Divided_Sky said:

Well seeing that the Western concept of freedom is nearly the antithesis of fundamentalist Sharia, I can say they hate us for our freedoms. They hate our culture because we reject a rigid fundamentalist law, which prohibits almost all freedom. Case in point: Afghanistan, where until recently music was outlawed.

---

Zahid said:

It's not as simple as them hating the west because of it's "freedom"; terrorists are however enemies of civilization. You have taken an equally ignorant stance like that of Michael Savage, who believes this war on terror can only be won by nuking an Arab city; comparing the situation to that of Japan in World War II. I don't need to go into Michael Savage or Arab haters/Islamophobes, myself, as well as many other Muslims have simply gotten used to them. I am a Muslim, I have been one for nearly 3 years now and in that time you normally get to know the culture fairly well. Not once did I assert to myself a radical interpretation of Islam; I have been confronted by fanatics in the past who urged me not to speak ill of "my brothers" fighting for the Muslim Ummah around the world - however, even they would stop at the political struggles in Chechnya, Bosnia, Palestine while remaining weary of what they brushed off as "hardline resistance", i.e., suicide bombings against civilians. I have even heard two Muslims discuss what makes a person a legitimate target of a military operation. One of them felt all Israelis were guilty of occupation, the other felt only the military was. These are always young Muslim men who are by-products of a reverse Conservative uprising in Muslim youth. Today, young Muslims are more Conservative than their parents. Few Muslims actually buy into the fanatical rhetoric of Muslim fascists from the Third World - rhetoric that often reflects the desperate situation and desperate measures of a select few Muslims. The vast majority of Muslims are in reality moderate literalists who have become exhausted by the loud noise of militant Islam. Any normal person could see that only a desperate psychopath drenched in politics could fly an airplane into a skyscraper or behead a defenseless young man. Few people seem to actually acknowledge the tons of in-fighting between Muslims. From Jordan, Iraq, Palestine, Saudi Arabia to Pakistan and Indonesia, thousands of Muslim moderates are fighting with Muslim extremists. As such, emotions run high and before you know it you have simply confusing violence when someone blows up a group of Shia Muslims in the name of Allah. Simply put, the rest of Islam is exhausted - I am too. When I first converted to the religion I would make an ardent towards others against violence committed in the name of Islam; I mean, I knew these acts weren't Islam - whatever controversial aspects did exist in islam for me, it was and always will be a religion of Mercy. As the months went by, attack after attack would occur - each one burned in my mind. Eventually you come to the tragic conclusion that alot of people are going to hate Islam and believe it is nothing but a religion of bloodshed regardless what is said by the Muslim moderate majority. Once in awhile I'll try to refocus Islam for someone willing to listen, someone who might appreciate the attributes in Islam that reflect "Allah, the Most Merciful, Most Compassionate."

Hate Islam, hate Arabs, whatever - as annoying as most Muslims are to me in their whining and complaining about racism; they do have one point - that Muslim blood is somewhat cheap in the War Against Terrorism - and that's by their own standard where a difference doesn't make a difference, whether innocent Muslims are killed by a U.S. bomb or they are executed by a corrupt coalition soldier. To most Muslims Islam has and always will be a religion of peace and mercy. I couldn't think of a greater mercy to myself when I became a Muslim. They're simply tired of this senseless clashing of cultures and the loud noise a few hooded thugs can make. Have you ever read any of the works of Rumi? "O Love once forsaken!" or "Buttermilk"? Believe me, underneath all the worldly jargon in Islam of haram/halaal, there is nothing but pure Love and Compassion in the core reality of the faith. Allah is afterall, the "Beloved" to Muslims. I am just a lover.

---

Good post.

afoaf said:

can you make his arm go up and down
in unison with the car...?

that would be sick.

---

The thought of that cracks me up.


BH, you've outdone yourself again.

Learyfan said:

---