Unicorns and Moonbeams

Imagining Islam Andrew McCarthy

If only the fantasy were true: If only there actually were a dominant, pro-American, echt moderate Islam, an ideology so dedicated to human rights, so sternly set against savagery, that acts of terrorism were, by definition, “un-Islamic activity.” Imagine an Islam that, far from a liability, proved an asset (indeed, an indispensable asset) in combating the threat against us. Imagine that we could accurately call the threat mere “extremism” — no “Islamic” (or even “Islamist”) modifier being necessary because the “extremists” truly were a tiny, aberrant band, fraudulently “hijacking” a great religion.

If the fantasy were true, who among us would not be proud to mark the annual observance of September 11 by breaking ground on a $100 million Islamic center cum mosque at the site of the most horrific attack in American history? In the nine years since the atrocities that claimed the lives of nearly 3,000 Americans at the Twin Towers, the Pentagon, and a field in Shanksville, Pa., such an Islam — if it really existed — would have spearheaded the defeat of America’s enemies.

Such an Islam, over nine long years, would have risen up and made itself heard. It would have identified by name and condemned with moral outrage the imposters purporting to act in its name. It would have honored America’s sacrifice of blood and treasure in the liberation of oppressed Muslim peoples. It would have said “thank you” to our troops. It would have joined America, without ambiguity or hesitation, in crushing terror networks and dismantling the regimes that abet them. It would not have needed trillion-dollar American investments to forge democracies; it would naturally have adopted democracy on its own.

What excruciating truths have we yet failed to grasp on this ninth anniversary of 9/11? The first is that such an Islam does not exist. The second is that, despite this fact, American foreign and domestic policy continues to proceed as though it does exist — and as though it were the only real Islam. That is, nine years after Islamists made their commitment to our destruction as unmistakable as possible, nine years after the non-occurrence of all the wonderful things that would certainly have happened if the Islam of our dreams were the Islam of our reality, our national-security strategy is still steeped in fiction.

Read it all.

Comments

[Shawna]

There are a "few" moderate muslims, but they have to basically denounce their faith to BECOME moderate, so in essence, they are no longer considered "true" muslims. I'm still waiting for more of the "Americanized" muslims to step forward and denounce the extreme wing of their religion. To do so puts their lives at risk, sometimes within their own family.

The bottom line is that ANYone who is not a muslim is viewed as an infidel. I think that belief goes across the board in the muslim religion, hence there aren't many muslims who disagree with the islamic directive; the world must submit to islam in one form or another.

[CrustyB]

To paraphrase Robert Spencer, there are only two kinds of Muslims in the world. Those who believe in terrorism and those who do not understand their own religion.

[Call me Lennie]

I think our understanding of the situation is warped if we call terrorists extremists, because what they do goes well beyond what is encompassed by the word extreme. They are hyper-extremists or ultra extremists. They are doing things, such as blowing themselves up in order to kill innocent civilians, that have never been seen before on this planet.

Once you have that in mind, you can then safely state that the vast majority of Muslims are not "hyper extremists" That doesn't necessarily make them moderates. Only a tiny fraction of Japanese became kami kaze pilots and only a tiny fraction of Germans operated the death camps. That didn't make the rest of these two countries "moderate"

The only way any Muslim warrants even the possibility of being called moderate is if he or she denounces terrorism in the strongest terms possible and makes no rationalization for it whatsoever.

[a]

mccarthy is brilliant. but it shouldn't be "brilliant", it should be completely plain.
that's what the problem is.
all of america and the western world needs to understand this clearly. groups like c.a.i.r. and isna etc need to be outlawed as aiding terrorists; the u.s.a. should stop coddling the taliban (don't yuu just hate the way ozama says that word? such perfect arabic diction; you never hear him to that with hebrew; slimy bastard).
since 911 where are the 'other' muslim groups? all those moderates? hellooooooo??? where are they? sheesh, they've had 9 frickin' years to develop national campaigns, protests, organizations....why aren't they behind pamela, saying, the real islam is us, not the terrorists.
where are they? have you ever, ever, ever!!!!! seen a large group of muslims protesting anything in america that was positive? the only time you see them is with the leftard fasicsts hating israel and america!
you see many of them chanting death to israel, death to america. here in america!!!! that's where you see them. those are the only large groups of muslims you ever see making 'public' statements.
so WTF??? WTF people????!!!!!
after all these years we don't see anything what else can we conclude?
just like crustyB said:
"To paraphrase Robert Spencer, there are only two kinds of Muslims in the world. Those who believe in terrorism and those who do not understand their own religion."
and america, the west needs to wake the eff up NOW.

