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Aware of Our Words
PUBLISHED OCTOBER 19, 2007
The fall semester at Columbia has seen more than its fair share of polarizing events, from Jim Gilchrist’s proposed visit, to President Ahmadinejad’s speech, to the recent spate of bias incidents across campus. Over the past month, many students have expressed frustration at the souring climate at Columbia, and some have rightly criticized the administration—whether by its public response or frequent passivity—for failing to allay such concerns. Next week will mark another such challenge to University, as the Columbia University College Republicans welcome David Horowitz to campus to celebrate “Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week.” While we recognize the right of the Republicans to invite him, we believe that this event is intended to drive a political wedge rather than engender meaningful debate and hope that those who oppose Mr. Horowitz’s views do not respond in kind.
“Islamo-Facism Awareness Week” purports to examine a link between Islam, institutionalized violence, and oppression, but its organizers dangerously (if unsurprisingly) conflate extremists who practice Islam with the faith itself—a fallacy sure to negate any potential worth in such a discussion. Yet Horowitz has questioned how a campus community that invited the head of an oppressive regime intent on developing nuclear weapons could refuse him audience on its campus. Such an argument ignores that the World Leaders Forum acts a podium for presidents and prime ministers, not an endorsement of their beliefs or practices. It is one thing to invite a world leader to campus to share his or her views on a variety of global issues, but quite another to celebrate incendiary pundits that generate fear and loathing instead of meaningful discourse.
Many students have expressed distaste for Horowitz and his rhetoric, decrying the event and questioning his right to appear on campus. Indeed, an entire week devoted to denouncing the values and ideas of a particular community—if not in name, then in practice—seems unproductive and is unlikely to offer much insight or change many minds. Students who oppose Horowitz, however, ought to take a more tasteful approach by raising their concerns in a thoughtful manner, asking pointed questions rather than adding vitriol to a polarizing and stagnant debate. While the University is committed to free speech and peaceful protest, we must be mindful of where to draw the line between productive and unproductive dialogue.
The administration, too, must recognize that this event will be held as odious by a significant portion of the student body, and it should respond by reviving the type of discussion forums held in the wake of recent events. In particular, members of Muslim community on campus—many of whom have already grappled with the backlash towards Ahmadinejad’s visit and the fear provoked graffiti incident at the School of International and Public Affairs—must now face further insult in the broad and reckless denouncements of Islam that characterize this “awareness week.” Instead of looking for ways to divide our community further, we should look for ways to create honest discourse that is open and welcoming to all members of the community.
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"A liberal Muslim's response
9:29 Muslims are told to respect Jews and Christians because Moses (pbuh) and Jesus (pbuh) are our prophets too. Did you know that these religions can intermarry in Islam without converting? I don't think so, you are obviously using those texts that can be misunderstood. "
Hahahahaha!
A MALE Muslim can marry a female Jew or Cristian. DOES NOT apply the other way.
Also. a MALE Muslim can have a temporary ( AKA- prostitution "marriage" ) with a female Jew or Christian.
You guys kill me ( literally)
At the heart of Islam is Jew hatred. A natural alliance formed between Islam and Nazism. In the 1930's the Mufti of Jerusalem urged Hitler to help exterminate the Jews of the Middle East. Hitler's war continues, and the most vile Jew hatred spews forth regularly from Middle Eastern mosques. Do all those imams misunderstand Islam? They don't think so, nor do their followers. I'm waiting to hear from so-called moderate muslims. Either they're afraid, or like the 'good Germans' under Hitler, they approve. Columbia should be formally re-named the Madrassa on Morningside Heights.
Oh, that's good - "the Madrassa on Morningside Heights"--!
Right, the Grand Poo-Bah Vizier Mufti Pasha Potentate of Jerusalem was close friends with Hitler, Himmler, Eichmannn. He visited Germany numerous times, inspecting Muslim troops, shaking hands with Himmler for photo-ops, and ...visited Auschwitz. And wholly approved, of course. Couldn't wait, like Hitler, to rid the world of Jews.
"The most vile Jew hatred spews forth regularly" from mosques in the West, as well. The famous Finsbury Mosque, in London, where Muslims stand outside holding signs that say "Behead anyone who insults Islam," and "UK Your 9/11 is Coming." In London. These people should be deported immediately. But, London is too far gone in it's submission to "multiculturalism." London is dying due to Islamic immigration and the gospel of multiculturalism.
