Yes RAFI , also NO

Submitted by Gary Josephson (United States), Apr 13, 2008 at 00:19

RAFI, I appreciate your thoughtfulness in providing all those sources for much of the ethical basis for Islam. It will be a document to which I will refer to in the future in my exploration and learning about Islam.

That said, I need to tell you that your response reminds me of my christian friend who I have to stop when she attempts to document to me the basis of her faith in her scripture. I perfectly well accept the facts that the ethical basis of her belief has many roots in the founders and practitioners of the faith. However with her and you the problem I hoped would be addressed seems largely unaddressed, other than some vague intimations that some so called faithful are not themselves well learned in the proper practice.

To be more direct about this, are you agreed or disagreed with my proposition that the rioters who are upset at the depiction of Mohammad are engaging in a form of Idol worship and that consequently better informed Moslems would seem to have a duty to correct them?

Secondly, I would hope that some of this better informed would take up the issue of the difference between the person in his anger versus his message or the message revealed through him. Moses in his anger struck the rock and the commentators suggest that this sin prevented his ability to enter the land.

Since I am an outsider to Islam I understand you desire to present the best possible face, yet I am asking in essence if those "in the know" are permitted to criticize this "man" in his behaviors as would seem obvious if he truthfully is considered a man. Additionally, if the document called the Koran is not able to be criticized then I still want to be assured you are able to criticize his behavior when he was a temporal leader, or is this still beyond the limit of tolerance?

To say he was just a man and then be unable to criticize him, however "holy" he may be means that in fact you have elevated him to "idol" status which was the main implication in my original comment.

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".