Islamic stance on the London bombings
This not directed at any readers who are Muslims, (and I freely admit that I am not an expert on Islam, only an interested outsider), but in response to the comments ( most of which are, unsurprisingly anonymous) which have come in over the last 12 months conflating Islam with terrorism, warning me all Muslims are not to be trusted, saying the Qu'ran condones killing and blah blah blah. I don't publish such comments anymore, nor do I publish anti-Semitic comments, oddball conspiracy theories ( such as ' the 7/7 bombers were innocent and the bombs were placed under trains by Zionists/Freemasons/M15 in order to discredit Muslims/impose a New World Order/get ID cards through/invade Iran'), general hate-speech, personal abuse and so on. I am sorry that free speech is the loser here, but there's enough places on the internet to spout ill-informed nonsense and bile, and I don't see why my personal blog should be one of them. I used to let any old thing go up, but comment moderator is now on and that is why. It's fine to disagree, but I'm not going to have my blog infested by bigotry.
Anyway. A good article from Living Islam. And if anyone feels moved to start sending me the bits of the Qu'ran which are fierce, and start arguing, then yes, ok, I can send you similar verses from the Old and New Testament and we can play theological ping pong to amuse ourselves and to make the point that you can find justification for extremist violence pretty much wherever you care to look, if you are so inclined - but it is a nice day outside and I'd rather not. And God, and his prophets, in all the holy scriptures of various religions I've ever read during my studies in Theology over the years, seems to make the repeated general point that by your actions and deeds shall you be judged. And I see no reason to argue to that.
And until I see the entire Muslim population of the UK daily climbing on buses and trains and exploding, I shall consider that those people who write in to say that ''Muslims = Terrorists'' are ignorant, foolish and hateful.
Christian readers might also find this interesting: the similarities between the Qu'ran and the Bible .
Also this: ( from Living Islam) 'Suicide/'Martyrdom' operations and the killing of civilians are Unlawful and Cursed.'
The Living Islam articles are reproduced for information and insight, and reflect the author's opinions, not mine, but I think they are interesting, and food for thought. Comments welcome.
Anyway. A good article from Living Islam. And if anyone feels moved to start sending me the bits of the Qu'ran which are fierce, and start arguing, then yes, ok, I can send you similar verses from the Old and New Testament and we can play theological ping pong to amuse ourselves and to make the point that you can find justification for extremist violence pretty much wherever you care to look, if you are so inclined - but it is a nice day outside and I'd rather not. And God, and his prophets, in all the holy scriptures of various religions I've ever read during my studies in Theology over the years, seems to make the repeated general point that by your actions and deeds shall you be judged. And I see no reason to argue to that.
And until I see the entire Muslim population of the UK daily climbing on buses and trains and exploding, I shall consider that those people who write in to say that ''Muslims = Terrorists'' are ignorant, foolish and hateful.
Christian readers might also find this interesting: the similarities between the Qu'ran and the Bible .
Also this: ( from Living Islam) 'Suicide/'Martyrdom' operations and the killing of civilians are Unlawful and Cursed.'
The Living Islam articles are reproduced for information and insight, and reflect the author's opinions, not mine, but I think they are interesting, and food for thought. Comments welcome.
posted by Rachel at 9:52 am
Thank you for this. It's a subject which weighs heavily on my mind at the moment, for whatever reason. I will follow the links through with interest.
Thanks also for the earlier link to Nafeez' blog - I have since bought his book and find his work engrossing.
I hope you and your loved ones are well.
hg
I am going to read the article Rachel and thank you in advance. I am also going to investigate Nafeez' blog too. Have a nice weekend!
Yours is certainly an interesting perspective, due to your incredible proximity and personal experience. Keep reminding people that there is no "one" reason for such actions,that it cannot be so simplified.Not religion or politics or psychology or anything alone provides for a true analysis.
Every great religion that I know of, shares one of the most bascic teaching messages. Not the exact same words, but certainly the exact same sentiment.
Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
Btw, I'm so ancient that my religious 'creditial' dates back to the days of Grammar Schools and GCEs. I got an A-level GCE in Divinity (as it was then called).
Over the years (and there have ben many, many of them) I've travelled widely and learned this from practical, 1st hand experience - ther are only two different kinds of people in this world which we all share -- good ones and bad ones.