This is wonderful. The proposed solution then should be to 'raise awareness' and wipe out all Muslims since Islam is an incurable virus. And now, people who are not Muslims purport to tell Muslims what their real faith is. What Muslims follow is something else, but not Islam. Only Osama bin Laden follows real Islam. So let us teach the other couple of billion people that the Islam they had been following is utter nonsense. The Islam that created medieval Spain, a model of religious tolerance, was a farce. The real Islam is Osama bin Laden's and Taleban's.
This is because only the above two fits our neat description of the world (informed by the Clash of Civilisations world-view).
What a wonderful understanding of religion! What a wonderful engagement with the modern world and its problems. Politically savvy and deeply philosophical.
Please go ahead with your agendas. I am sure this way you shall make the world a better, safer place.
Ah yes, Andalusia (Spain) the great Golden Age. But if you studied your History lesson well, you would be aware that it was the invasion by a fundamentalist Islamic dynasty, the Almohades, brought an end to this Golden Age. "Those that fail to learn from history, are doomed to repeat it. " Winston Churchill.
This is reprinted, from Farewell Espana: The World of the Sephardim Remembered,c. 1994 by Howard M. Sachar
In the mid‑1100s, however, a force majeure decisively shattered these placid multicultural relations. Led by Abd al‑Mu'min al‑Mohade, scion of a fundamentalist North African Berber dynasty that has traditionally been called the Almohades, a new wave of Islamic warriors swept down from Algeria’s Atlas Mountains. Engulfing the North African littoral population, the invaders pressed across the Strait of Gibraltar to overrun central and southern Iberia.
Decades of brutal Almohade persecution followed—of forced conversions equally of Jews, Christians, and "backsliding" Muslims. Thousands of Andalusian Jews accordingly fled to the Spanish Christian kingdoms of the north. The grim interregnum continued for six decades, until 1212, when an alliance of Christian armies finally destroyed the Almohade minions at Las Navas de Tolosa, and with it Almohade rule in the Iberian Peninsula altogether.
In ensuing years, as local Muslim governments began reviving in Andalusia, large numbers of Jews returned to the south. But if they anticipated resuming the former tempo of their lives, they were shortly undeceived. Religious passions by then had been too widely stirred and diffused.
Once again, Muslim rulers began enforcing the old sumptuary laws [regulating Jewish dress and life style] and this time with a new rigor. Jews were obliged to wear badges or distinctively colored turbans. Jewish courtiers, physicians, and communal officials faced new vocational restrictions. Jewish families were exposed to new refinements of social isolation. Jewish merchants were held responsible for bad harvests or food shortages, and often endured a gauntlet of insults and petty humiliations in street and marketplace. By the latter 1100s, any lingering hope for Jewish revival in once‑genial Andalusia seemed all but foreclosed. The departure of Jews northward, once tentative and temporary, now gained momentum, swelling irretrievably from a rivulet to a stream.
Howard M. Sachar is a Professor of History and International Affairs at George Washington University in Washington DC.
This is wonderful. The proposed solution then should be to 'raise awareness' and wipe out all Muslims since Islam is an incurable virus. And now, people who are not Muslims purport to tell Muslims what their real faith is. What Muslims follow is something else, but not Islam. Only Osama bin Laden follows real Islam. So let us teach the other couple of billion people that the Islam they had been following is utter nonsense. The Islam that created medieval Spain, was all a farce. The real Islam is Osama bin Laden's.
This is because only he fits our neat description of the world (informed by the Clash of Civilisations world-view).
What a wonderful understanding of religion. Wonderful engagement with the modern world and its problems. Politically savvy and deeply philosophical. Please go ahead with your agendas. I am sure this way you shall make the world a better, safer place.
Perhaps what you call "meaningful debate" is really less than such. "Meaningful debate" certainly must mean ust that, no? When you stymie what one party can say, you have deleted the very term from the equation..
Kudos to the exceedingly brave "Editorial Board" in denouncing any efforts to impede the Islamization of the world. May we all likewise embrace our place as upstanding dhimmi.
Right on. Why don't the female members of the Ed Board just go ahead and put on black veils and blankets already? Why wait? Don't you know your place in the Islamic world?
