Hassan Butt

[ajva]

I really must go to bed.

However, before I do I must just post one thing. I've been growing more and more interested recently in the comments of one Hassan Butt, a British former extremist Islamist jihadi who seems to have suddenly made a sharp about-turn over the past year or so, and who now says things that no-one else can dare to, about how he believes the current political situation vis a vis Islamist terrorism to be largely the fault of the current state of Islamic theology rather than directly the result of British foreign policy. To give you some idea, here are three different links to show you how his views appear to have changed to a startling degree over a relatively short period of time.

Firstly, an interview with Prospect magazine in August 2005: here

And then, a more recent article he wrote for the Observer, and one for the Times

One thing that jumped out at me from his various writings is his assertion that many young Muslim men are attracted to the current extremist belief systems because they do not sanction forced marriage. An interesting point, and one which I feel could simply not have been illuminated by anyone other than someone in his unique "insider's" position.

I also saw him on Newsnight, speaking out very vociferously against his former way of thinking. Watching this, I was struck by the incredible bravery of his decision to speak out so plainly, but I would also be absolutely fascinated to know what prompted this change of heart.

Comments

[ajva.livejournal.com]

And this leads on to another question I'd be interested to hear your views on: do you feel that your own relationship with God, and indeed your perception of it, has changed over time?

[sashajwolf.livejournal.com]

Definitely. Even just including the times when I've been Christian, new dimensions have been added to the relationship over time. It started out as mostly father/child, but these days, I usually only feel that one if it's prompted by a hymn or something. Over time, it became more like a relationship of friends, lovers, mentor and mentee (I hate that word, is there a better one?), supervisor and student, even dom/sub. Then there's the times when God seems very alien and non-personal, and I have to reach for fictional relationships as analogies, like Doctor/TARDIS or Rose/Vortex, and try not to feel too silly about it ;-)

[ajva.livejournal.com]

I'm sure God, if he exists, enjoys Doctor Who as much as we do. ;o)

[sashajwolf.livejournal.com]

Definitely!