Hey! I did A' level 'Div' too!
Then Theology & English degree.
Thanks for the comments everyone.
Your "look-see Christianity is just as bad as Islam" argument fails because you are focused on scriptures and not real events.
Christianity’s dark history is just that. It's in the PAST.
These days are no Catholic priests declaring that unbelievers should be killed these days. Christians aren't rioting and setting fires in the streets to protest the blasphemous Da Vinci Code, like the Muslims did over the cartoons. The Pope may not like homosexuality but he's not issuing any FATWAs saying they should be killed. And I haven’t watched any video clips of Christians beheading anybody lately. And while you may dig up some ancient Christian version of "Jihad" I don't think anyone or his mother has heard of it.
Muslim hatred of the west is real, it’s venomous and it is a danger. beaudry1977@hotmail.com from Canada.
For comic value, religious texts are not excluded from he new rligious hatred legistation.
One wonders what the reaction will be in the Islamic world when someone brings *that* case to court.
Every relgion has texts that can be used to justify anything. My favourite is the case of the Japanese fascist government pre world war II - zen budhists to man. But they managed to come up with a justification for treating Chinese people as animals etc
The islamonutters will probably write off the authors of this as "unbelievers" and "apostates" - it will just slide off them......
The Anon
*Sigh* Can we stop equating 'Muslims' with 'terrorism/hatred' of the West. It's just foolish, and reactionary, and wrong. There are Muslim extremists, yes, there are Christian extremists who shoot abortion doctors, there are IRA terrorists who murder Protestants, there are extremists of all kinds and there are people peacably following their religion, and good luck to them. I don't myself, but good luck to those who do.
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Some things never change. Where ignorance is bliss, 'tis folly to be wise.
The web's full of self appointed, Islam, Christianity and Terrorism experts. What is always in short supply is hard evidence of where and how they aquired their expertise in such matters.
TV and movies, usually.
Sigh, why do so many still settle for bread and circuses?
Incidentally, Rachel. Fethiye! Ah! A little bit of Paradise. FWIW, my brother and his wife sold up here in the UK a few years ago when he retired, and bought a beautiful house in Fethiye - on the main Calsi road.
My wife & I go to visit at least once a year, and hate to have to come back.
And incidentally, for those who know no better, Turkey is populated by 98% Sunni Muslims. The remaining 2% is a split between Christians & Jews. 99% of Turkish {and many, many other nationility}Muslims despise the tiny minority of extremists - Muslim or otherwise - every bit as much as we do.
The Turkish people could not have accepted nor treated my brother any better if he were actually blood family to them all. In addition, peolple of 'our' certain age are treated and respected more than they ever are in the UK and/or the UK & US.
Pity you're not going over in September when we're next over there -- we might have been able to meet.
I hope you enjoy yourselves anyhow. In fact I know you will - and that's as it should be - you deserve to.
Muhammad Azeem Akhter
The people who have respect for human life will condemn all types of killers. They will also condemn the murder of thousands of innocent Americans, killed by guns every year. The people who have allowed the use of guns are a party in murdering innocent Americans.
The number of Americans murdered every year by guns is much more higher than the number of people killed during terrorist attacks on September 11.
All terrorists are same including the ones mentioned above. They specialize in killing innocent people. The only time, when name of the race or religion of a terrorist is mentioned, when someone from non-white background is involved...Read More
Hi Rachel ...
In response to your comment on my blog, I have to say - never having known anyone who was a victim of a terrorist attack, in spite of living a short subway ride away from the former spot of the World trade Center - I'm ashamed to have been bemoaning the knot on my leg.
In short, I despise terrorists and would gladly enter into some sort of anti-terror alliance of sorts with you.
People, such as yourself, who choose to make the best out of a dreadful situation, are my heroes in life.
"Even the goldfish and the koi carp are hot; they have started gulping at the surface which means they need yet another water change"
I think you need to invest in a better air pump - they need more oxygen in the water
Cheers
DC
Thanks for th ecomments.
Am too tired to write properly but wanted to say that.
(& you were right about the fish, there was weed in the air pump, Anonymous DC :-) )
I am a Muslim. Thank You for this post.