Islamic apologists often point out that Islam is not a monolith and that there are differences of opinion among the different Islamic schools of thought. That is true, but, while there are differences, there are also common elements. Just as Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Protestant Christians differ on many aspects of Christianity, still they accept important common elements. So it is with Islam. One of the common elements to all Islamic schools of thought is jihad, understood as the obligation of the Ummah to conquer and subdue the world in the name of Allah and rule it under Sharia law. The four Sunni Madhhabs (schools of fiqh [Islamic religious jurisprudence]) -- Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i, and Hanbali -- all agree that there is a collective obligation on Muslims to make war on the rest of the world. Furthermore, even the schools of thought outside Sunni orthodoxy, including Sufism and the Jafari (Shia) school, agree on the necessity of jihad. When it comes to matters of jihad, the different schools disagree on such questions as whether infidels must first be asked to convert to Islam before hostilities may begin (Osama bin Laden asked America to convert before Al-Qaeda's attacks); how plunder should be distributed among victorious jihadists; whether a long-term Fabian strategy against dar al-harb is preferable to an all-out frontal attack; etc.
This is very good. You're obviously quite knowledgeable. Thanks for sharing your knowledge. By continuing to allow the Followers of Jihad into our country, we're committing slow, but future, suicide.
The Qu'ran is a document of many pages, as is the Torah, as is the Bible.
In all of three of those documents, there are statements, exhortations, and rules for good behavior. Also, in all three of those books there are statements, exhortations, and rules that mandate things such as murder (kill all Amalekites), slavery, etc.
Islam is the only one of the major (numbers of followers) religions that today whose followers commit the negative deeds in any numbers in the name of their religion and their religious document.
That others in Islam claim the deed doers are a small percent of those in Islam does not stop the deeds, nor does it refute the fact that those deeds are committed in adherence with the Qu'ran. The peaceful passages are in the Qu'ran, no denying that, but there is also no denying that the abhorrent exhortations, etc. are in the Qu'ran, as well. Pointing to Torah/Bible passages that may be analgous is w/o relevance when there are statistically zero deeds committed in the current day by followers based on those passages.
"Islamo-Facism Awareness Week” my or may not differentiate or target only that portion of Islam that commits the abhorrent deeds, but it seems wrong to categorically deny that the phenomenon that Horowitz and the others identify is not real or not well worth discussing. If the opponents feel the need to respond with violence, that seems to be confirmation and well worth knowing, as well.
No one in the US tried to assassinate the Iran leader although many Christians and Jews here do not agree with him, but what happened in Pakistan this week? Just another datum.
Good post. But, most of the earlier "peaceful passages" (the Meccan verses) were "abrogated" by "allah" in favor of the later violent Medinan "verses of the sword." Look up: Islamic Doctrine of Abrogation.
"allah" is the ONLY "God" who takes back stuff he previously said, lol! Why? Because Mohammed the Human wrote the Qur'an.
"nor does it refute the fact that those deeds are committed in adherence with the Qu'ran."
--That's right. 100% correct.
"This school is diseased and should be shut down for good."
Posted by: anonymous (not verified) | October 19th, 2007 @ 1:02pm
Hear, hear! It's infected with the disease of "political correctness," for which there is no known cure but intelligence.
The irony is that in it's rabid desire to be inclusive and PC, Columbia's become a little police state, in which anyone not PC must fear intimidation and name-calling. Those who self-righteously cry "racist, bigot, hater!" will be the first ones to imprison you, torture you, kill you. Ironic, isn't it?
Ironic indeed.
A liberal Muslim's response
9:5 talks about defense against those who had been killing the followers of Muhammad (pbuh). That does not apply today.
9:29 Muslims are told to respect Jews and Christians because Moses (pbuh) and Jesus (pbuh) are our prophets too. Did you know that these religions can intermarry in Islam without converting? I don't think so, you are obviously using those texts that can be misunderstood.
V2, B84: What do other religious texts have to say about adultery? Does any text applaud it? You have to understand that this was written centuries ago and does not apply today. Those who practice it was wrong because the biggest rule in Islam is that Allah loves all and is all-forgiving. For real followers of the Koran, this is the belief. We are not the judges of other people, Allah is.
V9 B84: Islam does not like coverts out of the religion, which religion does? The punishment, once against, does not apply today and pious/moral Muslims know that.
Dear liberal/pious/moral muslim,
You know very well that the Holy Koran IS THE WORD OF ALLAH, you can't accept some parts and NOT accept others. It is for ALL peoples and for ALL time. And Mohamed (pbuh) is the final Prophet.
Peace
Nope, the K is only for YOU peoples - Islamic. No one else.
