Islam and Violence - The Truth
I have intended to write about “Islam and Violence” for some time, something I should have addressed a long time ago; I only hope that it is not too late. Before asking you to carefully read all of this, I want to be sure that you do not conclude that I am making any moral judgment or that, even more importantly, I am holding myself above others. I see what I believe is an unacceptable situation and I refuse to sit silently anymore and endorse it with my silence. I am also not going to debate my values, making a career out of further defending my values or opinions, much less stoop to a position where I have to degrade Christianity with equivalent examples to prove my point.
What is the issue?
From time to time, I find “anti-Muslim” conversation in discussions with friends, colleagues and even family, verbal, blogs, emails, etc.; I find what I hear inconsistent with both facts, as well as with Christianity as I understand it. There are clear differences between Islam and Christianity, but there are so many…too many…misconceptions and falsehoods that percolate and circulate even down to these discussions group levels, I feel compelled to address them at this time. My goal is to either eliminate these discussions completely or to correct any false statements with facts, as well as promote a little peace in our communities and the world. Daniel Patrick Moynihan eloquently put it: “Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts.”
Regular anti-Islamic statements come from the press, Liberals and Conservatives, Christian, Jewish and other religions, which are factually untrue and go unchallenged. I find that where there is ambiguity in the Qur’an (as there is in both the Old Testament and the New Testament too), I can even understand a misguided opinion when something is not read in balance or context; but, nonetheless, it is opinion and, no matter how intently believed or how often repeated, opinions are not facts.
Does the Qur’an Preach
What is the issue?
From time to time, I find “anti-Muslim” conversation in discussions with friends, colleagues and even family, verbal, blogs, emails, etc.; I find what I hear inconsistent with both facts, as well as with Christianity as I understand it. There are clear differences between Islam and Christianity, but there are so many…too many…misconceptions and falsehoods that percolate and circulate even down to these discussions group levels, I feel compelled to address them at this time. My goal is to either eliminate these discussions completely or to correct any false statements with facts, as well as promote a little peace in our communities and the world. Daniel Patrick Moynihan eloquently put it: “Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts.”
Regular anti-Islamic statements come from the press, Liberals and Conservatives, Christian, Jewish and other religions, which are factually untrue and go unchallenged. I find that where there is ambiguity in the Qur’an (as there is in both the Old Testament and the New Testament too), I can even understand a misguided opinion when something is not read in balance or context; but, nonetheless, it is opinion and, no matter how intently believed or how often repeated, opinions are not facts.
Does the Qur’an Preach