Isn't that the difference between ignorant and stupid? If you know something is wrong and choose to do nothing to change it? You don't get to have your cake and eat it too. Muslims can stand up and find ways through Islam to change the violent and destructive aspects of the religion and those who capitalize on that, or you run for the hills while someone makes the change their way. I'm positive that method will leave many Muslims feeling far more marginalized than some do now.
I will be honest here with you. There are many things in life I feel are wrong. And you know what, for most of them, I am not doing anything about. I'm sure I dont have to state why...
Muslims can and DO stand up and promote peace. But thats not what the media wants to cover. Things are never as simple as we sometimes think them to be. There are people who use Islam. Personally I do not even consider them Muslims, but then I have to tell myself that it is God who must judge them and not I.
Please, each is entitled to an opinion and calling them silly is nothing more than using rhetoric to cover an inability to refute the point.
No one is holding you personally responsible for terrorism. Nor the problems that are causing trouble within the Islamic religion. But saying that you aren't responsible for them doesn't remove any responsibility for making an effort to enact change to improve the situation. Of course practice what you preach is a good place to start and in doing so, I try to do just that. I support the action of my countries military in Afghanistan to disable the fanatical Islamic faction called the Taliban from supporting any more terrorist groups within that country and providing aid to moderate Islamic leaders to help build a stable and constructive society that abides a peaceful and upstanding ideal for Afghanistan and her people along with the countries around her.
Some points can be refuted but the other party will refuse to acknowledge until the cows come home.
It's great that you stand by your country's actions. It is a matter of perspective...I do support my fellow Muslims who wish to spread peace...and there are many of those.
Do you ever see ja'maah groups in the media. To point out, there are many many Muslims, hundreds and thousands who leave their jobs, homes, families to go out and teach people that Islam is about peace. They come from all types of countries, and they travel to all types of countries. They help those in need . They take part in programs and activities to help those around them. I have never in all my days seen coverage of such people in the news.
I am not blaming you for anything, and I hope you know I am also not trying to pick a fight. But there ARE Muslims out there who dedicate their lives to helping others. It's sad nobody ever sees that side of Islam.
The only label I put on anyone is indicative of those who want to find a solution and those who don't. Which category do you feel best describes your feelings on the issue?
I hope you will have determined that by my above comments.
p.s.
Moderate Muslims have been swift to condemn the events in Sudan. Daisy Khan, director of the American Society for Muslim Advancement, spoke to Bill Weir on "Good Morning America Weekend Edition" about how a school project escalated into a crisis over the Christian and Muslim cultural divide and why it should be seen only as fringe extremism. (ABC news)
Aren't you painting the rest of us with the very same brush you say no one should paint you with?
Though I haven't been, and it's on the list of things to do before I shake off this mortal coil, I think the difference here is that you are trying to compare the people with the laws of the land. While I have come to understand that some people who live in, for example Syria or Egypt or Iran will in fact invite travelers into their home, for a meal and some conversation and take great pride in showing them some of the best aspects of their culture, it is no different in America, Canada or England or any other democratic country.
I think Im trying to state that there is a difference between issues with a faith and issues with a people...
I think when you get down to it, people are people and for the most part, they just want to get along and have a little fun now and again. There is a saying; You meet the best people in the dives, and I think in practice this is true. It's often the poorest people that are most welcoming because they know they have nothing to lose and everything to gain in meeting someone they will call friend soon.
Possibily...but I wish you had been exposed to real Muslims , you would see that is not always true..hospitality is something common amongst most eastern countries...its something I appreciate about where I am originally from.
While there is always going to be those who live to take advantage of those they come into contact with, the onus falls to the rest of us to see that they don't get too carried away with that sort of thing.
Law on the other hand is made by government to control people. While it's a fact that people do need to be controlled to some extent, that idea can and does get corrupted sometimes and can turn away from controlling the damage the worst that people can do into oppressing the best things in people. And so we come right around to the Teddy Bear.
What is the worst thing that could happen should a child call a teddy bear Mohammad?
If it is really about respect then it's an opportunity to teach children and apparently a teacher from Britain, why it is disrespectful to do such a thing, rather than affirming to the rest of the world that Islam is used to justify a barbaric and harsh punishment in order to instill fear of the Sharia form of Islamic government.
I think its safe to conclude that such a barbaric punishment was not applied to the poor teacher. I dont believe in such laws and such opinions of violence against somebody who made a mistake.
What I was on about in this thread was that Islam is misinterpreted. A whole lot. I mean what people hear or see in the media is for the most part very dramatized coverage of the negatives...we rarely ever get to see the real Muslims who contribute in postive ways.