And Mohammed, the Warlord Mass-Murderer, is not a prophet. He's a fraud, a charlatan. As for "allah" - he's a pagan Moon deity from pre-Islamic lore, i.e. is in no way a "God." There's only one God - the Judeo-Christian. "allah" is a pagan rock idol. Doesn't exist.
"Allah loves all" - from "A liberal Muslim's response"
People, this is a total lie. If you open a Qur'an and read you will see very quickly that Allah does NOT "love" Infidels - Jews and Christians. Allah is constantly calling for the killing and slaying of "Infidels" - Jews and Christians.
GET OFF YOUR LAZY BUTTS AND READ THE QUR'AN PEOPLE - THEN YOU WON'T BE SUCKERS FOR THE LIES (called "Taqiyya") THAT MUSLIMS TELL YOU. READ THE QUR'AN.
The Talmud wins the prize as the most racist and hateful of all tomes. People need to get off their lazy butts and read it, IF you can get your hands on the multivolume set. It is not sold in bookstores nor is it available at libraries.
Some passages:
Moed Kattan 17a: If a Jew is tempted to do evil he should go to a city where he is not known and do the evil there.
Penalty for Disobeying Rabbis
Erubin 21b. Whosoever disobeys the rabbis deserves death and will be punished by being boiled in hot excrement in hell.
Hitting a Jew is the same as hitting God
Sanhedrin 58b. If a heathen (gentile) hits a Jew, the gentile must be killed.
O.K. to Cheat Non-Jews
Sanhedrin 57a . A Jew need not pay a gentile the wages owed him for work.
Jews Have Superior Legal Status
Baba Kamma 37b. If an ox of an Israelite gores an ox of a Canaanite there is no liability; but if an ox of a Canaanite gores an ox of an Israelite...the payment is to be in full.
Jews May Steal from Non-Jews
Baba Mezia 24a . If a Jew finds an object lost by a gentile ("heathen") it does not have to be returned.
Jews May Rob and Kill Non-Jews
Sanhedrin 57a . When a Jew murders a gentile, there will be no death penalty. What a Jew steals from a gentile he may keep.
Baba Kamma 37b. The gentiles are outside the protection of the law and God has "exposed their money to Israel."
Jews May Lie to Non-Jews
Baba Kamma 113a. Jews may use lies ("subterfuges") to circumvent a Gentile.
Non-Jewish Children are Sub-Human
Yebamoth 98a. All gentile children are animals.
Abodah Zarah 36b. Gentile girls are in a state of niddah (filth) from birth.
Abodah Zarah 22a-22b . Gentiles prefer sex with cows.
Yebamoth 63a. Declares that agriculture is the lowest of occupations.
Yebamoth 59b. A woman who had intercourse with a beast is eligible to marry a Jewish priest. A woman who has sex with a demon is also eligible to marry a Jewish priest.
Hagigah 27a. States that no rabbi can ever go to hell.
Baba Mezia 59b. A rabbi debates God and defeats Him. God admits the rabbi won the debate.
Gittin 70a. On coming from a privy (outdoor toilet) a man should not have sexual intercourse till he has waited long enough to walk half a mile, because the demon of the privy is with him for that time; if he does, his children will be epileptic.
Menahoth 43b-44a. A Jewish man is obligated to say the following prayer every day: "Thank you God for not making me a gentile, a woman or a slave."
What Jewish Scholars Are Saying:
Rabbi Meir Kahane, told CBS News that his teaching that Arabs are "dogs" is derived "from the Talmud." (CBS 60 Minutes, "Kahane").
University of Jerusalem Prof. Ehud Sprinzak described Kahane and Goldstein's philosophy: "They believe it's God's will that they commit violence against goyim," a Hebrew term for non-Jews. (NY Daily News, Feb. 26, 1994, p. 5).
Rabbi Yitzhak Ginsburg declared, "We have to recognize that Jewish blood and the blood of a goy are not the same thing." (NY Times, June 6, 1989, p.5).
Rabbi Yaacov Perrin said, "One million Arabs are not worth a Jewish fingernail." (NY Daily News, Feb. 28, 1994, p.6).
U.S. Government Lays Groundwork for Talmudic Courts: "Our" government under Presidents Reagan, Bush and Clinton, has provided, under the euphemism of education (for example, House Joint Resolution 173 and Public Law 102-14), a groundwork for the establishment of Talmudic "courts of justice" to be administered by disciples of Shneur Zalman's Chabad successor, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson.
