to Sanna Ahmed

Submitted by Alex (United States), Nov 12, 2005 at 01:32

I just replied for the first time on this topic a few days back (the other alex isn't me).

You do come across, on the whole, as one of the many moderate Muslims I keep hearing 'about' but not often hearing 'from'. So I am interested to read your perspective.

I must tell you, however, that your comments start badly, at least for a non-Muslim reader like me. Maybe you care or maybe you don't. Maybe it was intentional, or maybe not. But when you write: "the people who are out there killing their own muslim brothers and sisters are not true muslims, they are a shame to our beautiful peaceful religon and a discrace to humanity," do you realize how offensive that is to non-Muslims? You are in essence saying that the problem is that Muslims are, on purpose or by collateral damage, killing other Muslims, and that is the only problem with it. You say NOTHING in condemnation of Muslims killing Non-Muslim innocents. Is that too not a "discrace to humanity"?!

I do understand that in the battle for "True Islam" which is presumably going on today within your faith, it may gain moderate Muslims traction, in Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and elsewhere against the extremists, to argue that Muslims are killing Muslims, something that is deeply frowned upon in the Koran. But your "beautiful, peaceful religion" is a fraud and a discrace to ALL of Humanity if it is only peaceful and beautiful for/toward Muslims.

What makes me think that your comments are genuine is when you say you are embarrassed by what is going on today and how your faith is being turned into something ugly, against its truths. At the end of your comments I actually felt some of your pain and regret over it all, and thus my reply. I truly hope that you do represent a majority of Muslims and will start or continue to speak out against --and defeat-- the extremists in Islam before they foment a much greater clash of civilizations and religions which will dwarf today's skirmishes.

However, unless or until moderate Muslims cast aside this idea that it is not ok to kill other Muslims, but are silent about killing non-Muslims, then that will never be acceptable in the world beyond your faith and you are only encouraging and abetting the extremists by your silence. It doesn't inspire a lot of confidence in Islamic moderation that you would overlook or decide to neglect such an obvious point.

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