Maajid Nawaz: A global culture to fight extremism
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- Опубліковано 28 вер 2024
- www.ted.com Why do transnational extremist organizations succeed where democratic movements have a harder time taking hold? Maajid Nawaz, a former Islamist extremist, asks for new grassroots stories and global social activism to spread democracy in the face of nationalism and xenophobia. A powerful talk from TEDGlobal 2011.
TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes. Featured speakers have included Al Gore on climate change, Philippe Starck on design, Jill Bolte Taylor on observing her own stroke, Nicholas Negroponte on One Laptop per Child, Jane Goodall on chimpanzees, Bill Gates on malaria and mosquitoes, Pattie Maes on the "Sixth Sense" wearable tech, and "Lost" producer JJ Abrams on the allure of mystery. TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design, and TEDTalks cover these topics as well as science, business, development and the arts. Closed captions and translated subtitles in a variety of languages are now available on TED.com, at www.ted.com/tra....
Maajid Nawaz is a phenomenal speaker. He's like a Pakistani Christopher Hitchens
Exactly my first thoughts too, haha
He's british too, just like Christopher Hitchens.
+ace roger Watch his speech at the Central Synagogue. I think only Christopher Hitchens could have spoken as powerfully. He moved me to tears.
+ace roger You white racists cant ever get over a persons background and ethnicity. Majid is an individual, you bring up Pakistan into it because you're a bunch of viciously racist, fascistic, materialistic people. On the day of judgement I wonder what you 'whites' are going to say to the lord god when you have to explain why you were being racist and what gave you the right/idea that you are better than everybody else just because of your skin colour or background
You can mention a person's skintone or background without being racist. You're so sensitive.
Maajid Nawaz always talks sense, nothing controversial at all in what he's saying. Politics and religion should remain separate. Groups supporting democratic values need to be encouraged.
i'm an atheist, yet i think Maajid Nawaz has done a brave job in fighting extremism
I hope more people like him will stand up against the al-Qaeda and the Pakistani, and he will encourage more people to fight religious extremisim particularly islam
once religious extremisim is gone in islam, it would now be easier for people to drop their religion totally and embrace human values and progress
Maajid is really interesting and articulate. Good to see a man can be redeemed from a life of violence, and for me, my problem isn't with 'freedom fighters', but rather, with men who equate the tyranny of violence and brutal terrorism with fighting for freedom.
When Subhas Bose tried to take India by force alongside other Indian extremists, they failed, and ultimately the British seized the moral highground of eliminating a 'terrorist threat'. When Gandhi forced himself and his followers to suffer unimaginable brutalities through peaceful protest and dissent, the British began to truly understand the values of 'liberty' and 'freedom' and 'justice which they had used up until then to mask the cruel nature of Empire...and finally let India go.
Some men say, 'If I am not violent, how will I defend myself against someone who is violent?' this is the argument each of us makes and which creates a world filled with violence. When someone does the truly brave thing, and becomes the first person to lower that fist, he is making the leap of faith which others will follow into a world of dialogue, discussion, progress and ultimately long lasting peace.
Well by a quick look at the world, let's say for the last 2000 years .... your idea / ideals are not looking too promising !
dude u are wrong
subhas chandra bose wanted freedom by fighting against britishers .... and u know how india got independence not becoz of gandhi but becoz of bose
the army of bose fought against britishers but lost so britishers arrested them and put on trial
so the indians in british army revolt against their army when they heard about the news of bose's army on trial.
when britishers saw that their army is going against them then they decided to leave india by transfering the power to congress party ( a political party which was run by gandhi and his colleagues)
remember i didnt say independent i said transfer of power
this congress pary ruled over india for 70 years spreading false information across the globe that gandhi brought freedom and all
like nazis ruled over jews similarily britishers ruled over indians
I dont know why this hasnt gotten more views.
Very very well done Maajid Nawaz. Those living in Muslim countries can truly understand what you are saying and i can only hope that the right wing fascist westerner types commenting here will also slowly grow to understand.
Its ironic how he is advocating for democracy and freedom of belief when people in the comments are completely shitting on his attempt to revive democracy and speaking out for what you (although we might not all agree) believe in.