[a]

still waiting? please don't hold your breath! i make a clear distinction between the muslims i know personally, who are good people; and the totalitarian, fascist, brutal ideology that inspires violent jihad and cultural take-over of the west. do i discuss this with the muslims i know? noooooo. is it possible that any muslim to tries to start such a 'moderate' organization would be killed. yes. you are correct in that assessment. nonetheless...you are also corect that the reason the millions of so-called 'modeates' are not heard from is that they view non-muslims as infidels. therefore they are silently (where do they send their money?) complicit.
in world war 2 the u.s.a. bombed the hell out of germany. dresden etc. i think america should bomb the hell out of mecca and medina. enough is enough. how much more do you need to know that iran is quickly developing a nuke to destroy israel and the west? that's enough for me.
as far as i'm concerned, after 1400 years of violence, islam has run its course. bomb the f--k out of mecca, totally obliterate it and send a message to the muslims of the world: you f--k with us, with israel, with the west, we will bomb the f--k out of you too, real fast. so shut the f--k up and start behaving like a regular human being you stinking bastards.

one thing israelis from arab countries know is this: that the arabs and muslims understand only one thing: brutal strength. when they get their sorry asses whipped, they understand. because they are cowards at heart. this is what the world has to do.

one last time, people: how far do we let this go? iran is quickly developing a nuke to take out israel and the west. to me this means: bomb the f--k out of mecca, medina etc.
re saudi oil...that is a concern...but what is worse?

[Monica]

What have I learned? I now realise that the teachings of the Koran motivated those madmen to butcher my fellowman in the name of Allah on September 11. The self same Koran that millions in the west read on a daily basis, the Koran is the problem with Islam. 1400 years of violence and barbarity and Islam stands in the same clothing it wore on the day a mad man invented Islam. The koran is the weapon that is used to justify the brutality, inhumanity and medieval teachings of Islam ergo Sharia Law will be the weapon the Islamic Supremacists use to force the west to de-evolve to accomadate a growing Supremacists' community. We in the WEST defeated the Nazis we will not surrender to Islamic Supremacists, not now--not ever.

[al-Mohareb]

From "The Sultan and the Powers" by Malcolm MacColl (1897), Chapter 12 (“Islam as a ruling system”) http://books.google.com/books?id=IiqHMk_VP4kC

