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The statements these columnists make are generally true and commonsensical, but highly unusual in the Islamic world -- where self-righteous moral posturing and finger-pointing rules the day. We see this also from Islamic groups in the West: they vilify and demonize those who speak about the violent and supremacist teachings of Islam, and never confront those teachings honestly and directly. "Arab Columnists: Islam Has Been Harmed More By Muslims than By the West," from MEMRI, June 6 (thanks to all who sent this in):
The recent re-publication of a cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad by the Danish press and release of Dutch MP Geert Wilders' film "Fitna" have precipitated a wave of Muslim protest, some of it violent, throughout the world. Following these developments, several Arab columnists wrote to condemn the violent reactions, arguing that the Muslims themselves had committed iniquity against both their coreligionists and everyone else, thereby harming the name of Islam.The following are excerpts from some of the articles:
Islam's Biggest Enemy is the Muslims ThemselvesIn an article in the Kuwaiti daily Al-Siyassa, titled "Muslims Against Islam," Kuwaiti liberal Dr. Ahmad Al-Baghdadi wrote: "In most countries around the world, Muslims broke into Danish Embassies, setting fire to them, and called for a ban on Danish imports... They have also launched a satellite TV channel and organized various committees and institutions, with the sole purpose of defending the Prophet [Muhammad] and the Islamic religion... Have the Muslims ever taken account of the tremendous iniquities they themselves have committed and are still committing against Islam [within and outside] the Islamic countries?
"Let us examine the following problems, which I will briefly outline below:
"How many prisoners are locked up in Muslim prisons for their opinions, ideas, and cultural identity? Is it in the spirit of Islam that Muslims are fleeing their homeland for 'heretical' countries in order to attain security and live in dignity?... Is it in the spirit of Islam to be silent in the face of the tyranny of rulers? Is it in the spirit of Islam that one family should rule over an entire people? Is it in the spirit of Islam that some Muslim countries abound in magnificent palaces while 60% of their population is illiterate? Is it in the spirit of Islam to turn a blind eye to a billionaire's several profligate satellite channels, whose programs make a mockery of religion and morality, only because [this billionaire] has [also] launched a religious channel?... The truth is that the biggest enemy of Islam is the Muslims themselves, because they have relinquished all decency in dealing with others, as well as the courage to oppose oppression..." [1]
True enough, but Al-Baghdadi seems to leave open the possibility that the reaction to the Motoons was justified. Others were not quite so circumspect: Al-Aswani says that cartoons don't hurt Muhammad and that the reaction to them hurt him more. He has an idealized vision of Muhammad that many Muslims share: when confronted with uncomfortable aspects of his life, they will reject them as inauthentic, no matter how well-attested these uncomfortable aspects may be in Islamic tradition. They do not dare take the step of reevaluating Muhammad's Qur'anically-affirmed postion (33:21) as the supreme example of conduct.
Who Is Harming The Prophet?In an article on the liberal website Aafaq.org, Egyptian writer Ahmad Al-Aswani set out the crimes committed by the Muslim world that he believed have harmed the Prophet Muhammad and discredited the spirit of Islam: "I do not think that cartoons, books, or films can harm a religion or affect the faith of those who adhere to it out of conviction.
"The ones who harm the Prophet are those who butcher and bomb innocents all over the world, from New York to Madrid, London, Bali, Riyadh and Cairo, Kabul and Baghdad - while invoking Allah and the Prophet under the banner of Islamic jihad...
"Among those who harm the Prophet are the likes of Sheikh Yousef Al-Qaradhawi, who incites to the murder of Jewish children in their mothers' wombs (e.g. in a 1996 lecture to the Egyptian journalists association) and to suicide operations, as well as those who cause the death of innocent victims by declaring jihad in Iraq in the name of religion and the Prophet.
"The ones who harm the Prophet are those who call on the world to pass a resolution against disparaging religion, while they themselves denigrate other religions in each prayer in the mosques, as well as in their schools and on their satellite channels - and especially [the religion] of Christians and Jews, whom they curse in every prayer. When Muslim countries submitted a draft of this resolution to the U.N. Human Rights Council, the Saudi Shura Council raised objections, since reviling other religions is one of Islam's central precepts.
"The ones who harm the Prophet are the likes of those who issued the fatwa sanctioning the breastfeeding of adults, and asserting that [the drinking of] the Prophet's urine is a source of blessing - or those who allow such fairy tales to be studied in religious schools and colleges... The ones who harm the Prophet are those who teach children in schools, particularly so-called Islamic [schools], to hate Christians on the grounds that it is forbidden to love them...
