Posted on 11/13/2003 7:54:28 AM PST by stainlessbanner
I wish more Americans had an opportunity to get to know Muslims. Then they would not be susceptible to the silly anti-Muslim propaganda that is floated by some right-wing Christians.
Muslims are good folks. One fellow e-mailed me quite convinced that Muslims lop off the heads of every infidel they meet. I've been a guest in the homes of many Muslim friends, and the only thing they lopped off were extra servings of lamb.
People believe such nonsense because they are ignorant of the facts. The oldest Christian communities in the world are in Muslim countries. Some of the oldest Jewish communities in the world are in Muslim countries. The deputy foreign minister of Iraq is a Christian. Saddam Hussein donated $1 million to help build a Christian church in the United States. There are Christians in prACactically all Muslim countries, and there have been for centuries. I've said all this before, but when lies blow strong, truth bears repeating.
Islam, like other religions, has different groups. Some are strict in their observances, and they might be likened to the Christian Pilgrims who settled Massachusetts. But even the most strict -- commonly called fundamentalists these days -- know that a Muslim is commanded to treat Jews and Christians "as I would treat myself," in the words of a Hamas leader.
In my travels in Muslim countries, sometimes among the poorest of the poor, I was never panhandled or attacked. As far as crime goes, you'll find cities like Beirut or Damascus or Amman or Ramallah much safer than most American cities.
Islam is not a religion with a hierarchy such as the Roman Catholic Church. In that respect, Muslims are much like Southern Baptists, only more so. Any group of Muslims can build a mosque and hire themselves an imam, or teacher. They are independent. There is no Muslim pope or College of Cardinals. There are no bishops. When an imam somewhere issues a fatwa, which is a sort of formal opinion on a subject, it is not binding. Like Protestant Christians, Muslims interpret their holy writings themselves and consider themselves answerable directly to God -- or, to use the Arabic word, Allah.
Most of the disputes in the Middle East are secular and political. Hamas' quarrel with Israelis is not about the fact that they are Jews but about the fact that they occupy Palestine. The objections some Muslims have to Western culture are the same as those some Christians have. They don't like the violence, the immorality, the pornography and the greed. The conflict one sees between the religious and the secular in some Muslim countries is similar to the conflict in this country between religious and secular folks.
There are 6 million or 7 million American citizens who are Muslims. Muslims have been in this country since the late 19th century. If you don't already, you should make an effort to get to know Muslims. You'll find that they don't fit the stereotypes created by mean-spirited propaganda or superficial news coverage.
Racism is a monstrous injustice because it imposes a stereotype on millions of innocent individuals. The only real solution is education and broad experience. It seems to me that God creates individuals one at a time, and it is the human mind that insists on grouping and classifying them. We should resist that temptation.
... and how did they become "Muslim countries"? By killing Christians and making them 2nd class citizens, perhaps?
The author of this piece uses that term so easily....
But even the most strict -- commonly called fundamentalists these days -- know that a Muslim is commanded to treat Jews and Christians "as I would treat myself," in the words of a Hamas leader."Fundamentalist" isn't just another word for devout. Many American Muslims are devout but are not fundamentalists. The September 11th terrorists were fundamentalists, but did not behave in a "devout" manner.
"Fundamentalists" is a description that best fits those who wish to enforce the rules of Islam on non-believers.
-Eric
Shalom.
And some of the most persecuted Christian/Jewish communities in the world are in Muslim countries.
Presenting this information without further explanation, as if it is in any way representative of the treatment of Jews and Christians in Muslim countries, is blatant propagandizing.
During his tenure, he was luke-warmedly conservative. Since his "retirement", he's done a 180.
I'm so glad his weekly column disappeared from our local rag, because the man is definitely becoming senile.
Leni
Apparently, when living under the influence of other than mullahs, sheiks and similar frauds, some are capable of civilized existence.
Which reminds me of the saying about dressing up a turd and calling it caramel.
Who are you going to believe? An anonymous Hamas leader or the 1988 Hamas Covenant?
Our struggle against the Jews is very great and very serious
The Movement is but one squadron that should be supported by more and more squadrons from this vast Arab and Islamic world, until the enemy is vanquished and Allah's victory is realized.
Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before
There is no solution for the Palestinian question except through Jihad.
Initiatives, proposals and international conferences are all a waste of time and vain endeavors.
Religion of peace, indeed.
What mindless drivel.
One of the problems with Islam is that the more devout tend to become more violent or anti-social, which is in contrast with most other religions where the truly devout become more peaceful or concentrate on good-works or inner peace.
Muslims may contend that all of these warped maniacs are misreading the Koran. If that's the case there are millions of mis-readings going on as we speak. Not tens, hundreds or even thousands. Millions.
A large majority of devout Muslims are sympathetic to the Islamo-sickies at worst, or endorse such actions at best. Unless they start policing themselves eventually people are going to start taking them seriously when they say they want to wipe us out.
I for one am damn near ready to let the "wiping out" begin. See I have this strange desire to see my grandchildren grow up and prosper. If they intend to kill our women and children, I say we show them what the killing of women and children is all about .... until they stop designing ways to kill ours.
The Palestinian children are useless to the world as their elders (3/4 of whom hate us and want Israel destroyed) have wasted their lives by turning them into rabid little animals who whack themselves on the head with the Koran at "school" where their maps don't include Israel.
They're not children ...they're larvae. Such "children" become adults who have nothing to offer the world besides strife and suffering.
Some of us are carrying real anger right now, of the biblical type. Some of us are very concerned over ours and our loved ones future. If this sentiment is allowed to permeate and Christians do decide to what the Arabs suggest, which is entering into a "holy war,” things are going to get ugly indeed.
As I recall, there were several all-Muslim units in the SS. Himmler considered them among his best.
So why doesn't some "nice" American Imam issue his very own fartwah and condemn terrorism, al-qaida, hamas, hizbullah, suicide attacks, slavery, the torture of Christians, and the mutilation of women? I don't think they were slicing lamb for you. It was bologna.
Also, like other cults, Islam is a one-way street... easy to join up but if you should try to leave, look out: there'll be a fatwa with your name on it.
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