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April 23rd, 2013
09:47 AM ET
Muslims in North Caucasus concerned about ‘extremism'By Dan Merica, CNN Washington (CNN) – A majority of Muslims (57%) in Russia’s North Caucasus – including Chechnya, Dagestan and five other Russian jurisdictions – are either “very concerned” or “somewhat concerned” about religious extremist groups in their country, according to a Pew Research Center survey. That number is higher than Russia as a whole, where more than four-in-10 Muslims in the country express the same level of concern. This region of the world, particularly Chechnya and Dagestan, has been in the news recently because the suspects in last week’s Boston Marathon bombing – Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the younger brother who is still alive, and Tamerlan Tsarnaev, the older brother who died in a shootout last week – had familial ties to the region. The two brothers were born in Kyrgyzstan, where 62% of Muslims told Pew they were very or somewhat concerned about extremism in the central Asian country. Monday night, Dzhokhar told investigators that his older brother, Tamerlan, was the mastermind behind the Boston Marathon bombing that killed three and injured more than 260 people. Tamerlan appears to have become increasingly religious in the years leading up to the bombing, and interviews with family in Russia indicate that the older brother was radicalized while in America. While there is so far no evidence that the brothers were associated to international jihadist groups, in August 2012, soon after returning from a long visit to Russia, Tamerlan created a YouTube channel with links to a number of videos including sermons or interviews with radical preachers. Though extremist groups from Chechnya have carried out terrorist acts since the early 2000s, most of those attacks have been focused on Russia. An example: the Beslan school hostage crises in September 2004, where more than 300 people were killed. Though experts say the Caucasus are quieter now, Thomas de Waal, an expert on the region, says there is a constant a low-level Islamist insurgency there. The Pew data released Tuesday is part of a larger report on the state of Islam conducted from October 2011 to February 2012, with research collected before the Boston bombings. The survey also found that Muslims in Russia’s North Caucasus – the dominant religion in the region – are more concerned about Islamic extremist groups than Christian groups. Thirty-six percent of Muslims said they were primarily worried about Islamic extremists, while only 2% indicated they were worried about Christian groups. Russia, as a whole, is primarily Christian, with 73% of its population identifying with the faith, according to Pew’s 2012 Global Religious Landscape report. About 10% of the country’s population is Muslim – most of which live in the Russian Caucasus. Likewise, in the brothers' birthplace of Kyrgyzstan, 32% of Muslims were concerned about Islamic extremist groups, while 5% were concerned with Christian extremism. According to Pew’s numbers on world religions, Muslims make up 88% of the country’s population, while 11% of Kyrgyz people are Christian. In light of the bombing, Muslim leaders in Boston and around the United States condemned the attacks. “I don't care who or what these criminals claim to be, but I can never recognize these criminals as part of my city or my faith community," said Yusufi Vali, executive director for the Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center, the largest mosque in the Boston area. Imam Talal Eid, the imam at the Boston Islamic Institute, told CNN that he would refuse to give Tamerlan last rites. "A person who is devoted does not kill innocent people," Eid said. - CNN’s Eric Marrapodi and Jake Tapper contributed to this report.
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The CNN Belief Blog covers the faith angles of the day's biggest stories, from breaking news to politics to entertainment, fostering a global conversation about the role of religion and belief in readers' lives. It's edited by CNN's Daniel Burke with contributions from Eric Marrapodi and CNN's worldwide news gathering team.  |
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Muslims are right to be concerned. A violent minority of their faith is making them out to be monsters and targets for hatred. It's a sad thing when people pervert a path meant to help others reach enlightenment and use it for their own sick ends. Faith is about philosophy and understanding, not hatred.
Islam was not invented to "enlighten", It's sole purpose was to control all the people and lands that the illiterate pedophile warlord Mohammad conquered.
If Islam or Christianity were really using gods word, would it be so easily corrupted by mere mortsl men?
