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I understand your sentiment, unfortunately condemnation doesn't seem to do much. There are too many Muslims who want to do harm to the West. There are too many Muslims who do not condemn terrorist attacks. The vast majority do condemn such attacks, but too many do not. As a high school teacher of mine once said, "If just 10% of the population freely littered, the streets would be choked with paper cups and food wrappers." In my opinion, the problem is that fundamentalist Muslims from the Middle East, and Muslims first generation away from the Middle East, have more reverence for their religious belief than they do for human life, and their being fundamentalist Muslims, especially the human life of corrupt non-believers. It is not a new dynamic for religions and it is not unique to Islam. It is unique to Islam in the 21st Century as far as size and scope.
I understand your sentiment, unfortunately condemnation doesn't seem to do much. There are too many Muslims who want to do harm to the West. There are too many Muslims who do not condemn terrorist attacks. The vast majority do condemn such attacks, but too many do not. As a high school teacher of mine once said, "If just 10% of the population freely littered, the streets would be choked with paper cups and food wrappers." In my opinion, the problem is that fundamentalist Muslims from the Middle East, and Muslims first generation away from the Middle East, have more reverence for their religious belief than they do for human life, and their being fundamentalist Muslims, especially the human life of corrupt non-believers. It is not a new dynamic for religions and it is not unique to Islam. It is unique to Islam in the 21st Century as far as size and scope.
I think what your seem to dismiss, is that all those being slaughtered in the ME are Muslims who are standing up..and get beheaded/ raped/forced labour/enslaved.
However, ISIL's goal is to divide and conquer Western ideology.. They terrorize..claiming religious ideology..however their ideology has been in FACT BASTARDIZED Islam..
.WHY?? Because they create fear with their barbarianism..and voila..HATE Speak against the "Whole" sense of Islam..(Great recruiting tool)..and voila..we're getting some ridiculous rhetoric coming out of mouths of supposed educated Politicians... never mind such small minded hateful comments right here on C-D !
I just have to SMH!!
I think what your seem to dismiss, is that all those being slaughtered in the ME are Muslims who are standing up..and get beheaded/ raped/forced labour/enslaved.
However, ISIL's goal is to divide and conquer Western ideology.. They terrorize..claiming religious ideology..however their ideology has been in FACT BASTARDIZED Islam..
.WHY?? Because they create fear with their barbarianism..and voila..HATE Speak against the "Whole" sense of Islam..(Great recruiting tool)..and voila..we're getting some ridiculous rhetoric coming out of mouths of supposed educated Politicians... never mind such small minded hateful comments right here on C-D !
I just have to SMH!!
I think there could be a pretty good argument presented that Isis is following and perhaps even trying to advance a plausible, if not popular version of Islam. The fact that many of their victims are Muslims is irrelevant to their motives. I have found many Muslims, in fact perhaps most Muslims contending that Isis followers, like al-Qaeda members, are not real Muslims. I have also read where Sunnis do not believe that Shia Muslims are true Muslims, and visa versa. It reminds me of my days as a youth when the neighborhood Catholic kids would proclaim that us Presbyterians kids were not following "God's religion" and were not real Christians.
Anyway, a few years ago I decided that anyone who takes his or her religious belief from the Bible is a Christian, and anyone who takes his or her religious belief from the Quran, the hadith, or a combination of the two, is a Muslim. It is a sad paradox many centuries old that alleged holy books are capable of such tragedy, but capable they most assuredly are.
I think there could be a pretty good argument presented that Isis is following and perhaps even trying to advance a plausible, if not popular version of Islam. The fact that many of their victims are Muslims is irrelevant to their motives. I have found many Muslims, in fact perhaps most Muslims contending that Isis followers, like al-Qaeda members, are not real Muslims. I have also read where Sunnis do not believe that Shia Muslims are true Muslims, and visa versa. It reminds me of my days as a youth when the neighborhood Catholic kids would proclaim that us Presbyterians kids were not following "God's religion" and were not real Christians.
Anyway, a few years ago I decided that anyone who takes his or her religious belief from the Bible is a Christian, and anyone who takes his or her religious belief from the Quran, the hadith, or a combination of the two, is a Muslim. It is a sad paradox many centuries old that alleged holy books are capable of such tragedy, but capable they most assuredly are.
