On "Love the West" - A Moderate Muslim Speaks Out! :: Understanding Islam

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January 23, 2005

On "Love the West" - A Moderate Muslim Speaks Out!

From my earliest posts here at Hyscience I have consistantly spoken out against Islamists and the threat of radical Islam. The Islamic agenda is the Islamization of America and the West, and it threatens non-Muslims and Muslims alike. I have tried to differentiate the Islam as believed-in and practiced by moderate Muslims, from the militant Islam as believed-in and practiced by the fundamentalist Muslims(Islamists). Although some believe that a moderate Muslim is hard to find, others arque that there are only a tiny minority of extremists, world-wide. We need to face the fact that radical Islam is dangerous, deadly, and violent - but it's a threat to both mainstream Muslims and non-Muslims.

My opinion is that there are far more moderate Muslims than there are radical Muslims, but that the radical Islamic agenda is louder and more aggressive than that of moderate Muslims, and that most moderates are either just too passive to speak out, or they fear the Islamists and their propensity for violence, or that they do not fully understand their own faith and how easily it can be "hijacked" or misinterpreted.

Nevertheless, we are all struggling together to make sense out of this "religious war" that we find ourselves involved in. But Muslims and non-Muslims are in it together, and together we have to win it. With this in mind I have been searching the Internet for a Muslim voice of moderation that wasn't afraid to speak out and that didn't appear to have an agenda, one way or another, just an honest opinion that was his or her own. Although one can never know for sure if we are hearing taqiya, or are hearing the true beliefs of the writer, let's take a chance with a blogger that I am begining to feel comfortable with.

The following post is from the blogger, Britishasian, a Muslim:

"Love the West"
Call me a liberal Muslim, call me an apostate, call me a traitor, call me what you wish.

I don't apologise for the fact that I love my country. Though far from perfect, I love everything it stands for.

I respect the laws of this United Kingdom, as my religion requires me to (incidentally there is nothing in British law that prevents me from practising my religion) and I do not wish to impose my religion on to others.

I also have great respect western leaders for having the backbone, conviction, morality and transparency to stand up for what they believe in. Which is a far cry from many corrupted leaders in the Middle and Far East.

For those living in the west, believing it is immoral, I suggest you

Stop claiming and living off social security benefits (after all, we are talking about immoral earnings, right?),

Take your children out of state funded schools (after all, funded by immoral taxes, right?),

Stop shopping at Tesco's and Sainsbury's (after all, owned by immoral westerners, right?),

Stop making use of the free healthcare system (staffed by immoral westerners, right?)

Go back to your countries of origin, and concentrate your energies on fighting to overthrow your corrupt and dictatorial governments.

Oh hold on. I forgot. What will you go back to? No jobs, no social security, no free education, and no free healthcare. And you'll most probably be thrown into prison, (with no access to legal aid), tortured and left to rot. And somehow, I don't think very many people will even raise a voice of concern.

The majority of us do not hate the West:

"I asked them if they knew who was nominated by the two main parties to run for president. "John Kerry was nominated by the Democratic Party, and George Bush was nominated by the Republicans," replied one of the brightest in the class, a veiled Muslim engineering student named Rahaf. "Very good," I said. "Now, who do you think will be elected?" "Bush," cried several of the students at once, smiling. Abandoning my lesson plan for the moment, but curious at this sudden display of interest in the election, I ventured: "Who do you want to win?" "Bush," said Rahaf, while a number of others nodded in solid agreement. I pressed them further for a few minutes, asking individual students why they liked Bush. The same ideas came up again and again: he is a strong leader, an honest man, and, most of all, a believer." Source..

Posted by Hyscience at January 23, 2005 10:20 PM

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