we want islam back to the original version of islam. best you pursue your own vision. a final thought for you, i've been thinking about different muslim communities and cultures around the world, billions of muslim people. let's take one example, indonesia. i'm glad you mentioned that because i've got another answer for you there. let's end with that then. in indonesia, i'm going to quote to you the general secretary of one of the main muslim organisations, the nahdlatul ulama. now, he says, "we've achieved a de facto consensus in indonesia that the islamic teachings must be co ntextualised to reflect the ever—changing circumstances of our time and place." 0k. exactly. but he does not go for this confrontational anti—wahhabi, anti—saudi line that you go for. he's not in the business of confrontation and warfare, he's in the business of evolution and drawing people in. right, 0k. why are you not? luther wasn't a person threatening a deal with the pope. you started with that, i didn't make that comparison, you did. he didn't make a deal w

of islam.l his ideas ever gain traction in the muslim community? taj hargey, welcome to hardtalk. pleasure to be here. let's start with some definitions. you spent much of a life in south africa and have found it to mosques, one in cape town, south africa and one in oxford in the uk. you are a student of islam. but how would you describe yourself? i would say i am an enlightened progressive liberal muslim that sticks to the koran and doesn't allow secondary sources that are suspect to determine my manifestation of faith. i feel the koran is enough, its has repeatedly the book is complete and detailed, god has not left out anything, he doesn't make mistakes or one out of words to the 6236 verses should be enough for muslims was the —— because the creator says that and human manufactured sources like the hadith, the sharia, which is mentally —— which is a mediaeval concoction and the fight against salman rushdie and others, none of those are clear as far as i'm concerned. those people, that follo

scholars who try to rewrite the koran in our times in our societies within islam we have a patriarchal structure within religious institutions and that patriarchal structure of course it has affected the interpretation of the koran so this is also what we would like to challenge these pay trickle structures patriarchal readings of the koran and and i think that female you moms has something to contribute in that context because we have a specific focus on gender equality and we are in need of that so you're not wearing a he job shoot i had or face cover be a choice and this is a sign of oppression what do you think of course if i mean we are born free we are born free so of course every single human should choose for themselves how they want to live their life and muslim women have different interpretation of what it means to be a modest woman this is my interpretation of modesty to me the scarf is a metaphor for sincerity towards god and sincerity in the relationships that you find yourself in it could be a friendship or a marriage or whatever so but i also respect women who choose th

the station you're quite an interesting mix of absolute european democrat and a spiritual leader in islam when you try to fight islamophobia and open up your religion open up islam from a different angle how do your fellow believers see you i mean do you think you are a true muslim in their eyes in the must live of the clerics from egypt or iraq or maybe don't even care what they think. actually i do not seek the recognitions of of other people i seek the recognition of. but of course it means something to me what people think. actually we had a visitor it's it was the granny mom from the third largest mosques in the indonesia in jakarta it's called the mosque the granny mom he has two hundred thousand muslim this it says every friday for his friday prayer he came to the mahdi a mosque in copenhagen he prayed in a mosque and he blessed our mosque and he blessed the concept of female in months and he even quoted the one of my favorite inspirational sources which is it been out of be here from eleven sixty five until twelve forty and he said the perfect man is a woman so we have muslim spir

it's natural so in your new reality in your everyday reality what is harder dealing with the national islam of right wingers or religious islamist fanatics. i think both i mean they're very similar they're similar on both sides both sides they tend to generalize they are manipulating guy i caught some nice between them and us between being a muslim and being a secure a list we've seen muslims and jews and muslims and and christians and all of these manipulate the dichotomy is you will find it on both sides and this is actually what i try to fight against or what we try to fight against or challenge we try to deconstruct all of these manipulated by cuts and knees showing the world that islam is a religion and it's a peaceful religion and it's possible to be a practicing muslim to believe that the koran is the word of god and at the same time via a member of secular societies it is possible all right sure and we're going to take a short break right now when we're back we'll continue talking what's your rain on khan denmark's first female a mom discussing her fight against islam also be out in

