I post a lot here on this subject because I have an intimate knowledge of the subject and the people who practice it. Any attempt to explain this further could cause problems for me which I am sure Mr. Yonif and Mr. Ali Sina understand. Over time it is my hope that a lot of my fellow Freepers will understand the reasons why as well..
This is a truthful hardhitting analysis that all of Freerepublic, the West and America needs to read and understand and I have taken the liberty of 'pinging' several people whom I feel might have an interest in the subject.
Further down the thread you will see a link posted to a site called FaithFreedom which is run by an Ex-Muslim (Mr. Ali Sina) who is an Iranian now living in the United States.
I became friends with Ali Sina over the internet when we were discussing how we did not share Dr. Daniel Pipes views on Islam. Later both myself and Mr. Sina exchanged letters with Dr. Pipes and his assertion that 'moderate' Muslims can bring about a kinder, more tolerant version of Islam like Christianity has been doing. Both Mr. Sina and myself agreed that there is no such thing as a "moderate muslim" and to imply that there is or that there can be a more moderate and tolerant version of Islam is misleading.
My explanation to Dr. Pipes was that in Islam this was not possible and the reasons are as follows ~
Unlike Christianity, the Quran is believed to be the direct word of God and therefore leaves no room for interpretation unlike the Bible which is a collection of stories according to the apostles. To change Islam would be like Christians changing the Ten Commandments. It can't be done because as we all know, this IS the word of God.
The word 'Islam' does not mean 'peace' as I have seen here before, but rather SUBMISSION which is extreemly important for non-muslims to understand. Submission to the will of Allah and therefore a Muslim has no right to question and/or attempt to question and/or interpret the Quran. He must submit.
If you understand this absolute, then you can understand that there is and can be no such thing as a 'moderate muslim' - there is only 'good muslims' and 'bad muslims' - the bad ones are the ones who don't submit to the will of Allah.
Many Westerners to this day speak of the deafening silence of the Muslim countries and Muslims worldwide - and ask why the Muslims worldwide don't speak out against the extremism in their midst, all the while, never completely understanding that 'extremism' is Islam does not exist but rather 'fundamentalism' and that is the strict and literal adherence to the Quran (the word of God), and once again - submission.
When Muslims and Muslim countries are pressured either by the Western media or Western governments to speak out against so-called "extremism", they find themselves only able to make benign statements such as "killing of innocents is wrong", "killing innocent women and children is wrong" or we are saddened to see so many innocent people die.
Ask yourself, would you call a Christian who follows the ten commandments and does not stray an 'extremist' or would you call him a "good Christian"?
What emboldens the Muslims worldwide and what is fueling their expansion now is what they see as the decadence and accelerated decline of Western civilization the death throes of Christianity and the rise of secularism.
Homosexual rights and gay marriage in my opinion was really one of the breaking points in the last several years from where I sit. How does a good Christian and a conservative explain that their fellow Christians in America approve of gay marriage and even elect a homosexual as their bishop? Needless to say it boggles the mind. There is no explanation.
A few years back an American multinational company which has a factory here in Malaysia came out with a company head office endorsed circular promoting a "coming out day" for closeted homosexuals within the company worldwide and mandatory "tolerance training" for the 'bigots' (ie. those employees who are repulsed by homosexual behaviour and find it sinful). Needless to say, that went over like a lead balloon.
When Muslims call America "The Great Satan" they are not joking. Many of them despise and hate America's invasive culture.
There is a solution to all of this and it is not multiculturism, diversity or tolerance. It is sorry to say, exactly what Ann Coulter said right after 9/11.
Bump Post for later
Ping
Thanks for the ping!
"Unlike Christianity, the Quran is believed to be the direct word of God and therefore leaves no room for interpretation unlike the Bible which is a collection of stories according to the apostles."
This is your personal belief.
Whether you choose to use the word "bad" or "moderate" is immaterial. That's semantics. There are different muslim sects. They practice and believe differently. Sufis are not wahabbis. Whether you want to label one good, bad, moderate, cloudy, it doesn't matter.
As for your Iranian friend, we certainly have something in common there. I can understand his leaving his faith. He lived under a fanatical tyrannical system. I'm glad he escaped.
I also think it's important to distinguish between what is said and/or felt by middle eastern people because of their religion and what is said because of their geography and history. Anti-American or anti-British sentiments, have a lot to do with history and oil. I'm sure you're aware of that.
Count me on the Daniel Pipes side of this argument.
It is considered to be inspired through the personality and point of view of the writer, scribe, speaker, whatever, not direct, and must be interpreted. The terrorists and their madrassas are of course not interpreting and that is their mistake. So, that premise is generally incorrect and misleading and the rest of the essay fails.