He certainly is articulate. He's very charismatic as well. Perhaps by giving such talks he believes he is paying for old "sins". Perhaps he is. If he can cause what he espouses then I say more power to him and like-minded thinkers. I am a bit leery but that's because I think that people like him are rare. But do hear me: I could be wrong. In fact I most certainly hope that I am wrong. His ideas sound good. Time will tell. One thing that he said is dead on: Democracy's taking a beating.
I gotta hand it to this guy. When Malcolm X tried to show the world that those he once supported were wrong, he got assassinated for it. It takes nards to not only admit you are wrong, but to admit a group with no qualms in mass murder are wrong.
I love these kind of muslims ❤️❤️
I always have difficulty when someone as intelligent as Maajid equates the far right as a threat comparable in danger to the terrorist attacks we've had since 2001. As soon as I hear far right I switch off.
That's not what he meant, but that it actually adds onto a series of war games..
Moreover, it kills the spirit of Muslim secularism and encourages a switch to Islamism...
It's a fine line...
I wonder whether by now he realised that he is a civic nationalist. Civic nationalism can create strife as well (like between the USA and other countries like Russia), but it is the best system we have, because democracy is the best system we have.
Democracy isn't the best we have just the most adopted but now its turning. Democracies have been on the decline because theyre not very durable or good at solving immediate issues or threats
The point that democracy as a system gets the blame when parties that embrace it inevitably make mistakes, which then leads the populace to embrace antidemocratic alternatives, is quite profound.
Very interesting talk.
Props for Al Gehaz in Egypt for knocking some sense into this one
@tvswnet I see what you're saying, but even if its not made possible resolution is out of the question. Consensus does not work, because religions do not change or evolve by themselves. They change because they are forced to by outside sources. My critique was addressed to moderate islam as system, not to demonize muslims. Although I don't believe "moderate" muslims exist because I spoke with many and I have yet to meet the first one to not defend or downplay the verses on wife beating.
The idea that democracy needs transcultural advocacy is interesting. None other than Ayaan Hirsi Ali has talked of the need for the same thing. The "demand-led" idea has a lot to it.
OTOH, the scenario where the mistakes of democratic parties cause the dismissal of democracy itself works both ways -- in Egypt, the rule of Morsi was enough of a disaster to set the Muslim Brotherhood back severely, even in other countries such as Jordan.
Nawaz wants us all to be radicals -- in the right cause...
Banning Halal & Kosher murder methods is not a stance against freedom of religion: it is a stance against torture. All murder, be it of human or non-human animal, should be illegal, & banning throat-slitting of those who are as aware as a young human children is a step in the good direction.
@jondiroku Sorry about the typo with "lef". I wasn't saying that there are no kids interested in politics, there certainly are, but what in the world would it mean to have a "youth-led" movement? why should "youths" lead a political movement? At best you could just say that it doesn't matter what age of people lead such a movement, but why explicitly call for the most naive and unexperienced people around to be leaders? I can think of one reason. Can you think of any?
@IdoloR Perhaps. I didn't actually make it up, I think it's a Sam Harris quote. I'm sure lots of people go with things without REALLY thinking about them, but I do think this quote has some serious genuine truth to it.
@Firestryke2 That would make it sound a whole lot better. This guy however kept calling it "democracy" which is a whole different animal than a republic.
@AndyRogerss He didn't talk about Islam, he talked about Muslim Extremism.
Trust me, i know this comment has nothing to do with the video.
OMFG DAT ACCENT!
Its so cool i want one!
@DoubtingMarcus :: I am very uncomfortable with the categories of this speech. I think you are right regarding his making a link between legitimate criticism and generalities and xenophobia.
I think he uses too much energy to explain things like "even the villain has his good sides" and so on. We need another kind of understanding, that is his message, I guess. His bid on what this understanding could be is not what I consider an insight as neutral or multifaceted as possible.
Ted Talks are educational.
@WestofKevin No, it is moral to me because I know it is. There are absolute moral truths. Slavery, for instance, is wrong. If some culture in the 21st century was holding on the the archaic practice of keeping slaves, nowhere would you find someone arguing the principle of cultural relativism in its defense. I do not accept it as a valid argument for honor killings or child brides either, just to name two. If you put your hand to the middle of your back, you will feel a spine.. Use it.