the islamic republic was feeling the pressure was. but the supreme leader refused to give in to the demonstrators held up medina jansa point went and put down the protests with extraordinary brutality. i think i'm on a probably saying to the regime that here but what price he knew he would need to give some leeway if his hold on power were to be preserved. i think this sort of awareness that iran had been through its own brush with potential regime instability in two thousand and nine with the most serious protests that had taken place since the one nine hundred seventy nine revolution cast a very long shadow and it was clear that. there was a consensus decision to move away from the kind of provocations that characterize the period and move toward a new rapprochement at least with the broader international community community if not with the united states specifically. in shows long the main leader of the shias that bush is the first i only have to science has a same. chose the path of peace and negotiations and hussein shows the pat

on sophie shevardnadze islam in europe has long been viewed with suspicion by the majority accused of not representing european values is that really true and can it be changed well i asked shereen han khan denmark's first female. is that when europe is a magnet for controversy used by the right wing to start fear of feared by the people in the wake of their attacks and the refugee crisis. inside the muslim community resisting integration mistrust come to vicious circle of phobia and hatred. is there a way to measure europe's ultimate liberalism and the ancient traditions of islam and how for me is the past. denmark's first female in mom welcome it's really great to have you with us i'm very excited to ask you all the questions that i want now you call yourself an islamic center and it's being denmark's first female among do using a woman could ever lead a mixed mosque in prayer in islam not just female only and would you like that to happen actually i had the vision of a mosque with female humam so many years ago back in one thousand nine hundred nine i was inspired when i did my the

discussing our fight against islam also be out in europe stay with us. geysers financial survival guide liquid those that you can burn in sick as quite easily. to keep in mind no assets need to place a. record. fine of them and also the chicken cutlets now hansei but on the front. line and if you have you would it be that easy to find that out in the. last. months to people. if you. look at i think it might have been my little bit too much of that a little bit that we are shut out of money coming no doubt much a little too late for tomorrow not to get it but it. is this monday like. some forces of the. sea. you can be no problem. because you know provision of my bike when i want to. ask but i. get. there so i go hide oh i lost his bus because i just got then you just gotta go we sources you like and just like anybody i'm on a month although it doesn't but the best honest i don't mean that there's been a. choice as you know but i was your not. you not just i mean what almost bought it i'm already but it was but. i remember how the laws were going to go wh

states extreme take on islam still attracted a lot of women to go and volunteer and join its costs you as a female spiritual leader how do you explain that why would people why would women volunteer to be so horribly oppressed. by isis i mean i think that people tend to become radicalized or at track to read to collide communities because they don't feel a part of the existing communities that they live in often if you don't feel a part of the existing community i mean you have nothing to lose and you try to seek other communities where you feel at home and where you feel that you are dated so unfortunately these communities that are very extreme and a try to i mean they sometimes you know they they focus on all these political issues of today and they use all these political tensions in order to recruit very vulnerable young people who maybe do not feel at home in their existing european communities or where they might live and that's why it's so crucial that that we try to include our minorities in the existing countries in order for everybody to feel at home and to feel a part of th

when you try to fight islamophobia and open up your religion open up islam from a different angle how do your fellow believers see you i mean do you think you are a true muslim in their eyes and a must live of the clerics from egypt or iraq or maybe don't even care what they think actually i do not seek the recognitions of of other people i seek the recognition of. but of course it means something to me what people think. actually we had a visitor it's was the granny mom from the third largest mosques in the indonesia. it's called the mosque the granny mom he has two hundred thousand muslims.

islam is my six-foot well. what the buddha was trying to say quite clearly is that it doesn't matter which well you choose, the water is the same, but you should choose a well because that helps you actually reach the water. the symbols, the metaphors, the language, it's helpful, it makes a difference, it helps you put words to your thoughts and your emotions, and especially when you're talking about something as abstract and unknowable as the divine, you need a metaphor for it. pick a metaphor. jesus is a pretty good metaphor. but understand that it's just a metaphor. the different ways in which we talk about god are just nothing more than languages. so don't confuse the language for the thing itself. don't confuse the well for the water. that's what i would say. >> the german in the back in the middle. >> thank you very much. as an alumni and professor, welcome back to our campus. you had a beautiful series of believer on cnn. it participated in each world practices. what is your single most important lesson

