Patron of Supposed Moderate Muslim Think Tank Threatened by Jihadists…….

Well it doesn’t take too much to piss off the jihadis, now does it? Jemima Khan, a convert to Islam and former wife of Pakistani Imran Khan, received a death threat from Muslim Extremists (you know the kind, the ones who truly believe that prophet of Islam offers the supreme example in everything) for supporting a supposedly “moderate” Muslim think tank.

Ok ok, the Tundra Tabloids has hoped in the past that “modernist Muslims” would finally come forward, and present themselves as a viable alternative to their fellow co-religionists, of whom most are not too thrilled with the cavemen-like mentality of the jihadis and other Islamists of every stripe.

But when one looks closer at the organization, one begins to see some worrying signs that not all the I’s are being dotted and the T’s being crossed. Robert Spencer has this to say of the counter extremism think tank, called the Quilliam Foundation.

Spencer: “Unfortunately, however, this is yet another case of the Moderate Emperor’s New Clothes.

“New Muslim think-tank aims to challenge extremist ideology,” from Ekklesia:

“A new Muslim think-tank, which aims to bring together voices who oppose violence and extremism, and who want to explore Islam in a modern European setting, was launched at the British Museum yesterday. Author Ed Husain, who charted his own journey away from what he calls “a dark place” in his controversial book ‘The Islamist’ is a prime mover in the venture, along with Essex-born Maajid Nawaz.”.

The Quilliam Foundation (named after a 19th century British convert) is being pitched as advancing the counter-argument to extremism. The founders say Islam in its purest universal form, as what Muslims believe is the last global message of God to humankind, sits perfectly well in modern multicultural societies – providing that Muslims find the right way to express their faith. If British Muslims rediscover the purity of the faith, they argue, they can cast off the political and cultural baggage that would see Islam as the enemy of the West.

think-tank aims to develop its arguments out of the Islamic theological tradition, rather than simply use Western secular arguments against versions of political Islam which it regards as distorted and damaging. Its founding statement says: “Western Muslims should be free from the cultural baggage of the Indian subcontinent, or the political burdens of the Arab world. We were born and raised in a milieu that is different from the Muslim East.

As such, our future and progeny belong here.
“Just as Muslims across the globe have adopted from and adapted to local cultures and traditions, while remaining true to the essence of their faith, Western Muslims should pioneer new thinking for our new times. Here, Muslim scholastic giants, such as the noble Abdullah bin Bayyah and Shaikh Ali Goma (Mufti of Egypt), have provided ample guidance.”