"The ones who harm the Prophet are those who believe that external attributes such as a beard, a spot on the forehead [attesting to deep genuflections during prayer], a veil, or a cloak are prescribed by Islam, and also those who accuse others of heresy and kill [them] on account [of these external attributes].
"The ones who harm the Prophet are those who believe that woman is [lewd], and that she detracts from [the purity] of prayer just like a dog or a donkey... [2] and those who believe that a woman lacks intelligence and religion, forgetting that [they are talking about] a mother, sister, beloved, daughter, or wife, who is equal to man in every respect.
"The ones who harm the Prophet are people like [Egyptian geologist and Ph.D] Zaghlul Al-Najjar, who claims to have knowledge yet at the same time regards natural disasters such as storms, volcanic eruptions, and floods as divine punishments [for] sinners, and who disparages the New and Old Testaments, believing them to be fabrications - and all this in the name of Islam and the Prophet...
"The ones who harm the Prophet are the rulers of Arab states who have made their countries the last bastions of tyranny and dictatorship in the world, and who demand submission to religious texts to justify their crimes.
"The ones who harm the Prophet do not live in the West - they are among us, the Muslims. [It is the Muslims] who have fashioned an Islamic model that is [inherently] terrorist, hypocritical, life-negating, and sustained by the murder of others in the name of jihad and by attacks on freedom of opinion under the pretext of [defending Islamic] national principles - which are actually nothing but retardation and fossilized prejudice... This is what we - and no one else - have produced." [3]...
Read it all.
Posted by Robert at July 3, 2008 8:40 AM
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Well I hope they are not killed. Certainly a well said critical examination of the state of the UMMAH. Alas, his life may be cut short...or may be a starting point for leaving Islam.
Posted by: savsiv![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.jihadwatch.org/nav-commenters.gif)
at July 3, 2008 9:25 AM
As introspection, these items are worthless.
The reality of Muslims is so insane, so completely distorted and detached from the confines of gravity, that these Arab authors show themselves incapable of maintaining even sthe thinnest veneer of introspection and self criticality. In their circumlocutions they steer far wide of the central poisonousness of Islam which condemns them to their special hells. They constantly revert to that patented Islamic practice of finger pointing and deflection of blame: that unnamed Arab "billionaire" who owns all those corrupting cable channels (Talweed?); and that "single family" which controls all wealth (probably the the Saudis, but insert any of dozens of greasy Arab tyrants and the indictment would fit as nicely). They also resort to that patented narcissistic self pity so close to the surface among hat-trigger Muslims, since the authors spend most time lamenting the damage to Islam and Muslims, rather than the havoc, rape, and wanton destruction their vile brethren wreak on innocent infidels everywhere.
Their Islam-drenched minds are clearly incapable of making the necessary connections between the rape, plunder, and obscenity of their local leadersip, and the rapine obscenity of the hideous founder of Islam itself, Muhammad It's still all about Islam, and the proper pure manifestation of it. As such, false introspection will simply garner more calls for more Islam and purer Islam, and isn't that the genesis of all the Jihadi abominations vile Muslims are perpetrating everywhere?
As introspection, it is worse than worthless. We have here the genesis of more genocide and mayhem in the service of Islam.
Posted by: jsla at July 3, 2008 9:41 AM
I agree that al-Aswani is indicting islamic actions for harming islam...but as we have seen here, those perpetrating the islamic actions have the force of the koran behind their actions. Until they jettison the koran, the hadith and the sira, there is really nothing that can be done about their islamic behavior, is there?
As for al-Bagdadhi's comments: from what I've learned here on JW, he seems to be saying that nations ruled by moslem rulers aren't sufficiently islamic enough. For instance, I have learned that the term "opposing oppression" is islamic code for "opposing those who do not support the imposition of sharia".
Posted by: eve_anne_gelical at July 3, 2008 10:51 AM
The Islamic culture is a degenerate culture as pointed out by people such as Winston Churchill. One main reason for this is that the "Golden Rule" is nowhere to be found in Islam with respect to Jews and non believers.
Posted by: Spot on at July 3, 2008 10:51 AM
"... The truth is that the biggest enemy of Islam is the Muslims themselves, because they have relinquished all decency in dealing with others...."
They're simply following the example set by Mr. Perfect, ol' Mo himself, in his dealings with the Jewish tribes of Mecca. They've been following him for 14 centuries.
at July 3, 2008 10:55 AM
Only Muslims can take back their religion from the Allah Cultists. Their failing to do so is now legend, and we here are vocal witnesses to this failing.