states extreme take on islam still attracted a lot of women to go and volunteer and join us cos you as a female spiritual leader how do you explain that why would people why would women volunteer to be so horribly oppressed. by isis i mean i think that people tend to become radicalized or a track that's already collides communities because they don't feel a part of the existing communities that they live in often if you don't feel a part of the existing community i mean you have nothing to lose and you try to seek other communities where you feel at home and where you feel that you are validated so unfortunately these communities that are very extreme and the try to i mean they sometimes you know they they focus on all these political issues of today and they use all these political tensions in order to recruit very vulnerable young people who maybe do not feel at home in their existing european communities or where they might live and that's why it's so crucial that that we try to include our minorities in the existing countries in order for everybody to feel at home and to feel a

doesn't belong to europe you live in a country with a government strongly against islam does it make it hard for you to get your message across or are the rhetoric of the politicians level on the politicians level doesn't really reflect what ordinary people think and how they treat you. i think it's a myth to state that the government in denmark is against islam that's not the case we have a growing islamophobia or a growing and his i mean rhetorical propaganda in denmark but it's in the right right wing parties so the government in general they do accept islam as a religion like any other religion but. so so at a state level it's accepted and no i don't experience this kind of anti islamic retore at the state level but of course in the right wing parties at the daily basis you experience and make retore comparable again and we try to challenge that so there is push from muslims in countries like england canada france to create a separate sharia legality for them since those laws are the way of the face do you think that muslims in non islamic societies should have a separate legal s

they want to go back to the original islam.” understand what you're against, want to seek out how youest pursue your own vision. a final thought, i'd been thinking about different muslim communities and cultures around the world, billions of muslim people. —— i've been. let's take one example, indonesia. i'm glad you've got to that. let's end with that. in indonesia, want to quote the general secretary of one of the main muslim organisations. he says we have achieved a de facto consensus in indonesia that the islamic teachings must be contextualised to reflect the ever—changing circumstances of ourtime and the ever—changing circumstances of our time and place. but he does not go for this confrontational anti—war heartbeat, and the saudi line that you go for. he's not in the business of confrontation and warfare, he's

camel is another example of someone who has embraced islam. islam should be ashamed to try more. pushy. to see. it the. more of the. ships. to. reach a. deal which is. to. come and was born during the era of the soviet union at a time when any faith in god was frowned upon even condemned. he was brought up in an environment of communism in which there was no place for religion. since the downfall of the soviet union camel like most of the other young men and women in azerbaijan have been trying to find their way in a rapidly changing society. camels life took a new turn about five years ago when his wife good embraced islam and encouraged him to do the same. islam then be. limited to finance. this. is a check. on ten billion pounds if. they. asked me. to. bring it back and told them. i am asking for funding. from. you. for this young azerbaijani couple islam has proved to be a solace and support. can't. get any. eastern men i am keeping up with that being that if it shakes up again it. again mark it would shake it. up if it helped them in that manner and it did they do i say it i

shia and boasts an islamic history of more than thirteen hundred years when islam was first introduced to china in six fifty a.d. by one of the prophet muhammad's companions she hands muslims are proud of their islamic history and their country's traditions. they have merged their own ancient chinese culture with islam remaining faithful to the central tenets of their religion. should coersion this realize there were many a genius just didn't do that to me and kosher. this is my paying. everyone in sheehan's muslim community knows him as he is one of ten in months at the most famous mosque in the city. he is also there has a religious teacher. this is mr and mrs giles are again a couple in their sixty's who have finally managed to save enough money to go on the has. they all belong to the muslim community of xiang. and since the fifteenth century their ancestors have been making their way to mecca in saudi arabia for the annual has pilgrimage. in the past during the days of the silk road all journeys either began or ended here in the city of. many travelers have passed through the city

practicing islam in japan remains a challenge. to my money and economy. sitting at the dinner table told. about in the future that's why people are listening. and comes from a society that is famous for its advanced technologies and for its materialistic value. underpinning this way of life is a spiritual ism is often not immediately obvious. so listen i want us to go on like this and i would join. in the core of this that i. got. there i mean i see unless you guys took a lot of the she started so look at them on the day when all of the highs are at this unrest and there's some of that going to my sort of god only on god only on. the grace of the one. sitting out there. so you know especially on a course and i stand with this i'm going and. going and i love that so you're the master so i got on my so. i got that it got us going on that are stunning so you tell me on what they must. like adalah contact with muslims in japan started mainly with the expatriate muslim community. week. here in tokyo scummy mosque a diverse islamic community gathers in worship.