I'm a convert - I was raised Catholic, but I left when I was 11. I remember some people in my Sunday School saying other Christians were not real Christians and I remember being bothered by that. I am bothered by that thinking on all sides.
I have one parent saying, "I wish all Middle Eastern people and Muslims would kill themselves!" My parent knows I am now a Muslim and it hurt. I don't think anyone should talk like that - that is just awful.
I'm a convert - I was raised Catholic, but I left when I was 11. I remember some people in my Sunday School saying other Christians were not real Christians and I remember being bothered by that. I am bothered by that thinking on all sides.
I have one parent saying, "I wish all Middle Eastern people and Muslims would kill themselves!" My parent knows I am now a Muslim and it hurt. I don't think anyone should talk like that - that is just awful.
The thing that makes all the difference is to analyze and when necessary criticize the religious belief. To criticize and belittle the innocent followers is bigotry; simple as that. On the other side of that same coin, the person who tries to silence the justified criticism of Islam by calling it "Islamophobia" is no better.
I think there could be a pretty good argument presented that Isis is following and perhaps even trying to advance a plausible, if not popular version of Islam. The fact that many of their victims are Muslims is irrelevant to their motives. I have found many Muslims, in fact perhaps most Muslims contending that Isis followers, like al-Qaeda members, are not real Muslims. I have also read where Sunnis do not believe that Shia Muslims are true Muslims, and visa versa. It reminds me of my days as a youth when the neighborhood Catholic kids would proclaim that us Presbyterians kids were not following "God's religion" and were not real Christians.
Anyway, a few years ago I decided that anyone who takes his or her religious belief from the Bible is a Christian, and anyone who takes his or her religious belief from the Quran, the hadith, or a combination of the two, is a Muslim. It is a sad paradox many centuries old that alleged holy books are capable of such tragedy, but capable they most assuredly are.
What I see as a probable goal of ISIS is to encourage anti-Islamic sentiment among non-Muslim. Make it difficult if not impossible for a Muslim to live peacefully in a non-Muslim Nation. They almost certainly know that attacks like this going to result in retaliation against all Muslims.
The Terrorists that hide behind the name of Muslim are an enemy of all people, they are just as much an enemy of Muslims as they are to non-Muslims. Possibly more so as it seems there goal is to goad non-Muslims into killing Muslims and/or make the non-Muslims hostile to accepting Muslim refugees from the devastated war zones.
Very few if any Muslims would ever say that a person who claims to be Muslim is not a Muslim. Although we most likely will point out some people do not perform Islam as we should perform it.
It is essential for us Muslims to denounce the terrorists if for no other reason than to understand why non-Muslims are becoming distrusting of Muslim. wWe must not allow the waswas (whispering of Shaytan) to cause us to be angry with non-Muslims that react to the likes of ISIS and project their anger and fears against against all Muslims.
We should not condemn the terrorists simply to please our non-Muslim neighbors, we should condemn them for the evil they are spreading. Like in all things intent is of utmost importance. We need to condemn, because it is our intent to end evil.
What I see as a probable goal of ISIS is to encourage anti-Islamic sentiment among non-Muslim. Make it difficult if not impossible for a Muslim to live peacefully in a non-Muslim Nation. They almost certainly know that attacks like this going to result in retaliation against all Muslims.
The Terrorists that hide behind the name of Muslim are an enemy of all people, they are just as much an enemy of Muslims as they are to non-Muslims. Possibly more so as it seems there goal is to goad non-Muslims into killing Muslims and/or make the non-Muslims hostile to accepting Muslim refugees from the devastated war zones.
Very few if any Muslims would ever say that a person who claims to be Muslim is not a Muslim. Although we most likely will point out some people do not perform Islam as we should perform it.
It is essential for us Muslims to denounce the terrorists if for no other reason than to understand why non-Muslims are becoming distrusting of Muslim. wWe must not allow the waswas (whispering of Shaytan) to cause us to be angry with non-Muslims that react to the likes of ISIS and project their anger and fears against against all Muslims.
We should not condemn the terrorists simply to please our non-Muslim neighbors, we should condemn them for the evil they are spreading. Like in all things intent is of utmost importance. We need to condemn, because it is our intent to end evil.