@BlckSbthMan The problem is that, there are sane people, who oppose that idea.
@dlucas90 It's one thing to oppose globalization; nations should maintain independence and identity, but know your enemy. Building a standard economy doesn't shackle people, corrupt governments that make and deny (ambiguously) rights for their people are the problem. When nations start telling their citizens what they can and can't do with their money, or when they excessively tax it away from them then there's a bigger problem. Businesses have no power over people unless they monopolize.
Very Insight speech!
@ihallthirteen
You are sadly correct :(
@CatFlashBlue That's a common misconception about agnostics. Most people who call themselves agnostics are actually atheists. You're right, I don't believe in a god of any sort, but I don't say it's "impossible." There simply isn't enough (and can never be enough) information to make that claim. I'm fine with that. ...to say for certain "it is impossible there is a god" relies on information we don't have, and that is exactly what theists do. As an atheist, I accept unanswerable questions.
@akodo77 I "extremely" dislike murder, rape, genocide, and tyranny. Someone with a "more balanced" opinion would be inclined to tolerate or even sometimes to support these things. Sure such a "balanced" person could not be counted upon to consistently defend these evils (he's "balanced" after all) but he would 50% of the time support them and I think that's monstrous. What do you think of such people?
For this debate, i think we should start by defining democracy. Supposed to be the govenment BY the people, For the people etc... We are governed by financial powers, who are driving us to alienation, unconsciousness and self destruction as a planet! ERROR: CURRENT DEMOCRACY NOT WORKING
He certainly has good political language , but his idea's are that of a pure optimist. Whilst talking about the need for building democracy's from the bottom upwards is ideal , it has never ever worked in human history without international governmental action and pressure , and usually results in huge blood shed, so the need for governmental growth is needed. None the less what muslim extremists need is time to evolve and or be eradicated.
Good video, I liked it. Made me think.
end extremism... simple enough. the world seeks solutions, he comes is peace. the only question now is do you trust him? your choice.
@SpeedAmphetamine I didn't say that a whole generation of people knows nothing or is clueless. I said that "youth" as a population group is always the least experienced group in the general population. Unless you think that there's no learning or experience that happens as we live our lives how can you doubt that?
As for my rights, I have a right to "deem" anything I wish.
Back to the point: Why should anybody call for "youth" in particular to lead a political movement? This guy did.
@Icemario87 What's that? And why are no older people interested in it?
@MrSubtle i get your point, just that we disagree on the impact of it and it allowing you to claim objective moral truths. As an A-moral free-thinker, i have made a concious choice to place myself outside of both moral and cultural thinking (as well as i can) and instead rely on (boolean AND fuzzy) logic and reason to guide me, and use applied ethics and game theory with values i consider positive (and i guess most other reflected people would too) to make choises into optimization problems.
@Icemario87 Perhaps you are unfamiliar with Lenin's comments about industrial economics. He claimed like the "abundance economics" folks that if only factories were not operated for profit and instead operated only for the public good that there would be plenty of goods for everyone since he thought that capitalists intentionally limited production to make more money. Same thing as the "abundance economics" guys are claiming...and with similar utter lack of any understanding of production.
This man spoke very well, however I am confused after listening to him.
Does he want to create a radical left group to battle the radical right/religious extremists?
Is he saying that the way extremists convey their message is the only way to get a point across in this world?
Is he saying democracy does not work?
And did it take just 5 years of prison to free his mind from his radical views on his old religion?
He still practices Islam
This guy got owned in a 2 v 2 debate by Ayaan Hirsi Ali. Look it up!
Psychoburgandy6 As I said, I am leery. As for the turn around, I don't think it happened in one day. As he said he was jailed for his behavior and I suspect that when one is rotting away in a small stuffy cell it gives one time to think. I hope he's legit but as I also said time will tell. One thing that he didn't do was give an example of how to establish the youth-led grass-roots democracy movement. Also he repeatedly said "I think" instead of "this is fact." I give him credit for that.
@MT2R Corps are not the same thing as a govt. A govt is chosen by the people that it is meant to protect. A corpt is a thing that has no input from outsiders except for the pursuit of money by any legal (or illegal that they can get away of) means possible.
