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Further thoughts
Now some strong words for those with the courage to think. What is written below is written in the machine gun method; it is a bit disjointed but I promise you it will make you think.
We are told in the Quran that it is a clear revelation from Allah and Muslims tells us that Islam is a religion of peace. If it is so clear then why is it prone to such gross misinterpretation? Is Islam truly peaceful? If someone says nice things about you all the time of course you will be nice back to them; we find out how peaceful someone is when insulting things are said about what they believe. It seems to me that Muslims are only nice when others treat them nicely. Why is it that others seem to take the initiative when it comes to peace making? If Islam is the religion of peace shouldn't Muslims be the kindest most patient people in the face of violence and insults? When I look at the guarded words of Islamic leaders, the angry responses of Muslims around the world, the terrorist attacks and the way non-Muslims are treated in Islamic countries I can't help but think the west is being deceived about the true nature of Islam.
I can't help but think that the Islamists, who use a literal interpretation of the Quran, Hadith and early biographies about Mohammed are the true Muslims.
Are you a moderate Muslim? Would you like to silence those who claim Islam is extreme? Here is some good advice An open letter to Muslims. I realize that what is being asked of Muslims is very difficult. Anyone who attempts to reform Islam does so at great personal risk. If you try to reform the Sharia in today's world, as this paper shows, you might be labelled an enemy of Allah by those who wish to silence you. If moderate Muslims do not speak up it shows that Islam, even if it is peace-loving, lacks the strength and the will to reform.
Why is it that we are told about how glorious Islam once was but when we take a closer look at those histories we find it was not as glorious as Muslims would like us to believe? Why is it that when we look at the world we can't find one single Islamic country where non-Muslims have the same rights as Muslims? Why is it that in those places in the world where they speak Arabic the best and read the Quran most often that they are more prone to Islamic extremism? If the Quran truly is wonderful shouldn't those places be the best places?
I once talked with an Egyptian lady who was not a Muslim. She told me that non-Muslims can never hold a hold a high ranking government job or lecture at a university. I said, "Don't moderate Muslims ever speak up for the non-Muslims?" She said, "Yes, but the extremists kill them."
Fortunately, there are some brave Muslims, but there don't seem to be anywhere near enough. If there were as many Muslims speaking up for non-Muslims as there are those who are willing to commit suicide attacks and support terrorist organizations I don't think the problem with terrorism would be nearly so bad. Most moderates only seem capable of saying things that don't put them in danger. They say things which will not get them in trouble with the extremists. More Muslims need to have the courage to say the tough things which need to be said, the kind of things which will make extremists want to kill them. We need more Muslims like this lady if Islam is ever to be free from those who wish to enslave it. If you love Islam it is time to take a stand and save your religion from those who would oppress all peace loving people.
I have never met a Muslim who did not love Islam. From birth Muslims are told how wonderful their prophet and religion is. If you are a Muslim I have no doubt you love your religion, but consider this, perhaps you believe what you believe because you have been led to believe Islam is something it is not? Obviously the debate about whether Islam really does make the world a better place could go back and forwards forever; but you can help settle the debate once and for all, simply by taking action and speaking up for the rights of non-Muslims in Islamic countries. It might cost you your life, but do you know how many good men had to pay with their lives in the west so that we could enjoy freedom of speech and freedom of religion? Are there enough good men and women in Islam to achieve the same for the Islamic world or do Muslims value their own lives and safety more than doing the right thing before God?
If you are a Muslim you believe Jesus was a prophet and that the words of God cannot be lost. But isn't that a meaningless thing to say if you do not take Jesus words seriously? It was because men and women took the words of Jesus seriously that the west gained freedom of speech and freedom of religion. If the prophet Mohammed cannot provide you with the strength to do what is right even if it means losing your life you will have to turn to someone else.
It is interesting to note that if moderate Muslims behaved as Jesus commanded them to behave and responded to insults as Jesus responded Iraqi and the
If you are a good kind person but you are involved in a religion that encourages violence, what is the difference between you and the good Nazi who deceived the public into believing something which ultimately destroyed them? (There were many "good" Nazis before and during the early stages of WWII.)
Do you love your religion more than God? If you love Mohammed more than God you are committing idolatry.
I'm challenging you forcefully because I am trying to do what all good teachers and prophets do, they encourage people to ask questions, to think and make right judgements. Jesus said not to judge by mere appearances, but to make right judgements (see John 7:24) The Jews were told by Moses not to believe someone who spoke in the name of the one true God if his words contradicted the commands God had already given. (If God told the Jews to test those who claimed to be prophets in this way so that they would know who to believe, then God would ensure that His words would not be lost. By telling the Jews to test the prophets in this way God was saying that His words cannot be lost.) How would you be able to tell the difference between a false prophet and a real one if the words of the earlier prophets had been lost? You couldn't could you because you would have no standard to make that assessment.
Did Jesus contradict what Moses said? No he did not. Does the Sharia contradict what Jesus said? Yes it does, it contradicts what Moses and Jesus taught.
Why is it that there are only riots when Mohammed is insulted and not when Jesus is insulted? Why the double standard? If you love God make a serious investigation into these issues. God has nothing to hide. It is Satan, the liar, who wants to keep you in the dark. He doesn't want you to gain knowledge for if you did his lies would be exposed. Think, if Mohammed is not a true prophet, then submission to him is not submission to God, it is submission to someone else (I think you know who I am talking about). Ask yourself the question:
Is the Sharia truly just in its purest form (if a literal interpretation is just, then a reformation for Islam is possible as fundamentalists will only accept a literal interpretation) or is it something which should be abandoned because it is itself the problem and not the solution?
If the Sharia treats people according to what group they identify themselves with (rather than on the basis of their behaviour) then what is the difference between the Sharia, which grants more rights to one group, its own, and a gang which has one set of rules for its own members and a different set of rules for others? If the gang puts those laws in writing and calls those laws just, righteous etc do those rules suddenly become so simply by labelling them such? If the Sharia does not issue the same punishments and freedoms for all people no matter what they claim to believe or what group they belong to, then the Sharia is not actually law but a form of lawlessness and those who implement it are nothing more than criminals who wish to suppress others on the basis of gender or religion. Unfortunately, the evidence suggests that the Sharia does not treat all equally. (Even the most violent of gangs, such as Triads, Yakuza and Mafia have rules which govern what kind of behaviours shall be rewarded and what kind of crimes shall be exempt. Are those who enforce the Sharia any better?)
Of course one could argue that if everyone was under the Sharia then it would be fair. But it would only be fair if men and women were treated as equals and it would only be just if the punishment fitted the crime. For example, in many Islamic countries the punishment for theft varies widely. Cutting off the hand is sometimes enforced for stealing things of little value but in other countries it is enforced for stealing things of much greater value, depending on how the Quran and Hadith are interpreted (see Sura 5:38). Why is the same punishment given when there is obviously a big difference between stealing a television and stealing a car? According to one Islamic tradition the hand which steals an egg or a piece of rope should be cut off (Sahih Muslim, Book 17, no. 4185). And what if a Muslim steals from a non-Muslim, are the same punishments enforced? Do Islamic courts ever make mistakes? Is it fair that the family of the criminal should suffer? (as they have now become a burden to the family). I don't think Mohammed's laws are just but at least the thieves, give Mohammed a hand.
If a terrorist attack should happen in your country please pass this out to as many people as possible.
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