"People are coming round at last to the doctrine which I have been preaching by speech and writing for the last twenty years--namely, that any project of reform which has for its object the bestowal of any of the rights of citizenship on the non-Musulman subjects of the Porte can never receive the legal sanction of the Sultan without external coercion. The history of Turkey does not supply a single exception to that assertion. And the reason is that the Government of Turkey, like that of every Musulman State, is a strict theocracy. Its civil policy is based on religious dogmas which are unchangeable, and by which every orthodox Musulman is bound, from the Sultan downwards. Any proposal to put the Rayahs (i.e. non-Musulman subjects) on a footing of equality with the Musulmans is, in truth, a proposal to violate a fundamental article of the religious creed of Islam, which no Sultan can do without apostasy, and consequently without the risk of a Fetva of deposition from the Sheikh-ul-Islam, who is the guardian alike of law and religion in turkey. Even well-educated persons in England, including leading statesmen and diplomatists, have such hazy notions on this subject that it may be useful to give a succinct summary of the facts.
In the belief of orthodox Musulmans the Koran differs from the Bible and all other religious books in one essential particular--namely, that it existed from all eternity in the Arab language on tablets in the highest heaven before the throne of the Most High. From these tablets it was copied by the Angel Gabriel in suras or chapters, and dictated to Mohammed in an audible voice, word for word as occasion required, in the course of twenty years. The revelation of the Pentateuch, on the other hand, was communicated to the mind, not the ear, of Moses through the medium of ideas which he was left free to deliver to men in any form or language which seemed to him good. Moreover, the Mosaic revelation did not profess to be final; on the contrary, it claimed to be preparatory and provisional, pointing explicitly to a greater prophet than Moses and to a future revelation in which the Mosaic dispensation should be developed and absorbed. That prophet was Mohammed and that revelation the Koran, which is thus the last expression of the divine will to men, and therefore absolutely and eternally unchangeable. This doctrine is laid down in plain terms by Ibn-Khaldun, the most learned and one of the most authoritative writers in the realm of Islam. Himself an Arab, he held various offices under the Moorish domination of Spain; then travelled extensively in various Musulman countries in Asia and Africa, where he held converse with the most learned doctors of the law; became the prisoner and then the confidential adviser of Tamerlane; and settled down at last at Cairo, where he held office as Grand Mufti till his death some years afterwards. No higher authority on the doctrines and principles of Islam exists in the Musulman world; indeed, it would be no exaggeration to say that there is none so high.
But it is not enough to consult the Koran alone for Islamic doctrine and law. You must take the Koran with the Hadis or body of Traditions of the sayings and doings of the prophet, which are a supplement to the Koran and its infallible interpretation. These Traditions bear the same relation to the Koran which the infallible decrees of Councils bear to the Bible in Roman theology. You don't refute a believer in Papal Infallibility by quoting the Bible, for he believes in the Bible as interpreted by the Vatican decrees. Similarly, Moslem apologists in English newspapers take refuge in an irrelevant sophism when they challenge proof out of the Koran alone for any Islamic doctrine which they may find it inconvenient to acknowledge. For the Sacred Law of Islam rests on the Koran plus the traditions. Now among the irrevocable doctrines of the Sacred Law are the following:--If the Rayah refuse to become a Musulman he must choose between the cruel alternatives of death or tribute. If he become a Zimmi or Tributary it must be on certain painful and degrading conditions, of which the following will suffice as specimens:--He must pay a yearly capitation tax for the permission to live, and the form of receipt says that the tax is a ransom for the permission to wear his head that year; so that, if he is in arrear with his taxes, as the ruined Armenians are now, his life is forfeited. The Rayah's evidence cannot be recieved in a court of law against a Musulman, He is not allowed to bear or possess arms. He must provide three days' gratuitous hospitality for every Musulman official or traveller who asks for it. Travelling pashas and their retinue of rapacious servants, the ruffianly police, tax-gatherers, Bashi-Bazouks, dirty Dervishes, &c., are thus mercilessly quartered on the wretched Christians of Turkey, whose women (although this is not sanctioned by law) are at the mercy of these unwelcome guests. Should a Christian convert a Moslem to Christianity, both the Christian and the convert must suffer death. The Rayah must build no place of worship. If he obtain official sanction (which he never does without heavy bribes) he may repair or rebuild such places of worship as existed in the country when the Musulman conquerors took possession of it; but it must be on the same plan, sites, and dimensions as the old buildings.