Now THAT'S what we need to be focusing on, not the Koran, the TALMUD!
The liberal Muslim is also encouraging people to read the Quran. Allah does NOT say kill Jews and Christians, anyone who says that is lying. Just because I am liberal does not mean that I don't know my own religion.
What, are you joking? Allah commands all the time to "Kill the Unbelievers," i.e. "Infidels," i.e. Jews and Christians. In fact, that's the primary theme of the Qur'an - Kill everyone who is not Islamic unless they convert. YOU'RE THE LIAR WITH YOUR "TAQIYYA!" No, then, you don't know your own religion.
Yes - Read the Qur'an, people. See for yourselves. Do NOT accept what this practicing-"taqiyya" Muslim is telling you. He's selling you a bill of goods, and you're buying. READ AND SEE FOR YOURSELF! IS THAT SO DIFFICULT??????
Do you read Arabic, or have you blindly consumed some nut-job's orientalist translation?
You don't have to read Arabic. The Q has been translated MANY times and says the same thing EACH TIME! So, shut-up with your "taqiyya" nonsense.
BTW, 90% of the Islamic world DOESN'T READ ARABIC!!!! ESP. IN MALAYSIA.
So, looks like you are the nutjob.
This is a response to the first comment.
A liberal Muslim's response
9:5 talks about defense against those who had been killing the followers of Muhammad (pbuh). That does not apply today.
9:29 Muslims are told to respect Jews and Christians because Moses (pbuh) and Jesus (pbuh) are our prophets too. Did you know that these religions can intermarry in Islam without converting? I don't think so, you are obviously using those texts that can be misunderstood.
V2, B84: What do other religious texts have to say about adultery? Does any text applaud it? You have to understand that this was written centuries ago and does not apply today. Those who practice it was wrong because the biggest rule in Islam is that Allah loves all and is all-forgiving. For real followers of the Koran, this is the belief. We are not the judges of other people, Allah is.
V9 B84: Islam does not like coverts out of the religion, which religion does? The punishment, once against, does not apply today and pious/moral Muslims know that.
The same day that this article was published, an explosion in the Philippines killed 8 people in a Manila shopping mall. Although no one has taken responsibility for this attack as of yet, this bombing mirrors one that occurred two years ago in the same mall - guess who was responsible? The day before this article was published, an explosion in Pakistan killed over 130 innocent people. These are but two examples of the countless terrorist attacks carried out by members of a certain ideology.
Islamofascism exists. Acknowledging this fact is the first step to eradicating it.
There was a bombing in Oklahoma a few years back that killed 168 people. Guess who was responsible...little Timmy, who was NOT a Muslim but a Christian by birth. But does that mean he was a true Christian? No. Same is the case for those criminals who bombed the Manila shopping mall. Murders don't have a religion, don't use it as an excuse to blame Islam.
Excuse me, Timothy McVeigh was an atheist. AN ATHEIST. You've been misinformed - check it out.
He was born a Christian just like the Muslim terrorists are born Muslims. I am saying neither actually have any religion, so yes, I have checked the facts.
What is wrong with your brain? McVeigh may have been born into a Christian family, but he CHANGED his religion to Atheism, which is no religion. IOW, he was NO LONGER Christian, capische? when he bombed the building in OK.
The Muslim Terrorists, however, NEVER CHANGED THEIR RELIGION. THEY WERE STILL ISLAMIC WHEN THEY COMMITTED THEIR TERROR ATTACKS.
"neither actually have any religion?" What are you talking about? The Muslim Terrorists are Islamic, you dumb dodo.
But, that is correct about McVeigh - an ATHEIST. NO RELIGION.
Do you get it, now????????
I applaud Columbia Spectator to taking this fair viewpoint. While I support dialogs, I do not support prejudice and Horowitz is prejudiced. He can speak, but as you said, it will only divide us further. Even Ahmedinejad did not dare to talk out about his controversial views against Jews when we was in campus, and he was the president of a nation, thereby a very powerful man. Whereas Horowitz is just a prejudiced person talking about violence in Islam, he says that he is for liberal Muslims, but I can SEE as a liberal Muslim that he generally hates all of us.
How is Horowitz prejudiced? He hates Islamofascism - you are the one conflating Islam with Islamofascism. Of course, as a liberal Muslim, you probably know more about the relationship between Islam and Islamofascism than the rest of us. Thanks for clearing it up.
