Green Energy
WHEN SOMEONE says some of the passages of the Qur'an are violent and Islam itself is a political religion, what do you call that kind of criticism? It's an important question. Strangely enough, I've heard it called "racist," which seems very odd. Islam is not a race.
I've also heard it called "Islamophobia," which is also strange, because it is not a phobia.
It is religious criticism. But it's more than that, because Islam is not merely a religion. Islam is also a political system with political goals. So instead of racism or Islamophobia, we could call it religious or political criticism.
But if you call it that, there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with it. In a free society, it is perfectly legitimate to criticize religious doctrines and political systems. It's perfectly all right in a free country, for example, to point out that the Catholic church frowns upon birth control, or that communism and free enterprise are incompatible. Anyone who protested statements of that kind would accurately be seen as absurd.
So when someone explains the political ideology contained in the Qur'an, it is a completely legitimate activity, and anyone who calls it racism or Islamophobia either doesn't understand what they're saying, or, more likely, they are trying to censor the criticism. That kind of censorship is out of line in a free society.
Ironically, the fact that exponents of pure Islam (the jihadists) will not tolerate criticism of Islam is one of the main criticisms of Islam. The fact that the Qur'an itself is adamant about disallowing any criticism of the Qur'an (and calls for a death sentence for doing so) is one of the most legitimate things to criticize about the Qur'an.
- Elisabeth Sabaditsch-wolff: “islamophobia” Is Islamic Slander
From Big Peace: The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) began in the days of detente as a forum for discussion and debate between East and West on issues like “conflict prevention, crisis management and post-conflict rehabilitation.” ...
- Game Over Iii: 78% Of British Muslims Want Limits On Free Speech When It Comes To Criticizing Religion
Can you imagine anyone proposing limits on the rights of individuals to speak out against the other powerful institutions that frame our society? Can you imagine anyone proposing limitations on the criticism of Business, Government, Academia, or the...
- A Victory For Freedom
In the Netherlands, they've had a blasphemy law on the books since the 1930's. Muslim immigrants started using those laws to censor speech and writings critical of Islam's political, totalitarian, and suppressive teachings. So the Dutch government...
- Light Burns Them
Ummah Pulse:with most attacks on Islam and Muslims nowadays, the retort when challenged invariably boils down to a tantrum about the "sanctity of race and ethnicity" as opposed to the "flimsy veneer of religion". As far back as 2004, Neocons working for...
- The Mistaken Use Of The Term "islamophobia"
The following article was written by Ali Sina, and originally published on the apostate's site, Faith Freedom. An apostate is someone who was once a Muslim, but then rejected the religion (became a non-Muslim). In an Islamic state, becoming an apostate...
Green Energy
When Someone Criticizes Islam, What Should We Call That?
WHEN SOMEONE says some of the passages of the Qur'an are violent and Islam itself is a political religion, what do you call that kind of criticism? It's an important question. Strangely enough, I've heard it called "racist," which seems very odd. Islam is not a race. I've also heard it called "Islamophobia," which is also strange, because it is not a phobia.
It is religious criticism. But it's more than that, because Islam is not merely a religion. Islam is also a political system with political goals. So instead of racism or Islamophobia, we could call it religious or political criticism.
But if you call it that, there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with it. In a free society, it is perfectly legitimate to criticize religious doctrines and political systems. It's perfectly all right in a free country, for example, to point out that the Catholic church frowns upon birth control, or that communism and free enterprise are incompatible. Anyone who protested statements of that kind would accurately be seen as absurd.
So when someone explains the political ideology contained in the Qur'an, it is a completely legitimate activity, and anyone who calls it racism or Islamophobia either doesn't understand what they're saying, or, more likely, they are trying to censor the criticism. That kind of censorship is out of line in a free society.Ironically, the fact that exponents of pure Islam (the jihadists) will not tolerate criticism of Islam is one of the main criticisms of Islam. The fact that the Qur'an itself is adamant about disallowing any criticism of the Qur'an (and calls for a death sentence for doing so) is one of the most legitimate things to criticize about the Qur'an.
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- Elisabeth Sabaditsch-wolff: “islamophobia” Is Islamic Slander
From Big Peace: The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) began in the days of detente as a forum for discussion and debate between East and West on issues like “conflict prevention, crisis management and post-conflict rehabilitation.” ...
- Game Over Iii: 78% Of British Muslims Want Limits On Free Speech When It Comes To Criticizing Religion
Can you imagine anyone proposing limits on the rights of individuals to speak out against the other powerful institutions that frame our society? Can you imagine anyone proposing limitations on the criticism of Business, Government, Academia, or the...
- A Victory For Freedom
In the Netherlands, they've had a blasphemy law on the books since the 1930's. Muslim immigrants started using those laws to censor speech and writings critical of Islam's political, totalitarian, and suppressive teachings. So the Dutch government...
- Light Burns Them
Ummah Pulse:with most attacks on Islam and Muslims nowadays, the retort when challenged invariably boils down to a tantrum about the "sanctity of race and ethnicity" as opposed to the "flimsy veneer of religion". As far back as 2004, Neocons working for...
- The Mistaken Use Of The Term "islamophobia"
The following article was written by Ali Sina, and originally published on the apostate's site, Faith Freedom. An apostate is someone who was once a Muslim, but then rejected the religion (became a non-Muslim). In an Islamic state, becoming an apostate...