We are the watcher of the watchers, that are ourselves, through the govt.
Today the corps are using its gigantic powers to skew the govt, but this is one more argument to clean it from corp power, not to give full power to the corps.
The Sick Healed, the Dead Raised, the Sinner Forgiven!
He da man
Maajid Usman Nawaz, Essex, Reino Unido, el 2 de noviembre de 1978 es un activista, escritor, columnista y político británico. Fue candidato al parlamento de su país en representación del distrito electoral de Hampstead y Kilburn de Londres con el partido Liberal Demócrata en las elecciones generales de 2015.
@Pegar No, he didn't. You're just looking for faults, so you are seeing them.
@dlucas90 That analogy might have worked if the government was borrowing money from itself, but borrowing from a foreign entity is another matter. The gov loses a lot of long term when it is in debt to foreign powers. I'm not saying the gov is competent, but I'm saying your analogy about the matter is wrong. The gov does have a great deal of say on where they obtain their money.
Inflation. that's all that needs to be said about paragraph 2 Counterfeit is the illegal production of money btw
@Wishrachi The ability to feel pain is related to the structure of the nervsous system. One of a brokkoli isn´t by far as komplex as one of a cow for instance. Further on is Halal Slaughter unnessecerary?! Why put the animal to so much paine, when there are easier ways. I don´t get it? Because an old book said so? Thats BS and you know it!
This ism that ism, what difference does it matter when all are in error?
@CatFlashBlue Look, no one will ever, ever, ever be able to say that "a god is impossible." It is quite simply out of bounds. Luckily, this has nothing to do with the distinction between atheists and agnostics. Simply put, most people who call themselves agnostics are actually atheists who don't understand the word "agnostic," but prefer it over the stigma associated with calling themselves an atheist.
@MrJaydawger Well im pretty sure most muslims eat meat from the supermarket, which comes from imported meat. Which comes from slaughter plants. This is how the slaughter plants have been approved to undergo halal slaughter and export meat as such to muslim countries. There may be some scholars who get all high and might, but im telling you what happens in reality. I have seen in many slaughter plants and have been lectured to about the legislation around it.
@Icemario87 Yes, I have heard of it and it's just a stupid today as it was back when Lenin was spouting the same nonsense a hundred years ago. Nobody who understands so little about how production works should be taken seriously. Just imagining that it's easy to produce infinite amounts of stuff is an indicate of no experience in producing even tiny amounts of stuff. Think it's true? Then just go out and easily produce infinite amounts of everything tonight and prove it. I'll stand by.
@AndyRogerss It is the extremists that need to understand the real islam. They only exploit the parts usefull for them to gain power.
The 'islam' in Nawaz's view would be rather the 'narratives', the propaganda or motivation, to achieve the personal goal of these extremist organisations. As political goal is either surpressing the people or establishing anarchy, either of those would (in general) allow a nation that has no outside interference to stay like it is; in favor of the leaders...
Did he actually say anything? I heard a lot of fluff.
@Icemario87 Sure, I think that it is possible for humans to improve their condition. What I am dubious of is:
That giving over all economic power to the government could improve economic output.
That waving your hands and saying "computers, robots, and technology" constitutes a solution to anything.
That some communist artist with no comprehension of economics, manufacturing who repeats old utopian ideas is anything but a joke.
Yes, these things are impossible. Why else criticize them?
13:23 This is what the Bush admin told us Republicans what they were going to do in Iraq and Afghanistan, but they decided not to and my brother soldiers and the people of Iraq and Afghanistan paid the price.
@MrSubtle You sound like you've never heard of "abundance economics." Physical capability shouldn't be ignored.
"the idea that if only we were all rich there would no longer be any crime, war, or unhappiness and no need for cops or soldiers"
That idea makes no sense in principle. Richness is a side effect of a lot of people being poor. You may as well say "if we were all dominant everything would be ok"
The problem with religious fundamentalism is the fundamentals of religion.
