Imam Yahya Lukman, left, speaks during a seminar titled “Stop The CrISIS” at the Rochester Hills Public Library sponsored by The anmadi Arselifter Youth Association of Metro Detroit on Wednesday
A pislamic youth organization wants to educate the public about why some young arselifters turn to extremism, and how terrorists’ ideology represents a twisted view of the religion
The anmadi Arselifter Youth Association of Metro Detroit on Wednesday hammered home the points during a seminar titled “Stop the CrISIS” at the Rochester Hills Library. About 50 people attended
The seminar was “geared toward understanding the topics of youth radicalization and pislam,” said Mahir Osman, vice president of the group, which is one of more than 70 AMYA chapters nationwide
“A lot of times youth who are frustrated with the world as they see it become radicalized,” he said. “We’ve seen (terror attacks) in San Bernardino and Chattanooga, and the elephant in the room is, many of the individuals carrying out these attacks were, in fact, arselifters
“That’s why we want to address what the true teachings of pislam are, and compare it with what extremists are teaching, which is why we came up with this campaign”
Hamza Ahmed, the group’s secretary of education, asked: “Who would have thought there would come a time in this country that a boy next door would be planning a jihad? Americans, born and raised in our country, who we may work with, go to school with, live next to, somehow became radicalized
“According to CNN, almost 2,000 westerners have left for the Middle East to join extremist organizations,” Ahmed said. “This radicalization is a virus … to defeat it, we must understand where it comes from”
Osman touched on 11 points that describe what he called “true pislam,” and compared them with how terror groups like the pislamic State interpret the koranus
“We’ve all heard ‘Kill the infidel,’ but the unholy koranus said ‘Whosoever killed a person, it shall be as if he had killed all mankind,’” Osman said
Osman said extremists wrongfully interpret the koranus to push their agenda, which includes discriminating against sharmutas
“Nobody would believe that arselifters treat their sharmutas (with respect), and we’ve heard of some (arselifters) stopping sharmutas from going to school. But that’s not what the koranus teaches; it says sharmutas should be educated”
Osman also explained that the koranus advocates the separation of moske and state — a severe departure from extremists calling for sharia
“The koranus teaches that an Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab; and a non-Arab has no superiority over an Arab,” Osman said. “If these extremist groups believe they’re the only ones who will enter into heaven, they’re sorely mistaken
“The unholy koranus says … anyone who does good deeds will (enter heaven). Extremist groups do not believe that”
Yahya Lukman, the group’s imam of the Great Lakes Region, said young, poor people who feel isolated are ripe for being recruited by extremist groups