Of course not, both are mens creations and used to mens agendas
@Sam Stone, I get that you don't believe in God and everything but I don't get how you could miss the obvious logic in how it would benefit you to let others do so. I don't understand why people would not want people to be a Christian or believe in Christianity, after all it is to YOUR benefit that we do. Because if I'm a true believer I would live according to God's commandments which tells me that no matter how much I dislike you I cannot kill you. I cannot take your spouse from you. That even though you have something materially that I want, I cannot steal it or take it from you. That if I am your child I should honor you and do what I can to be obedient and to bring honor to you. That I cannot lift a false accusation, that with a good lawyer with a few tricks up his sleeve, could put you in jail for something you didn't do. In a jail where you could rot and spend all of your lonely, angry days telling everyone that there is no God. He obviously loves you enough to try to protect you from the moral depravity and lawlessness that is "human nature." Do you understand that? It does you no good to be sarcastic, and rude to those who do believe. I'm not thinking, "Wow, he's so smart because he doesn't believe in God. The first thing most people are probably going to think is that your rude, or that your a mean-spirited individual. They're not going to think about or care if your IQ is 250, most readers are not going to take you seriously because you just sound angry.
alpha: you know nothing about me or my morality, so don't be so fvcking pompous. i got no problem with people being christians. i have several close friends and family who are. i have a problem with people trying to legislate their feelings. also, since you have such superior reading comprehension, tell me where i said there was no god. if you can do so, plese do. if you can't, shut the fvck up
@ Sam Stone "...tell me where i said there was no god..." I certainly didn't mean to come across as pompous, I meant to refute your comment to a man who was simply quoting verses and felt that it wasn't necessary that you speak to him so poorly. Forgive me if I misunderstood you but did not you say "ironic that you cite an iron age comic book when attempting to make your point, kev." Were you not referring to the Bible, the book he was quoting those verses from? In other words your point being that the Bible is fiction? Wouldn't it be safe to say that the main character in that "iron age comic book," being God, wouldn't that also mean He's fiction, too? So He doesn't exist according to your comment. Perhaps you hadn't chosen the right words in making your point. I really didn't mean to offend you and especially to get such a strong response from you. I didn't appreciate how you replied to a man who was doing nothing but citing verses.
Alpha
Again...men made up your god, men created your bible. There is nothing from god in it. If it truly was gods word, it would not be so corruptable that it has spawned over 40,000 versions of your religion, and it would not be corruptable by men.
Do not try that lame "satan makes men corrupt the word" when god created your satan, knowing full well the consequences so it is the same as god corrupting gods word. Do you not see the lunacy of it?
The most high God is with thee. *Luke 4:8 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan:* Truth is our weapon. For our God is a consuming fire. *Mark 8:27 exposes the entire world as liars! (Genesis 49:16-17) *Exodus 3:14-15* *Mark 14:62 And Jesus said, I am: (Christ is not the son of David, all liars will perish, king Solomon is David son *1st Samuel 18:18*
Satan has been the best friend the church has ever had, as he has kept it in business all these years!
I didn't know god got high.
Sad. Sad that it has taken this long for people of the faith to become concerned about extremism and sad that 43% aren't even somewhat concerned.
There are no moderates in Islam, This is proved to us every day.
They say that it's a minority that are extremists, but the majority just stand by and watch them doing nothing.
The "moderates" want the same thing the extremists do. they want Islam to rule the world.
Are you willing to apply the same logic to other religious organizations with an actual central hierarchy like say, oh the RCC?
There are no moderates in CHRISTIANITY, This is proved to us every day.
They say that it's a minority that are extremists, but the majority just stand by and watch them doing nothing.
The "moderates" want the same thing the extremists do. they want Islam to rule the world.
That number is higher than Russia as a whole, where more than four-in-10 Muslims in the country express the same level of concern.
So, let me understand this. So, 60% of muslims aren't worried about extremists amongst them. good to know!
They want what the extremists want.
One religion for all, Islam.
Elementary school children were MASSACARED in 2004 and this article glibly emphasizes that horrible act as a "school hostage crises"? At least they mentioned 300 people were killed. They don't tell you most of them were elementary school kids. Political correctness gone wild.
That was one of the most evil acts of this decade, Islam must be put in it's place.
That was one of the most evil acts of this decade, CHRISTIANITY must be put in it's place.
Shortly following the shooting at Fort Hood, I was watching a show on NBC where officials from the Muslim community in America and two university professors were talking about Islamic extremism and the negative ways Muslims are being portrayed in America. And I remember this female professor who is of Muslim heritage saying that she blamed the Muslim community for not educating Americans and explaining Islam in its broader form following 9/11. And then she said for example, when the Fort Hood shooter said Alla Akbar or God is great after he shot his comreds, Muslim clerics and educators should have reached out to non Muslims and explain why militant groups or individuals would say Alla Akbar after killing someone. I though what she said made sense.