It is sometimes said by persons who know nothing about the subject that the Musulmans of Turkey are more cruelly oppressed than the Christians. That is nonsense, for although Musulmans and Christians are all abominably oppressed under the horrible rule of the Sultan, there is this difference--that the Musulmans are oppressed contrary to law, and the Christians in obedience to the law. The former possess two remedies which are partially effective, and which are denied to the Christians: they possess arms, and can appeal to the law for protection. Moreover, the Christians, in addition to the disabilities which I have described, are subject to many textes from which the Musulmans are free. I have mentioned the yearly capitation ransom tax. But they are liable to many other imposts which do not touch the Musulmans--for instance, forced labour ad libitum and a tax on every Christian, from three months old to the day of his death, to provide a substitute in the army, from which the Christians are by law excluded. In brief, the Christians throughout Turkey are obliged--according to the unanimous testimony of British Consuls--to pay in legal taxation 67 per cent. of the produce of their soil and toil. There are, of course, innumerable extortions in addition. So that the wretched Christians could not manage to eke out even their miserable existence except by means of cheating and bribery. And then, forsooth, highly virtuous writers and speakers in England, who have never experienced any oppression or injustice, take up their song and parable against the servile and degraded character of the Christian subjects of the porte! Who degraded them in so far as they are degraded? How many of their critics and slanderers would endure torture, death, dishonour, and barbarous death in defence of their faith, or of any doctrine in principle, or cause whatsoever? Yet that is what the Christians of Turkey have done for centuries.…
...
I have sometimes been called a fanatic on the subject of Islam. I am no fanatic on that or on any other subject. I am an advocate of religious freedom in the widest sense consistent with the inalienable rights of mankind. My toleration ceases where the religious doctrines of one man invade the aboriginal rights of another, as they do, and have ever done, in every state, without exception, where Islam has ruled supreme. The non-Musulman can never obtain the rights of citizenship, but is irrevocably doomed to a most cruel and degrading servitude, under Musulman rule. It is no answer to this to point to Christians and Jews occupying high posts under the Sultan, who is obliged to make use of them for lack of competent Musulmans, or because he finds it good policy to employ them. It sometimes happened under the serf system in Russia that a landlord educated one of his serfs and employed him to manage his property, or permitted him to strike out a career for himself. But that did not affect the condition of the serfs in general, or even of the emancipated serf, unless he was really manumitted. So in Turkey. The rare exceptions prove the rule as regards the mass; and even the privileges of the few can be withdrawn in a moment. They have no rights. The Sultan's present Ambassador in London, like his two predecessors is a Christian; but he is not, and cannot be, a citizen of the Ottoman Empire, for the only gate to that citizenship is the profession of Islam. The Turkish Ambassador, though a Greek Christian, is simply a Rayah advanced to a high position by the arbitrary will of the Sultan, just as a slave on an American plantation might have been by his master, and his case proves absolutely nothing as to the legal status of the non-Musulman. Indeed, the position of the Rayah is worse than that of the slave on an American plantation or in the Roman Empire; for the American planter or the Roman slave-owner could have made, and sometimes did make, his slave a freeman. But even the Sultan cannot make a single Rayah in his dominions a freeman, since that is a privilege reserved to the Musulman alone. It is because our statesmen and ambassadors have been ignorant of this fundamental fact that their policy in Turkey, from Lord Stratford de Redcliffe downwards, has been such an abject and disastrous failure. I have been preaching this truth for years, and some among us are at last beginning to recognise it. It was refreshing to read in the Morning Post, of last September 17, a leading article which clearly grasped the situation, as the following extract will show:--
Just as in the Christian West living things are divided into human beings and brute beasts, so where the Moslem is the master they are divided into believers and infidels, and the infidel human being is regarded as little better than the brute. And just as in a Christian country if the cattle become dangerous they would be slaughtered wholesale for the safety of the community, so in Turkey, whenever the Rayahs, have been thought to be dangerous, a clearance of them has been made. It is impracticable in a Mohammedan country to appeal to a principle of humanity, for that would be to assert a brotherhood between man and man, which it is the essence of the Mohammedan religion to deny. In a Mohammedan State the Christian can have no part, for his recognition would imply the negation of Islam. Accordingly, the most competent judges, Ranke, the historian of the modern changes in Turkey, and Moltke, the shrewd observer of the beginnings of the modern period, explained long ago that the security for the Rayahs could never be had until they were placed under their own rulers and withdrawn from the authority of the Turks.
But we are sometimes told that we must be careful how we deal with the Sultan, who, as Khalif and Commander of the Faithful, is regarded with reverence and spiritual allegiance by the Musulmans of our Indian Empire. That is all a myth of very modern origin. Our Indian Musulmans are no more concerned with the Sultan of Turkey than they are with the Amir of Afghanistan or the Emperor of Morocco. For the Sultan is certainly not Khalif or Commander of the Faithful, nor has he ever been acknowledged as such in India or out of Turkey. Abdul Hamid has furtively and indirectly played at being Khalif; but to claim the title openly and formally would be heretical and illegal, and would certainly bring down upon him a Bull of excommunication and deposition, which would probably cost him his life. For his well-paid and pampered bodyguard would then desert him. The following are the legal titles of the Sultan, and it will be observed that Khalif is not one of them. He is, 'by the grace of the Almighty Creator, Lord of lords, Dominant Sovereign in Arabia, Persia, and Greece, Invincible and always Victorious, Emperor of Constantinople, Distributor of Crowns to the Great Princes of the Earth, Sovereign Master of the Two Seas and of all the Adjacent Countries, Lord of the Orient and the Occident, Protector of the Sacred and August Cities of Mecca and Medina, and of endless other Countries, Kingdoms, Empires, Isles, and Peoples.'"

