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Since we hear from so many critics who
either don't take the time to read this
site, or simply can't understand the
distinction between Islam and Muslims,
we thought it best to bring together in
one place what we have said in so many
others over the years.
Islam is an ideology. No ideology
is above critique, particularly one that
explicitly seeks political and social
dominance over every person on the
planet.
Muslims are individuals. We
passionately believe that no Muslim
should be harmed, harassed,
stereotyped or treated any
differently anywhere in the world
solely on account of their status as a
Muslim.
Islam is not simply a belief about God.
It is a word that means Submission.
Islam is a set of rules that establish a
social hierarchy in which Muslims
submit to Allah, women submit
to men and all non-Muslims submit
to Islamic rule.
Since we don't live in a Muslim country
(where censorship, intimidation and
brute force are shamelessly employed to
protect Islam from logical
deconstruction), we are
still free to openly exercise our right
to debate the merits of the Islamic
value system against Western Liberalism.
Are men really superior to women as the
Qur'an says? Are women
intellectually inferior as Muhammad
taught? Does propagating material
(the Qur'an) that openly curses people
of other religions amidst random calls
to violence really improve the health of
our societies? Is it right to keep
women as sex slaves, merely because the
Qur'an explicitly allows it in multiple
places? Should atheists and
homosexuals have to choose between the
noose and an outward profession of faith
in Allah?
Yes, there are Muslims who take issue
with these aspects of Islamic theology,
but it doesn't change what Islam is.
Don't confuse the ideology with the
individual. Don't draw conclusions
about Islam based on the Muslims that
you know, be they terrorists or
humanitarians. Islam must be
understood on the basis of what it is,
as presented by the Qur'an the Hadith
and Sira (biography of Muhammad).
By the same token, don't draw
conclusions about the Muslims in your
life based on the true nature of Islam.
Like any other group, not all Muslims
think alike.
If our years of dialogue with literally hundreds
have taught us anything, it
is that most Muslims (even devout ones)
have only a superficial understanding of
their religion. Most never
made the choice to be Muslim, so (as with
all religion) there are widely varying
degrees of seriousness to which they may
take their faith.
The Muslims that you know are not
terrorists. More than likely their
interests in life are similar to yours
and they have the same ambitions for
their children. They should
neither be shunned, mistreated nor
disrespected merely because of their
religion. Their property should
not be abused, and neither should copies
of their sacred book be vandalized.
Pre-judging an individual by their group
identity is not only unethical, it is
blatantly irrational,
since it reveals nothing about them.
Every individual should be judged only
on the basis of their own words and
deeds.
Don't judge Islam by the Muslims that
you know, and don't judge the Muslims
that you know by Islam.
TheReligionofPeace.com
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