Why We Rarely Hear from Moderate Muslims

[1prophet]

VIDEO

This man wrote a letter criticizing radicals and this is the response he got, seems the radical minority has power over the majority through threats and intimidation.

Jamal Miftah, a Muslim who lives in Tulsa, wrote a column for the newspaper Tulsa World condemning Al Qaeda and calling on fellow Muslims to reject terrorism.

In return, he was kicked out of the local mosque by leaders until he apologizes for his articleand threatened with violence by other members of the peaceful Islamic community of Tulsa, Oklahoma.

And this is the letter that he wrote:

Message of Islam is not jihad, fatwahs

I moved to the United States in March 2003, with my four kids and wife from Pakistan bordering Afghanistan. There was a call by a local jihadi organization to fight the coalition forces in Afghanistan. One of my dearest friends, Mirza Kohistani, fell prey to that call and joined the group, despite my advice and that of his wife to him.

All the leaders of that organization returned safely after the fall of the Taliban empire, but they left behind the body of my friend and hundreds of other innocent people like him.

I am obliged to respond to Ayman al-Zawahri's recent video message, portraying himself as champion of Islam and others as liars.

My message to Ayman al-Zawahri and Muslims of the world: "Islam" means submission and is derived from a word meaning "peace." Islam, Christianity and Judaism have the same origin, the Prophet Abraham. The prophet of Islam has said that God has no mercy on someone who does not have mercy for others.

I ask that al-Zawahri look at his deeds and those of his master, Osama bin Laden, and other so-called Islamic jihadists.

Because of lack of knowledge of Islam, Muslim youth are misguided into believing by the so-called champions of the cause of Islam that the current spate of killings and barbarism, which has no equal in the recent civilized history, is jihad in the name of Islam. They are incited, in the name of Islam, to commit heinous crimes not pardonable by any religion and strictly forbidden in Islam.

Cowards like al-Zawahri and bin Laden are inciting the ignorant and innocent youths to commit suicide bombings to kill innocent civilians including children, women and the elderly, while they hide in spider holes and caves. They never send their own sons and daughters, born out of half a dozen of their wives, to get killed in the name of Islam. They are themselves hypo crites, cowards, thugs and liars. For 12 years they misappropriated aid received from the U.S. and the West to fight Russia. Now they are ensuring smooth flow of petro dollars from Arab countries in the name of jihad against the West.

Even mosques and Islamic institutions in the U.S. and around the world have become tools in their hands and are used for collecting funds for their criminal acts. Half of the funds collected go into the pockets of their local agents and the rest are sent to these thugs.

They are the reason for branding the peaceful religion of Islam as terrorism. The result, therefore, is in the form of Danish cartoons and remarks/reference by the Pope.

I appeal to the Muslim youth in particular and Muslims of the world in general to rise up and start jihad against the killers of humanity and help the civilized world to bring these culprits to justice and prove that Islam is not a religion of hatred and aggression.

I appeal to the Muslim clerics around the world that, rather than issuing empty fatwas condemning suicide bombing, they should issue a fatwa for the death of such scoundrels and barbarians who have taken more than 4,267 lives of innocent people in the name of Islam and have carried out more than 24 terrorist attacks on civilian installations throughout the world. This does not include the chilling number of deaths because of such activities in Iraq and Afghanistan, which is well over 250,000.

I appeal to al-Zawahri and his band of thugs to hand themselves over to justice and stop spreading evil and killing innocent humans around the world in the name of Islam. Their time is limited and Muslims of the world will soon rise against them to apprehend them and bring them to justice.

It seems contrary to popular logic the few do indeed have power over the many.

 

[Aimster]

I wouldn't call Islam peaceful. I wouldn't call it violent either.

I think the Islamic culture as a whole is backward. "you made fun of my prophet now DIE". Like seriously wtf?

How can you fix something that isn't fixable?

 

[magomago]

nice post. really don't have much to add, but he illustrates well how a few have used the religion to further their own interests.

 

[PandaBear]

Moderate religious people don't go around and make statement like Osama or Pat Robinson, only wackos do that.

I used to work for a liberal muslim and study with a moderate muslim, other than they pray more often than non-muslim (i.e. Christians), there is nothing obvious about their religious opinion, they usually keep it to themselves.

 

[compnovice]

Originally posted by: 1prophet
VIDEO

This man wrote a letter criticizing radicals and this is the response he got, seems the radical minority has power over the majority through threats and intimidation.