but at what age are girls really old enough to make a conscious decision to wear islamic head covering the german state. integration minister says that younger than fourteen is too young and he thinking about banning it. is very important to us we want women who voluntarily decide to wear a headscarf to be accorded full respect for society this is nothing to do with marginalization but we do not want young girls to be forced into it because. most google's here at elizabeth's elbert comprehensive school in bonn they were the headscarf voluntarily. almost twelve to students here are muslim but only very few of them actually very he job under the age of fourteen what is striking though all the girls i talked to say they plan to wear one in future. some teachers are critical of this trend but they feel a ban would be counterproductive the state islam teachers at the comprehensive school in bonn take a different approach. when you're gunsmiths to see it's very important to me as a teacher to enter the debate this shouldn't be a straight ban but this should be a conversation with school girl

know but it's very important profit and teacher in islam. because what's fascinating is here sits two individuals from two totally different walks of life i'm a guy that was a dumb jock from long island new york whose dad was a public school teacher and football coach i grew up on a friday night lights fighting every weekend drunk. and yet there's things i know about your face now. and things you know about my face and the things you know about your faith based on the fact that you know things about my faith and yet. you choose. to trust to the truly is just interpretation a lot just means god in arabic just like a law is not the god of the christian god if you read the koran it's all the same prophets i mean look at abraham and absent the same god everybody gets so proudly all they got that's a mask right so the almighty. is the same father. only called according to the most the same god that we don't believe that god had a child and that jesus was a miracle birth but that did not make him these descended on a child of god any more than it

in unprecedented ruling a british judge has recognized an islamic faith marriage as being legal under u.k. law the case was brought by a muslim woman who wants to divorce her estranged husband the couple were married at a traditional muslim wedding ceremony also known as twenty years ago but it was regarded as a religious ceremony and therefore not a civil marriage under u.k. law has been had blocks divorce proceedings invoking sharia law under which a union can only be dissolved by a council of muslim leaders but such councils have no legal jurisdiction in the u.k. choco involved earlier discussed it with a muslim rights campaigner and british politics commentator. how significant do you think this ruling is in terms of how britain regards religious weddings and the marriage there after it is essentially the first time that the british courts our legal system has essentially recognized a parallel legal system nearly shari'a law it does set a precedent with the right perhaps establishing what the bindery serang that should be so i view this as troubling misguided and potentially very

, or american islam for that matter. it's important to understand that religion, doesn't matter what you're talking about or what part of the world, religion is far more often a matter of identity than a matter of beliefs and practices. for many people, particularly nonreligious people, they think religion is about what you believe. what you do, that religious people pick up a scripture, read it and then they go out and do that. that's not how it works. the best example is the fact that according to religion in public life, 71% of americans are christian. seven out of ten americans are christian. really? think about it. seven out of ten americans go to church on a regular basis. seven out of ten americans can tell you anything about jesus except that he was born in a manger and died on a cross #of course not. the vast majority when they say i am a christian, are not making a faith statement, they're making an identity statement. for me, islam is deeply a part of who i am, it's how i understand my place in the world, it's

did you come away with new interpretations of islam? >> guest: you don't need an adult to tell you how to worship god. god wants to hear from you, not some one else. you don't need to explain it to me. ask yourself. don't ask someone else and that's what i found out for myself. in judaism the thing i like about judaism and islam also, now we are speaking about this but in judaism even if you don't believe in god you are still a. in islam if you say i don't believe in god you are not a muslim. people tell you, you are not a muslim. who gave them the power to tell you whether you are muslim or are muslim. you need to have an agreement with yourself that you are the one who can judge whether you are muslim or not a muslim. that's not only in islam and in different religions you'll see the same thing. unfortunately some are controlled more by religious leaders and their own people. >> host: shifting gears i want to make sure we talk about the title and why it's called "the fox hunt". >> guest: it's called "the fox hunt". i don't know few ha

