Originally posted by Captain Canada
It's easy, and apparently now natural, to generalise about Islam. It is essentially no different in substantive terms than Christian religions.
That quote would come as alarming news to most non-liberal Christians! My understanding of what Islam means & where it comes from, starts from the Bible & the Quran. Both claim to be from God, yet one needed to conquer it's part of the world to impose it's religion, Christianity didn't start fighting until it became the official religion of Rome. Check history. (By the way, the West learned real well, vis-a-vis the Western Hemisphere.) To me the main difference, are the claims of it's founder's. Either you believe Jesus or Mohammad? Either Jesus's followers corrupted the truth or He was the 'Truth'?
Respect others, do good, go to heaven etc. It's a question of interpretation. And when you look at Christian fundamentalists, who I might add hold significant influence in the USA (which looks like a Christian fundamentalist country to many muslims).
Shucks, I thought they felt this was a Zionist-controlled state.
Yes, there now are radical Islamic groups which preach a version of the Qu'ran quite unlike that most muslims would recognise. My question to you is this radicalisation, which you seem to believe is a result of 6th century culture, a result of the religion itself, or how the area has been treated?
Here in Fresno, California, we have had the Ammadiya sect pass out literature that claims that early Christians subverted the Gospel, that a muslim Jesus preached Islam, but us Christians being a devious lot, changed the gospel. I wonder if the quran ever had those problems? vis-a-vis 'the satanic verses'?
I'm sure that I ned not remind you that the Islamic world was at the forefront of global science, technology, culture and art from 600-1200 AD and beyond at times. Science and technology is in no sense any more alien to Islam than the theory of evolution and genetic research is to Christianity.
Sure, after they conquered, they used the knowledge of their subject peoples. Which is smart of them. Also, I think that the world just opened up to them, so much so that they had their own 'renaissance'.
As for the radicalisation - in 900 AD muslims were a tolerant people allowing all faiths to worship freely. Then they were attacked by intolerant fanatic Christian crusaders on a 'mission from God' to slaughter the infidels and return the holy land to its rightful owners. Things ain't quite been the same since as muslims and Arabs have been continually ruled, lied to and given false promises. Israel was the last straw, is it any wonder that there are radicalised sections? Intolerance breeds intolerance.
My point about the Crusades & the Spanish Inquisition. I think Christians followed the muslim example, vis-a-vis the Turks & the last two moorish invasions of Spain around 1100-1300 A.D.(?)
It was not until the 1960s that radical Islam found many supporters. What is the timing of this? Egypt decides to swallow its pride and be friends with the US in 1979 in the hope that the US would balance Egypt and Israel and attempt an even-handed policy in the region. They feel betrayed.
The combination of: 1) US guilt over not stopping the Holocaust, 2) the large articulate Jewish population & 3) fundamentalists Christian belief that Israel is from God, will mean that this will be hard to change, Israel has more support, at least for the foreseeable future.
I have no sympathy with Islamic or any fundamentalist. I can always be wrong, and I believe those who cannot contemplate their own error are dangerous. I do understand it though, and I don't think the demonisation is in anyway going to assist peace. There is a deeper problem, and the US is not entirely right, but is sadly not possessing the belief that it can ever be mistaken.
I think the US has been demonized in this instance, for anyone to declare 'fatwa' Jihad on us, I know we are not clean, but if muslims were as articulate as you, they may be better understood & actually make valid points that would help change the present dialog.