Abdi Jeylani Marshale (pictured here) was a very popular comedian in Solamia who has been tragically murdered by some religious thugs. He was well-known for his parodies of Islamist militants, so you require no psychic powers whatsoever to guess who did this or what their motivation was. Officially nobody knows who did this, but what is known is that he was threatened by the extremist group al-Shabaab.
The BBC reports here …
Witnesses told the BBC that Marshale was shot several times in the head and chest by two men armed with pistols …
“This is a black day for the entire entertainment industry, he was a leader in Somalia comedy and everybody liked his performance,” said Yusuf Keynan, a presenter at Kulmiye radio, where Marshale worked.
When recently discussing Islamic Violence with a UK-based Muslim, I was advised that only a small minority of Muslims in the UK are violent extremists, the vast majority are not like this. I believe he is correct because I am 100% convinced that most humans, with or without a belief, are decent honourable individuals who strive to do what is right. However, I was also seriously concerned that even such a small minority are deemed to be ‘Muslim’, and do wonder why they are not being denounced as non-Muslim and rejected the community?
In no other context is it acceptable to suggest that the vast majority are OK, and that only a small minority are violent. try these examples …
- Post Office: Almost all our staff will politely and efficiently deliver your letters, except for a tiny minority that will break into your house and murder you.
- Supermarket Chain: All the food we sell is safe to consume, except for a tiny percentage that will cause instant death.
My point is simple, you don’t get to claim that only a tiny minority are violent, that is not acceptable … period. The only humanly decent response is a zero tolerance policy … for those that advocate violence, and for those that support those that advocate violence. Until the Islamic community deals with violence or threats of violence on those terms, their belief system will face and continue to face a considerable degree of vocal criticism.
The huge problem they face with doing this are the core beliefs that are incompatible with taking such a stance. For example the official penalty for Apostasy is death. Let me be clear, that is not a fringe view, today the majority of Muslim scholars hold to the traditional view that apostasy is punishable by death. In other words, if you are a Muslim who decides it is all nonsence and abandons Islam, then they truly believe that it is perfectly OK to murder you. There are of course reformers who do not agree, but they are the minority.
Until such basic issues within the belief system itself are reformed, it will continue to breed violent fanatics who embrace such teachings literally and so act upon these beliefs – in other words, the issue is not just about a few bad apples, but rather is about a fatal rather deadly flaw within the belief system itself.