[Disgusted]

Lennie, I can't imagine a more Jewhating comment than this. (Shana tova everyone!) The entire German nation was involved with the NAZI terror and only a few courageous individuals were "moderate". Germans everyday denounced Jews, ran the trains, bought and sold to feed the deathcamps and enlisted BY THE TENS OF MILLIONS in hateful Hitler's war machine. THIS WAS NOT A "TINY FRACTION" IT WAS EVERYONE.

BY EVEN EXCUSING THIS TERROIST NATION YOU ARE DEFENDING TERRORISM.

[Fitna]

Great article, the West needs to get its head out of the sand, because Islam is today's Nazism. I've been noticing on a local forum I visit that the muslims are getting much more hostile and vicious-towards Jews and Americans, particularly today. They've been spewing a lot of hatred along with liberal retards who are supporting their crazy conspiracy theories about 9/11. While muslims have always been rather obnoxious, it seems they've grown much more aggressive this year.

This simply underscores the need for people to wise up and start standing up for our civilization and Israel that much more strongly. I won't be surprised if the muslims' hatred will soon spill over into violence and bloodshed. It's a big surprising to me how fast things are moving. I think the GZ mosque controversy and the Quran-burning threat has accelerated things. Islam and the West are two freight-trains on a collision course. We need to get ready for the eventual battle that will ensue.

[Fitna]

*bit (not big)

[Fitna]

Lying is as easy to muslims as is breathing, I don't trust them for a second. The only ones I trust are the ex-muslims and the foolish ones who don't understand that their religion is a violent death cult (and genuinely want peace), either way they're a tiny minority of this fascist totalitarian movement.

We're wasting our time trying to sort the 'good' from the 'bad' muslims. The problem is Islam, it cannot be reformed, it needs to be eliminated because it incites forced conversion, subjugation or death for non-muslims. The good muslims will be the ones who'll be joining our side in that cause. The bad ones will be fighting us tooth and nail.

We just need some catalyst to get the fight started. Unfortunately under the current pro-Islamic traitorous administration, that won't happen, we'll have to wait till the Republicans take over again, including the presidency. Till then we have to keep holding our ground.

[Person of the Book]

Lennie didn't even mention the Jews. How can you call him Jewhating?

It sounds reasonable to me that only a small number of Germans operated the death camps. But Lennie then immediately followed that comment by saying that Germany wasn't moderate, but rather extremist. In other words, the vast majority of them supported Hitler in all his diabolical activities.

On another topic, perhaps you should count your blessings. Then maybe you wouldn't be so "disgusted".

[Person of the Book]

Whenever someone posts a 2000-word (or thereabouts) post, I usually skip over it.

[Fitna]

Ditto, its just a useless cut/paste wall of text.

TLDR (too long didn't read)

[madmath1]

That fact that things have gotten worse in the Islamic world, despite how Obama election would end the hatred and usher in a reign of peace, is proof that either such a Muslim doesn't exists (by definition of Islam, they can't exist) or they're such few in numbers, they're insufficant. After this Imam Rauf, I no longer consider the following statement a theory or axiom, but a law: Assume a Muslim is lying to you and you'll never be disappointed.

[Rebecca]

Hello everyone

It is my first time on this blog and I just wanted to add something.

I think many of you have a fair point. It is very unfortunate and deeply upsetting that us Muslims do not stand up and make ourselves clear about radical and extreme Islaam. I have an immense desire to do so but to be honest I just don't know where to start and I think many feel this. Sometimes I feel its a hopeless situation.

I had an idea once to try a get a group of Muslim scholars to pair with the English Defence League to work together in combating extremism. I just had one problem. Although the aims of the EDL were great (getting rid of extremism) they had attracted supporters who encouraged the burning of Muslim women amongst other things and this scared me and acted as an obstacle.

In London where I am from, some upright and very learned Muslim scholars are making a great effort to try and counteract extremism and radicalism in our faith by education, by teaching what Islaam is really all about, teaching the beautiful principles of tolerance, respect, patience, selflessness. I think this is our most effective weapon, though it is not always enough.

Although it may seem hard to imagine, but the fantasy is alive. Unfortunately its hard to find. As a Muslim I find it hard at times to find but it is there.

