Slightly faulty thinking

Submitted by Prashant (United States), Oct 12, 2011 at 22:46

Dear Dr Pipes:

sabir abdus-samee very assertively stated that he had a right to defend himself if anyone attacks him for believing in Allah. Sabir does not know enough. In reality, he has a right to defend himself if anyone attacks hin for believing in anything whatsoever (including Allah). Civilized societies encourage all sorts of thoughts and believing in Allah is just one of them. Sabir can believe in any pagan god, can be an athiest, or may choose not to reveal his beliefs and under all those conditions he should not be attacked.

However, the food for thought for Sabir would be exactly what an attack is and what constitutes a defence. Not believing in Allah is not an attack on Allah or on Allah's believers. Similarly, asking from independence as soon as you reach the majority status in a country is not an act of defence. Just clarifying.

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".