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The Forum > Article Comments > Muslim communities must face up to bad apples > Comments

Muslim communities must face up to bad apples : Comments

By Tanveer Ahmed, published 15/8/2014

This is outlined by Danish psychologist Nicolai Sennell's groundbreaking work visiting Muslim criminals in jail, where he makes reference to the Arab notion of 'holy anger', which is completely foreign to English.

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The one thing these young men surely have in common is their anger. It is not, however, a ‘holy’ anger but more of an anger towards those close to them who have formed them into people who have no idea what to do with that anger.

Their parents deal with their anger, their fear, and their sadness by resorting to religious behaviour. Even when good things happen to them they resort to religious behaviour by praising their god. When they feel guilt they ask forgiveness not of those whom they have offended but of God.

Resorting to religious behaviour as a way of dealing with one’s feelings is simply a primitive response. It is primitive because there are rational ways based in nature that are the proper responses to anger, fear, sadness and guilt. Those feelings demand a response but it has to be the right response. If someone is treating you unjustly at work you do not go to the mosque or fondle you beads. If you are afraid you do not huddle in a corner and recite the Koran. You take action to achieve justice by using the resources made available for that purpose or you move away from danger where it cannot be contained. Many people who resort to religious behaviour have never been shown any other way and this may have something to do with the impoverished circumstances they come from. They resort to religion when everyone else around them seems more able to cope with those feelings without doing so.

Cont.
Posted by phanto, Friday, 15 August 2014 1:14:48 PM
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Cont.
This is one of the prime reasons they congregate together – to support each other in the way they deal with their feelings. They feel isolated from the way the rest of the community in which they now live deals with their anger, fear and sadness and even joy. They teach their kids to deal with their feelings in the same way but their kids grow up in a society where it is not shameful for a woman to go out alone or it is not wrong to put all justice into the hands of God. The kids become torn between what they see as a better way and the power that all parents have over their kid’s basic needs. Some are strong enough to survive this form of parental abuse but others are not. When they see what appears to be a threat to the way they deal with their feelings they lash out with violence. They are angry alright but not with those who threaten their religious behaviour rather with those who have failed to show them a better way. Even as adults they still feel afraid of their parents and join the cause to fight against an enemy they do not have on their own terms.

Such is the power that parents can wield that these kids are more afraid of not being a suicide bomber than of being one. They are more afraid of not being involved in Jihad than of going off to fight a war that they can never win. They need help and such violence, while it should be resisted with all force, is really a cry for help. Help to extricate themselves from the vice-like emotional grip that their parents have over them
Posted by phanto, Friday, 15 August 2014 1:17:30 PM
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Maybe compared with the overall Australian population it is a small percentage of Muslim adherents who are engaged in violence, for instance in those bikie and drug gangs. Relative to the overall population it is allegedly 'only' some dozens or is it hundreds who are fighting overseas or are active supporters?

But, those 'small' numbers are not so small when compared with the number of Muslims in Australia. Maybe compare apples with apples.

Remembering too the concern that very few can wreak an awful toll with very simple tools.

Rightly, the public resents the limitations on the quality of life enjoyed previously and the restrictions on freedom that become necessary and are permanent features of daily life.

It is apparent that despite all of the federal government 'never you mind' assurances and positive spin, the management of immigration has always been flawed. Otherwise how did organised crime become so easily established in Australia? Referring to the organised crime that federal governments always denied existed. How many good, honest police had their careers destroyed for pointing out those inconvenient facts as a public service?

Presently, both sides of politics are standing behind the public servant who is being required to doing their job for them. So much for that ministerial responsibility the Aussie taxpayer pays so dearly for. See here,

<Migration Fraud Reporting
"The Secretary for the Department of Immigration and Border Protection, Martin Bowles, today responded to reports alleging widespread migration fraud. His comments are as follows:

“Serious claims have been made against the Department of Immigration and Border Protection today, calling into question the integrity of Australia’s migration and visa programmes.

“These allegations, including that migration fraud is going undetected and is not being appropriately investigated, are of great concern to me">
http://www.newsroom.immi.gov.au/channels/NEWS/releases/migration-fraud-reporting

Is there any apology, contriteness or accountability from the PMs and Immigration Ministers past and present? Heck no and there is no interruption in the flow, with promises to take a large number of displaced persons from another war. First, kindly fix the deficiencies in present risk management and controls, now!
Posted by onthebeach, Friday, 15 August 2014 1:33:26 PM
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Not sure if we can lump all Muslims into
the one group - when there are so many
cultural and linguistic differences between
them. And I'm equally not sure that we are in
any position to judge the religion - unless
we've spent years studying it. Even in that
case theologians don't always agree on everything.
Therefore I think posters should refrain from
sweeping statements and generalisations or buying
into what the media reports. Blaming any religion
for the behaviour of extremists and fanatics within
any group is not a valid way to argue - and smacks of
extreme bias.

The follwing link may be of interest:

http://www.abc.net.au/religion/articles/2012/05/02/3493640.htm
Posted by Foxy, Friday, 15 August 2014 1:35:38 PM
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Dear Kactuz,

One may believe the Koran, but still be moral.

Anger comes out of attachment: you want this and that, heaven included, but it's not happening so you become angry.

A true good Muslim could say: "Yes, the Koran teaches how to reach heaven, but if it takes doing evil in order to reach heaven, then may I forego heaven, may I even enter hell rather than hurt my fellow who is made like me in the image of God. O Allah, I want you alone, not even your heaven with all its pleasures, you alone!".

In other words, those who seek heaven are not religious - but selfish!
Posted by Yuyutsu, Friday, 15 August 2014 1:58:56 PM
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Foxy obviously believes that the Pope and the Catholic Church shouldn't ever be held accountable either. It was just a few bad apples, eh?
Posted by onthebeach, Friday, 15 August 2014 2:10:02 PM
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