Some Muslims are in a very bad state at the moment they utter words of hatred and it burns my heart to hear because I know that this is not our teachings.

People with an aversion to Islaam come up with past events and situations to prove how bad it is but have you ever looked for the good?

There is always gonna be good and bad in everything, I think it is the nature of things. Muslims who practise to the best of their ability to have tolerance and the up most manners and impeccable character and others who let it slip and forget for a moment or a bit more. Let their anger and emotions get the better of them and lash out.

A lot of Muslims are misguided in the teachings of their religion and a lot of non-Muslims also carry a lot of misconception.

I think education is the only way. What do you think?

What do you think we could do?

I don't think violence is the answer or bitter words.

[Vet Girl]

Rebecca,

For one, the muslim people like yourself or those you speak for have to develop a back bone. I have a hard time understanding how whole communities stand by while women are stoned, burned or castrated -- the same revulsion and disbelief I maintain for the Germans of Hitler and the Japanese before them.

Secondly it is for this very reason that I have come to mistrust any and all Muslims. Your peace is all talk with no action.

If and when Muslims start living the peace and defend their own how in the world can I expect them to do the same for us Americans?

[Mackie]

Take a look at the Weazel Zipper site now for this day.

The site is bringing in video and some information on what has been happening at ground zero on this day.

There is a video of a man burning the Qu'ran at Ground Zero, and one who tore pages out of the Qu'ran on the steps of the US Capital.

Once again those of us who oppose the Mosque at ground Zero are completely opposed to the action of desecrating the Qu'ran in anyway, Robert Spencer and Pamela Geller among many other notables have made that clear on several occasions.

http://weaselzippers.us/

[Huckleberry]

There are NO moderate tolerant Muslims that have read the Quran. The goal of Islam is for one sixth of the world's population to enslave the remaining five sixths. That is just so tolerant.

[xavier 823]

The real problem is not actually the Muslims but rather the non Muslim who plays "useful idiots " for the Muslims. Just take a look at all of the comments that the non Muslim liberal "useful idiots " will make in defense of the rights to build a mosque almost on top of ground zero. How about all the nasty comments from "useful idiot" Christians about Christian Pastor Jones for daring to say he was going to burn the Quran. I will bet little to no outrage came from them when the U.S. Army burned Bibles in Afghanistan two years ago. How about the idiot non muslims like Bush that say Islam is a religion of peace. Maybe some Muslims are peaceful but the Quran (the holy book of Islam ) hardly preaches peace, unless your talking about peace between to observant Muslims. Even confronted with facts about so called moderate Muslims who are pro Sharia many non Muslims will offer a lame excuse. We who care about protecting our country , culture, rights, and our non Muslim religion are going to have fight against, so called moderate Muslims, stealth Muslim groups like CAIR, craven Saudi corrupted politicians, anti American liberals, army generals who are politicians, and the 10s of thousands of non Muslim useful idiots. Its going to be a very up hill fight.

[Egghead]

I skipped this the first time, but cam back to read it later. I think that long posts have there place at times.

This article shows that British rulers have been GROSSLY NEGLIGENTLY IGNORANT about Islam for a long long time.

[PRCS]

Well, by Golly, Rebecca,

Here's your big opportunity to tell this filthy kafir the truth about Islam.

Now, go get your Qur'an, and read chapter 5 verse 38.

Now tell me where on the planet, in the twenty first century, do you believe the amputation of a thief's hands is morally acceptable to you.

And if you were directed, in an Islamic state, to amputate a family member's hand--for theft--if you would carry out 'God's will'.

[Egghead]

Rebecca: You are a concern troll meant to confuse the issue which is that the only GOOD Muslim is a FORMER Muslim.

Islam is a VICIOUS WORLDWIDE CRIMINAL SYNDICATE. Practicing Muslims commit significant crimes against humanity - harming both fellow Muslims and non-Muslim infidels.

ALL people, including Muslims, ALWAYS have free will whether to commit criminal behavior in their individual situations.

Thus, practicing Muslims who participate in Islamic-sanctioned crimes like non-Muslim infidel harassment, non-Muslim infidel enslavement, gang rape, child marriage, forced marriage, female genital mutilation, and honor killings make a choice - in the same way that practicing Muslims who commit Islamic-sanctioned terror make a choice. The difference in the Islamic criminality of "peaceful" Muslims and terrorists is simply a difference of DEGREE of criminality.