Makes no sense at all really, We do not need Islam to be explained to us like we are little children from a brainwashed person.
Makes no sense at all really, We do not need CHRISTIANITY to be explained to us like we are little children from a brainwashed person.
Biblical literalists hold that we are God’s favorites. We live at the universe’s center on a planet God made and maintains for us to use. Earth’s resources are here for us to exploit. God protects us and promised he would not destroy Earth again until the end of days.
Under that scenario, we have little reason to safeguard our existence.
On the flip-side, 43% aren't even "somewhat concerned" about the extremism. That's pretty troubling.
Perhaps when the consequences of extremist actions hit home these mutts might say something.
Thanks to these extremists the whole world, Muslim, Christian, Buddhist, American Indian, et als have had their lives spoiled.
Extremists lash out at anyone because life is not the way the would like. Deal with it. Try building rather than destroying.
Creating a C-4 tampon doesn't make Allah happy!
Extremism, Fundamentalists, etc... will always exist. The more evidence produced to contradict religious dogma, the more extreme they will become. Eventually religion will probably destroy this planet.
I have felt since back in 2001 that if Muslim leaders would come forward and publicly condemn terrorism in the name of their religion, it would go a long way in establishing their sincerity.
If the muslim clergy can sincerely condemn acts of violence, yes this world will be a much better place to live in.
If only they could make some kind of statement like this:
“The undersigned, leaders of Islamic movements, are horrified by the events of Tuesday 11 September 2001 in the United States which resulted in massive killing, destruction and attack on innocent lives. We express our deepest sympathies and sorrow. We condemn, in the strongest terms, the incidents, which are against all human and Islamic norms. This is grounded in the Noble Laws of Islam which forbid all forms of attacks on innocents. God Almighty says in the Holy Qur’an: ‘No bearer of burdens can bear the burden of another’ (Surah al-Isra 17:15).”
International Muslim leaders like Mustafa Mashhur, General Guide, Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt; Qazi Hussain Ahmed, Ameer, Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan, Pakistan; Muti Rahman Nizami, Ameer, Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh, Bangladesh; Shaykh Ahmad Yassin, Founder, Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), Palestine; Rashid Ghannoushi, President, Nahda Renaissance Movement, Tunisia; Fazil Nour, President, PAS – Parti Islam SeMalaysia, Malaysia; and 40 other Muslim scholars and politicians.
Oh wait – they did.
Agreed!
Perkins, anyone can condem, what are they doing to stop it? Shouldn't this be the cleric's Jihad?
@Katherine
I don't think you understand what Jihad is.
As Abdulaziz Sachedina, professor of religious studies at the U of Virginia put it:
“New York was grieving. Sorrow covered the horizons. The pain of separation and of missing family members, neighbors, citizens, humans could be felt in every corner of the country. That day was my personal day of “jihad” (“struggle”) — jihad with my pride and my ident.ity as a Muslim. This is the true meaning of jihad — “struggle with one’s own ego and false pride.”
Perhaps what you're looking for is more like this:
“We have consistently condemned terrorism and extremism in all forms and under all circ.umstances, and we reiterate this unequivocal position. Islam strictly condemns religious extremism and the use of violence against innocent lives. There is no justification in Islam for extremism or terrorism. Targeting civilians’ life and property through suicide bombings or any other method of attack is haram – prohibited in Islam – and those who commit these barbaric acts are criminals, not ‘martyrs.’”
“Fatwa by U.S. Muslims Against Religious Extremism,” July 25, 2005
It's not enough to condemn the actual final act of violence. Leaders have to daily condemn any sense of group superiority or dehumanization of non-believers. They have to reinforce the reality of the goodness in people outside the belief. They have to condemn the extremist conspiracy theorists among them who make up stories about people out to get Muslims. Unless they do these things they are feeding fuel to the young extremists and simply condemning the final step in the thought process, the actual violence, means nothing.
Satanists want you proud knowing nothing of substance (Exodus 3:15) *Matthew 22:32*
No satanists in the Torah or the NT.
ironic that you cite an iron age comic book when attempting to make your point, kev
Satan has been the best friend the church has ever had, as he has kept it in business all these years!.
