Posted on 08/12/2014 5:24:44 PM PDT by Kaslin
Al-Qaeda. The Taliban. Boko Haram. The Islamic State. Islamic Jihad. Hamas.
Christians being beheaded. Muslims slaughtering Muslims. Schoolgirls being kidnapped. Schoolboys being burned alive.
These are the images of Islam that we see on the news day and night, but we are told repeatedly that this does not represent true Islam. Instead, we are told, these atrocities are examples of radical Islam, committed by savages who know nothing of the real faith, people who misuse the Koran for their own malicious purposes and who represent perhaps 15 percent of the world’s 1.2 billion Muslims.
That would mean that the vast majority of Muslims are peace-loving, with no desire to take over the world violently or enforce their religion on others by means of the sword.
Of course, I fully understand that there are many “moderate Muslims” who are not true Muslims any more than many liberal Christians are true Christians. In other words, they are nominal believers only.
But there are certainly many Muslims who claim to uphold the Five Pillars of Islam and who feel that they, and not the radical Muslims, are following in Muhammad’s footsteps. And they would explain that while it is true that their prophet engaged in violent acts of war and that the Koran calls for harsh treatment of the enemies of the faith, this is no different than the book of Joshua in the Old Testament – something that happened in the past but is not to be repeated today.
To be sure, the moment I speak up about a controversial issue that is happening today, such as Israel’s right to defend itself against Islamic terrorists, my social media pages are flooded with Jew-hating comments made by angry Muslims, expressing sentiments like, “the decimation and annihilation of Israel is coming soon inshaalllah [Allah willing]. End of Israel will be fact I'm sure.” And, “Can somebody resurrect Hitler? [The Jews] are chosen. Chosen to be killers. Rapists. Racist. Murderers and worshippers of satan . . .”
Do they represent the true spirit of Islam, or are these some of the 200-300 million “radical Muslims”? (By the way, whether “radical Islam” is normative or not, it is, without a doubt, a massive threat to the world today.)
As for the “moderate Muslims,” whom I don’t seem to hear from as much, the ones who do write do not seem not to be that religious, based on the sentiments they express.
I’m aware that statements have been made by respected Islamic leaders renouncing violent jihad, but for the sake of clarity, I’d like to ask some simple questions which, I believe, can be easily answered.
If you uphold the Five Pillars of Islam and believe in the divine inspiration of the Koran and the reliability of the Hadith, I’d love to hear your responses to these questions.
The Islamic State has demanded that non-Muslims convert or die. Do you categorically and without qualification denounce the practice of forced conversions? Do you agree that conversion at the edge of the sword cannot possibly be true conversion?
All radical Muslim groups want to enforce Sharia Law. Do you stand against the implementation of Sharia?
There is a famous Hadith which states, “The Hour [of Resurrection] will not come until you fight the Jews. The Jew will hide behind stones or trees. Then the stones or trees will call: ‘Oh Muslim, servant of Allah, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him.’”
Do you categorically and without qualification denounce this tradition which allegedly goes back to Muhammad?
The concept of suicide bombers being shaheeds (martyrs for Allah) is widespread these days among radical Muslims.
Do you reject the idea that a suicide bomber who kills others – especially civilians – in the name of Allah is guaranteed a place in Paradise?
As you know, non-Muslims living in some Muslim countries have been reduced to severe second-class citizen status (dhimmitude, in full) and forced to pay the oppressive jizya tax. In some Muslim countries, they can be jailed or killed simply if someone accuses them of blaspheming Muhammad.
Do you categorically and without qualification denounce these practices and welcome non-Muslims to live as complete equals in your countries?
In quite a few Muslim countries, conversion is forbidden under penalty of death, which is obviously a fundamental assault on religious freedoms.
Do you categorically and without qualification denounce this practice and allow for free and open religious interaction as we have, for example, in the United States, with no corporal penalties for conversion?
We often hear horror stories of little girls being married to older men, along with honor killings of women who allegedly brought disrepute on their families.
