The Bottom Line

Submitted by Bowles (United States), Sep 22, 2006 at 11:28

I just stumbled across this site, so I read a few of the posts just to get a flavor of the debate. What strikes me is that the Muslims in this forum focus so much on defending their religion that they have a blind spot for the reality of what is really going on. Unfortunately, that's the way it is whenever this subject is discussed.

I don't care how you want to define the words "Islam" or "jihad". The fact of the matter is, the vast majority of coordinated, mass violence that takes place in the world today is perpetrated by people who do it in the name of Allah. There really is no disputing that. Don't tell me that these folks are the minority, that I shouldn't lump them together with mainstream Muslims, or that I just don't understand the nuances of Islam and its true purpose. What I understand is that there is someone out there who wants to kill me and my family - and themselves at the same time - in the name of Allah. That's the bottom line. If you don't like that, then change it.

We all know that a few hundred years ago there were "Christian" armies that fought Muslims in the Crusades. That part of history is very unfortunate, and you would be hard pressed to find a Christian who would advocate, much less condone doing the same thing today. Every human institution has its flaws, and the organized Christian Church is no exception - which is why people like Luther and Calvin came along and forced a good portion of the Christian Church to reform and go back to its original purpose. Jesus NEVER advocated violence against other people, though, as our surrogate, Christians believe he willingly accepted a most horrible violence against himself to pay the total price for all sin.

If Mohammed truly did not intend that Islam must be spread by the sword, if Islam really means "peace", and if jihad really means "inner struggle", then what the world desperately needs right now are some Muslim reformer/leaders who are willing to risk their lives by speaking out and working against Islam's radical membership. Why do Muslims expend so much energy in defense of Islam, but so little energy in an effort to reform it? The only conclusion I can come to is that mainstream Islamic leadership must not feel the need for reform - al least not as strongly as did Luther, Calvin, and many others who risked and lost life and property by speaking out several hundred years ago in Europe during the Christian Reformation. Muslim leaders - if you really want to convince me that Islam means "peace", and if you really believe that if you die defending the faith you will receive great reward in the afterlife, then have the courage to overtly, loudly, and publicly protest against the radical Islamic murderers out there and start changing things for the better - even if it means your own death. Until that happens, there is no way you can ever convince me and many others that Islam is "peaceful". You know that old saying - actions speak louder than words.

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".