Latest news with #Islamism
Time of India
21-07-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
What The Left Gets Wrong About Islamism
What The Left Gets Wrong About Islamism Devdutt Pattanaik Jul 21, 2025, 21:39 IST IST Activists who slam Islamophobia are silent on homophobia in some Islamic groups. But human rights are not a one-way street So Türkiye, a Muslim-majority secular nation, has banned Pride Parade since 2015, on religious and moral grounds. Hungary, a Christian-majority secular nation, tried banning Pride Parade this year, but millions of citizens turned out in protest at the Budapest Pride. In India, many cities from Mumbai and Kolkata to Lucknow and Vadodara saw Pride Parades, but permission was withdrawn in Amritsar following opposition of a Nihang Sikh organisation. Meanwhile, something interesting happened in Hamtramck, a small enclave north of Detroit, US. Once predominantly Polish, the Hamtramck council had worked hard to establish non-profits to feed, clothe and house Muslim immigrants from Yemen and Bangladesh, in the spirit of multiculturalism. In 2021, the city voted an all-Muslim council. In 2023, the council voted to ban the display of Pride Flag on city property. In 2025, the council refused to be part of the Pride marches. A lesbian, former councilwoman was shocked and outraged. She vented on X (formerly Twitter) about 'being stabbed in the back'. Her tweet went viral.
Fox News
20-07-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Don't look away as Islamist regime in Syria allows slaughter of Christians and Druze
In recent days, heartbreaking reports have emerged from Syria: brutal murders of innocent civilians — many from minority Christian and Druze communities — allegedly perpetrated by forces aligned with the country's Islamist regime, now led by interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, previously known by his nom de guerre, "Abu Mohammed al-Golani," long on the FBI's Most Wanted List from 2013 through 2024 for his role in Sunni Islamist regional terror groups. As a Syrian-American, my heart aches for what has become of my ancestral homeland. As a physician, I cannot detach myself from the human suffering behind each headline. And as someone who has spent decades warning of the rising threat of Islamism, I am sounding the alarm: a new tyranny is taking root in Syria, cloaked in religious language, but every bit as dangerous and destructive as the last. The importance of exposing, understanding and confronting early inflection points in Syria towards yet another tyranny after over 55 years of Ba'athist military dictatorship cannot be overstated. The world has grown tragically used to Syrian suffering. Since the Assad regime began its campaign of terror in 2011, against the long-overdue revolution of anti-government protests, the country has become synonymous with war, displacement and loss. More than half a million people have been killed. Over 13 million have been displaced. Cities, like my ancestral hometown of Aleppo, have been reduced to rubble. And yet, from the ashes of Bashar al-Assad's family reign, a new authoritarianism is emerging, this time driven not by secular fascism, but by religious supremacism. The reports we are now receiving point to sectarian violence targeting Syria's religious minorities, specifically Christians and the Druze. These are communities that have existed in Syria for centuries, long before the rise of Islam, and that have weathered waves of persecution. Now they are being targeted again, this time by groups sympathetic to the new regime whose leaders adhere to an Islamist interpretation of Sunni Islam, and who view theological difference not as a reality of pluralism but as a crime worthy of death. This is not Islam. This is Islamism. Islamism is a doctrinal interpretation that promotes a rigid, theocratic vision of Islam as a political system. It seeks to implement sharia, or Islamic law, not simply as a personal or spiritual guide, but as the governing authority over every aspect of public and private life. Islamists see the rights of citizens coming not from God but from their theocratic version of Islam. Islamists believe their political power is divinely mandated and dissent is heretical and treasonous. This is not faith. It is fascism wrapped in the language of God. For years, Islamists have falsely presented themselves as the antidote to Assad's tyranny. They have told the world they are fighting for freedom, justice and democracy. But let's be clear: the Islamists now in power are no different from Assad. Their language and methods may differ, but their goals are the same: absolute control, achieved through fear, violence and repression. Where the Assads used torture chambers and chemical weapons, the Islamists use a cult-like religious identity as both sword and shield. Where the Assads sowed sectarianism in order to then crush dissent in the name of national unity, the Islamists now do the same in the name of their version of "divine truth." And the result is the same: bodies in the streets, families torn apart and the suffocation of any future for liberty. At the heart of this struggle is a principle that we, in America, hold dear — but that is increasingly endangered across the globe: religious freedom. It is not just one right among many. It is the foundation of all others. As I have said many times: religious liberty is the tip of the spear of all freedoms. It is the "First Liberty." When it flourishes, society flourishes. When it is crushed, all other freedoms fall. This is not abstract philosophy. This is the lived reality of millions. When people are denied the freedom to worship and believe — or not believe — according to their conscience, it is only a matter of time before they are also denied the freedom to speak, to assemble, to vote, to live without fear. Syria is a tragic case study in what happens when religious liberty is replaced by ideological authoritarianism, whether secular or theocratic. At the CLARITy Coalition, we are committed to shining a light on the threats posed by both political Islam and authoritarian regimes. We are a network of Muslims, ex-Muslims and allies from across the ideological spectrum who believe that liberty is not just a Western value. It is a human one. We believe in the dignity of every person, the equality of all before the law and the essential truth that no government has the right to tell you what to believe. We call on the international community not just to condemn the latest atrocities in Syria but to act. That means demanding investigations into the massacres now being reported. It means holding the government in Damascus accountable and demanding transparency in how their nascent government protects every minority and every citizen. It means withholding recognition and support from any regime that commits or enables such crimes. It means recognizing Islamism as the dangerous political ideology that it is, not a legitimate expression of religious faith, but an extremist perversion of it. In 2013, the Obama administration enabled, empowered and celebrated the "democratically" elected Islamist regime of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, laying the groundwork for the return of yet another military regime in current leader Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi. Syria's profound religious diversity can be a bulwark against these dueling fascisms and Game of Thrones. But this means standing with the Syrian people: Christians, Druze, Sunnis, Shi'a, Alawites, Kurds, atheists, everyone who yearns for a Syria where they can live in peace, worship freely, assemble and speak their minds without fear. President Donald Trump should immediately call for a full accountability and transparency from Damascus on Sharaa's government's treatment of minorities and his direct responsibility for the freedom of religious minorities under his rule. The Syrian people deserve better than a choice between Assad and al-Golani. They deserve a future rooted not in sectarianism and violence, but in liberty and dignity. The world ignored Syria once before, and the price was horrific. We cannot afford to ignore it again.
Sky News AU
20-07-2025
- Politics
- Sky News AU
Bill Clinton ‘acknowledging' Zohran Mamdani on his ‘horrific terrorism' ideology is ‘shocking'
Independent Women's Forum Fellow Dr Qanta Ahmed says New York City Mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani is likely to be the mayor of New York City. Dr Ahmed claims Mr Mamdani has 'significant ideas' aligned with Islamism, as he is a 'self-identifying Muslim'. 'He is an advocate of legitimising the concept of globalising the intifada, which was nothing but suicide bombs on Israelis, twice, claiming thousands of lives of Israelis, Palestinians, a horrific burst of terrorism,' Dr Ahmed told Sky News Australia. 'The fact that he is not being rejected by democratic elites, even Bill Clinton acknowledged his victory, is very shocking.'
Sky News AU
10-07-2025
- Politics
- Sky News AU
‘Elephant in the room': Radical Islamism is ‘incompatible' with Western democracies
Sky News host Danica De Giorgio addresses the 'elephant in the room', being radical Islamism and Labor's stance on promoting multiculturalism. 'Don't forget, after October 7, in the first instance, Labor conflated antisemitism with Islamophobia – as if both were an equal issue in the country; what about the hate being spewed out of some of the Mosques?' 'And the elephant in the room remains – the topic most politicians in this country don't want to touch … multiculturalism,' Ms De Giorgio said. 'Radical Islamism is incompatible with Western democracies, yet the PM told us today that multiculturalism is our strength. 'The common denominator is radical Islamism; until we wake up to that fact, and have this conversation, I fear that nothing will change.'
Wall Street Journal
09-07-2025
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
The Sequoia Investor Whose Anti-Mamdani Posts Set Off a Silicon Valley Storm
Shaun Maguire has built a reputation as Sequoia Capital's link to Elon Musk. The tech investor also shares Musk's penchant for sparring on social media, and his X posts about Zohran Mamdani have ignited a Muskian storm. Maguire on Friday chimed in on the New York City mayoral candidate, a democratic socialist who is Muslim, calling Mamdani an 'Islamist' who 'comes from a culture that lies about everything.' He's spent the days since sparring with X posters and Silicon Valley types.
