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Interesting
Five questions non-Muslims would like answered
THE RIOTING IN France by primarily Muslim youths and the
hotel bombings in Jordan are the latest events to prompt sincere questions that
law-abiding Muslims need to answer for Islam's sake, as well as for the sake of
worried non-Muslims.
Here are five of them:
(1) Why are you so quiet?
Since the first Israelis were targeted for death
by Muslim terrorists blowing themselves up in the name of your religion and
Palestinian nationalism, I have been praying to see Muslim demonstrations
against these atrocities. Last week's protests in Jordan against the bombings,
while welcome, were a rarity. What I have seen more often is mainstream Muslim
spokesmen implicitly defending this terror on the grounds that Israel occupies
Palestinian lands. We see torture and murder in the name of Allah, but we see no
anti-torture and anti-murder demonstrations in the name of Allah.
There are a billion Muslims in the world. How is it possible that essentially none
have demonstrated against evils perpetrated by Muslims in the name of Islam?
This is true even of the millions of Muslims living in free Western societies.
What are non-Muslims of goodwill supposed to conclude? When the Israeli
government did not stop a Lebanese massacre of Palestinians in the Sabra and
Chatilla refugee camps in Lebanon in 1982, great crowds of Israeli Jews gathered
to protest their country's moral failing. Why has there been no comparable
public demonstration by Palestinians or other Muslims to morally condemn
Palestinian or other Muslim-committed terror?
(2) Why are none of the Palestinian terrorists Christian?
If Israeli occupation is the reason for Muslim terror in Israel, why do no Christian Palestinians
engage in terror? They are just as nationalistic and just as occupied as Muslim Palestinians.
(3) Why is only one of the 47 Muslim-majority countries a free country?
According to Freedom House, a Washington-based group that promotes democracy,
of the world's 47 Muslim countries, only Mali is free. Sixty percent are not free, and 38% are partly free.
Muslim-majority states account for a majority of the world's "not free" states. And of the 10 "worst of the
worst," seven are Islamic states. Why is this?
(4) Why are so many atrocities committed and threatened by Muslims in the name of Islam?
Young girls in Indonesia were recently beheaded by Muslim murderers.
Last year, Muslims — in the name of Islam — murdered hundreds of schoolchildren in Russia.
While reciting Muslim prayers, Islamic terrorists take foreigners working to make Iraq free and slaughter them.
Muslim daughters are murdered by their own families in the thousands in "honor killings."
And the Muslim government in Iran has publicly called for the extermination of Israel.
(5) Why do countries governed by religious Muslims persecute other religions?
No church or synagogue is allowed in Saudi Arabia. The Taliban destroyed some of the greatest
sculptures of the ancient world because they were Buddhist. Sudan's Islamic regime has murdered great numbers of Christians.
Instead of confronting these problems, too many of you deny them.
Muslims call my radio show to tell me that even speaking of Muslim or Islamic terrorists is wrong.
After all, they argue, Timothy McVeigh is never labeled a "Christian terrorist."
As if McVeigh committed his terror as a churchgoing Christian and in the name of Christ,
and as if there were Christian-based terror groups around the world.
As a member of the media for nearly 25 years, I have a long record of reaching out to Muslims. Muslim leaders have invited me to
speak at major mosques. In addition, I have studied Arabic and Islam, have visited most Arab and many other Muslim countries and conducted interfaith
dialogues with Muslims in the United Arab Emirates as well as in the U.S.
Politically, I have supported creation of a Palestinian state and supported (mistakenly, I now believe) the Oslo accords.
Hundreds of millions of non-Muslims want honest answers to these questions, even if the only answer you offer is, "Yes, we have real problems in Islam."
Such an acknowledgment is infinitely better — for you and for the world — than dismissing us as anti-Muslim.
We await your response.
hotel bombings in Jordan are the latest events to prompt sincere questions that
law-abiding Muslims need to answer for Islam's sake, as well as for the sake of
worried non-Muslims.
Here are five of them:
(1) Why are you so quiet?
Since the first Israelis were targeted for death
by Muslim terrorists blowing themselves up in the name of your religion and
Palestinian nationalism, I have been praying to see Muslim demonstrations
against these atrocities. Last week's protests in Jordan against the bombings,
while welcome, were a rarity. What I have seen more often is mainstream Muslim
spokesmen implicitly defending this terror on the grounds that Israel occupies
Palestinian lands. We see torture and murder in the name of Allah, but we see no
anti-torture and anti-murder demonstrations in the name of Allah.
