To Satnam

Submitted by Sukhdev Singh Aulakh (Australia), Jul 20, 2007 at 20:18

Satnam Bansal,

I will keep it short.

1. This is a non-sikh surname name. Wonder why you would use a non-sikh alias and declare your sikh identity.

2. Your note is self contradictory. You were at one time a Muslim Hater and all of a sudden you have discovered that Islam, on the whole, is a peaceful religion. Mind quoting some references that have led to this personal discovery.

3. Of the current religions being practised in the world, Islam has the greatest militant input insourced and preached into the psyche and DNA of the collective thought of muslim community as far as the written scriptures are concerened. Could you quote other mainstream religions still preaching plunder and loot?

4. Hinduism (or the Sanatam Dharma or the Vedic Dharma) is a way of life, a state of mind. You do not have to formally embrace it to practice it. For getting into religious practices or performing some specific rites, there used to be, in ancient times, some rites & rituals ("sanskaars/samsakaars") one had to go thru and those primarily were educative in nature or preached abstinence from any kind of violence (physical or otherwise).

5. Christianity brought into the world a unified faith for whoever wanted to embrace it. And the preachers went to the remotest and mofussil parts where humanity could be found. But they built schools and opened hospitals and welcomed all the down trodden or the troubled ones whose biggest hope was faith - whether native or new - with open arms. Judaism never forced anyone to become a jew (they accept their own is another, non-relevant point). Hinduism never preached or practised proselytization. Buddhism and Jainism have peace and universal harmony as the primary thought and motive. You may like to ask yourself and your friends, WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE ISLAM HAS MADE TO THE WORLD. WHAT IS IT THAT THEY BROUGHT GOOD AND NEW. A non-progressive and engulfed in ancient-survivalist dogma still continues to be the theme of islamic teachings.

Think and you may know what ails the world and you find that it is the degenerative thought ingrained in the minds of some.

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".