Jamal Miftah, a Muslim who lives in Tulsa, wrote a column for the newspaper Tulsa World condemning Al Qaeda and calling on fellow Muslims to reject terrorism.

If I was a muslim, I would have kicked this guys butt... What right does he have to assume that I am supporting terrorists...

 

[rsd]

Originally posted by: compnovice

Originally posted by: 1prophet
VIDEO

This man wrote a letter criticizing radicals and this is the response he got, seems the radical minority has power over the majority through threats and intimidation.

Jamal Miftah, a Muslim who lives in Tulsa, wrote a column for the newspaper Tulsa World condemning Al Qaeda and calling on fellow Muslims to reject terrorism.

If I was a muslim, I would have kicked this guys butt... What right does he have to assume that I am supporting terrorists...

:roll:
:disgust:

 

[lozina]

because if Americans heard from moderate Muslims they wouldn't have the provocation to hate them so much

 

[EagleKeeper]

Originally posted by: lozina
because if Americans heard from moderate Muslims they wouldn't have the provocation to hate them so much

Would that then be a reason for the leaders of the "religion of peace" to attempt to get the message out.

The article implies that no condemnation is allowed and within the media around the world it seems as if the radicals are the only ones that are allowed to speak.

Those that go against the radicals are condemned and have a bounty placed on them.

What is the "religion of peace" attempting to silence; the moderates that actually want to honor their religion?

 

[GoPackGo]

If the moderates aren't willing to standup but are so willing to succumb to intimidation, then there are no moderates. Only extremists and sheep.

 

[magomago]

Originally posted by: EagleKeeper

Originally posted by: lozina
because if Americans heard from moderate Muslims they wouldn't have the provocation to hate them so much

Would that then be a reason for the leaders of the "religion of peace" to attempt to get the message out.

The article implies that no condemnation is allowed and within the media around the world it seems as if the radicals are the only ones that are allowed to speak.

Those that go against the radicals are condemned and have a bounty placed on them.

What is the "religion of peace" attempting to silence; the moderates that actually want to honor their religion?

Islam isn't attempting to silence anyone - unless you equate clerics actions with Islam, but considering the catholic issue with preists that its had these past few years I don't think anyone we can say with a straight face without a double standard that even clerics are the best examples of religion.
So as long as the average person gets smarter, the "Sheep" aspect of any religion - which would be following what the local Cleric or Preist says - will become weaker because people gain the ability to understand the text themselves.

 

[Genx87]

Originally posted by: Aimster
I wouldn't call Islam peaceful. I wouldn't call it violent either.

I think the Islamic culture as a whole is backward. "you made fun of my prophet now DIE". Like seriously wtf?

How can you fix something that isn't fixable?

You will get a good laugh, or cry, out of this.

In minneapolis the Muslim cab drivers were refusing to drive people who had alcohol on them. Now they have expanded that to trannys and blind people, yes blind people.
Apparently they think dogs are dirty and it, get this, requires them to clean their car 7 times. So blind people with their seeing eye dogs are being refused service.

At what point do you look at your own religion and go, what the eff, why does Islam care if a dog is in your car and requires you to clean it not1,2,3, 6, but 7 times?

 

[Jaskalas]

You hear from moderates like Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury, and then watch them get executed.

http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&q=Sal...e+Search&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wn

 

[Vic]

For the same reason you never hear from moderates of any group. You're not listening, because it's not what you want to hear.

 

[jjzelinski]

It's strange how the greatest strength of radical Islam is also the rest of the worlds greatest weakness in dealing with it.

 

[compnovice]

Originally posted by: rsd

Originally posted by: compnovice

Originally posted by: 1prophet
VIDEO

This man wrote a letter criticizing radicals and this is the response he got, seems the radical minority has power over the majority through threats and intimidation.

Jamal Miftah, a Muslim who lives in Tulsa, wrote a column for the newspaper Tulsa World condemning Al Qaeda and calling on fellow Muslims to reject terrorism.

If I was a muslim, I would have kicked this guys butt... What right does he have to assume that I am supporting terrorists...

:roll:
:disgust:

Care to explain your disgust?

This guy is calling for his fellow muslims to reject (mind it not condemn) terrorism, tacitly implying that since you are a muslim you are a terrorist or will eventually become one.

