As Islamic State (IS) extremists call for random murders throughout Europe in Allah’s name, the continent’s Muslims are hitting back with mass peace demonstrations and a Twitter campaign to say “not in my name.”
From Norway in the far north to Germany and France, Muslims have taken to the streets to denounce the IS militants controlling large areas of Iraq and Syria, who they say have hijacked their religion and terminology to spread hate and breed violence.
The IS group, formerly known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), is made up of “terrorists and murderers who drag Islam into the dirt and bring hatred and suffering to the people, including to their own fellow Muslims, in Syria, in Iraq and elsewhere,” said Aiman Mazyek, chairman of Germany’s central council of Muslims.
Along with other Muslim groups, Mazyek’s council last week organized a day of prayers and rallies across Germany, which is home to about four million Muslims, mainly with Turkish roots.
Under the open sky in the Berlin suburb of Kreuzberg — known affectionately as “Little Istanbul” for its large Turkish population — thousands knelt on prayer mats and listened to speeches against violent jihadism.
“They are acting under the banner of the Prophet, but their crimes show that they have not understood a word of what Allah has revealed to us and how our Prophet lived by these commandments,” a statement read out in mosques across Germany said.
Similar marches have taken place in Norway and Denmark under the banner: “Say no to the (non) Islamic State.”
Other Muslims have taken to social media to combat IS, which itself has used Twitter effectively to recruit potential recruits.
The London-based Active Change Foundation has started a hashtag campaign #notinmyname that has spread rapidly across Twitter.
“Tell the world that ISIS are the real enemies of Islam. It’s nothing to do with us,” says the group on its Web site, using an alternative name for IS, alongside videos of young Muslims holding placards with the slogan.
“Tell ISIS that they can’t murder in your name.”
School bullies in Singapore are to face caning under new guidelines, but the education minister on Tuesday said it would be meted out only as a last resort with strict safeguards. Human rights groups regularly criticize Singapore for the use of corporal punishment, which remains part of the school and criminal justice systems, but authorities have defended it as a deterrent to crime and serious misconduct. Caning was discussed in the parliament after legislators asked how it would be used in relation to bullying in schools. The debate followed stricter guidelines on serious student misconduct, including bullying, unveiled by the Singaporean Ministry of
As evening falls in Fiji’s capital, a steady stream of people approaches a makeshift clinic that is a first line of defense against one of the world’s fastest-growing HIV epidemics. In the South Pacific nation — a popular tourist destination of just under a million people — more than 2,000 new HIV cases were recorded last year, a 26 percent increase from 2024. The government has declared an HIV outbreak and described it as a national crisis. “It’s spreading like wildfire,” said Siteri Dinawai, 46, who came to be tested. The Moonlight Clinic, a converted minibus parked in a suburban cul-de-sac in Suva, is
A MESSAGE: Japan’s participation in the Balikatan drills is a clear deterrence signal to China not to attack Taiwan while the US is busy in the Middle East, an analyst said The Japan Self-Defense Forces yesterday fired a Type 88 anti-ship missile during a joint maritime exercise with US, Australian and Philippine forces, hitting a decommissioned Philippine Navy ship in waters facing the disputed South China Sea, in drills that underscore Tokyo’s rising willingness to project military power on China’s doorstep. The drill took place as Manila and Tokyo began talks on a potential defense equipment transfer, made possible by Japan’s decision to scrap restrictions on military exports. The discussions include the possible early transfer of Abukuma-class destroyers and TC-90 aircraft to the Philippines, Japanese Minister of Defense Shinjiro Koizumi said. Philippine Secretary of
A South Korean judge who last week more than doubled former South Korean first lady Kim Keon-hee’s prison sentence was found dead yesterday, police said. Shin Jong-o was found unconscious at about 1am at the Seoul High Court building, an investigator at the Seocho District Police Station in Seoul said. Shin was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead, he said. “There is no sign of foul play in the death,” the investigator added. Local media reported that Shin had left a suicide note, but the investigator said there was none. On Tuesday last week, Shin presided over 53-year-old Kim’s appeal trial, finding her guilty
RSS