Nonetheless, I can't say I agree that Islam is a religion of violence. If it was, we would have a lot worse problems than we do today. Although Islam is mired in problems, I don't think all or even many Muslims are evil. There are a lot of problems with Islam, such as apathetic "moderate" clerics. There are evil men in the world trying to gain power. They can either use nationalism or religion to bind people together.
Even if the Koran had a more peaceful message, people could still infer any rationalization in order to justify their opinion. People do it everywhere, and it isn’t limited to holy books. Somehow our own Supreme Court deemed that sodomy was a constitutionally protect right, yet even more unbelievable, is that affirmative action and racial quotas are also somehow constitutionally acceptable. Perhaps the Koran is a “living, breathing” document.
Equate Muslims to the Germans during WWII. Not all Germans were Nazis. Many Germans were good people. Some got suckered in by propaganda, but many had nothing to do with WWII. There were many that were similarly apathetic to the persecution of the Jews. Some dissenters were summarily executed and the rest remained silent. Today, Germany is quite different. It took a massive war and many sacrifices to sort them out and welcome them back to civilization. Although another undertaking is necessary to defeat the Islamofacists, that doesn't mean every Muslim is evil. Hopefully, we don’t wait until it is too late.
I came upon this quotation from famed British Prime Minister Winston Churchill which is worth reading as some of the problems we face with Islam are similar to those over 100 years ago. His comments on Islam from The River War, first edition, Vol. II, pages 248 50 (London: Longmans, Green & Co., 1899):
"How dreadful are the curses which Mohammedanism lays on its votaries! Besides the fanatical frenzy, which is as dangerous in a man as hydrophobia in a dog, there is this fearful fatalistic apathy. The effects are apparent in many countries. Improvident habits, slovenly systems of agriculture, sluggish methods of commerce, and insecurity of property exist wherever the followers of the Prophet rule or live. A degraded sensualism deprives this life of its grace and refinement; the next of its dignity and sanctity. The fact that in Mohammedan law every woman must belong to some man as his absolute property‹either as a child, a wife, or a concubine‹must delay the final extinction of slavery until the faith of Islam has ceased to be a great power among men. Individual Moslems may show splendid qualities. Thousands become the brave and loyal soldiers of the Queen; all know how to die; but the influence of the religion paralyses the social development of those who follow it. No stronger retrograde force exists in the world. Far from being moribund, Mohammedanism is a militant and proselytizing faith. It has already spread throughout Central Africa, raising fearless warriors at every step; and were it not that Christianity is sheltered in the strong arms of science‹the science against which it had vainly struggled‹the civilisation of modern Europe might fall, as fell the civilisation of ancient Rome."
No comments:
Post a Comment