@SpeedAmphetamine My point was that they are the least experience and least informed as a result of their age as a group. I'm not saying that everyone young is less informed than everyone older, but asa generalization this is clearly the case. Older people used to be young once after all and some of them might just have learned a thing or two in those additional years of their lives. Need I remind you that older people have access to the same technology? (and some of them even built it!)
@CatFlashBlue "The only reason people don't think Atheism is extreme is because that is where America is moving today. " True -ish. "Just because certain religious movements have persecuted groups in the past does not mean the existence of a God is impossible." True, however such deities, or supernatural claims are more likely man made. Freedom of religion is great, however religion itself should be discouraged as unnecessary, as it has many cons, which may outweigh whatever good comes from it
@CitrusLizard My mistake good sir.
@achahei Western governments don't need to do that. People just need to actually read the Quran, get educated and they wouldn't have that problem. Note how all the jihadists are rich, secularly-educated guys, not religious scholars. It wouldn't be politically correct to counter their arguments, it would just religiously correct. Suicide is already a sin and so is killing innocent people and forcing people to be one religion or another. Like Nawaz said,it's all about politics and power.
What wrong with banning halal flesh? It´s unnesscery torture of animals!
@MrSubtle I mean come on, getting rid of money? Forcing everyone to live in cities that are shaped like circles? Forcing people to never use technologies that the leaders of the movement don't like? Maglev trains to solve our problems? Give me a break."
You clearly have no idea what's going on and/or don't care what's going on. I hope you weren't expecting any respect in my response to that nonsense.
@MrJaydawger your right mr jaydawager
halal meat is one of the most cleanest and less harmful way for animals to be slaughtered
you are my hero Maajid
@CatFlashBlue Yes. So what you do is process of elimination. As far as I'm concerned, every religion that man has thought up so far is easily discredited. But that alone doesn't mean "there are no gods." It just means there is no reason to believe in a god, or even to assume that a god exists, hence: i'm an atheist
I hate when people try to paint anything that opposes an Islamic practice as far right.
Perfect example Halal meat should be banned because it's animal cruelty. There is no legitimate reason to put an animal through that kind of pain.
There are very real "Islamophobic" problems in the world but trying to paint every criticism of Islam in that way is counterproductive.
@damuschka They don't feel pain when being slaughtered,
@talkaboom I agree that religious socialization is a problem but "adopt atheism" isnt the fix. One is religious through action, which is usually justified through belief, but there is no need to take the whole idea of God out of the picture. Just eliminate the teaching of children "America is Satan" or "Your gay friend will burn in hell for all eternity" hateful type stuff will do. Eliminating extremism and protecting society yet still allowing freedom for safe personal beliefs. btw im athiest.
@akylae101 Yes religion does not cause that and removing religion will not stop it. There are just as many things that have caused disaster and damage int he world from atheism as there are or theism today. Religion is a perfectly good thing, in fact allowing people to have beliefs about their origins (be it evolution or creation or anything) is not only needed to give people a reason to care about the world but good to progress. purging religions will just be another genocide.
@WestofKevin Well, I'm far from a cultural relativist. I happen to believe that democracy is the best political system, but I KNOW that allowing women to choose when and who they marry is morally superior to marrying them to abusive geriatrics when they are 13, just to name one example. The cheesy moral relativism argument of "well, that's just their culture" holds no weight with me. But that is not what we're talking about... I never said this guy is right or wrong. I said his talk was fluff.
@WestofKevin In these ver constrained messages I can't very well deliver a thorough refutation if everything wrong someone says, but my point was that he didn't even make his case in the first place. I didn't say "I don't see how it is possible" did I? If not then why are you putting words in my mouth just to create a lame response?
@WestofKevin ...and be that as it may, your assumption that when someone says something that it is a "culture" talking and not a person is so obviously confused that it doesn't even require explanation as to why. If we have rights (and I think we do) then we all have them and the "aspirations of culture" are irrelevant to them.
I can't tell whether he's glorifying the right wing or ridiculing it.
@akylae101 All we are as human beings is our memories and our beliefs. If you take any of that away you have killed the person before and merely created a new one. Forcing someone to change there ways is exactly the same as killing them. But then there is the problem with your statement that Atheism is a religion, it may not seem so obvious to others but it also has things that people live by that hold back the world - how would you also remove atheism?
