Islam is not and never has been a religion of peace, and wishful thinking will not change this

Greetings.

Jewish date:  15 ’Adhar 5770 (Parashath Ki Thissa’).

Today’s holidays:  Purim Shushan (Judaism), Monday of the Second Week of Lent (Roman Catholicism), Holi (Hinduism).

Worthy cause of the day:  “MoveOn.org Political Action: Strip insurers of their antitrust exemption”.

Topic 1:  “Utah to be destroyed by a comet! Or not!” and “BIBLE CODE PREDICTIONS: 2010”.  I have mentioned it before, and today is the day that someone has predicted on the basis of Bible codes that Utah is going to be obliterated by a comet.  If Utah is still standing within the next few hours, tomorrow I gloat.

Topic 2:  “Islam: Verses of Violence”.  This is a list of verses in the Qur’an and Ḥadith calling for intolerance, violence, and jihad (holy war).  (Not only references are given, but links to the relevant material itself, so it is very easy for you to check that what is claimed is true.)  Yes, I know, many people these days have a vision of Islam being or at least becoming a religion of peace—and we all would like it to be so.  But the roots of Islamic intolerance go back to Muḥammad himself.  He himself advocated and practiced intolerance and violence, and no amount of denial is going to change the past or the contents of Muslim traditions.  Since Muḥammad is the model of behavior for Muslims, it is very easy for them to justify behavior no other major religion sanctions.  Some modern applications of Muḥammad’s teachings:  “UN deplores Gaddafi call for anti-Swiss 'jihad'” (Switzerland decides to restrict the building of new minarets, therefore Colonel Mu‘ammar al-Qaḏāfī of Libya calls for a jihad against Switzerland), “Israeli police, Palestinians clash at holy site” (Arabs consider mere unsubstantiated rumors an “attack” and “provocation” and start throwing stones at Israeli police; anyone who considers this harmless is dared to stand still while stones are thrown at him/her), “No models of example” (multiple incidents of Islamic terrorism and how the terrorists were treated by their fellow Muslims; hint:  as heroes, not criminals).  Yes, there are some tolerant and peaceful Muslims out there, but let us not pretend that Islam as a whole, whether in the past or the present, is innocuous.

Topic 3:  For today’s religious humor:  “Your cat goddess”:

Apparently this cat has a Bast complex…

Peace.

Aaron

The Islamic double-standard

Greetings.

Jewish date:  12 Tishri 5770.

Worthy cause of the day:  “Increase Funding to Fight Heart Disease and Stroke” and “Upgrade Aid”.

Unusual personal religious activity:  Yesterday I successfully reassembled my sukkah.  Today I hope to properly decorate it with plastic fruit and CDs.  (The latter have a shiny side and reflect in a variety of colors when light bounces off of them.  Old AOL CDs work very nicely for this purpose, with two placed together with their shiny sides outside and their dull sides inside.)  I may also hang up some Indian corn as well.

Today’s topic:  “Some Holy Books Are More Equal Than Others”.  This is a succinct commentary (with links) on how Islam and the Qur’an are often treated in the West with a deference not accorded to other religions or religious texts.  This is not due to attacks on other religions not being considered offensive; people do take offense at their religion being treated shabbily.  Rather, most people protest in peaceful ways.  Muslims, on the other hand, get violent.  And that scares others into granting them an unfair amount of deference, such as treating desecration of the Qur’an as a hate crime.  While such behavior may not be religiously fallacious for Muslims, it is a double standard for non-Muslims.  If your belief system is not Islam, you do not have any reason to treat Muslims as better than anyone else (or if you do, you belief system is pretty weird).  The fact that someone may beat you up if offended (an implied appeal to force) does not make that person any more right or anyone else more wrong.

Aaron