Question for DR. PIPES

Submitted by z (United States), Apr 24, 2006 at 10:11

I liked your article's main message: that the West does not understand Islam like they think they do. however, I do need to make a couple of points. for one, Islam forbids the killing of innocent people (i.e. women, children, the elderly, men not fighting in war, etc), even in the course of battle, so the extremism is there when someone decides to fly a plane into a building (we are, of course, just assuming that it was the Taliban who attacked...we'll save that one for some other day). engaging in Jihad, however, is not unmodern. consider the roots of our very own country: we (i.e. the first settlers) came in, we wanted the land, we drove out whoever was there (i.e. the Native Americans) sometimes through bloody conflict (i.e. war/battle, however one-sided), and we made our own country.

now, I ask you, where is the Islamic country today? there is none. forget about all those middle eastern countries who say they are Islamic states, most have corrupt government or the likes (some even still have monarchies!)...so you see our situation here. the Muslims are fighting to establish themselves in an Islamic state, just as this very country (so called "modern" country) established themselves--and on top of that, the people who came into the Native Americans' country already had countries of their own! the Muslims have none. so it is clear that fighting to establish oneself as a people cannot be called unmodern. perhaps the West is making such ideas of Jihad in Islam so perverted in the media because they fear Muslim rule in a county...there's one for another day, too.

now, also, slavery in Islam is ILLEGAL. those who practice it are not following the command given to us by Allah. so we cannot associate ISLAM with slavery today, rather, we can only associate the people who practice slavery with it.

lets talk a bit about the death penalty. to commit adultery bears the penalty of death in Islam...that's it. it is an outright rebellion against the command against the command of Allah, and it is rebellion against Islam itself. now, are we not required to destroy rebels? yes, we are. to forgive such an atrocity would be only in our arrogance; do we consider our meager wills to be equal to that of our Creator? May He forgive us! blasphemy and apostasy are the same. to leave Islam is treason to all muslims...and according to even our own "modern" government, treason is punishable by death. to raise oneself to Allah's level is, again, outright rebellion...against Islam and Allah (when one rebels, they fight to be either on the level of or above the one he rebels against...one raising his/her self to the level of Allah is therefore rebellion against Him). clearly, there is no choice but to put him/her to death. the problem with the West is that they do not enforce such common sense. they give way to the people's demands, and because of it, they are corrupt. they have no sense of right or wrong, rather, they only see what is profitable (lots of days coming up...here's a subject I can't miss). a rule is a rule, and one cannot change it in arrogance.

so, Dr. Pipes, I ask you? who is more modern? those who have enough discipline and commitment to enforce that which is right? or those who are spoiled and cannot even enforce rules that common sense would give, and haven't enough guts to stand up and say no to spoiled people who know that they are "free"?

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