Manwar Ali: Inside the mind of a former radical jihadist
منوار علي: داخل تفكير جهادي متطرف سابق
A former committed pioneer of violent jihad, Manwar Ali draws on his experience and deepening understanding of Islam to prevent radicalisation and extremism. Full bio
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as a man who lives life to the full
على أكمل وجه
in the language of force and violence.
through power and aggression.
عن طريق القوة والهجوم.
for the suffering of others
همًا كبيرًا لمعاناة الآخرين
to help and bring relief to them.
وأشعرهم بالارتياح.
and violence are true jihad,
هي الجهاد الحقيقي،
of jihad is wrong --
أن فكرتهم عن الجهاد خاطئة --
بأقصى ما لديك.
and remembrance of God.
وذكر الله.
for all those meanings as a whole.
take the form of fighting,
شكل صراع،
the harm or hardship it entails.
الضرر أو الصعوبة التي تترتب عنه.
that are connected to jihad or fighting
بالجهاد والقتال
that talk about forgiveness,
no circumstances on earth
أي ظروف على كوكب الأرض
has been hijacked.
to mean violent struggle
are undergoing difficulties,
مثل القاعدة،
means striving to the utmost
those qualities which God loves:
التي يحبها الله:
when everything changed.
حين تغير كل شيء.
impacted upon us terribly,
بشكل فظيع،
of my relatives in horrible ways,
في الشوارع،
for four years.
إلى المدرسة لأربع سنوات.
for two and a half years,
every week in prison,
في السجن،
and injustices in the world.
والظلم في العالم.
في بريطانيا،
how I could channel that desire
كيفية توجيه تلك الرغبة
أن العنف أمر صحيح،
في ظروف معينة.
in the jihad in Afghanistan.
في الجهاد في أفغانستان.
population against the Soviet army.
من الجيش السوفياتي.
of violent jihad in the UK.
الجهاد العنيف في بريطانيا.
as presented by the fascist Islamists --
كما يقدمه هؤلاء الفاشيون الإسلاميون --
authority and control on earth:
والسلطة والتحكم في الأرض:
by fascist Islamist groups
الإسلامية الفاشية
an Islamic state,
against this, my country,
the non-Muslim citizens,
formed a special bond
أنا وبعض الرجال البريطانيين
did menial tasks in the camp.
يقومون بمهام وضيعة داخل المخيم.
about a better future for him.
بمستقبل أفضل له.
caught up in a war,
mortar shell in a trench,
غير منفجرة من خندق،
in a makeshift mud hut lab.
مصنوع من طين.
pointless skirmish --
لا طائل منها --
to discover he was dead.
لأجد أنه قد مات.
explosives from that shell.
مواد متفجرة من تلك القذيفة
that had proved harmless to me.
الذي لم يكن مؤذيا بالنسبة لي أبدًا.
and grenade launchers.
وقاذفات قنابل.
with soft manners and gentle voices.
كانا مؤدبين وأصواتهما هادئة.
to take them away to England.
بعيدًا إلى بريطانيا.
must have spoken to one another
looking up at the stars,
for glory and power.
نحو المجد والقوة.
killing one another
بعضهم البعض
and vulnerable to kill one another
ليقتلوا بعضهم البعض
against invaders or occupiers;
ضد محتل أو مستعمر؛
in the name of jihad.
what I had experienced
on my activities here in the UK.
في أنشطتي هنا في بريطانيا.
in violent jihad in the mid '80s,
أواسط الثمانينات،
it was in the year 2000.
حلّت سنة 2000.
we were doing in their name.
أن أخرج،
to develop a virtuous character.
لنطور سلوكًا حسنًا.
we were fighting for the oppressed,
من أجل المظلومين،
through which more deaths occurred,
التي تُحصد بها المزيد من الأرواح،
in violent jihadism,
في الجهاد المسلح،
to these types of extremisms,
لهذه الأنواع من التطرف
لهؤلاء الناس أن يتغيروا.
and restore them
وأن يصلحوها
with human values that heal.
we are told without critical reflection.
دون تفكير نقدي.
that many of us would cherish
التي قد يحتفي بها العديد منا
I thought were correct.
كنت أظنها صحيحة.
how I knew what I knew.
كيف عرفت ما عرفته.
to accept the truth,
للآخرين أن يتقبّلوا الحقيقة،
its rightful place.
للشك مكانه الصحيح.
is rooted in my experience,
آتية من خبرتي الشخصية،
of us and them is false and unjust.
"نحن وهُم" مزيف وغيرعادل.
in all that we had asserted,
with variation and contradiction,
بأنواع الاختلافات والتناقضات،
like I used to be,
they use to assert authenticity.
والوقائع التي يستعملونها لتأكيد صحتها.
importance of self-knowledge,
لمعرفة النفس،
for a deep and wide understanding
believe in Islamist jihadism ...
بالجهادية الإسلامية...
cruel, unjust and futile behavior.
beautiful and useful things
بعضًا من الأشياء الجميلة والمفيدة
in others and in the world.
في الآخرين وفي العالم.
more to ourselves ...
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Manwar Ali - Peace activistA former committed pioneer of violent jihad, Manwar Ali draws on his experience and deepening understanding of Islam to prevent radicalisation and extremism.
Why you should listen
Manwar Ali (also known as Abu Muntasir) is one of the few scholars in the UK who has been directly involved in jihad. For around fifteen years he radicalised, recruited, fundraised and fought in Afghanistan, Kashmir and Burma. Now he draws on this experience in his work with the UK's Home Office and Crown Prosecution Service.
Ali is a Muslim scholar who teaches Islam to restore balance, enhance human values and address issues of extremism through education, social projects, charitable events and open discussion. He works to foster peaceful coexistence through mutual understanding, good-neighborliness and caring engagement.
Ali founded the UK Muslim educational charity JIMAS and pioneered Zakat distribution in the UK. For more than 30 years he has had extensive experience in teaching Islam. He has helped make British Islam relevant and important to life now, preparing many students for life and leading the way in practicing civic engagement as an Imam.
Ali holds a B.Sc. (Hons) and M.Sc. in Computer Science, an MA in Islamic Studies and a Diploma in Arabic.
Manwar Ali | Speaker | TED.com