Sam Solomon

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Sam Solomon is the pseudonym [1] of a British former Muslim author who specialises in Islam and Sharia law. He is a Christian convert, and is known for "A Proposed Charter of Muslim Understanding", [1] [2] as well as the Al Hijra-theory of Muslim immigration. [3] [4]

Contents

Biography

According to his own account, Solomon was an imam in Khartoum [5] who was "born and raised as a Muslim, had trained in Sharia law for 15 years before converting to Christianity. He was imprisoned and questioned; and was to be put to death, whereupon he chose to go to exile on the pain of death." [6] He has testified before the US congress and has been a consultant to the British parliament for matters regarding Islam. [6]

Writings

In 2006, following the 7 July 2005 London bombings, [7] Solomon was commissioned by UK Independence Party MEP Gerard Batten to author "A Proposed Charter of Muslim Understanding", which among other things proposes for British Muslims to sign a declaration against promotions of violent jihad in the Quran. [8] [9] [10] Although at first supported by the party, the charter later proved controversial, and UKIP leader Nigel Farage in 2014 distanced the party from it [8] [11] after Batten continued to call for Muslims to sign it, [12] and again after the Charlie Hebdo shooting. [13]

Solomon, with Elias Al-Maqdisi, is also known for the Al Hijra-theory, published in the book Modern Day Trojan Horse: The Islamic Doctrine of Immigration, which claims, based on the hijra (migration) of Muslim Prophet Muhammad, that the modern-day immigration of Muslims is a deliberate strategy of Islamisation. [3] [4] [14]

"Hijra or migration is binding on all Muslims for numerous reasons; the most important being that migration is preparatory to jihad with an aim and objective of securing victory for Islam." (Solomon, Al-Maqdisi, 2009) [15]

They also assert that taqiyya (deception) is a key strategy in the Islamisation of the UK. [1] Together with Atif Debs, another former Muslim, Solomon has written the book Not the Same God: Is the Qur'an Allah the LORD God of the Bible?, which argues, drawing on Quranic scholarship, that the Muslim Allah and God of Christianity are not the same. [16]

Solomon and Al-Maqdisi's book Al-Yahud: Eternal Islamic Enmity and the Jews was banned in Malaysia in 2017. [17]

Other activities

Solomon is the Islamic Affairs Adviser to Christian Concern, [16] and in 2004 worked with the group against the Religious Hatred Bill. [8] In 2007 he participated in the international counter-jihad conference in Brussels, [18] and later played an important role in the counter-jihad movement. [19] He attended the International Legal Conference on Freedom of Speech and Religion together with among others Pamela Geller and Robert Spencer in 2009, [8] and was invited to speak in the Israeli Knesset by MK Aryeh Eldad the same year. [5] In 2011 he spoke at the Geert Wilders "A Warning to America" event at Cornerstone Church in Nashville. [8] He has also been on the advisory board of the International Free Press Society. [20]

In 2023 it was revealed that Solomon had been active in the New Issues Group, a secret group of anti-Muslim activists that had operated out of the House of Lords for over a decade, hosted by Lord Pearson and Baroness Cox. [19] He has also written for the former Sharia Watch UK website of another group member, Anne Marie Waters. [19]

Works

Related Research Articles

Jihad is an Arabic word which literally means "striving" or "struggling", especially with a praiseworthy aim. In an Islamic context, it can refer to almost any effort to make personal and social life conform with God's guidance, such as struggle against one's evil inclinations, proselytizing, or efforts toward the moral betterment of the Muslim community (Ummah), though it is most frequently associated with war. In classical Islamic law (sharia), the term refers to armed struggle against unbelievers, while modernist Islamic scholars generally equate military jihad with defensive warfare. In Sufi circles, spiritual and moral jihad has been traditionally emphasized under the name of greater jihad. The term has gained additional attention in recent decades through its use by various insurgent Islamic extremist, militant Islamist, and terrorist individuals and organizations whose ideology is based on the Islamic notion of jihad.

