If Allah exists, can he possibly approve of the savagery exhibited by the
militant Sunni army that has swept down from Syria to capture a third
of Iraq? Can he be OK with Boko Haram, the Muslim rebel group in Nigeria
that kidnapped hundreds of teenage girls and threatens to sell them
into slavery? Could he be approving of the Taliban burning schools in
Afghanistan and forcing women back into cultural captivity?
And another question: Can Americans talk about the wickedness of some of those who claim to be doing the will of Allah without slipping into a condemnation of all Muslims or, conversely, shying away from any critique of the dark side of Islamic culture for fear of appearing politically incorrect?
That last question is at the heart of the current media kerfuffle over comedian Bill Maher’s unrestrained criticism of Islam. An ardent atheist, the host of HBO’s “Real Time” slams Islam as the worst belief system of them all. A staunch liberal himself, he scoffs at fellow liberals who condemn abuses of human rights around the world but refuse to admit that, in many parts of Africa, Asia and the Middle East, “Islam is the problem.”
But Maher is comedian, not a journalist or a diplomat, and his aggressive satire does dig into uncomfortable truths that many would rather avoid. And the truth is that Islam has a deep problem. It is not a problem with the faith as a philosophy of life nor as it is lived out by millions of peaceful Muslims; it is a problem with the way fundamentalist interpretations of the faith have found violent, inhumane and oppressive expression in so many places.
It is the same problem Christianity had for centuries, from the Crusades to the Salem witch trails and through all the blood, battles and burnings in between. During much of that time when Christians were busy killing one another and anyone who was not like them, Islam went through an enlightened period. A pan-national system allowed a relatively tolerant, multiethnic and religiously diverse culture to flourish in the Middle East and North Africa.
Those days are long gone.
Note EU-Digest: This is not only a problem of Islam. Christianity has for centuries, from the Crusades to the "Salem witch trail"s and through all the blood, battles and burnings in between. During much of that time when Christians were busy killing one another and anyone who was not like them, Islam went through an enlightened period. A pan-national system allowed a relatively tolerant, multi-ethnic and religiously diverse culture to flourish in the Middle East and North Africa under the Ottomans.
So maybe instead of arguing which "religion" has the upper-hand over the other maybe when we go to a Mosque or Church we should try and remember that this does not give us extra points but rather that it reminds us that WE are not the "center" of the universe. Spiritually a most liberating and humbling thought in coming to grips with the fact that we are all basically totally insignificant creatures.
Read more: Muslims have deeper problems than Bill Maher's caustic critique - Los Angeles Times
And another question: Can Americans talk about the wickedness of some of those who claim to be doing the will of Allah without slipping into a condemnation of all Muslims or, conversely, shying away from any critique of the dark side of Islamic culture for fear of appearing politically incorrect?
That last question is at the heart of the current media kerfuffle over comedian Bill Maher’s unrestrained criticism of Islam. An ardent atheist, the host of HBO’s “Real Time” slams Islam as the worst belief system of them all. A staunch liberal himself, he scoffs at fellow liberals who condemn abuses of human rights around the world but refuse to admit that, in many parts of Africa, Asia and the Middle East, “Islam is the problem.”
But Maher is comedian, not a journalist or a diplomat, and his aggressive satire does dig into uncomfortable truths that many would rather avoid. And the truth is that Islam has a deep problem. It is not a problem with the faith as a philosophy of life nor as it is lived out by millions of peaceful Muslims; it is a problem with the way fundamentalist interpretations of the faith have found violent, inhumane and oppressive expression in so many places.
It is the same problem Christianity had for centuries, from the Crusades to the Salem witch trails and through all the blood, battles and burnings in between. During much of that time when Christians were busy killing one another and anyone who was not like them, Islam went through an enlightened period. A pan-national system allowed a relatively tolerant, multiethnic and religiously diverse culture to flourish in the Middle East and North Africa.
Those days are long gone.
Note EU-Digest: This is not only a problem of Islam. Christianity has for centuries, from the Crusades to the "Salem witch trail"s and through all the blood, battles and burnings in between. During much of that time when Christians were busy killing one another and anyone who was not like them, Islam went through an enlightened period. A pan-national system allowed a relatively tolerant, multi-ethnic and religiously diverse culture to flourish in the Middle East and North Africa under the Ottomans.
So maybe instead of arguing which "religion" has the upper-hand over the other maybe when we go to a Mosque or Church we should try and remember that this does not give us extra points but rather that it reminds us that WE are not the "center" of the universe. Spiritually a most liberating and humbling thought in coming to grips with the fact that we are all basically totally insignificant creatures.
Read more: Muslims have deeper problems than Bill Maher's caustic critique - Los Angeles Times
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