Arif is confused - the state of affairs

Submitted by Rick Jones (Czech Republic), Aug 2, 2007 at 18:40

When people criticize Islam and its worshipers they are not taking to task the religion per se. The three great monotheistic faiths, Judaism, Christianity and Islam, all have a peaceful and idealistic set of core beliefs. Most religions are that way.

What has Christians and Jews up in arms is the current practice of Islam, especially in the Arab world. No one has ever accused all Muslims of being terrorists. Such an assertion could never be supported by the facts and it would on its face be ridiculous. However, it is possible to say that much of the Muslim world seems to be out of sync with the rest of the modernity.

We see this in the pockets of Muslims who live in Europe and make great efforts to maintain a traditional way of live with questionable customs. Honor killings, female circumcision, forced marriages, veils, ect are offensive to the values of Europe.

No other immigrants have leaders that seek confrontation in their new homelands like Muslims do. No other group goes ballistic when some silly cartoons poke fun at their prophet. No other group gets overly excited when the Pope cites a long forgotten XV century Byzantine emperor who was critical of the Islam of its day. No other group of immigrants march with signs threatening to behead critics of Islam.

All this is just in Europe. The practices of Islam in the Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon and North Africa would make a European or American's hair curl.

While most Mulims are peaceful most Muslims have not taken open stands against this fanaticism. One only has to listen to Arabic language broadcasts out of the Palestinian Authority about the perfidious nature of Jews to get an idea of what passes for objective commentary.

A recent survey amongst Muslims in the UK found that up to 33% wanted sharia law ! Every third Muslim in the UK wants to lop off hands for theft ? Stone women for having sex outside of marriage ? Are they nuts ? One begins to wonder why they came to the UK in the first place.

All bad movements begin a small number of "nut jobs". That was the way it was in Nazi Germany, Soviet Russia and in Mao's China. A small number. Nevertheless those countries went down the tubes and were responsible for the loss of hundreds of millions of lives.

The world of Islam today is not in good shape, especially its Arab part. Even after nearly 70 years of high income from selling a product found by foreigners, extracted out of the ground by foreigners and sold by foreigners to foreigners, Saudi Arabia is still hopelessly backward in terms of its social structure.

It is no use blaming this or that Western Power for putting in this or that regime in these countries. That was the way things were done in those days of yore. In the case of Saudi Arabia, the Brits tried to put the Hashemites in power but it did not take. The Saudis and their Wahabbi allies fought their way to power on their own. Westerners put in regimes in South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong ect and many other countries that have overcome their colonial past to make their way in the modern world.

So far no Muslim Arab country has done so. Maybe you ought to look inward at your own failings and think of ways to improve rather than rage like lunatics at the West in general and the USA in particular. We no longer feel guilty and we are loosing patience with you children in the Middle East.

One day the modern countries of the world will find a substitute for oil. When this happy day comes lets hope that at least a few countries that honor the Prophet will have become modern and not be adversely affected by the loss of their export income.

Middle Easterners need to grow up and get on the program. We are all frankly fed up with your lot.

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