The following list consists of notable concepts that are derived from Islamic and associated cultural traditions, which are expressed as words in Arabic or Persian language. The main purpose of this list is to disambiguate multiple spellings, to make note of spellings no longer in use for these concepts, to define the concept in one or two lines, to make it easy for one to find and pin down specific concepts, and to provide a guide to unique concepts of Islam all in one place.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">UK Independence Party</span> British political party

The UK Independence Party is a Eurosceptic, right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. The party reached its greatest level of success in the mid-2010s, when it gained two members of Parliament and was the largest party representing the UK in the European Parliament. The party is currently led by Neil Hamilton.

Political aspects of Islam are derived from the Quran, ḥadīth literature, and sunnah, the history of Islam, and elements of political movements outside Islam. Traditional political concepts in Islam include leadership by elected or selected successors to Muhammad, known as Caliphs in Sunnī Islam and Imams in Shīʿa Islam; the importance of following the Islamic law (sharīʿa); the duty of rulers to seek consultation (shūrā) from their subjects; and the importance of rebuking unjust rulers.

Qutbism is an exonym that refers to the beliefs and ideology of Sayyid Qutb, a leading Islamist revolutionary of the Muslim Brotherhood who was executed by the Egyptian government in 1966. Influenced by the doctrines of earlier Islamists like Hasan al-Banna and Maududi, Qutbism advocates armed Jihad to establish Islamic government, in addition to promoting offensive Jihad.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gerard Batten</span> Former leader of the UK Independence Party

Gerard Joseph Batten is a British politician who served as the Leader of the UK Independence Party (UKIP) from 2018 to 2019. He was a founding member of the party in 1993, and served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for London from 2004 to 2019.

Takfir or takfīr is an Arabic and Islamic term which denotes excommunication from Islam of one Muslim by another, i.e. accusing another Muslim to be an apostate. The word is found neither in the Quran nor in the ḥadīth literature; instead, kufr ("unbelief") and kāfir ("unbeliever") and other terms employing the same triliteral root k-f-r appear. "The word takfīr was introduced in the post-Quranic period and was first done by the Khawarij", according to J. E. Campo. The act which precipitates takfīr is termed mukaffir. A Muslim who declares another Muslim to be an unbeliever or apostate is a takfīri ("excommunicational"). It is prohibited to do without court and 12 years of islamic studies. Since according to the traditional interpretations of Islamic law (sharīʿa) the punishment for apostasy is the death penalty, and potentially a cause of strife and violence within the Muslim community (Ummah), an ill-founded takfir accusation was a major forbidden act (haram) in Islamic jurisprudence, with one hadith declaring that one who wrongly declares a Muslim an unbeliever is himself not an apostate but rather committed minor shirk. In the history of Islam, a sect originating in the 7th century CE known as the Kharijites carried out takfīr against both Sunnī and Shīʿa Muslims, and became the main source of insurrection against the early caliphates for centuries. Traditionally, the only group authorized to declare another Muslim a kāfir are the scholars of Islam (Ulama), which affirm that all the prescribed legal precautions should be taken before declaring takfīr, and that those who profess the Islamic faith should be exempt.

Takfiri is an Arabic and Islamic term denoting a Muslim who excommunicates one of his/her coreligionists, i.e. who accuses another Muslim of being an apostate.

<i>Milestones</i> (book) 1964 book by Sayyid Qutb

Maʿālim fī aṭ Ṭarīq, also Ma'alim fi'l-tareeq, or Milestones, first published in 1964, is a short book written by the influential Egyptian Islamist author Sayyid Qutb, in which he makes a call to action and lays out a plan to re-create the "extinct" Muslim world on strictly Quranic grounds, casting off what he calls Jahiliyyah.

Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi, or more fully Abu Muhammad Essam al-Maqdisi, is the assumed name of Essam Muhammad Tahir al-Barqawi, an Islamist Jordanian-Palestinian writer. A Qutubi jihadi ideologue, he has popularized many of the most common themes of radical Islam today, like the theological impetus given to the notion of Al Wala' Wal Bara', being the first to declare the Saudi royal family to be apostates or considering democracy a religion, and thus whoever believes in it to be an apostate, but he is best known as the spiritual mentor of Jordanian jihadist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the initial leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq. However, an ideological and methodical split emerged between Maqdisi and Zarqawi in 2004 due to Zarqawi's takfeer proclamations towards the Shia populations in Iraq. Maqdisi opted for a more cautious approach towards targeted Shia killings, attempting to stop Zarqawi's radical ideological movement before Zarqawi's methods become counter-productive.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jihadism</span> Islamist movements for jihad

Jihadism is a neologism for militant Islamic movements that are perceived as existentially threatening to the West. It has been applied to various insurgent Islamic extremist, militant Islamist, and terrorist individuals and organizations whose ideologies are based on the Islamic notion of jihad. It has also been applied to various Islamic empires in history, such as the Umayyad Caliphate and the Ottoman Empire, who extensively campaigned against non-Muslim nations in the name of jihad.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abul A'la Maududi</span> South Asian Islamic scholar and Islamist (1903–1979)

Abul A'la al-Maududi was an Islamic scholar, Islamist ideologue, Muslim philosopher, jurist, historian, journalist, activist, and scholar active in British India and later, following the partition, in Pakistan. Described by Wilfred Cantwell Smith as "the most systematic thinker of modern Islam", his numerous works, which "covered a range of disciplines such as Qur’anic exegesis, hadith, law, philosophy, and history", were written in Urdu, but then translated into English, Arabic, Hindi, Bengali, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Burmese, Malayalam and many other languages. He sought to revive Islam, and to propagate what he understood to be "true Islam". He believed that Islam was essential for politics and that it was necessary to institute sharia and preserve Islamic culture similarly as to that during the reign of the Rashidun Caliphs and abandon immorality, from what he viewed as the evils of secularism, nationalism and socialism, which he understood to be the influence of Western imperialism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hamas Charter</span> Values and positions of Hamas

The Hamas Covenant or Hamas Charter, formally known in English as the Covenant of the Islamic Resistance Movement, was originally issued on 18 August 1988 and outlines the founding identity, stand, and aims of Hamas. A new charter was issued by Hamas leader Khaled Mashal on 1 May 2017 in Doha.

The use of politically and religiously-motivated violence dates back to the early history of Islam, its origins are found in the behavior, sayings, and rulings of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, his companions, and the first caliphs in the 7th, 8th, and 9th centuries CE. Mainstream Islamic law stipulates detailed regulations for the use of violence, including corporal and capital punishment, as well as how, when, and against whom to wage war.

The Quran contains verses believed by Muslims to be revealed to the Islamic prophet Muhammad at different times and under different circumstances – some exhorting violence against enemies and others urging restraint and conciliation. Because some verses abrogate others, and because some are thought to be general commands while others refer to specific enemies, how the verses are understood and how they relate to each other "has been a central issue in Islamic thinking on war" according to scholars such as Charles Matthews.

Counter-jihad, also known as the counter-jihad movement, is a self-titled political current loosely consisting of authors, bloggers, think tanks, street movements and campaign organisations all linked by beliefs that view Islam not as a religion but as an ideology that constitutes an existential threat to Western civilization. Consequently, counter-jihadists consider all Muslims as a potential threat, especially when they are already living within Western boundaries. Western Muslims accordingly are portrayed as a "fifth column", collectively seeking to destabilize Western nations' identity and values for the benefit of an international Islamic movement intent on the establishment of a caliphate in Western countries. The counter-jihad movement has been variously described as anti-Islamic, Islamophobic, inciting hatred against Muslims, and far-right. Influential figures in the movement include the bloggers Pamela Geller and Robert Spencer in the US, and Geert Wilders and Tommy Robinson in Europe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anne Marie Waters</span> Far-right politician in the UK

Anne Marie Dorothy Waters is a far-right politician and activist in the United Kingdom. She founded and led the anti-Islam party For Britain until its dissolution in 2022. She is also the director of Sharia Watch UK, an organisation launched in April 2014. In January 2016, Waters launched Pegida UK in conjunction with activist Tommy Robinson and far-right politician Paul Weston.

The 2017 UK Independence Party leadership election was called following the resignation of Paul Nuttall as leader of the UK Independence Party on 9 June 2017, following the poor performance of the party in the 2017 general election. Former party chairman Steve Crowther was chosen three days later to serve as interim leader.

