Green Energy
Two separate news stories…but the link is obvious.
Even as protesters were marching in the streets, attacking churches (and worse) expressing their anger at the Pope’s alleged remarks against “Islam”, news filtered out about an internet romance which led to a Muslim girl from London fleeing to wed her Hindu lover from India.
If you had ignored the “religion” angle, the story would not have merited much mention – online romance is now passé as a newsworthy item.
But of course this was no “ordinary” online romance – just as the Pope’s remark was no ordinary comment.
In both the cases, the intolerance that this faith breeds, was abundantly evident.
Pakistan called the Pope’s comments “derogatory” and various Muslim leaders said the Muslims had a right to be “angry and hurt” and that the cartoons had aroused the anger of the whole Islamic World and one analyst even said that they were more dangerous than the cartoons.
The outrage was extraordinary considering that the Pope himself did not say anything objectionable about Islam at all – instead merely quoting from an obscure historical account of a religious debate.
Curiously, I did not find a single comment refuting his remarks and no one called them inaccurate or untruthful (or maybe I did not look hard enough?).
In case of the girl who married a Hindu boy from India, her father said: “She is a Muslim …and she has married a Hindu and that is the most shocking thing about this…”. The girl said,” I knew they would never accept Ashwani (her husband)” but “Ashwani and his family accepted me for who I am” (Please note that she has not converted into Hinduism and has not been asked to).
If we accept the arguments of those who were protesting against the Pope’s remarks, not only is everyone who has ever said or written anything about some of Islam’s more violent precepts guilty of blasphemy, even someone quoting or referring to such a person becomes guilty of the same crime (on IBA, we are all already in the dock, many times over).
Muslims must realise that this attitude of “intolerance” – of believing that there is only one truth; only one way to redemption, salvation and glory is fundamentally flawed and completely incompatible with any norms of a civilised and evolved society.
We are not living in the Stone Ages and the sooner Muslims realise this, the better.
When will Muslims wake up to this?…and accept that some of the very fundamental tenets of Islam are flawed? accept the need for reform…accept that there will always be people who will not agree with what they believe in – will not agree with their way of thinking and will not agree with their interpretations – but will still need to be accorded respect, given space and treated as being equally worthy in any dialogue.
Is this asking for too much?
- Musharraf To Un: We Need A Ban On "defamation Of Islam"
From Australian News: PAKISTANI President Pervez Musharraf today called for a ban on the "defamation of Islam" in a speech to the UN General Assembly in which he took a veiled swipe at Pope Benedict XVI for his remarks linking the Muslim faith to violence....
- Archbishop Of Sydney: Muslim World Proves Pope Right
The 'Mujahideen Shura Council - an umbrella group led by Iraq's branch of al Qaida' - joined in on the fun:, it vowed 'a war against the "worshippers of the cross"'. No surprise there of course. Meanwhile, the Archbishop of Sidney,...
- Iraqi Al Qaeda Leader Says The Pope And The West Are Doomed
The West speaks and the Muslims Islamists threaten. Threaten, threaten, threaten: CAIRO, Egypt - An al-Qaida-linked extremist group warned Pope Benedict XVI on Monday that he and the West were "doomed," as protesters raged across the Muslim world to...
- And In Another Huge Shock - Pope Must Die
The Pope must die, says Muslim Anjem Choudary said those who insulted Islam would be "subject to capital punishment" His remarks came during a protest outside Westminster Cathedral on a day that worldwide anger among Muslim...
- This Means War!
An op-ed in the Muslim paper al-Sharq al-Awsat says the Pope's remarks may lead to war: The recent remarks made by Pope Benedict XVI on Islam are threatening to ignite the entire Muslim world. Op-Eds published in the Arab newspapers slammed the pope...
Green Energy
We need a "Jihad" against intolerance
Two separate news stories…but the link is obvious.
Even as protesters were marching in the streets, attacking churches (and worse) expressing their anger at the Pope’s alleged remarks against “Islam”, news filtered out about an internet romance which led to a Muslim girl from London fleeing to wed her Hindu lover from India.
If you had ignored the “religion” angle, the story would not have merited much mention – online romance is now passé as a newsworthy item.
But of course this was no “ordinary” online romance – just as the Pope’s remark was no ordinary comment.
In both the cases, the intolerance that this faith breeds, was abundantly evident.
Pakistan called the Pope’s comments “derogatory” and various Muslim leaders said the Muslims had a right to be “angry and hurt” and that the cartoons had aroused the anger of the whole Islamic World and one analyst even said that they were more dangerous than the cartoons.
The outrage was extraordinary considering that the Pope himself did not say anything objectionable about Islam at all – instead merely quoting from an obscure historical account of a religious debate.
Curiously, I did not find a single comment refuting his remarks and no one called them inaccurate or untruthful (or maybe I did not look hard enough?).
In case of the girl who married a Hindu boy from India, her father said: “She is a Muslim …and she has married a Hindu and that is the most shocking thing about this…”. The girl said,” I knew they would never accept Ashwani (her husband)” but “Ashwani and his family accepted me for who I am” (Please note that she has not converted into Hinduism and has not been asked to).
If we accept the arguments of those who were protesting against the Pope’s remarks, not only is everyone who has ever said or written anything about some of Islam’s more violent precepts guilty of blasphemy, even someone quoting or referring to such a person becomes guilty of the same crime (on IBA, we are all already in the dock, many times over).
Muslims must realise that this attitude of “intolerance” – of believing that there is only one truth; only one way to redemption, salvation and glory is fundamentally flawed and completely incompatible with any norms of a civilised and evolved society.
We are not living in the Stone Ages and the sooner Muslims realise this, the better.
When will Muslims wake up to this?…and accept that some of the very fundamental tenets of Islam are flawed? accept the need for reform…accept that there will always be people who will not agree with what they believe in – will not agree with their way of thinking and will not agree with their interpretations – but will still need to be accorded respect, given space and treated as being equally worthy in any dialogue.
Is this asking for too much?
- Musharraf To Un: We Need A Ban On "defamation Of Islam"
From Australian News: PAKISTANI President Pervez Musharraf today called for a ban on the "defamation of Islam" in a speech to the UN General Assembly in which he took a veiled swipe at Pope Benedict XVI for his remarks linking the Muslim faith to violence....
- Archbishop Of Sydney: Muslim World Proves Pope Right
The 'Mujahideen Shura Council - an umbrella group led by Iraq's branch of al Qaida' - joined in on the fun:, it vowed 'a war against the "worshippers of the cross"'. No surprise there of course. Meanwhile, the Archbishop of Sidney,...
- Iraqi Al Qaeda Leader Says The Pope And The West Are Doomed
The West speaks and the Muslims Islamists threaten. Threaten, threaten, threaten: CAIRO, Egypt - An al-Qaida-linked extremist group warned Pope Benedict XVI on Monday that he and the West were "doomed," as protesters raged across the Muslim world to...
- And In Another Huge Shock - Pope Must Die
The Pope must die, says Muslim Anjem Choudary said those who insulted Islam would be "subject to capital punishment" His remarks came during a protest outside Westminster Cathedral on a day that worldwide anger among Muslim...
- This Means War!
An op-ed in the Muslim paper al-Sharq al-Awsat says the Pope's remarks may lead to war: The recent remarks made by Pope Benedict XVI on Islam are threatening to ignite the entire Muslim world. Op-Eds published in the Arab newspapers slammed the pope...