Really? Have you read his book, "The Professors: The 101 Most Dangerous Academics in America" where lists off Muslim professors as most dangerous (look at the list, the majority is Muslim)?
Did you know that he is not record saying that the Muslim Student Associations in the universities are created by Hamas?
There's a reason for that (Muslim profs as most dangerous). A very good reason - it's called Islam.
This evidence for Horowitz's supposed bigotry is only evidence of your inability to draw logical conclusions. So WHAT if the majority of the most dangerous academics is Muslim? I bet the majority is also male. According to your logic, Horowitz is a misanthropist.
Furthermore, it is a well-documented fact that many Islamic organizations (like CAIR), charities, and undoubtedly some university MSA's do have terrorist connections.
You point out a valid difference between Horowitz and Ahmadinejad: the former represents certain views and the latter represents a State. You state that it is that difference that justifies different treatment, or regard.
Whatever you feel the views of Horowitz to be, there is documented evidence that the regime that Ahmadinejad represents has as State policy espoused and actually commited deeds that should be abhorrent. Is there such a record of actuak evidence that Horowitz has committed such deeds, let alone on the scale as the regime represented by Ahmadinejad?
Ahmadinejad not only represents that State, but he has also articulated his support for those positions.
You use words like "odious" and "distaste" in describing "many" or a "significant" number of students' positions on Horowitz, yet do not address if a similar or greater number held such views on Ahmadinejad.
That Horowitz being there might be construed as giving the appearance of supporting his views seems to trouble you, but that could just be my inference. If it does trouble you, what of the views and deeds of the State represented by Ahmadinejad?
Should abhorrent views, intentions, and deeds be given respect or a respectful hearing when they are held and espoused by a State?
I like how they question Horowitz's right to be at the campus! Uh hello??? Didn't the nutcase from Iran get a warm welcome at this same school a few weeks ago? Oh right, liberals only question the rights of those they DISAGREE WITH. Hypocritical left wing commies. This school is diseased and should be shut down for good.
Speaking as a Muslim, I want him to come and speak here. We should all get to know what he is saying from his own lips.
Every dialog is debated here because there are two or more sides to every issue, that shows Columbia's belief in free speech. It is a good thing. If you are using these to condemn the university, I say you have ulterior motives.
And then Republicans wonder why 90% of the student body hates them.
Because you incite bigotry, LOL!
Nope, we tell the truth. If you want to call the truth "bigotry," that's your linguistic problem.
Oh, 90% of the student body "hates?" THE HATERS!!!!
And what is this "truth?" That Islam is violent and he will expose it to us?
Islam is like a virus. It radiates from Muslim countries that are too diseased to support it and into healthy systems that are that way because they have had the luxury of developing apart from Islam. Once in the host system, the Islam virus uses the existing machinery to make replicas of itself. Over time, the host makes unilateral concessions to the religion, feeding and appeasing it in the vain hope that it can be pacified.
Vital organs are co-opted and eventually shut down as Islam advances. In a matter of time, the entire system groans to an agonizing death and assumes the condition of the diseased nations from which Muslims originally fled. The virus then looks for new hosts to cannibalize.
Some Westerners, particularly those with children (and an investment in the future), are far-sighted enough to see where current trends eventually lead. Though many Muslims are decent people, the religion itself always has a way of bringing the radicals along with it. The radicals then infest and influence the mainstream, and the rest of society pays the cost.
A question that we often hear is, "What can we do about it?"
First, let's go over what shouldn't be done about it.
1) Do NOT hurt Muslims. Westerners generally don't have a problem with this anyway, and have shown remarkable restraint in the wake of horrendous terror attacks. Bottom line: You don't know any terrorists. The Muslims that you know in your private life are not terrorists. Don't harm them or protect anyone who does.
2) Do NOT harass Muslims. The Muslims that you know personally are probably not much different than you are. They have the same concerns for their children's future and the same interests in getting ahead in life. They do not deserve to be harassed on account of a religion that they probably either don't understand all that well or may not even believe too sincerely anyway.
3) Do NOT vandalize the property of Muslims. (Same reasons. Grow up.)
4) Do NOT desecrate the Qur'an (such as using a piece of bacon as a bookmark). It doesn't accomplish anything other than to give radicals another reason to play the victim, get angry and, perhaps, hurt someone. It's also juvenile and offensive. Treat the Qur'an the way that you would prefer Muslims treat whatever book that you consider sacred.
