiya channel which is part of the MBC Corporation.
MBC is a private Saudi corporation founded in 1991 in London in the same pattern/strategy of two private Saudi/Arab newspapers, al Hayat and Ashrq al Awsat. As these two ventures proved an effective model of using Britain as a launching pad of nongovernment controlled, private, secular enterprises, MBC followed suit. MBC was set up by two relatives of king Fahd, shaykhs Walid al Ibrahim and Abdul Aziz. Shaykh Saleh Kamel later became a secondary investor in MBC. Kamel is famous for being a billionaire banker and investor along with claiming "Islamic" standards.

Al Arabiya was founded in 2004 and supposed to be a rival to Al Jazeera which is a Qatari family enterprise started after the American backed son ousted the father to gain power.

Al Arabiya english was founded in 2007 and has a distinct mission separate from its arabic sister:

English.alarabiya.net is the new Website of the Al Arabiya family. It seeks to reach a non-Arab international audience, as well as expatriates living in the Middle East and North Africa, in order to deepen understanding of Arab societies, cultures and economies. The Website has five distinctive elements: analytical text; strong visuals; a forum for Arab opinion; expanded social-media outreach, and a Web-TV platform.

The website offers a range of distinctive content, from news stories and exclusives to multimedia content like videos and slideshows Thus, it omits any Islamic identity from its content to cater to kafir Westerner expats in Arabia. The english speaking Muslim audience has no weight to this enterprise, apparently. And for many Arab Muslim businesses of billionaire ownership, profit at the cost of Islam is acceptable.

If spewing malevolent propaganda against Muslims gets more 'clicks'- ie. marketting revenue , from hatefilled bigoted ignorant kafirs, then their quarterly goals are met and profit continues. On the flip side, they can imagine themselves doing some good by donating a tiny percentage of their earnings to some charity. Or in some instances, a charity to kufar themselves, like a new school for a Christian university.

There might be a slim chance that the Arab Muslim owners don't actually know what their editors and reporters at Arabiya.net english. Many "journalists" in the Arab world are nothing but mulhid/kafir propagandists with a complete ideological agenda. The entire industry of journalism is utterly disgusting here- it is full of people who practice reporting filth against Muslims and Islam, especially in english. In arabic, Arab Muslims actually have some weight as they will flood emails and calls to complain about a wrong article, they will actually get people fired, even threaten people. There are many stories about this, such as some anchor woman wears a too sexy blouse and there are floods of complaints following. But in english, there appear to be NO Muslim audience response.
As well, the enemies who actually run the day to day reporting remain in place.

It might be of some value to make formal complaints against these english anti Islamic propaganda. Shaykh Saleh Kamel may have no idea what his own company is doing on a daily basis.

And Allah knows best.

[mashabox]

Shaykh Saleh Kamel may have no idea what his own company is doing on a daily basis.

And Allah knows best.

Clearly the responsibility descends on him only.
I hope we stop being so naive as we have been for last few hundred years.
Wassalam

[elektikakass]

brother maripat let me give you my own thoughts. Many of these people their brain only works and sees 1 threat. i.e. Islam. A lot of these people will never see any threat. They will allow kuffar to come into their countries en masse but they are scared of allowing muslims from certain countries as they are scared of their chair. They allow kuffar to infiltrate the school system and secularize our children but put all restrictions on any islamists teachers or islamic schools. Kuffar can hold concerts in our lands whilst duroos from the words of ALLAH and his prophet sallahuwaslam are not allowed. Islamic magazines are not allowed to be published or severely censored but they allow mulhids and murtads to publish trash. These guys are smart in every way when it comes to stopping islam but stupid in every other field.