Tran-substantial idiosyncratic euphemisms that the many dare despairingly eviscerate their lack-lustering meaningless dribbling proportionalities of mindlessness propaganda raising ever the minutia of little dewdrops of the fanatical varieties.
"No satanists in the Torah or the NT."
LOL. The NT is NOTHING without Satan as a player. He was even the excuse by early Xtian apologists to defend the charge of plagiarism (Justin Martyr and others). And the OT God – maybe not Satan; but how about evil, evil prick at least. Yeah...
"LOL. The NT is NOTHING without Satan as a player."
And yet...there is still no satanists in the text.
Count up the number of murders in the Bible and we find that God killed around 2.5 million people while Satan killed 10.
@Sam Stone, I get that you don't believe in God and everything but I don't get how you could miss the obvious logic in how it would benefit you to let others do so. I don't understand why people would not want people to be a Christian or believe in Christianity, after all it is to YOUR benefit that we do. Because if I'm a true believer I would live according to God's commandments which tells me that no matter how much I dislike you I cannot kill you. I cannot take your spouse from you. That even though you have something materially that I want, I cannot steal it or take it from you. That if I am your child I should honor you and do what I can to be obedient and to bring honor to you. That I cannot lift a false accusation, that with a good lawyer with a few tricks up his sleeve, could put you in jail for something you didn't do. In a jail where you could rot and spend all of your lonely, angry days telling everyone that there is no God. He obviously loves you enough to try to protect you from the moral depravity and lawlessness that is "human nature." Do you understand that? It does you no good to be sarcastic, and rude to those who do believe. I'm not thinking, "Wow, he's so smart because he doesn't believe in God. The first thing most people are probably going to think is that your rude, or that your a mean-spirited individual. They're not going to think about or care if your IQ is 250, most readers are not going to take you seriously because you just sound angry.
and you sound delusional, alpha. point out where i said there was no god, if you can.
while you are at it, alpha, point out where i am trying to stop others from being christian
My camel-toe only accepts bills smaller than a twenty.
COWARDS !!
Just like guns lets ban religion! – Problem solved.
More ludicrous thoughts. Banning guns and religion will do nothing to stop guns or religion ARE YOU HUMAN? I am sorry perhaps you are deaf dumb and blind. Guns are outlawed in places like MEXICO And Columbia. Banning religion has been tried before as well. You really should get out and experience life more. WOW
No matter what your motivation, as soon as you say "this you may not know, this you may not practice", the end result is tyranny.
Prohibition does not work.
This is all nonsense.
50% of Muslims are in favor of terrorism, violence, and jihad.
The other 50% have never read the Qur’an.
"50% of Muslims are in favor of terrorism, violence, and jihad." No–it's more like .01%. There are 1.6 billion Muslims in the world and if that were true (which is isn't) we'd really have a problem.
50% of the population like peanut butter while 50% prefer jelly. See I can make up statistics too.
68% of all statistics are made up on the spot.
No it's 78.21394955% of statistics are made up.
Satanists need blood and more blood sacrifices! (Matthew 27:25) When death comes to the door, (John 10:9) all these proud people will never mention God first because he is grace and truth.
Oddly enough there is no such thing as satanism in the text.
Jesus was a blood sacrifice....lol.
All this bible crap Interpreted as a teaching for people 2000 years later. Hogwash the story is about THENNNN!!!!. Biblical "Scholars" biggest misnomer in history a true Scholar would tell the TRUTH. It is a interesting tale but nonsense none the less. Wonder why the creator of the entire universe (and any others) must impregnate a man's wife to have a son. STUPID! HE MADE HER FROM A MANS RIB (also stupid) It is a BOOK Damn all of the education scientific evidence ancient (remarkably similar) writings ,common sense, Nothing seems to do ANY good. People simply are indoctrinated with this silliness(silly except for the fact that it has in one way or another killed BILLIONS of HUMANS) as children which proves how engrained something becomes in a child's mind as if it were a sponge. Hard to ring out the sponge completely.
Frickin boggles the mind that people as educated as the rich crooks in Washington believe this fairytale. Hook them up to a polygraph and ask them if they believe the earth is only thousands of years old. Ask them if they believe in the Christian bibles teachings. If they answer yes and pass the test then keep them hooked up and ask them why they do NOT live by it's teachings.