If you want to confront Islam, then you must be truthful and objective, rather than rude and slanderous. Don't exaggerate or use absolutes. Don't pretend that all Muslims are bad people, or that everything about Islam is bad.
The key to stopping Islam is education, because the more that is known about this 7th century religion, then the less appeal it has in today's world. Muslim defenders know this, which is why they hide behind censorship and book banning in the Islamic world and desperate but comical appeals to political correctness and multiculturalism in the West. Muslim organizations, such as CAIR, often use outright falsehood to deceive others.
Non-Muslim Westerners should understand that there is no reason to place Islam above criticism, or Muslims above offense merely on that basis. In fact, there is every reason not to do this. Islamic law poses a threat to nearly every liberal value that the West holds dear.
Learn as much as you can about why Islam is dangerous. Understand its history. Learn how thousands of people can do brutal things each year explicitly in the name of Islam and Allah, while a billion others never seem to be terribly bothered about it.
In short, educate yourself. Then you can educate others. And they can educate others as well.
Write to political leaders. Inform them. Make them accountable for each compromised standard and every freedom lost in the name of appeasement to Islam. Expose the lies and double-standards. Denounce the hypocrisy of Muslim nations.
Speak truthfully. Speak tactfully.
If Islam wins, then civilization loses. But at least we will have gone down swinging.
I am a very liberal Muslim and I disagree. Islam itself is not a virus. People misuse it. There are many other religions that have radicals too, in fact all religions do, but it that the fault of the religion or the people. Not every criminal in world history have been Muslims, you know.
Don't judge a religion by some of it's corrupt people, judge it by its ideology. I am a woman, in Islam women are held in higher regard then males in the eyes of the Divine, contrary to popular belief. Many males are responsible for depriving women of rights by misusing Islam. Islam promotes education and tolerance. Islam promotes respect for all religions. Muslims can even marry people outside their religion without converting them. But this is not what we see when we look at the radicals of the group. As you can see, they do not represent Islam correctly. So, don't accuse the religion, see people as individuals and judge them by their actions, not their religion.
Dear very liberal Muslima,
I have utmost respect for you and your views, but the TRUTH is you are NOT allowed to marry outside your Faith:
The following are excerpts from the fatwa, which was posted on the website www.islamonline.net
"Marriage between a Muslim woman and a non-Muslim [man] is forbidden and invalid - that is a consensus among Muslims. A [Muslim] woman who has taken the liberty [of marrying a non-Muslim man] has removed herself from the fold of the Muslim community - and one who has done so knowing that it is wrong, has done something strictly forbidden, and has committed an open [act of] abomination that may hurl her into the abyss of heresy and apostasy.
"Some clerics hold that [a Muslim woman who marries a non-Muslim man] is considered a heretic from the very beginning [i.e. from the moment she marries], since the bond of marriage allows her to have sexual relations and intercourse [with her husband], and to take pleasure [in this], and it is inconceivable that she should commit the crime [of having intercourse] without the sanction [of a valid marriage].
"The wisdom of the religious ban [against the marriage of a Muslim woman to a non-Muslim man lies in] its preventing [the woman] from being tempted away from her faith. The Koran justifies this ban by saying that these marriages 'beckon [the believer] to the Fire [of Hell; Koran 2:221].' In other words, they lead to sins that doom [the sinner] to Hell... since [the woman] may be tempted to renounce [Islam], to doubt [the truth of] Islam, and to disparage its religious rituals.
"Woman is weak by nature, and the guardianship of a [non-Muslim] man affects her powers of reasoning. [Marriage to a non-Muslim] may thus cause a woman to follow the ways [of her husband], or at least to abandon her [own] religion and neglect its rituals. [By so doing,] she is neither a Muslim nor one of the People of the Book [i.e. a Christian or Jew like her husband]...
Apparently, you PC Moonbats aren't aware that MUSLIMS coined the term "Islamo-Fascism."
In the early '90's in Algeria, moderate Muslims were struggling for democracy against Islamic Fundies who didn't consider the moderates to be "islamic" enough. In fact, the radicals referred to the moderates as "Infidels" the insult used to refer to Jews and Christians in the Qur'an, so you know the radicals considered the moderates to be quite bad. Indeed, the radical Muslims murdered over 200,000 moderate Muslims in Algeria, circa 1991, early '90's. Check it out. While all this Muslim-on-Muslim carnage was taking place, the Algerian moderates referred to the radicals as "ISLAMO-FASCISTS." Just how ignorant and uninformed ARE you Editorial people?
