Further, there has been no substantiation by anyone that Muslim beliefs or some dark flaw in Islam were directly responsible for the girl's rape. A major dark flaw in Islam involves the unwillingness of the majority of Muslims to voice criticism about a fellow Muslim to a non-Muslim.
General statements about "terrorism is bad" or "rape is bad" are OK, but I hardly ever hear a Muslim publicly say "I condemn _____'s acts", (unless the complaint is about a Muslim being overly tolerant of infidels). It's a flaw that's also present in Black culture to an extent: solidarity with the group is more important than universal principals of justice.
The West began to emerge from the Middle Ages when people decided that just because a religious authority proclaimed something, that didn't, of itself, make it true. Islam will not emerge from barbarism until it is safe for a Muslim to say, to an audience of Muslims and non-Muslims, "I think my imam is a hypocritical fool. "
From Mullahs and Heretics -- If you haven't already read this.
"We also explored the many burned houses. How were they burned? I would ask the locals. Back would come the casual reply. 'They belonged to Hindus and Sikhs. Our fathers and uncles burned them.' Why? 'So they could never come back, of course.' Why? 'Because we are now Pakistan. Their home is India.' Why, I persisted, when they had lived here for centuries, just like your families, and spoke the same language, even if they worshipped different gods? The only reply was a shrug. It was strange to think that Hindus and Sikhs had been here, had been killed in the villages in the valleys below. In the tribal areas - the no-man's-land between Afghanistan and Pakistan - quite a few Hindus stayed on, protected by tribal codes. The same was true in Afghanistan itself (till the mujahedin and the Taliban arrived). "
"Mullahs, especially the rural variety, were objects of ridicule, widely regarded as dishonest, hypocritical and lazy. It was generally believed that they had grown beards and chosen this path not out of spiritual fervour, but in order to earn a crust. Unless attached to a mosque, they depended on voluntary contributions, tuition fees and free meals. The jokes about them mostly concerned their sexual appetites; in particular, a penchant for boys below a certain age. The fictional mullah of the storytellers and puppet-shows who travelled from village to village was a greedy and lustful arch-villain; he used religion to pursue his desires and ambitions. He humiliated and cheated the poor peasants, while toadying to landlords and potentates. "
Rest of article available here:
http://www.freerepublic.com/fo cus/news/677105/posts