There are a billion Muslims in the world. How is it possible that essentially none
have demonstrated against evils perpetrated by Muslims in the name of Islam?
This is true even of the millions of Muslims living in free Western societies.
What are non-Muslims of goodwill supposed to conclude? When the Israeli
government did not stop a Lebanese massacre of Palestinians in the Sabra and
Chatilla refugee camps in Lebanon in 1982, great crowds of Israeli Jews gathered
to protest their country's moral failing. Why has there been no comparable
public demonstration by Palestinians or other Muslims to morally condemn
Palestinian or other Muslim-committed terror?
(2) Why are none of the Palestinian terrorists Christian?
If Israeli occupation is the reason for Muslim terror in Israel, why do no Christian Palestinians
engage in terror? They are just as nationalistic and just as occupied as Muslim Palestinians.
(3) Why is only one of the 47 Muslim-majority countries a free country?
According to Freedom House, a Washington-based group that promotes democracy,
of the world's 47 Muslim countries, only Mali is free. Sixty percent are not free, and 38% are partly free.
Muslim-majority states account for a majority of the world's "not free" states. And of the 10 "worst of the
worst," seven are Islamic states. Why is this?
(4) Why are so many atrocities committed and threatened by Muslims in the name of Islam?
Young girls in Indonesia were recently beheaded by Muslim murderers.
Last year, Muslims — in the name of Islam — murdered hundreds of schoolchildren in Russia.
While reciting Muslim prayers, Islamic terrorists take foreigners working to make Iraq free and slaughter them.
Muslim daughters are murdered by their own families in the thousands in "honor killings."
And the Muslim government in Iran has publicly called for the extermination of Israel.
(5) Why do countries governed by religious Muslims persecute other religions?
No church or synagogue is allowed in Saudi Arabia. The Taliban destroyed some of the greatest
sculptures of the ancient world because they were Buddhist. Sudan's Islamic regime has murdered great numbers of Christians.
Instead of confronting these problems, too many of you deny them.
Muslims call my radio show to tell me that even speaking of Muslim or Islamic terrorists is wrong.
After all, they argue, Timothy McVeigh is never labeled a "Christian terrorist."
As if McVeigh committed his terror as a churchgoing Christian and in the name of Christ,
and as if there were Christian-based terror groups around the world.
As a member of the media for nearly 25 years, I have a long record of reaching out to Muslims. Muslim leaders have invited me to
speak at major mosques. In addition, I have studied Arabic and Islam, have visited most Arab and many other Muslim countries and conducted interfaith
dialogues with Muslims in the United Arab Emirates as well as in the U.S.
Politically, I have supported creation of a Palestinian state and supported (mistakenly, I now believe) the Oslo accords.
Hundreds of millions of non-Muslims want honest answers to these questions, even if the only answer you offer is, "Yes, we have real problems in Islam."
Such an acknowledgment is infinitely better — for you and for the world — than dismissing us as anti-Muslim.
We await your response.
no subject
Religious Wars
Religion, beliefs, spirituality... all good.
Having a large body of people controlled by a small body of people who follow directions of the spiritual leader because of some sense of unearned awe and respect is horrible. It happens all the time.
I've had people use "We're Christian." as the full and complete supporting argument of why they should be considered good people.
I've had people look at me in horror when I mistook their flavor or Christianity for one that "accepted religious tolerance".
All of it, all organized religion, is an excuse for people to feel better about themselves without having to make an effort to be better, or to be accountable for their actions. Joining the MegeChurch of Christ (be sure to get your Jesus Doll for $19.95, act now!) tends to be a way to save people from having to expend effort to think and make decisions about their lives.
In all of my discussions with supposed Christians, very few of them even attempted to live by the rule that Jesus said was most important of all. So much of the anecdotal portions of the Bible are held in high regard so as to back up peoples' prejiduces and faults that the whole point is/was lost.
Re: Religious Wars
Re: Religious Wars
I try to stick to "love thy neighbor as thyself" sort of thing, but sometimes I do wish ill-will towards people. *sigh*
Jihads
It goes on to dissert various practical examples of how to survive in a certain environment, and alot of rituals and regulations. It's a little too exclusionary for my tastes.
Even so, it's effectively a One-God religion like Christianity and Judaism. It's based out of the same area. It has fought many bloody "Holy Wars" (think Crusades, or even all of the horrible things carried out in the name of the Bible just in the last couple centuries).
I don't think our media wants to hear anything about the Muslims that are anything but hostile. An example of Muslims protesting against violence: http://www.mideastweb.org/log/archives/00000345.htm
no subject