Here is the Algerians' definition of Islamo-Fascism, courtesy Algerian sociologist Helie Lucas: "Political forces working under the cover of religion in order to gain political power and to impose a theocracy." Yep, sounds like Islam to me.
Without doubt Islam and violence are linked. Do you Editorial people ever bother to look into a Qur'an? Because in your blanket denial of the DEFINITE link between Islam and Jihadist Holy War against the "Infidels" of the world, you are only displaying your utter and complete ignorance. Whoever posted the quotations above from the Qur'an and the ahadith, is informed, unlike you people. And there are PLENTY more verses like those as well - "Kill the Infidel," - the primary theme of the Qur'an, commanded by Allah over and over and over again. Whoever heard of declaring something about a primary text when you haven't even looked into that primary text? How ignorant. How stupid. How afraid to confront what you'd rather deny. How anti-intellectual.
Oh, Muslims are "insulted?" Well, 9/11 and the 3,000 dead insults me. You gonna apologize to me and every other American who is not dhimmified, like you?
Did you ever even google the word jihad? Because you don't know what it stands for in Islam. You are misunderstanding it like most people.
The Spec is the paper that wrote that the term was coined by Muslims, so I think they know.
3000 Americans died and ofcourse that was terrible and we denounce it. More than 600,000 innocent Iraqis died, and that's not?
Uh, excuse me, but "Jihad" is Islamic Holy War. Yeah, yeah, I know - inner spiritual struggle. Sorry, but the Qur'an calls for never-ending Jihad against "Infidels." You are the one "misunderstanding."
Oh, I missed that. Where did the Spec clue us in that "Islamo-Fascism" was coined by Algerian Muslims? Please provide the article.
Your 600,000 figure is grossly over-inflated. About 50,000 Iraqis have died, and MOST of them killed by their own people via suicide-bombing, car bombs, roadside bombs. In a word: Bombs. Their own bombs.
Oh, I meant to include this quote from the Ayatollah Khomeini, who should KNOW:
"Those who know nothing of Islam pretend that Islam counsels against war. Those who say this are witless."
Witness the "Witless" Spec Editorial Board, who would probably dismiss Khomeini's words with, "Aww, he didn't really mean it!" Because otherwise the Spec Ed Board might, just might, have to change their views on Islam to non-PC ones. And hell will sooner freeze over, Khomeini's veracity notwithstanding.
Khomeini was a radical. Did you know?
What does that have to do with the price of eggs? It's the truth. It's plastered all over the Koran like playbills in NYC.
See, lol, knew you'd try and downplay it! How utterly predictable you libs are.
' “Islamo-Facism Awareness Week” purports to examine a link between Islam, institutionalized violence, and oppression, but its organizers dangerously (if unsurprisingly) conflate extremists who practice Islam with the faith itself.'
Qu'ran
9:5. Then when the Sacred Months (the 1st, 7th, 11th, and 12th months of the Islamic calendar) have passed, then kill the Mushrikun {unbelievers} wherever you find them, and capture them and besiege them, and prepare for them each and every ambush. But if they repent and perform As-Salat (Iqamat-as-Salat {the Islamic ritual prayers}), and give Zakat {alms}, then leave their way free. Verily, Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.
9:29. Fight against those who believe not in Allah, nor in the Last Day, nor forbid that which has been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger and those who acknowledge not the religion of truth (i.e. Islam) among the people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians), until they pay the Jizya with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued.
And from the Hadith's (which describe the way Muhammed lived and thus the behaviour Muslims are required to emulate)
Volume 2, Book 23, Number 413; Narrated Abdullah bin Umar: The Jews {of Medina} brought to the Prophet a man and a woman from amongst them who have committed (adultery) illegal sexual intercourse. He ordered both of them to be stoned (to death), near the place of offering the funeral prayers beside the mosque
Volume 9, Book 84, Number 57; Narrated Ikrima: Some Zanadiqa (atheists) were brought to Ali {the fourth Caliph} and he burnt them. The news of this event, reached Ibn 'Abbas who said, "If I had been in his place, I would not have burnt them, as Allah's Apostle forbade it, saying, "Do not punish anybody with Allah's punishment (fire)." I would have killed them according to the statement of Allah's Apostle, "Whoever changes his Islamic religion, then kill him."
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