Anytime a Muslim American talks up Islam, here is the response everyone should give:
Should Islamic law, sharia, ever be the law of America?
If "yes," they are unpatriotic and disloyal.
That should separate the good from the bad.
So much for "Muslim values."
Should Islamic law, sharia, ever be the law of America?
If "yes," they are unpatriotic and disloyal.
That should separate the good from the bad.
So much for "Muslim values."
More questions to ask Muslim Americans: This is from a Daniel Pipes' article, posted last December 8 on FR. It's about how to ferret out "moderate" Muslims from extremists, or at least an attempt to, by posing questions to them:
"These (questions) need to be specific, because vague inquiries — such as “Is Islam a religion of peace?” and “Do you condemn terrorism?” — have little value, for they depend on definitions (of peace, of terrorism, etc.).
Useful questions might address subjects such as:
Violence: Do you condone or condemn the Palestinians, Chechens, and Kashmiris who give up their lives to kill enemy civilians?
Will you condemn by name as terrorist groups such organizations as Abu Sayyaf, Al-Gama’a al-Islamiyya, Groupe Islamique Arm e, Hamas, Harakat ul-Mujahidin, Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad, Jaish-e-Mohammed, Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, and Al Qaeda?
Modernity: Should Muslim women have equal rights with men (for example, in inheritance shares or court testimony)?
Is jihad, meaning a form of warfare, acceptable in today’s world?
Do you accept the validity of other religions?
Do Muslims have anything to learn from the West?
Secularism: Should non-Muslims enjoy completely equal civil rights with Muslims?
May Muslims convert to other religions?
May Muslim women marry non-Muslim men?
Do you accept the laws of a majority non-Muslim government and unreservedly pledge allegiance to that government?
State Imposition of Religious Observance: What do you think of banning food service during Ramadan?
When Islamic customs conflict with secular laws (e.g., covering the face for drivers’ license photographs), which should give way?
Islamic Pluralism: Are Sufis and Shiites fully legitimate Muslims?
Do you think that Muslims who disagree with you have fallen into unbelief?
Is takfir (condemning fellow Muslims with whom one has disagreements as unbelievers) an acceptable practice?
Self-criticism: Do you accept the legitimacy of scholarly inquiry into the origins of Islam?
Who was responsible for the September 11 suicide hijackings?
Defense Against Militant Islam: Do you accept enhanced security measures to fight militant Islam, even if this means extra scrutiny of yourself (for example, at airline security checkpoints)?
Do you agree that institutions accused of funding terrorism should be shut down, or do you see this a symptom of bias?
Goals in the West: Do you accept that Western countries are majority-Christian and secular or do you seek to transform them into majority-Muslim countries ruled by Islamic law?
It would be ideal if these questions were posed publicly — in the press or in front of an audience — thereby reducing the scope for dissimulation."
No single reply establishes a militant Islamic disposition (plenty of non-Muslim Europeans believe the Bush administration itself carried out the September 11 terrorist attacks); and pretence is always a possibility, but these questions offer a good start to the vexing issue of separating enemies from friends."
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1036330/posts
Also, we FReepers get tons or web sites recommnened to us, here's one more: http://www.danielpipes.org