Twitter users have hilariously hijacked a threatening hashtag in solidarity with Maajid Nawaz

Published December 23rd, 2015 - 07:17 GMT
In the face of hate, the author and anti-extremism activist has the support of the Internet. (Twitter)
In the face of hate, the author and anti-extremism activist has the support of the Internet. (Twitter)

Maajid Nawaz is a controversial figure to say the least. He co-founded the Quilliam Foundation, an anti-extremism think tank which aims to tackle the violent and oppressive rhetoric of hate preachers and groups like Daesh, however his work has not been without criticism from the worldwide Muslim community.

He used to be a member of the radical group Hizb ut-Tahrir, which led to his imprisonment in Egypt from 2001 to 2006. He eventually had a change of heart and began campaigning against extremism, receiving both praise and condemnation for his work. Perhaps most controversial was his tweeting of a picture of Muhammad, alongside the words, “This is not offensive & I'm sure God is greater than to feel threatened by it.”

Because of comments such as these, Nawaz has numerous enemies. A hashtag was started—apparently earlier this week—which saw those very enemies voice their hate in a particularly vulgar way.

#DuaAgainstMaajidNawaz takes the Islamic term “Dua,”, meaning “invocation” and turns it against Nawaz. In essence, those tweeting the hashtag were asking God to do him harm in some way.

 

But it did not last for long.

Nawaz’s supporters quickly hijacked the hashtag, and mocked those using it seriously by humorously wishing on him a variety of first-world problems.

See below, via Twitter.

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