8 - Advising and Warning the People: Swedish Salafis on Violence, Renunciation and Life in the Suburbs
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 20 October 2020
Summary
The speaker, Moosa Assal, is dressed in a long white robe, sitting in front of shelves of Arabic books, looking relaxed, with long hair and beard. He is about to speak about the ‘chaos’ in Swedish suburbs, for example riots where young people have thrown stones at police and firemen as well as set cars on fire. Initially, he speaks Arabic and welcomes the viewers. He then speaks Swedish in a distinct suburban Stockholm dialect, likely shared by many of the expected viewers.
This is sincere advice, advice from me to those who listen. As a person in this society. As a person who is born, and has grown up, in the suburbs. In Husby, Rinkeby and Tensta. So I speak from my heart to peoples’ hearts tonight. […] I do not make any money from this. There is nobody who told me ‘you have to speak about this’. This is something that I really want to talk about. I want to give advice. Specifically, to my brothers out there in the suburbs. To the Muslims. Because I can talk from our own religion.
Assal then turns specifically to those of his Muslim ‘brothers’ whom he knows to be criminals, and advises them to fear God:
Fear Allah! Be afraid of Allah! Know that one day you will stand in front of your Lord. You will be responsible for your actions. Don't think that you can do whatever you want in this world and then in the next life you are not responsible! No! You are responsible for your actions! We have a Lord who sees us and hears us, whom we will meet one day. When our deeds will be brought up, and Allah will judge us based on what we have done and what we have said. So, I ask you, my brother who commits such evil acts: do you yourself think this is something good? Do you feel good from this? Impossible!
Instead of getting involved in evil acts, Assal stresses that ‘brothers’ should be a source of positive energy in society, which would be in accordance with Islam.
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- Information
- Muslim Preaching in the Middle East and BeyondHistorical and Contemporary Case Studies, pp. 155 - 172Publisher: Edinburgh University PressPrint publication year: 2020