Muslims are like the Christians 700 years ago with their crusades and inquisitions. In 700 years from now a new religiion will arise that will worship, say, an invisible magic unicorn. Then the Unicornholios will blow up the Muslims.
That is exactly how utterly INSANE the Majority of humans seem to be.
If you have a heart attack or are in a serious car accident, you could wake to found out that a Muslim surgeon saved your life. What is so ridiculous is the utter blindness to the history of Christianity in the U.S. Most Christians are not extremists but just take a look at the Christian hate groups listed on the Southern Poverty Law Center website. Google "Christian Terrorism" sometime also. The KKK was a Christian terror group (perhaps today they could be downgraded to a "hate" group). Christianity is at the core of their belief system. "Christian doctrine" was used to justify slavery and segregation in the U.S. and white supremacy. Dr. Oz and Shaq are Muslims. I seriously doubt they are a threat to national security.
ManWithThe1000PoundBrain: If a Muslim surgeon saved your life, it would be by the grace of God, not by the surgeon's hand. What is so ridiculous is the utter blindness to the history of Christianity in the U.S. Blindness by whom? Most Christians are not extremists but just take a look at the Christian hate groups listed on the Southern Poverty Law Center website. Google "Christian Terrorism" sometime also. The KKK was a Christian terror group *WAS* is the operative word – can you say that about your muslim brothers? Of course not! Google "Muslim Terrorist" and you'll have to read until the end of time to finish it all!!! "Christian doctrine" was used to justify slavery and segregation in the U.S. and white supremacy. Actually, muslims were the original slave masters. Dr. Oz and Shaq are Muslims. I seriously doubt they are a threat to national security. Google Dr. Oz arrest or shaq arrest and you'll see what threat. You also conveniently omitted any mention of mulsim rap "artists" that continually expouse violence against women, killing, drug use, etc. What, nothing proud to say about them???
I don't think that it is necessarily inevitable that a new type of religion will eventually crop up and imitate the behavior of the extremist Muslim terrorists of today.
When I consider the Christian Crusades of a bygone era, I also consider the Islamic Crusades that preceded the Christian ones, and I see how these two patriarchal religions have served as examples of what happens when men, hiding behind the robes of their deities, are allowed to have too much power in the daily lives of people– especially, uneducated people. I hope that as the world becomes a more educated place, large scale organized religion... if it still exists... will play a more moderate and benign role in people's lives. Human beings can learn to think for themselves, and take a stand against intolerant cults of behavioral control and violence.
John Travolta framed unintelligably by spectators of the regime per the pride of insanity.
I'd like to see more American 'Christians' express concern about Christian Supremacists here in this country. It is much more likely that Christian Supremacists will hijack my school board and replace the science curriculum with 'Creation-Science' than me getting bombed in a Terrorist attack by Muslim Supremacists.
Science is not compatable with Creation. It is a known fact that The Lord created the Universe. Science is just the devil's way of tricking humans into turning their evil backs away from God. This is common sense and is known the world over.
Who said that anyone was trying to make creationism compatible with science?
@Lycidas
HAHAHA! LOL!
I huge number of Christians (majority? I am not sure about that) condemn christians supremists, whether out-and-out nuts like Westboro or well meaning but equally nutty people who think the earth is 6000 years old. A Christian who believes in science too.
You better get your elementary school education in quick then, doofus.
Really? That is ludicrous. Not the thought that the Christian right will not try but it would be very easy to teach your children at home. On the other hand if your children are blown to PEICES well Do live in some tiny village in Idaho or somewhere? UNBELEIVABLE
I'm sure everyone who was effected by the recent events in Boston appreciates your minimalization of their losses. Good job!!
They are the scary people. When delusion rules your reality, you are a danger to others. It doesn't matter what the delusion is, really.
You poor, paranoid thing!
So this explains why people invented god.... They couldn't understand the concept of infinity. Interesting!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dG1JpC5jels
@HS: no humans created gods for a few reasons namely to explain things they couldn't explain at those times in history. which would be the main reason there are so many gods in every nation in the world for all of human history.
the second reason is power. if someone is scared of thunder and you "act" like you know what is causing it even though you don't you seem important.
other reasons range from communal behavior to catagorizing things that hold value and those that don't.
HS,
Inwardly escapades of the cosmological are clung to finiteness while the outwardly knowable cosmologies are infinitely suggestive.