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Showing posts from April 9, 2017

Indonesia Muslim Comic artist embeds extremism in the X-men

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Wow, just wow. Indonesia is supposed to be the big happy moderate Muslim country that is the true normative face of Islam. But Ardian Syaf decided to embed anti-Jewish and anti-Christian extremism into his artwork, and then claims that it is "justice." Here's the verse: QS  5:51  O you who have believed, do not take the Jews and the Christians as allies. They are [in fact] allies of one another. And whoever is an ally to them among you - then indeed, he is [one] of them. The protests against Ahok are really embarrassing as well.  The guy got fired. Kind of sad that they couldn't have done a dialogue of some sorts with him to try and reason him away from his stupidity. Such a waste of talent. He probably will never work as a comic artist for English-language art ever again. I'm not sure if firing him was the right response. He'll probably become more extremist as a result, and a possible bridge and positive example with the Islamic world is broken here. Sou

Under the Radar: Indonesia’s Relations with Algeria

Indonesia-Algeria ties have a long history, and today center on economics and counter-extremism. Indonesia’s relations with North African countries typically receive little attention. The topic only made a appearance in the news early this year, when Zulfikli Hasan, chairman of Indonesia’s People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR), met with the current Algerian ambassador to Indonesia, Abdelkader Aziria, and called on the two countries to strengthen their partnership. In point of fact, ties between Indonesia and Algeria have been developing, though under the radar, for many years. In the early years, the relationship was influenced by the two countries’ shared status as Muslim-majority countries and their staunch support for anti-colonial struggles around the world. In recent years, however, their ties seem to be driven by economic and security benefits. As a country that inspired Algeria to gain independence in 1962, Indonesia occupies a special place in Algeria’s foreign policy. Be

Hackers expose NSA financial spying arsenal, global banking system potentially at risk

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Hacking group Shadow Brokers has released a data dump allegedly stolen from the NSA detailing the agency’s ability to hack international banks, including the SWIFT network, via Windows PCs and servers used for global financial transfers.  The group’s latest release, dubbed ‘Lost in Translation,’ lists Qatar First Investment Bank, Dubai Gold and Commodities Exchange and Tadhamon International Islamic Bank as allegedly compromised. It’s now feared that one of the world’s most secure methods of making payment orders has been irrevocably compromised with the NSA’s sophisticated arsenal of hacking tools now freely available online. This latest leak of US government agency cyber weapons comes just one month after revelations that the CIA had also lost its own array of cyber weaponry on the dark web. SWIFT is used by banks in the transfer trillions of dollars each day. It  boasts  11,000 banking and securities organizations in 200 countries across the world as members of its commun

Vigilance and unity are key to the fight against extremism

Terrorism respects no borders, as a string of recent atrocities proves. In a mere week, a subway bombing in Russia’s St Petersburg killed 13 people, four died in a truck attack in Stockholm, Sweden, and blasts outside Coptic Christian churches in Egypt took the lives of 47. The tragedies came as a terror plot was foiled by Norwegian police in Oslo and a tourist died in a London hospital, the fifth victim of last month’s car-and-knife rampage in the British capital. These were on top of depressingly frequent suicide blasts in Pakistan and Iraq that each month kill dozens more. Fighting extremism requires communities being united and resilient, but governments also need to be coordinated and prepared for a lengthy ideological war. So many attacks in such a short space of time would seem to indicate increased risk. Details of most remain sketchy despite arrests and investigations are needed to determine who was behind the attacks and why they were carried out. The Swedish tragedy appea

Radical Islam in Indonesia

On several occasions Indonesia has made global headlines due to vicious terrorist attacks and the presence of terrorist networks (and training camps) that may be connected to the militant Al-Qaeda group. Indonesia is also considered one of the world's largest suppliers of Islamic State (IS) fighters, with more than 500 Indonesians having joined the war in Syria and Iraq (it is estimated that more than 100 have traveled back to Indonesia after having fought alongside the militant organization), based on data from the National Counter-Terrorism Agency (BNPT). It illustrates the existence of a radical Muslim community that not only believes Islam should be the sole guidance in life but is also willing to use extreme measures to reform and uproot established conditions. With more than 200 million Muslim inhabitants, Indonesia contains the  largest Muslim population  in the world. This number is roughly equal to 13 percent of the total number of Muslims in the world. However, this g

Chinese official demoted ‘for being afraid’ to smoke in front of religious figures

