Some questions for Fahad

Submitted by Monte Gardner (United States), Dec 1, 2007 at 22:06

Hey Fahad,

I think we've quite obviously gotten into a rather useless debate over arabic grammar here. Fahad, I think its great that you disagree with those who think that there is a connection between Islam and violence. My question for you is: What are you doing about it?

You claim to believe that the Saudi religious institutions who have translated the Quran in such a way as to endorse violence against non-muslims have 'gotten it wrong' somehow. Will you do so publicly? Will you stand up in your Mosque/Madrassa and tell people that the Quran actually does not promote violence, that Allah strictly forbids suicide bombings?

Will you dissasociate yourself from groups which promote an intolerant, theocratic interpretation of Islam? Will you unequivocally and unambiguously condemn the organizations of Hamas, Hizbullah and Al-Queda by name? Will you reject the teaching that it is the religious duty of all Muslims to strive for the imposition of Sharia law in their contries?

Or do you just come on some conservative website and insist that it is us who have somehow "gotten it wrong". In the end, it doesnt matter what the root word for Jihad is, it doesnt matter what English translation folks like me use to try to understand Islam. What matters is what is being taught to Muslims worldwide. It is quite obvious to many of us that a significant portion of Muslims have been taught that the Koran teaches violence, intolerance, hatred, and the duty to subjugate muslims under the rule of Islamic law. Perhaps they have 'gotten it wrong' but your not going to change that by arguing with DNM over the meaning of the word Quitall.

So, what are you going to do to convince other Muslims of your belief in a peacefull Islam?

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