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Mohammad Hossain is the director and founder of the Islamic Center of Redlands.
STAN LIM, , STAN LIM, FILE PHOTO
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THREE THINGS TO KNOW
• Area Muslims say the actions of the Islamic State degrade, rather than promote, Islamic religion.
• Scholars say a lack of recognized leadership in Sunni world has allowed terrorist organizations to flourish.
• Islamic State justifies actions as retaliation for Western intrusions into the Muslim world. end articleExtras googleon: all
Members of the local Muslim community decried recent attacks in Paris, Beirut and Egypt, saying the actions of the Islamic State don’t reflect the tenets of their religion.googleoff: allgoogleon: all
“These people are cherry-picking various verses from the holy book,” said Yousuf Bhagnani, president of the Islamic Society of Corona-Norco. “They are fooling themselves.”googleoff: allgoogleon: all
Bhagnani said he doesn’t even consider the members of the Islamic State to be “true” Muslims, calling them “uneducated people” who have used the cover of religion in a crude bid for power, political influence and control.googleoff: allgoogleon: all
Some secular academics, however, say the actions of the Islamic State, also known as ISIL or ISIS, are more about control over the faith and the faithful.googleoff: allgoogleon: all
“There is a struggle, a life and death struggle for Sunni Islam in who gets to call the shots and define the religion,” said Ivan Strenski, a retired professor of religious studies who taught at UC Riverside for 20 years.googleoff: allgoogleon: all
The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for downing a Russian jet in Egypt on Oct. 31, and last week’s bombings in Beirut and coordinated attacks in Paris. The maelstrom of chaos has left hundreds dead and hundreds more wounded.googleoff: allgoogleon: all
Mustafa Kuko, director of the Islamic Center of Riverside, said there is no way the Islamic State can justify the Paris attacks, calling the scene “senseless carnage.”googleoff: allgoogleon: all
Although there have been some isolated reports of anti-Muslim sentiment in the aftermath of the attacks, Kuko said there haven’t been any threats or backlash from local residents. He said this could be because of the longstanding relationships the various centers in the region have cultivated with law enforcement officials and interfaith leaders.googleoff: allgoogleon: all
The Islamic State says its actions are retaliation for the war in Iraq, the drone strikes carried out by allied forces and injustices leveled against Muslims.googleoff: allgoogleon: all
Kuko said that argument doesn’t jibe with the religion’s holy book, however, which states that you can’t punish someone for the sake of someone else.googleoff: allgoogleon: all
“There’s nothing that can support it,” he said. “They’re making up their own logic. That’s something that is sad. I sometimes wish we had a commanding authority like the pope who could say do this and not that. In (Sunni) Islam, we don’t have that thing.”googleoff: allgoogleon: all
Strenski said by provoking the West, the Islamic State puffs itself up on the world stage even if its actual numbers are relatively small.googleoff: allgoogleon: all
“Eight people can cause havoc, and they can look like giants when they are not,” he said.googleoff: allgoogleon: all
Talking about the root of their animus toward the West, Strenski said it’s a reaction to perceived intrusions by the Western powers in the Sunni world.googleoff: allgoogleon: all
“It is a war. They see it as self-defense,” he said.