is where are the need to out a pig movements gap continues that submission to islam islam with its posters of veiled little girls i have denounced several times this rise in power or the veil imposed on little girls which is an abuse and trampling on our values of equality freedom and secularism culture ism experts as hillary says that the french tradition though is to embrace and not to shut down provocative advertising but as far as the government is concerned there question should be ok is it legal or illegal in france putting the mail on in school is illegal so if the picture were something that were happening in school then to get france would have to ask us to make it different pictures because they can't. put a schoolgirl in a trance should embrace its diversity so in my opinion. these type of pictures should be welcome in trance i used to work in the perfume industry and france was always very very free about showing a lot of the female body and pretty america is meant. if we had clients in other countries who didn't agree with it or who had laws where you couldn't expose a lady's

islam it was. it was muhammad is a good man yeah seriously so in college i started meeting people who were middle eastern exchange students and i was and still am a minister and police would go up to them and tell them how awful they were that they beat their wives and they didn't believe in jesus so i was trying to convert them to christianity and they would explain to me well no that's not what islam says i mean some people are bad to women but islam is and and we do believe in jesus in fact we have an entire chapter on the mother of jesus of how he was born and all of his miracles so then i started learning more about islam and the more i studied it the more i liked it and it spoke to me. before that you're a christian now. that's amazing that's an easy testimony. and for me i didn't change religions i expanded on my understanding of my relationship with god is just a little reading so you. know he's very important profit and teacher in islam. because what's fascinating is here sits two individu

bear in mind that many of them aren't even syrians their islam is on jihad from central asia from china from the caucasus from morocco to baghdad this is their last stand as i said what's worse though is the foreign power buildup in the area out of the blue you have united states cruise missile delivery systems we're talking here about guided missile destroyers about strategic bombers the rebasing in dropping anchor near syria days after the pentagon announced that they're prepared to take action if there are reports of chemical weapons being used by as'ad and russia's warning that that is exactly what is going to happen the rebels what details do we know about this military buildup we've been hearing about well there's there's information coming in the both russia and the united states propping up their assets the russian fleet is is the biggest that ever being in off the coast of syria you have reports of submarines of frigates of destroyers and the danger here is that all of this you know less collation a potential escalation of chemical weapons are indeed used to stage the tax or ot

but this is an islamic republic.is a risky business, both for men and women. (erdbrink and sommayehng spea (erdbrink imitating fanfare) >> erdbrink: wow. ♪ >> erdbrink: after 17 years of living in iran, i still ruggle with how the stat interferes in your private life. when i said that to a mullah once, he said, "don't think that climbing a mountain brings you closer to god. god will come to you if he deems it necessary." maybe at's the problem. because god can't be everywhere at the same time. for everyday matters, we must rely on his spokespersons on earth. in this case, that's supreme leader khanei.un anr him is an army of officials. so if i want to know if i can film sooni without getting her into trouble, i should pay a visit to this man. he is the censor. (erdbrink and man speaking): (erdbrink speaking): (erdbrink speaking): (dance music playing) >> erdbrink: finally, some clarity. this rule i undetand. western viewers can see this, but it will never be shown i iran. (dance music continues) ♪ the different expla

president has offered to meet with an iranian leader since the islamic revolution nearly forty years ago. and i would certainly meet with iran if they wanted to meet i don't know that they're ready yet to have a hard time right now but i ended the arendelle it was a ridiculous deal i do believe that they will probably end up wanting to meet and i'm ready to meet any time they want to and i don't do that from strength or from weakness i think it's an appropriate thing to do. this statement was all the more unexpected given the flare up of tension between tehran and washington over the last week on sunday the iranian president warned the u.s. to stop provoking his country. mr trump don't play with the lion's tail this will only lead to regret whatever regret it. true to form trump responded on twitter this time with an all caps to rate warning rouhani he would suffer the consequences the likes of which few throughout history it ever suffered before if you threaten the u.s. again ending the tweet with the words be cautious. the two sides began to escalate their rhetoric in may after tru