The general feeling concerning many religious scholars (if such people actually exist) is that Isis and some other terrorist organizations actually follow a plausible version of Islam. The problem comes in when a holy book allows killing... any kind of killing. Additionally, Muhammad wasn't exactly a shrinking violent, either. Then allow interpretation to take over. If I killed a person for raking leaves on Sunday, I could proclaim that I was following a version of Christianity, and I would be correct. Unbiased religious scholars would have to agree. I could likewise kill sorcerer for the same reason. In fact, that was done centuries ago when witches were burned. I would be following passages that condemns to death anyone who labors on the Sabbath, and another that condemns sorcery. It is my opinion that most holy books ooze evil. In fact, it is right there in bold print.
Muslims denounce the religious belief of other Muslims. It is not uncommon. I recently came upon a mainstream Muslim channel on YouTube that rejects that Muslims had anything to do with 9/11, but not for the reason you might think. The video proclaimed the terrorism yo be an anti Muslim conspiracy involving Jews, or the government, depending on your preference.
It is my belief that the biggest hurdle for Muslims in the 21st Century is not terrorist acts. It is allowing Muslims to be free of oppressive religious restraints, including the condemnation of gay and lesbian lifestyles, apostasy, and blasphemy. And it wouldn't hurt if religions, including Islam, accepted scientific theories, such as the Theory of Evolution.
The general feeling concerning many religious scholars (if such people actually exist) is that Isis and some other terrorist organizations actually follow a plausible version of Islam. The problem comes in when a holy book allows killing... any kind of killing. Additionally, Muhammad wasn't exactly a shrinking violent, either. Then allow interpretation to take over. If I killed a person for raking leaves on Sunday, I could proclaim that I was following a version of Christianity, and I would be correct. Unbiased religious scholars would have to agree. I could likewise kill sorcerer for the same reason. In fact, that was done centuries ago when witches were burned. I would be following passages that condemns to death anyone who labors on the Sabbath, and another that condemns sorcery. It is my opinion that most holy books ooze evil. In fact, it is right there in bold print.
Muslims denounce the religious belief of other Muslims. It is not uncommon. I recently came upon a mainstream Muslim channel on YouTube that rejects that Muslims had anything to do with 9/11, but not for the reason you might think. The video proclaimed the terrorism yo be an anti Muslim conspiracy involving Jews, or the government, depending on your preference.
It is my belief that the biggest hurdle for Muslims in the 21st Century is not terrorist acts. It is allowing Muslims to be free of oppressive religious restraints, including the condemnation of gay and lesbian lifestyles, apostasy, and blasphemy. And it wouldn't hurt if religions, including Islam, accepted scientific theories, such as the Theory of Evolution.
One thing you will not find among Muslims is a standardized set of beliefs followed by all Muslims. There are Muslim scientists and doctors that accept evolution. Actually there is nothing in the Qur'an that contradicts evolution. Many early Muslim scientists were advocates of "Natural Selection" Such as al-Jahiz and his; Kitab al-Hayawan (The book of Animals)
Quote:
The "literary" quality of the Book of Animals, however, should not obscure the fact that it contains scientific information of great value. Anticipating a number of concepts which were not to be fully developed until the time of Darwin and his successors, al-Jahiz toys with evolutionary theory, discusses animal mimicry - noting that certain parasites adapt to the color of their host - and writes at length on the influences of climate and diet on men, plants and animals of different geographical regions. He even gets into animal communication, psychology and the degree of intelligence of insect and animal species. He gives a detailed account of the social organization of ants, including, from his own observation, a description of how they store grain in their nests in such a way that it does not spoil during the rainy season. He knows that some insects are responsive to light - and uses this information to suggest a clever way of ridding a room of mosquitoes and flies.
If you happen to find Al-Jahiz's book "The Book of Animals" online I think you will find it interesting.
but if you have the opportunity to meet a fair sized sampling of Muslims I am certain you will find most of us are very questioning of all things and do shun any form of religious heirachy we tend to be very independent and will not accept the religious teachings of any one unless we our self have found reason to believe they are true. We have no ordained clergy, because we have no need of them. Each Muslim is his/her own clergy. but I will agree we do have among us our share of sheeple that blindly follow any idiot that professes to be a religious leader.
Just using the USA as an example 10% of American doctors are Muslim, but less than 2% of the population is Muslim. American Muslims tend to drift towards the science and medical fields along with entrepreneurship and the establishing of businesses Muslims are not afraid of the sciences or progress or education for all people. (including women) Meet one of the first all female commercial airline cockpit crews
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