Posted on 03/17/2006 5:32:09 AM PST by Dark Skies
Please point out where I've tried to equivocate the actions and words of Jesus with the deeds ot Muhammad. I've compared the deeds of historical Christians with the deeds of Muslims that were being critiqued to point out that the deeds of a religious group do not necessarily reflect the tenants of the underlying religion. I've compared the way Christians have interpreted certain passages of the Bible to point out that the way a religion's followers might interpret certain passages does not mean there is only one way to interpret those passages. And, in one instance, I responded to the claim that Jesus only preached a message of peace and never hurt anyone by pointing out that he preached some less-than-peaceful messages and, among other things, whipped the money changers to drive them out of the Temple. That was to point out that I see plenty of people telling at least white lies in order to win their argument against Islam, the exact thing they fear Muslims doing -- saying anything to win.
I'm not claiming that Jesus and Muhammad are equal. I'm claiming that the arguments being raised against Islam are also raised against Christianity (as I've pointed out, some of the anti-Islam web sites draw their inspiration from anti-Judeo-Christian atheist web sites -- consider that) and that they aren't terribly good arguments when applied to either.
Much more useful would be to identify the lines and schools of Islamic thought that do profess certain interpretations of the Koran, much as certain sects of Christianity read certain parts of the Bible in specific ways. Saying that all Muslims believe that the Koran requires them to lie to and kill infidels is like saying that all Christians believe that full submersion baptism is required to be Saved. Some Christians sects do believe that, and cite Biblical passages to support it. Others don't, and read those passages differently or ignore them. Some sects of Islam do believe in lying to and killing infidels. By all means, identify them and argue against them. It might be possible that all Muslims believe in certain things but then you need to show Muslims saying that's what they believe, not a few passages from the Koran, often lacking any context.
Agreed. And this will be a good test of the government leaders of Afghanistan to prove that they want to be part of the 21st Century instead of the 7th Century. But I would still guess that there are plenty of Muslims in Afghanistan who wouldn't lose any sleep if this guy is left alone. The fanatics who want him dead, however, should be condemned as barbarians.
And before you tell me that the Koran demands the death of apostate Muslims, tell me why the Bible can call for the death of homosexuals, mediums, and even disobedient children yet most Jews and Christians manage to refrain from calling for the death penalty for those offenses. If Muslims can't help but killing apostate Muslims because the Koran tells them so, that's certainly a serious problem. But I see some evidence that at least some Muslims can.
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