[kertUtire]

Clearly the responsibility descends on him only.
I hope we stop being so naive as we have been for last few hundred years.
Wassalam

Brother Maripat,
I say that in the possibility that we english speaking Muslims should speak up and complain to him in particular regarding the content of Al Arabiya.net english. Indeed, he is responsible as an owner. But he may not know what each reporter is writing in english on a daily basis. Many Arabs ignore the english media in Arabia- it is associated with foreign culture still. Kamel founded Iqra channel in 1998 as one of several channels which he wanted to emphasize content with Islamic standards. Someone who founded and supported a channel like Iqra which did not and may still not turn a profit is not going to knowingly, also give voice and fodder to the bigotry of jahil expats, .

[mashabox]

brother maripat let me give you my own thoughts. Many of these people their brain only works and sees 1 threat. i.e. Islam. A lot of these people will never see any threat. They will allow kuffar to come into their countries en masse but they are scared of allowing muslims from certain countries as they are scared of their chair. They allow kuffar to infiltrate the school system and secularize our children but put all restrictions on any islamists teachers or islamic schools. Kuffar can hold concerts in our lands whilst duroos from the words of ALLAH and his prophet sallahuwaslam are not allowed. Islamic magazines are not allowed to be published or severely censored but they allow mulhids and murtads to publish trash. These guys are smart in every way when it comes to stopping islam but stupid in every other field.

Very communicative post Shaykh.
You have the natural right to suggest a remedy.

Brother Maripat,
I say that in the possibility that we english speaking Muslims should speak up and complain to him in particular regarding the content of Al Arabiya.net english. Indeed, he is responsible as an owner. But he may not know what each reporter is writing in english on a daily basis. Many Arabs ignore the english media in Arabia- it is associated with foreign culture still. Kamel founded Iqra channel in 1998 as one of several channels which he wanted to emphasize content with Islamic standards. Someone who founded and supported a channel like Iqra which did not and may still not turn a profit is not going to knowingly, also give voice and fodder to the bigotry of jahil expats, .

Agree brother. And I am sure this is not a task equivalent of belling the cat. It is much easier.
I hope brothers here take up some responsibility. My heart is filled with regards for those brothers who battle the detractors of Islam and Muslims at various sites. Of course the work that is required of us much more than we hitherto have been doing.

to both of you.
Wassalam

[kertUtire]

brother maripat let me give you my own thoughts. Many of these people their brain only works and sees 1 threat. i.e. Islam. A lot of these people will never see any threat. They will allow kuffar to come into their countries en masse but they are scared of allowing muslims from certain countries as they are scared of their chair. They allow kuffar to infiltrate the school system and secularize our children but put all restrictions on any islamists teachers or islamic schools. Kuffar can hold concerts in our lands whilst duroos from the words of ALLAH and his prophet sallahuwaslam are not allowed. Islamic magazines are not allowed to be published or severely censored but they allow mulhids and murtads to publish trash. These guys are smart in every way when it comes to stopping islam but stupid in every other field.

This is true. Elton John the Sodomite and slanderer of prophets is slithering to Yas Island. Madonna, the she devil of debauchery and hedonism will have a 2nd show at Yas Island.
Yas Island is the the public face of fahsha and fitna here, an island between Dubai and Abu Dhabi (closer to AD).

As respected brother London786 mentioned, suppressing and censoring every single word in the masjid is done masterfully here, but the devils can broadcast kufr, shirk, fahsha, fitna 24/7. Subhanna Allah, I even heard Christmas carols and saw Christmas trees at some of the malls here. Buddha and hindu statues on sale at stores. Open fahsha played on the public radio in stores at malls, even when the adhan is played.

something is going to happen here. It cannot be sustained like this. Speaking of which, the dubai police chief recently claimed that Muslim Brotherhood has a conspiracy to take over the entire Gulf!

[elektikakass]

Brother Usama2 it will only get worse bro.

[sandracuk]

Brother Usama2 it will only get worse bro.

it only gets worse...

before it gets better.

[zoolissentesy]

Sayyidina Anas ibn Malik reported Allah’s Messenger (SAW) said,
“A time will come on the people when the patient among them on his religion will be like one who holds live coal (in his hand).”
[Tirmidhi]