ameen MR ameen

Secondly, here is a detailed account of his not so anonymous Islamic education:

http://www.anwar-alawlaki.com/?p=42

Thirdly, I’m not promoting Imam Awlaki or the Taliban, I’m promoting a civilized manner of dialog that strives towards the solutions of our problems. I still hold that we shouldn’t criticize anyone, especially someone with such a following as Imam Awlaki. What will criticizing accomplish? What has criticizing ever accomplished other than the arousal of hatred and disunity amongst him and all of his followers? What we think is wrong is still subjective to our mindsets, if we want to influence our opinions on others so badly, then why don’t we try some manners first.

Lincoln said “I destroy my enemies by making them my friends”. Why do we make worse enemies by criticizing when with the practice of manners, listening, and civilized dialog we can win friends over?

And name-calling is a cowardly way of dismissing your opponents’ arguments. That’s exactly what right-wing US politicians do, “Are you with us, or with the terrorists?” They use the word terrorist to justify everything they say, and criminalize everything their opponents say. That’s exactly why we as Muslims are making no progress, because instead of actually talking, we just attack eachother, call eachother munafiqs instead of genuinely trying to understand eachother’s viewpoints, and realize that the vast majority of us have good intentions.

I may not agree with some of what Awlaki says, but I don’t doubt that his intention is to exercise what he believes is Islamically correct, and if we start on that basis, then we can actually start having discussions like adults, instead of pointing fingers at each other like children.

And that last bit you wrote, are you implying that Imam Awlaki doesn’t believe in that hadith? Do you realize the magnitude of that kind of comment? People are so used to saying whatever they want, they don’t consider the consequences of their words before spewing them from their mouthes.

Jazakallah Khayrun,

Green Child, I appreciate your advice brother, but your suggestion that I should refrain from criticizing a deceiver and a fraud merely because he has “studied” Islam in some anonymous Middle Eastern country under anonymous Middle Eastern scholars is misguided. Awlaki and his ilk are leading young impressionable Muslims who don’t know better due to a failure of modern Islamic scholarship down a path that ends in misery and death. The above-referenced hadith you quoted is sufficient to those who think Awlaki shouldn’t be criticized.

I’m with that company of people who doesn’t oppress, and truly fights for the sake of Allah, and not their own personal agenda for power.

There is a documentary called “Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden” by Morgan Spurlock – I thought it was going to be all biased and crappy, but he actually goes and asks the opinions of average joe Muslims, refugees, educated Muslims, and imams from allover the world, including the tribal region of Pakistan, Afghanistan, Palestine, Israel, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt.

You actually hear the range of opinions from their mouths, and you see what the reality of the situation is.

You can watch the whole thing here:

http://www.megavideo.com/?v=OEKVS0IG

Just press the red play button once, and then press it again once it’s green.

I just want you remind you of this hadith:

Narrated By Anas: Allah’s Apostle said, “Help your brother, whether he is an oppressor or he is an oppressed one.
People asked, “O Allah’s Apostle! It is all right to help him if he is oppressed, but how should we help him if he is an
oppressor?” The Prophet said, “By preventing him from oppressing others.”

(Vol 3, Book 43. Oppressions. Hadith 624. Shahi Bukhari)

Just because there are people out there who are Muslim doesn’t mean that everything they do is justifiable, even if they claim they are doing everything for the sake of Islam. You have to draw the line somewhere and ask yourself if some of these people are really doing this for the sake of Islam, or for the sake of power.

And since when is it halal to imprison non-combatants, like missionaries, and journalists, and kill innocent people including Muslims with suicide bombs?

salam alaikum wa rahmatAllahi wa barakatuh.