Bradford's Dr Phil attacks Tablighi

plimfix01 · 20-10-2008, 05:37 PM

Olympic mosque could create breeding ground for extremists, says senior Anglican
By Jonathan Wynne-Jones, Religious Affairs Correspondent
TELEGRAPH
19 Oct 2008

Dr Philip Lewis, an interfaith adviser to the Bishop of Bradford, said that the plans threaten to establish a ghetto of Muslims taught to embrace jihad.

Tablighi Jamaat, the group behind the proposal, are "isolationist", "patriarchal" and has a narrow reading of Islam that leaves it vulnerable to extremists, he said.

In the first intervention by a Church figure over the controversial project, Dr Lewis raised fears that a 12,000-capacity mosque in London would lead to a segregated Muslim community. The mosque would be four times the size of Britain's largest cathedral.

"Tablighi Jamaat does not try to engage with wider society so there must be clear worries that such a mosque would lead to a ghetto," he said.

And the rest: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/news...-Anglican.html

Dr Phil's PhD was obviously purchased at Woolworths.

Putting aside the problems of using terms like "patriarchal" (does he mean they treat their women bad, unlike the white folks!), Barbara Metcalf's research on Tablighi was notable for pointing out how Tablighi men have been observed to change their attitudes towards women because of their experiences of dawah -- her view was that you're much less likely to be dismissive of someone's feelings once you felt a door or two hit you on the nose!

Isolationist? That's overstating things just a tad.

I know one Tablighi mosque where folks are pretty unfriendly towards researchers, particular non-Muslim ones, and an academic friend of mine has experienced that kind of rebuff on numerous instances. But let's get real, here. Tablighi is the biggest Muslim movement in the world. Yet it has no proper central organisation. In truth, it is very difficult to talk about Tablighi as a singular entity. So to describe them as "isolationist", you'd have to ask - well who? Which Tablighi? Once, I walked into a Tablighi mosque in Bradford I'd never visited before, just to pray Zuhr midweek, white boy in his joggers, and I got a pretty frosty reception. But the Markaz in Desbury has always felt welcoming. Why doesn't Dr Phil have a bash at the Freemasons?

This is fearmongering of the worse kind. "Tablighi" are a threat to no one. They are Deobandis who do dawah. The end.

plimfix01 · 20-10-2008, 05:40 PM

Sorry - there is a thread already running on this!

http://forum.mpacuk.org/showthread.php?t=38412

20-10-2008, 05:37 PM	#1
plimfix01 Senior Activist Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: West Yorkshire Posts: 909 Rep Power: 30	Bradford's Dr Phil attacks Tablighi Olympic mosque could create breeding ground for extremists, says senior Anglican By Jonathan Wynne-Jones, Religious Affairs Correspondent TELEGRAPH 19 Oct 2008 Dr Philip Lewis, an interfaith adviser to the Bishop of Bradford, said that the plans threaten to establish a ghetto of Muslims taught to embrace jihad. Tablighi Jamaat, the group behind the proposal, are "isolationist", "patriarchal" and has a narrow reading of Islam that leaves it vulnerable to extremists, he said. In the first intervention by a Church figure over the controversial project, Dr Lewis raised fears that a 12,000-capacity mosque in London would lead to a segregated Muslim community. The mosque would be four times the size of Britain's largest cathedral. "Tablighi Jamaat does not try to engage with wider society so there must be clear worries that such a mosque would lead to a ghetto," he said. And the rest: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/news...-Anglican.html Dr Phil's PhD was obviously purchased at Woolworths. Putting aside the problems of using terms like "patriarchal" (does he mean they treat their women bad, unlike the white folks!), Barbara Metcalf's research on Tablighi was notable for pointing out how Tablighi men have been observed to change their attitudes towards women because of their experiences of dawah -- her view was that you're much less likely to be dismissive of someone's feelings once you felt a door or two hit you on the nose! Isolationist? That's overstating things just a tad. I know one Tablighi mosque where folks are pretty unfriendly towards researchers, particular non-Muslim ones, and an academic friend of mine has experienced that kind of rebuff on numerous instances. But let's get real, here. Tablighi is the biggest Muslim movement in the world. Yet it has no proper central organisation. In truth, it is very difficult to talk about Tablighi as a singular entity. So to describe them as "isolationist", you'd have to ask - well who? Which Tablighi? Once, I walked into a Tablighi mosque in Bradford I'd never visited before, just to pray Zuhr midweek, white boy in his joggers, and I got a pretty frosty reception. But the Markaz in Desbury has always felt welcoming. Why doesn't Dr Phil have a bash at the Freemasons? This is fearmongering of the worse kind. "Tablighi" are a threat to no one. They are Deobandis who do dawah. The end. __________________ Postcolonial Muslim Aspie whose teenage son ('The Shaykh') has profound autism. More MPACUK than City Circle, more Zia Sardar than Moazzam Begg, more Badshah Khan than Hasan al-Banna, more Nasr Abu Zayd than Al-Ghazali, and clearly more learning required. O Lord! Increase me in knowledge!

20-10-2008, 05:40 PM	#2
plimfix01 Senior Activist Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: West Yorkshire Posts: 909 Rep Power: 30	Sorry - there is a thread already running on this! http://forum.mpacuk.org/showthread.php?t=38412 __________________ Postcolonial Muslim Aspie whose teenage son ('The Shaykh') has profound autism. More MPACUK than City Circle, more Zia Sardar than Moazzam Begg, more Badshah Khan than Hasan al-Banna, more Nasr Abu Zayd than Al-Ghazali, and clearly more learning required. O Lord! Increase me in knowledge!

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