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A Chinese official was reportedly demoted because he was afraid to smoke in front of religious figures. The decision was taken in line with China’s struggle against religious extremism, which includes banning full-face veils and “abnormal” beards. The incident took place in the village near a town of Hotan in southwestern Xinjiang, an autonomous region in western China and home to the country’s Muslim Uyghur ethnic minority, the Chinese Global Times newspaper  reported . Jelil Matniyaz, Party chief of the village, was downgraded from “ senior staff member ” to “ staff member ” in March this year. AFP  identified  him as “ a village-level secretary for the ruling Communist Party. ” View image on Twitter  Follow Global Times   ✔ @globaltimesnews Xinjiang official demoted for timidity in fighting religious extremism http:// bit.ly/2p1prmr   10:50 AM - 11 Apr 2017 Matniyaz was demoted for his “infirm political stands… and for being afraid to smoke

Press Release: Countering Violent Extremism: A Campaign To Push Muslims To Endorse Secular Liberal Values

Countering Violent Extremism: A Campaign to Push Muslims to Endorse Secular Liberal Values The Government has launched a task force to counter violent extremism. The team including all Principal Secretaries and the Office of the Inspector General is aimed at using its different mandates and capabilities to prevent and counter violent extremism as part of a cohesive national campaign for the sake of peace, development and national cohesion. Government spokesman Eric Kiraithe said Kenya has initiated a cross-cutting multi-agency national campaign to protect Democracy, cohesion and development from the dangerous threats of ideologically-driven extremist radicalization, recruitment and attack. In this regard we Hizb ut Tahrir / Kenya wish to highlight the following:- This task force is taking place under the National Strategy to Counter Violent Extremism, which was launched by the President September 2016. It is indeed a part of a global massive campaign led by the US to attack Isl

Senior Abu Sayyaf leader bares plan to surrender

ZAMBOANGA CITY — The most senior Sulu-based Abu Sayyaf leader is wishing to surrender, according to security official on Thursday. Lt. Gen. Carlito Galvez Jr., commander of Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom), said Radullan Sahiron wants to turn himself in to authorities because "he is already old." Sahiron, a one-armed bandit leader, is known as the most senior Abu Sayyaf leader based in Sulu and wanted by the US Department of Justice for a bounty of $1 million. Galvez said the surrender plan of Sahiron was relayed by elderly Muslim leaders from Sulu following relentless military offensives. Sahiron, however, has reportedly set conditions for his surrender, which includes remaining under Philippine authorities' custody. "Sahiron wants to surrender provided he will not be turned over to the US or other countries," Galvez said. US interest on Sahiron is believed to have stemmed from his participation in the kidnapping of American national Jeffry

Malaysia needs to define extremism

The Barisan National government’s decision not to adopt PAS’s motion for enhancing the punitive role of Syariah Courts dubbed as Act 355 is a relief not only for the common good of the nation, but also for the politics of consensus. It is obvious that the vision of the founding fathers of the country has stood the test of time in spite of political opportunism of the actors who were playing the extreme ethno-religious card. The Barisan National consensus politics have brought the nation to the middle for now. The reality is that Hadi Awang’s bill, which has origins in extremist and exclusivist religious thinking, is still around and could be use as leverage in a power play, possibly after the upcoming general election. Currently the debate on the bill has been postponed which is a reflection of opportunism in play. Extremism in its political, social and cultural forms will continued to persist in a subtle and overt manner unless the Barisan National government, opposition part

Filipino troops kill Abu Sayyaf commander blamed for beheadings

The killing of a Muslim extremist leader on a resort island in the central Philippines this week was a clear victory for the military, but it also drove home an unsettling reality: that the militants are venturing farther from their jungle hideouts to spread terror. Military chief of staff Gen. Eduardo Ano said that troops recovered and identified the remains of Abu Sayyaf group commander Moammar Askali at the scene of the battle in the coastal hinterlands of Bohol island. Five other Abu Sayyaf gunmen, three soldiers and a policeman also were killed in Tuesday’s clashes. “This is a major blow to the Abu Sayyaf,” Ano told The Associated Press on Wednesday. “If they have further plans to kidnap innocent people somewhere, they will now have to think twice.” “We are gaining important headway in our fight to degrade the ASG in regard to our timeline,” Ano later told a news conference, referring to a military objective to considerably cripple the extremist group of more than 300