because isis needs to be destroyed oh so they're good for something at least if it's about knocking out islamic state he had just a few months earlier general nicholson said the taliban's fight against dyess was a piece of russian propaganda we see oh a narrative that's being used that grossly exaggerates the number of isis fighters here this narrative then is used as a justification for the russians to legitimize the actions of the taliban and provide some degree of support complicated hol of ghana's stan business as usual and the american strategy for afghanistan see above the american strategy the strategy from the beginning of the so-called war on terror which was launched off to the september eleventh attacks has chosen this war has turned out to be an utter failure. you know i was we all know was in a stronger position than it ever was in two thousand and one. hand so i think it's proof that the u.s. has been pursuing a wrong strategy in defeating terrorism on the contrary i think that the u.s. involvement up until now when the focus on military force in the region has the growth of terro

military personnel have seen white supremacy with their wings and consider it more dangerous to an islamic state is there a new nasa demick in the army. to my knowledge i believe it's certainly some of them that the military needs of paid more attention to in milwaukee work with a gentleman named party police party father was murdered by a white power skinhead who is part of the gang that i'd helped to start along with five other people on august fifth two thousand and twelve the murderer whose name was wade page was radicalized in the united states army so he went into the army nonaffiliated average white guy he came out in affiliated white supremacist and that led to his practice of hate and violence for over ten years that ultimately ended in a mass murder hate crime so i think the military needs to be accountable for that in many ways i work with a ton of brilliant middle military people who point out all the time that you invited suits military is one of the most multicultural organizations on earth and i believe that's true but i think that there is still space within the military fo

that is developing in the what should be type of islam that is developing strongly within the muslim world of the over the world and particularly in europe and which is again building a parallel society by what kind of message are these women giving it to other women by putting a program which is going to hide the totality of their their body we're not talking about the headscarf we're not talking about people who practice islam we're talking about people who are practically as some people work in taliban societies in the most strict societies in islam today and the danes are just saying that they do not want that type of islam in denmark so i think it's not an attack against the muslim community it's an attack against that extremist fringe of them slim community which definitely does not want to integrate into the european society but wants to build the parallel society. turkey's vowed to retaliate against the u.s. after washington post sanctions on two officials at anchor over the detention of an american pastor. with these measures the united states has shown a real lack of respec

an italian roman catholic who studied islam and is committed to intervene understanding. the do it based on lab. said. city d o c b and. devolved that. set the. wrong they're not. serious the kibo says and i belive in paris again that this one is the big. one. the us add a woman who are with bernie and. it is sad that the move to the. t.v. was the home of the end of the scene safe car and for nasa for it not to be a symbol for badly of tolerance and compassion. minnesota really really are in the . media interfere. with our being. set the tone. of. the. train don't. send yourself off. i did too sure except here she is sort of cool kid or did you. see. if. it had a business. that . is a french classically trained musician who studied at the concert. but who wanted to find out about. it.

the headquarters of the islamic republic party there is a viable opposition to the rule of the. position is centered in this room. and let's not forget how america stood alongside the afghan wish i had been in its battle against the soviet union only to see that group later form into al-qaeda the people we are fighting today we funded twenty years ago. does america dealing with these five and groups amount to sponsoring terrorism while the state department has a good answer for that i will leave it to others to characterize the current state of our own standing. senators in the united states have accused the government of contributing to another deadly saudi led coalition strike a school bus in yemen on thursday the red cross says twenty nine children were killed thirty others injured all under the age of fifteen the u.s. state department called on the coalition to investigate but to that saudi arabia is a key regional partner. we call on the saudi led coalition to conduct a thorough and transparent investigation into the incident you also supply the tremendous amount of weaponr

a sweeping association of islam with the violence easier in muslims facing the stock reality of being ostracized by the very communities in which they live love and moon the tragic loss of life. twice a victory on al-jazeera. to stand the differences. and the similarities of cultures across the world. al-jazeera. when mexico's leaders implemented drastic and controversial energy reforms the country's oil owned by the mexican people for seventy five years was to be sold to private international companies. but to what extent is the country exposed to exploitation by a profit driven multinational corporation is a good harvest on al-jazeera and in the. hello i'm daryn jordan in doha the quick reminder of the top stories here on al-jazeera at least eighty two people have died in the second quake to hit the indonesian island of lombok in a week but not that huge seven quake destroyed thousands of homes the government says hundreds of people have been injured. student protesters in bangladesh have been a warm that security forces will not allow crowds to continue blocking the streets . polic