@alihammadshah why did this man in this video not talk about how islam went to war with the world on its start of islam? why did he miss that section of history out and went stright into debate agianst europe lol.
Its because he knows that the crusades was created to beat the liveing hell out of the muslims that wiped out the hindus and the christians and the buddist in asia, the flood of ottomen came into europe but was smashed back by the british and the french ect...
@ImNeilPatrickHarris "Nawaz is a fraud".
That's the opinion I got when watching his debate with Douglas Murray. I suggest people watch this debate (it's here on UA-cam).
@secula4eva like reading one verse yet refusing to read all. Surely u dont call soldiers killers and with that soldiers of religion would not be killers. yet a soldier that commits a crime upon an innocent life is a killer for it was not war but killing. extremist are killers. not soldiers of islam. two are very different. Fighting russians in afghanstain was done by soldiers of islam.
@310sucks No? Intelligent machines won't have the drives and motivations that humans do.
@takineko forget arab shows we are old enough to draw our own conclusions:) there were more people against the prophet than with him when he married. Those against the prophet slandered him, attacked him, threw camels guts on him...but never called him a 'paedophile' - we are always quick to judge from our shoes
@MrSubtle Uninformed ????? that's what you think today's youth are ????? Maybe you are ill informed about how well informed today's youth are with all the technology at their disposal.
We muslim need 1,000 more reformist like Maajid Nawaz!
A Ruhn Be one!
***** Nobody said change is easy.
@Halka bless you buddy. Stay safe man.
A lot more than 1000
The hatred for Islam in these comments makes me sick. Extremism exists in nearly all major religions and while Islamist extremists have been most effective at taking advantage of communication systems to strike against people they perceive as enemies, it does not make Islam as a religion some sort of cult, virus, or terrorist organization. It shares values with both Christianity and Judaism and there are many peaceful practitioners around the world. An entire group cannot be judged by a few.
That was very well done! Thank you Maajid Nawaz! I hope to see a big change in the next few decades in the Middle East!
ܐܫܘܪ ܒܢܐ ܐܦܠܐ hey you speak Syriac?!😄
Can you help me with it?
Excellent and thought-provoking. God bless you, Maajid.
I think he had a very difficult point to make, and he did an excellent job conveying that point in a short amount of time. Impressive.
This man is brilliant.
End of story.
Read "The Wahhabi Myth" by Haneef James Oliver.
Truly inspirational stuff that I couldn't agree more with. And incredibly poignant with regards to what has happened since this talk in 2011. Maajid Nawaz I take my proverbial hat off to you!
@4shacks1house
"This guy" was advocating democracy in the Middle East. I have no idea why he'd want to go to Israel, the only real democratic country there. The Israeli government is willing to give back some land if they thought it would make a difference. No, I believe he should go to Palestine, and advocate them to uprise and not allow people to believe their legitimate authority is terror groups like HAMAS and Fatah (it's military branch, Al-Aqsa Martyr's Brigade, is known to be terrorist)
@CitrusLizard I'm sorry to say that you have been misinformed, due to the miseducation of ancient history by modern day historians: the Greeks (let us take the Athenians) where not the first to free slaves, they were a slaving society, even the athenians who called themselves democrats. For example the Celts of ancient times used an all equal system, no slaves, only "free-men" whilst the Athenians had only approx 30% (no women, slaves, or people not born in the city-state) where allowed to vote.
By reading the comments you can see how many ppl are obsessed with this guy sexually.
@tenisplayer Religion is always a factor. ANY major differences cause problems. For example, Slavery, Why? Cause of skin colour, religion, culture, or economic status.
It took him a while to get there. But I think that's because he had to lay down a wide range of points to prove his advocacy of the idea he wished to promote. I think in the end, as it all coalesced at the end of the talk, it turned out well. I agree with what he is saying. Democratic Advocacy is something that we should actively connect around and promote for it's own sake, Internationally. Entering dialogue with like minded people in other countries. There ARE more of us than them.
@ToonVanKets
"Not all extremes are bad"
Any examples of extremism being better in any way, then more balanced opinion?
I don't know what's doing here but he ain't hard on the eyes!! :) Forget Islam just pose for GQ.....
Inshallah!!!!