Islamic Tantrums, Etc: Newsweek one-line error sparks world-wide riots and violence throughout Muslim world :: Understanding Islam

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May 16, 2005

Islamic Tantrums, Etc: Newsweek one-line error sparks world-wide riots and violence throughout Muslim world

I've waited several days to post on this, hoping someone else would comment on it - but I guess I'm the only one that considered what has happened across the Muslim world over the past few days as the tantrums of a sick culture. Sure, Newsweek did what the mainstream media does best in a world that places more importance on getting the story out first than on getting the story out right; they researched, wrote a piece, trashed the administration and our country, trashed the reputation of our military, and got the story out to the world - wrongly. Subsequently, sparked by a single paragraph in Newsweek alleging that US military interrogators had desecrated the Koran, a wave of anti-American demonstrations swept the Islamic world from the Gaza Strip to the Java Sea. In the past week it was condemned in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh, Malaysia and by the Arab League, and on Sunday, Afghan Muslim clerics threatened to call for a holy war against the United States. Think about it, this is from a sub-population of our planet that refers to themselves as peaceful? What does this say about their culture, their thoughtfulness, their mindset, and their suitability to join in the rest of mankind in making our planet a better place to live ? One can only describe the Islamist's and Muslim's reaction as tantrums - child-like fits, mindless violence, and just plain old lack of class and respect for life and other people's property.

Frankly, I don't give a damned what anyone does to the Koran. My opinion(personal viewpoint - not an expert opinion) is that it is a work of fiction, half-truths, and distorted facts, written by 'who really knows how many people' to control a population, and the toilet is just as good a place for it as a book shelf or night stand. But the toilet episode never occured in the first place, Newsweek got it wrong, the Arab press never bothered to verify the alleged toilet episode any more than did Newsweek, and the mindless, tantrum-like violence sparked by the false story showed all of us the true face of the Islamic culture today - a sick and violence-prone society, enveloped and characterized more by hate than by love of God and humanity, and badly in need of reform.

Having shared my personal world view of Islam, I must also share that I don't believe that Islam itself is evil. Those that choose to believe the Koran are for the most part, good and decent people, worshiping God in the way that they've been taught to believe, and that's just fine with me, so long as they don't involve or affect me in any way whatsoever, which is difficult for Muslims in a religion that is presently effected more by Islamofascism than the true Muslim faith. I also agree with Daniel Pipes who writes:

It is a mistake to blame Islam (a religion 14 centuries old) for the evil that should be ascribed to militant Islam (a totalitarian ideology less than a century old). The terrorism of al Qaeda, Hamas, the Iranian government and other Islamists results from the ideas of such contemporary radicals as Osama bin Laden and Ayatollah Khomeini, not from the Koran.

The challenge ahead is clear for the mainstream media, bloggers, and Muslims alike. First, let's get the story right the first time. Then, let's all show a little class, a little thoughtfulness, and act like grown ups. Just as importantly, show our best face, our true face, and think about how our actions affect others. As to the Muslims and their tendency to violent reactions - grow up a little and act like adults. Muslims must emulate their fellow monotheists by modernizing their religion with regard to slavery, interest and much else. No more fighting jihad to impose Muslim rule. No more endorsement of suicide terrorism. No more second-class citizenship for non-Muslims. And stop reacting violently to every passing wind.

And while we're on the topic of Muslim reform - no more death penalty for adultery or "honor" killings of women. No more death sentences for blasphemy or apostasy. For all of us, rather than rail on about Islam's alleged "evil," it behooves everyone - Muslim and non-Muslim alike - to help modernize this civilization. This is the ultimate message of 9/11. It is much deeper and more ambitious than Western governments presently seem to realize, and it is much better than running out and buying a copy of the Koran to try and figure out what drives the train of current Islamist thinking.

Cross posted at Jawa Report

Posted by Hyscience at May 16, 2005 10:09 AM

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