The onus falls on the Muslim co-religionists to take it back and bring the Ummah back into the fold of humanity. Until they confirm a separation of mosque and state, their freedoms remain trampled by those who hold up the ‘perfect man’ Mohammad and the Calipha’s ill conceived Koran as the model for all humanity. They must take Islam back from those who had turned it into an evil Cult and let the true believers worship their faith privately as communion between man/woman and God, and not a political total mind and body control over those unfortunate to be born into a doctrinal belief system devoid of natural human freedoms, under penalty of death if they try to leave. Islam is not only in serious need of reform, but must be called on all the evil it had generated over the past 1400 years, with rape and murder, enslavement of body and soul, and cultural genocide. Muslims owe the world an apology, and we are the witnesses to see them take back their religion from this evil Cult of Sharia. God bless them if they can.
On this 4th of July, let us celebrate our freedoms as the model for humanity, what had made America the greatest nation on Earth. God Bless America!
Posted by: Battle_of_Tours at July 3, 2008 12:08 PM
The belief system and example of its creator were evil from the time of the migration to Medinah. Islam has been, from the birth of political Islam, simply a justification machine for the worst parts of human psyche and behavior.
It can't be reformed short of an existential threat to its survival, in my opinion. And it would be altered, not reformed, at that point because it has never been good or just in any historical example. I'm talking about good and just to all, not the dualistic ethics code.
Appeals from believers or critics to the tune of 'this is not what Islam teaches' or 'the ones who harm the prophet' and all that are trying to spin things... with limited success I'm sure. They will always lose the theological argument and will be threatened with separation socially or separation of head from neck, depending on their physical location.
Let's face it, these types of appeals have limited force behind them. Perhaps they get some to think for a moment, and in that case they add value. But I have little hope for the winning of the collective mind through debate or appeals from liberal-minded persons calling themselves Muslim. The only real and lasting change in the belief system will come when it is at the brink of extinction. Look to the changes in Judaism after the permanent destruction of the second temple if you want an example of what it's going to take. Just my two cents.
Posted by: A_Plague_on_Both_Houses at July 3, 2008 12:23 PM
Of course, it is very welcome to see any genuine Muslim self-criticism. However, so much of this is coached in the "Muslims are hurting Islam" mode. How many Muslims actually care if the actions of Muslims--terrorism, the imposition of Shari'ah, Arab supremisism, the oppression of women--are hurting *non-Muslims*?
The piece by Al-Aswani does offer some actual criticism of Muslim violence, intolerance and ignorance--this is to be applauded, even if it is entirely coached in terms of doing "harm to the Prophet".
But certainly, some of Al-Baghdadi's comments are quite equivocal:
"The truth is that the biggest enemy of Islam is the Muslims themselves, because they have relinquished all decency in dealing with others, as well as the courage to oppose oppression..."
Most of us think "opposing oppression" is pretty self-explanatory, but for many Muslims it is pretty much a code term for terrorist acts against Israel or the West.
Posted by: gravenimage at July 3, 2008 1:44 PM
Geez, I almost passed out from shock after reading this. Now if only the "moderates" can finally seize control of their belief system after 1400 and eliminate jihadism once and for all
we might actually see some peace in the world.
at July 3, 2008 3:00 PM
Gee, when will Jordon press charges???
Posted by: flowerknife_us at July 3, 2008 3:19 PM
"The truth is that the biggest enemy of Islam is the Muslims themselves"
Eh. IMO: The truth is the biggest enemy of Islam.
Posted by: Goob at July 3, 2008 4:06 PM
take back their religion from this evil Cult of Sharia....
I, nabi ZK, thought their religion WAS this evil cult of Sharia. Possibly I, nabi ZK, of major prognosticatory fame here abouts, am missing something here?
The Jordanians are not going to ask interpol to pick him up. They are only saying that he would be arrested if he comes to Jordan. In other words they have steped back from the brink. Possibly they realised that to pursue this thing would have provoked howls of laughter as well as considerable outrage.
Al Aswani gets it. nabi ZK is sure a lot of others also do but they are scared to death. It's like a mafia syndicate. Sould be dealt with in the same way.
nabi ZK
...believe it or not or else...
Posted by: zonie kafir at July 3, 2008 6:10 PM
Al-Baghdadi's criticism is not leveled against muslim militancy. In fact it is completely in support of the Deobandi/Salafi criticism of the Saudi ruling clan. It is almost indistinguishable from the comments of Bin Laden himself. Not much consolation there.
Posted by: Archimedes2 at July 4, 2008 1:28 AM
The biggest enemy of Islam is Islam itself; the Koran, the Hadith, the so-called prophet Muhammad (Islam's ideal model of human behavior was actually nothing more than an uncommonly cruel, sadistic, and hateful criminal), and Sharia. Any religion that is based on the teachings of a book (the Koran) that cannot be examined or questioned or altered in any way is as doomed as a person driving full speed down a dead end street.
Posted by: nightlight at July 4, 2008 6:49 AM
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