Thread by @abdullahadam

I was invited by @acts17 to speak and reflect on the Christchurch massacre on his channel. I accepted but with a troubled heart. What should I say? Who is to blame? Where does the responsibility lie? I surely have nothing to do with the murderer or what he stands for../1

But what can I say? I shared this post by Daniel L. Byman
Senior Fellow - Foreign Policy, Center for Middle East Policy (@dbyman) which has some really good points.

brookings.edu/blog/order-fro…
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1. "First, words have consequences. The demonization of Muslim communities, often by politicians who later act shocked and angry when violence occurs, contributes to societal polarization and inspires violence."
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I also shared my thoughts that I wished he would have understood that Muslims are not all the same and that much of the community is changing. Case in point Abdullah bin Bayyah speaking here about getting rid of hudood punishments such as stoning, etc: thenational.ae/uae/outdated-r…
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I also mentioned that there is no 'one' Islam but that the beliefs and interpretations widely differ from person to person. To reduce Islam to a single thing is foolish. We need to understand there are multiple variants of Islam. /5

There is wahhabi/salafi Islam, jihadi islam (which is distinctly different from salafism), traditional Islam (followers of the madhabs). Then there are different sects like shia, sunni, Ahmadiyya, Ismaili. Across this spectrum you also find sufis and non-literalists. /6

I also regret being reactive and feeling like I had to justify myself with followers of Christian Prince acting just like most Muslims have been acting towards me and saying "i'm an attention seeker", "hypocrite", etc.. 😄 /7

I'm an atheist. Not a "Anti-Islam-ist". From my perspective, all religions are man-made. If he existed, God never communicated to humans. Why is there an expectation that I only speak about Islam? I am not an expert on Christianity or Hinduism, but I am willing to learn! /8

Having these conversations will help us to learn from each other. I appreciate the opportunities I've had with David Wood and Christian Prince to have these conversations, to discuss ideologies without demonizing believers. /9

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