The Citizens' Movement Pax Europa is a German counter-jihad group that was formed in 2008 from the merger of two previous groups, the Federal Association of Citizens' Movements formed in 2003, and Pax Europa formed in 2006.

Ann Corcoran is an American blogger and political activist known for the anti-refugee and anti-Muslim blogs Refugee Resettlement Watch and Fraud, Crooks, and Criminals. She has worked with several far-right organizations and publications.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Guest, Mathew; Arweck, Elisabeth (2016). Religion and Knowledge: Sociological Perspectives. Routledge. p. 120. ISBN   9781317068051.
  2. ↑ Legrand, Vincent (2014). "Anti-Islamization of Europe' Activism or the Phenomenon of an Allegedly 'Non-racist' Islamophobia: A Case Study of a Problematic Advocacy Coalition". In Toğuşlu, Erkan; Leman, Johan; Sezgin, İsmail Mesut (eds.). New Multicultural Identities in Europe: Religion and Ethnicity in Secular Societies. Leuven University Press. p. 149. doi:10.2307/j.ctt9qdzxj.9. ISBN   9789058679819. JSTOR   j.ctt9qdzxj.9.
  3. 1 2 Bracke, S.; Hernández Aguilar, L. M. (2022). "Thinking Europe's "Muslim Question": On Trojan Horses and the Problematization of Muslims". Critical Research on Religion. 10 (2): 200–220. doi: 10.1177/20503032211044430 .
  4. 1 2 Hodson, Margaret (2022). ""Baby Jihad": Analyzing White Nationalist Fears of Changing Western Demographics". Islamophobia Studies Journal. 7 (1): 111, 113. JSTOR   48676240.
  5. 1 2 Miskin, Maayana (3 May 2009). "Anti-Jihad Scholar Angers MK". Israel National News.
  6. 1 2 Solomon, Sam (14 April 2010). "The Role of the Mosque and the Challenge to the Church". Westminster Institute.
  7. ↑ Goodwin, Matthew (3 February 2019). "Angry Brexiteers are splitting into factions as Ukip is taken over by far-right extremists". The Times.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 Rose, Steven (16 May 2014). "Sam Solomon, Christian Concern and Gerard Batten". Tell MAMA.
  9. ↑ Paul, Jonny (14 December 2006). "EU Parliament charter asks Muslims to reject extremism". The Jerusalem Post.
  10. ↑ Thomas, Cal (27 December 2006). "Charter could help marginalize extremists". South Florida Sun Sentinel.
  11. ↑ Mason, Rowena (5 February 2014). "Nigel Farage distances himself from MEP over 'Muslim code of conduct'". The Guardian.
  12. ↑ Mason, Rowena (4 February 2014). "Ukip MEP says British Muslims should sign charter rejecting violence". The Guardian.
  13. ↑ Gander, Kashmira (14 January 2015). "Paris attacks: Ukip MEP Gerard Batten renews calls for Muslims to sign charter against violence". The Independent.
  14. ↑ Matthew (2014). Doublespeak: The Rhetoric of the Far Right since 1945. Columbia University. p. 178. ISBN   9783838265544.
  15. ↑ Kilpatrick, William (2012). Christianity, Islam and Atheism: The Struggle for the Soul of the West. Ignatius. p. 330. ISBN   9781681490977.
  16. 1 2 "Not The Same God: Is The Qur'anic Allah The Lord God Of The Bible?". Wilberforce Publications. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
  17. ↑ Soong, Kua Kia; Ramananthan, Joyce, eds. (2018). Malaysia Human Rights Report 2017: Civil and Political Rights. Suara Inisiatif Sdn Bhd. p. 41. ISBN   9789671426357.
  18. ↑ "Counter Jihad Brussels: 18-19 October 2007". International Civil Liberties Alliance. 20 October 2007.
  19. 1 2 3 Mulhall, Joe (24 February 2023). "Corridors Of Power: The Secret Anti-Muslim Group In The Heart Of Westminster". Hope not hate.
  20. ↑ "International counter-jihad organisations". Hope not hate. 11 January 2018.
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