Former Muslims (called apostates and subject to death from other Muslims) deserve our sympathy and protection.

Practicing Muslims deserve our complete and total censure.

Any time that a Muslim self-identifies as a Muslim, that Muslim reaps clearly defined criminal
benefits from participating in the worldwide ummah. If Muslims self-identified by national identities INSTEAD of self-identifying as Muslim, then those Muslims might be considered citizens instead of criminals.

Identifying oneself as a Muslim is akin to proudly announcing membership in a VICIOUS WORLDWIDE CRIMINAL GANG.

It is well past time to tell Muslims the TRUTH: Muslim behavior modeled on that of the FALSE prophet Mohammed is UNACCEPTABLE, ILLEGAL, IMMORAL, and EVIL.

Mohammed was merely a genocidal homicidal mass-murdering mass-raping pedophiliac women-abusing animal-abusing thieving lying torturing illiterate psychopathic MAN.

Without Mohammed, the religion of Islam ceases to exist because Mohammed's demented delusional ramblings are the entire theological basis for the actions of the VICIOUS WORLDWIDE CRIMINAL SYNDICATE known as Islam.

Thus, to survive, Islam MUST prevent ALL criticism and analysis of Mohammed by labeling such freedom of speech as an Islamic hate crime called blasphemy punishable by death.

The best action to take is to criticize Mohammed - and practicing Muslims who follow Mohammed's evil example and advice - loudly and often.

Islam is EVIL and everyone who aids and abets Islam is EVIL. Practicing Muslims and non-Muslim infidel dhimmis who enable Muslims to gain power are EVIL.

At this point, practicing Muslims have a much bigger problem than an image problem. Practicing Muslims MUST get right with GOD - who outranks Allah and his MAN Mohammed by any moral measure.

GOD IS WATCHING!

[Choi]

IRAN NEEDS TO BE BOMBED.
Add Qom to your list along with EVERY Iranian Nuclear Site..

[Radegunda]

You're right. Islam's thoroughly wretched history has given us abundant evidence that Islam itself is the problem. Islam brings problems wherever it goes, and it pretty much always has.

If Muslims finally decided to join the family of humanity as equals, rather than as perpetual belligerents, life on planet earth would become much better for everyone. Until and unless it becomes indisputably clear that Muslims have civilized the heart of Islam--and that they're not just doing another taqiya soft-shoe--we need to regard every Muslim with suspicion and do all we reasonably can to minimize the Muslim presence among us.

[Radegunda]

You appear to have not read Lennie's comment very carefully. He quite clearly is NOT absolving all those who didn't directly "operate" the death camps. Perhaps you just have a different definition of "operate."
Maybe you disagree with his numbers about how many actually "operated" the camps, but to characterize his comment as the most "Jewhating" comment imaginable is truly bizarre.

Obviously his larger point is that those who directly, physically do the deeds of terror are not the only ones who are complicit in some way. Weirdly, you seem to have turned his meaning upside down. The decent thing would be to apologize.

[Jim of FL]

Hi Rebecca,

I understand what you are saying. You said: "some upright and very learned Muslim scholars are making a great effort to try and counteract extremism and radicalism in our faith by education, by teaching what Islam is really all about." That is good, and I think I am going to approach this from a different point of view.

Albert Einstein said the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over, and expecting a different result. If the scholars keep educating Muslims based on what is in the Koran, how can the outcome be any different that it has been? I am an average person, not a scholar, but it seems to me most American Muslims want Sharia. They promote Sharia by supporting the US Islamic leaders who want Sharia. But if you want to teach tolerance and democratic ways shouldn't you be reading philosophers like Thomas Jefferson, John Locke, Plato, Churchill, Descartes, Kant, Confucius? I agree with you, education is the answer, and I would start by reading those authors. I didn't agree with everything they said, but enjoyed reading their thoughts. They were the geniuses of their times.

Lastly you said: "Some Muslims are in a very bad state at the moment they utter words of hatred and it burns my heart to hear because I know that this is not our teaching." But that is the point, they say it IS your teaching.