Do you categorically and without qualification denounce the practices of child brides and honor killings?
There are many more questions I could ask, and I do so in the interest of understanding more than argument, since I would love to debate and discuss the deeper issues of our faith with those who renounce radical Islam.
The question many of us have here in the West is very simple: Is radical Islam normative Islam?
I look forward to reading your responses, and I encourage non-Muslim readers of this open letter to share it widely with your friends so as to reach the maximum number of moderate Muslims.
There are more honest lawyers.....
Then they are muslim in name only.
There is no such thing as a "moderate" muslim, for the bedrock of islam provides for the mohametan to act in accordance with the quran.
And the quran calls for the death of the non-believer, the infidel.
For a mohametan to argue that that is not true, is for a mohametan to deny his very religion and is tantamount to denying the prophet muhammad and his word, as given to him by allah.
And to compare the mohametans and islam with Christians as far as the violence aspect is ludicrous.
No Christian I know or am aware of, would advocate the indiscriminate slaughter of women and children.
Even the far fringe idiot fundies don't go that far, to my knowledge.
Islam and the mohametan adherents thereto are an open festering sore on the ass of humanity.
I won't get into the Old versus New Testament of the Bible, but I think most folks that have studied it see the dichotomy of it and treat it accordingly.
It is my personal belief that the New Testament contains the word of God and the teachings of Jesus Christ...and I can find nothing in it that tells me or requires me to go out and seek the non-believer for purposes of slaying them simply because they do not profess to be followers of the word of God and the teachings of Jesus Christ.
I believe I am tasked to give testimony to the non-believer and attempt to turn them to the ways of Christianity, but I firmly believe I am intended to do it with non-violent means.
Crashing airplanes into tall buildings...sending impressionable young people and even children into the midst of humanity with the intent of blowing themselves up...subjugating the females to the point of removing parts of their genitalia so they won't feel sexual pleasure...these are all acts of maniacal, absolutely inhuman and inhumane idiots, based upon the teachings of a pedophile and murdering piece of human excrement...
Those are not the ways of a peaceful, reverent religion, and certainly do not qualify it as a "Religion of Peace".
What's the point?
There are none. There are the radicals and the complicit.
Modern Muslims are like ghosts whose existence is only based on fleeting glimpses but with a total lack of real evidence.
Moderate Muslims are irrelevant.
Open letter to radical muslims:
Don’t start nothing, won’t be nothing.
Bring it!
Are there really two? I didn't know! ;-)
in the briefest of terms, good idea but it won’t work very much
because,
“moderate islamic” is a contadiction in terms..
their koran does indeed contain some nice peaceful teachings. these (I am told) came mostly from the early part of their prophet Mo’s career. Later on, he became a mercenary (paid warrior) to attack and rob and kill other people...
and I’m advised that all the horrible “ lie to and then kill or subjugate the Christians and Jews” verses are attibuted to these later years.
Now then, how to intrepret a book that contains diametrically opposing verses, teachings, instructions?
The apparently majority opinion is to follow the latest teachings or orders......(which means all Christians and Jews are in superduper trouble!)
This method of interpretation (selecting the latest “revelation”) does, unfortunately, make some sense.
At any event, it renders the nice peaceable verses basically inoperative.
Therefore, “moderate islamacists” is oxymoronic (self-contradictory)
sorry to say.
I wish the above were wrong. But every time I inquite into it, that the way the answer comes back.
So.... we got a major, major fight on our hands just to defend ourselves, gang. Like it or not.
The moderate muslim who agrees with the writer will not dare to sign his name to such a declaration.
He’d be dead in a week. And his family and friends would disown him.
Islam is not moderate, sensible or sane. Read the koran, with a rational mind/spirit.
moozlums want to murder you and your family. That is what all moozlums feel...some act directly on it.
Yes. All of islam is compliant. I vote for complete destruction of islam, and it’s supporters.
How so Misterioso?
On substance or grammar?
Is he also going to write a letter to Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny?
Grammar, and a little spelling.
"Moderate Islam" is its Trojan Horse.
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