I might be delving too deep in the meaning of words but that's what I gathered from the first paragraph of the article.

 

[1prophet]

Originally posted by: compnovice

Originally posted by: rsd

Originally posted by: compnovice

Originally posted by: 1prophet
VIDEO

This man wrote a letter criticizing radicals and this is the response he got, seems the radical minority has power over the majority through threats and intimidation.

Jamal Miftah, a Muslim who lives in Tulsa, wrote a column for the newspaper Tulsa World condemning Al Qaeda and calling on fellow Muslims to reject terrorism.

If I was a muslim, I would have kicked this guys butt... What right does he have to assume that I am supporting terrorists...

:roll:
:disgust:

Care to explain your disgust?

This guy is calling for his fellow muslims to reject (mind it not condemn) terrorism, tacitly implying that since you are a muslim you are a terrorist or will eventually become one.

I might be delving too deep in the meaning of words but that's what I gathered from the first paragraph of the article.

Rejecting terrorism does not only equal not becoming a terrorist. It also means rejecting the mentality that allows one to say or believe that terrorism can be justified and the terrorists glorified as heros even if the individual never partakes in terrorism themselves.

Very few muslims actually become full fledged terrorists, but in order to pick out those few a mentality where terrorism can be justified and its members glorified makes it much easier to recruit them as opposed to a climate where terrorists are despised and looked down upon by those that they claim they are defending and representing.

As an example imagine the outcry if the religious leaders in America say that women who dress provacativly are also to blame when they get raped, while never actually calling for them to be raped. In effect they create a climate where rape can appear justifiable even though common sense and the law says otherwise.

 

[imported_dna]

Originally posted by: compnovice
This guy is calling for his fellow muslims to reject (mind it not condemn) terrorism, tacitly implying that since you are a muslim you are a terrorist or will eventually become one.

Perhaps as an insider he knows that there are plenty of sympathizers. That would definitely explain why the moderate muslim is such a rare beast.

I'd say that the reaction of the people in the mosque he attended explains why he chose the verb reject over condemn.

 

[blackllotus]

Originally posted by: Aimster
I wouldn't call Islam peaceful. I wouldn't call it violent either.

I think the Islamic culture as a whole is backward. "you made fun of my prophet now DIE". Like seriously wtf?

How can you fix something that isn't fixable?

Christianity had this very same problem yet it has straightened itself out. However the real problem may be that this necessary reversal of culture cannot be forced upon muslims, but rather come about from their own doing. How to initiate this revolution is a mystery.

 

[Jaskalas]

Originally posted by: blackllotus

Originally posted by: Aimster
I wouldn't call Islam peaceful. I wouldn't call it violent either.

I think the Islamic culture as a whole is backward. "you made fun of my prophet now DIE". Like seriously wtf?

How can you fix something that isn't fixable?

Christianity had this very same problem yet it has straightened itself out. However the real problem may be that this necessary reversal of culture cannot be forced upon muslims, but rather come about from their own doing. How to initiate this revolution is a mystery.

All while they master nuclear technology, with our trillions of dollars for their oil.

They had just as many years to develop civil and peaceful means as the rest of the world. It is a very telling sign that they have not done so.

 

[Rainsford]

Originally posted by: Jaskalas

Originally posted by: blackllotus

Originally posted by: Aimster
I wouldn't call Islam peaceful. I wouldn't call it violent either.

I think the Islamic culture as a whole is backward. "you made fun of my prophet now DIE". Like seriously wtf?

How can you fix something that isn't fixable?

Christianity had this very same problem yet it has straightened itself out. However the real problem may be that this necessary reversal of culture cannot be forced upon muslims, but rather come about from their own doing. How to initiate this revolution is a mystery.

All while they master nuclear technology, with our trillions of dollars for their oil.

They had just as many years to develop civil and peaceful means as the rest of the world. It is a very telling sign that they have not done so.

Under what theory do all cultures develop at exactly the same rate? Less than 50 years ago we turned firehoses on black civil rights marchers and a substantial portion of our white folks thought killing black people was the best way to keep 'em down. Has it really been long enough for us to wag our fingers at anyone else and question whether or not they're ready to join the civilized world? We only just got here ourselves...

 

[1EZduzit]

Originally posted by: Vic
For the same reason you never hear from moderates of any group. You're not listening, because it's not what you want to hear.

No, what this guy is saying is exactly what I want to hear and the more muslims I hear it from the better.