"Kill non-Muslims wherever you find them. Lie in wait and ambush them, seize and capture them using every stratagem of war." -- Koran 9:5

Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, al Qaida's "prince of terror" in Iraq, declared: "We have declared a fierce war on this evil principle of democracy and those who follow this wrong ideology.
Democracy is also based on the right to choose your religion, [and that] is against the rule of God."

[a]

maybe i'm very wrong in suggesting that we bomb the heck out of mecca. but what are we to do? we have a worldwide movement (islam) intended on destroying israel and the west...both physically with bombs and culturally thru the influence and conquest of sharia. this is totally unacceptable. the enemy is so insidious that it uses democratic systems to slowly usurp power.
our governments, for the most part, are succumbing. we say: no more! now, what are we going to do about it? i don't advocate suspecting every muslim. certainly not killing every muslim. but i do advocate completely wiping out any place where the extremists are: hamas, hezbollah, places in iran...etc. the west has to show consistent powerful strength to indicate to islam that we will no way tolerate any more taqiya, sharia or any of that bullsh-t. period.

[Radegunda]

Before 9/11, my view of Islam was neutral at worst. Then I began looking closer and putting things together: the prior Islamic terror attacks, the subsequent Islamic terror attacks, the fact that Islam from the beginning was spread by the sword, and that many admirable civilizations were destroyed or terrorized for centuries by Islam.

I began to learn more about what's actually written in Islamic "sacred" texts. Dipping into the Quran at random, I often found hatred toward so-called "infidels." A century or two ago, people wrote about the unusual brutality and deceitfulness they found among Muslims. When the Nazis first appeared on the scene, some people said they were like Muslims.

Muslims are bringing a great deal of violence and mayhem into Europe. Muslims demand that other people bend to their will and not criticize their "religion," and they go on the rampage when someone "offends" them. This kind of behavior is seldom if ever seen in other religions.

Very bad behavior among Muslims, in the name of Islam, is so commonplace that I cannot believe it's all just "misunderstanding" and "misconception"--especially when Muslim preachers stir up hatred and violence against "infidels."

There is something very wrong at the heart of Islam. If particular Muslims are actually nice and tolerant, it's because they're ignoring some basic elements of their religion. But infidels should still not trust them.

[Radegunda]

How can you "desecrate" something that is not sacred to begin with, but is the source of much evil in the world?

[omyobamba]

When Islamists say that America was responsible for what happened on 9/11, there is some truth in it however unpalatable. Are we not propping up the Saudi Royals who are responsible for Jihadi terror? Are we not supporting the despoptic rulers of Pakistan? Are we not making the Arabs rich by depending on their oil? Did we not disown the Shah of Iran? Are we not following a stupid immigration policy of allowing Imams and Mullahs to come to America? Are we not weakening ourselves, thus inviting wrath against ourselves? Why we had to go to war against Saddam when he tresspassed into Kuwait? Would it not have been wiser to let Iraq and Iran keep on fighting their long drawn out war? They would have annihilated each other without loss of American lives? Even now let's get out of Afghanistan right away. Let's not prop up the corrupt Karzai who will in all probability blame US. Let's not legitamize Taliban. Let it be a Muslim problem to be sorted out by Muslim 'brothers'. Kick Imam Rauf to where he came from. Let him exercise our ' Constitutional rights' in the country where he belongs. Amend the constitution to protect America from itself. God bless America. PS: I am a naturalized American who came in legally. I am neither Christian nor Muslim.Just a patriot.

[omyobamba]

Right on the head. As a wellknown Egyption muslim professor once said on CNN, there are two types of Palestians (Muslims); those who are suicidal and those who are homicidal. We could easily extend this to all middlle eastern muslims. A leopard cannot change it's spots. Let's protect Israel and leave the Arabs to themselves except perhaps Egypt where most people still have regard for their ancient civilization. I am not Jewish.

[omyobamba]

Well said Monica. Our pig headed liberal politicians should read the book Satanic Verses ( i.e Koran) writen by a disillusioned muslim author Salman Rushdie. America prevailed in WWII and the world was tranquil for a long time. We will prevail in WWWIII if ever push comes to shove. But we must be mentally and physically prepared for it. No more American troops. Only cruise missiles with megaton war heads.

[Lenin-McCarthy]

Useful idiots everywhere!