ISLAM AND THE QURAN
by Pete Fisher
We have seen some disturbing instances lately
concerning the perception of defilement of the Quran. First and
foremost, I do not condone defilement of any holy book. It serves no
purpose, and it is inconsiderate.
However, do those who do such things merit death? This
is something about Islam I have never been able to understand, from
the death warrant on Salman Rushdie to others in Islamic nations who
have been put to death for supposedly blaspheming Islam, to the riots
we see around the world presently for an irresponsible act of
journalism.
Even if what was reported was true, the deaths and
mayhem that followed shows the world the heart of Islam. Now I will
most certainly receive a lot of emails from Muslims claiming this is
not Islam, but depending on which Quran they themselves read, they may
also be guilty of not adhering to Islam according to many scholars in
their own religion.
I believe every human has the right to protest if they
feel an injustice was done to them. I have no problem with people
being angry if they feel their religion was slammed. But I have a huge
problem with the mob mentality that screams for the blood of
individuals for either a perceived or real action by someone against
their religion.
And I will also no doubt receive many emails telling me
that the West has committed atrocities against Muslims. And no doubt
they have. However, the emails I receive never claim the Western
culture as the villain, but Christians and Jews, specifically as a
religious entity, not a culture.
And I always need to reply stating that if a Western
nation goes to war or does something horrible, they never do it while
screaming “God is great”! or “Death to the unbelievers!”, they simply
are going the way of mankind and doing what they do for their own self
interest.
But Islam seems to differ greatly from the other great
religions in this respect. The emails this last year I have received
also solidify my feelings on this issue, because many have been quite
biting and violent. Yes, I am a Christian. And many times in my life I
have heard people bad mouth God. I have seen people desecrate the
Bible. I have been told religion is for the weak and stupid. I have
been told there is no God. I have laughed at, I have heard the
skeptics rail on the Bible, and I have heard the worst of what man can
think about God, Christianity, Judaism, and the Bible.
I have also seen Buddhists and Jews endure the same
treatment of their religion and God, as well as Hindus. But between
Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, and Buddhism, we all seem to take
the position that all people have a right to believe what they desire,
and all will bear the consequences of their beliefs and actions either
in the hereafter, or in the next life however it is perceived.
We feel our God can not only defend Himself without our
petty interference, but He is also the only worthy judge of our lives
and actions. Though we may strive for a more holy lifestyle, we all
recognize our weaknesses and attempt to better ourselves while
creating no harm to others.
And we all watch as Islamists word wide are running
rampant in the streets without even knowing for sure if the story they
heard was true or not. It will not even matter to them that the story
has been retracted. They now have a reason to Jihad, and Jihad they
will. The truth matters not, the fire has been lit and the violent
protests have begun. It also seems not to matter that some Muslims
claim the Quran condemns killing and mayhem. They will simply take the
other verses that condone those actions and run with them.
And people will die. Homes and property will be
destroyed, lives ruined. And all due to a supposed blaspheming of the
Quran. Now I may be wrong, but my idea of blasphemy was that a god or
entity had to be spoken of irreverently, not a book or religion
itself.
But Fatwah have been issued worldwide because someone
either blasphemed Islam, the Quran, Muhammad, or Allah. People have
been murdered for speaking against a religion that I have been told
hundreds of times is NOT a religion of compulsion. They have been
ostracized for not believing, killed for leaving, and beheaded for
Islam or their take against it.
And I am not talking about the period of the Crusades,
or any other time in history where the medieval mind ruled. I am
talking now, 2005 in an age of information, an age of education, mass
media, telecommunications, and on and on. And I see not one Western
Muslim entity who claims Islam is peace over in Saudi Arabia,
Afghanistan, Iran, Sudan, or anywhere en masse in a huge effort to
educate their brethren in what they consider a peaceful religion. I
have heard a spattering of imams decrying terror and murder, but with
2 billion people worldwide, one might think perhaps that the story we
keep hearing of terrorists being the minority in Islam is nothing more
than a fairy tale.
If Allah needs his people to kidnap for him, murder for
him, riot for him, and if the Quran needs to be shown to the world as
a Holy book using the same methods, how will this world ever see
Islam, Allah, and the Quran as anything else than a bloody entity?
Yet the so called peaceful Muslims try and talk to
those who are not Muslim, and try to teach us the more peaceful ways
of Islam they claim exist. But it is not us who need to hear these
things. We are not the ones kidnapping, murdering, raping, beheading,
all the while screaming out the name of our God. Governments may do
these things. But I do not see people screaming out the name of Jesus
or Krishna, or Buddha while performing deplorable acts of evil.
It is Islam itself that needs to be educated by you
peaceful Muslims. Not the rest of us. We see what we see, and we know
what we know, and whether you believe it or not, many of us have read
the Quran and felt it was not for us and perhaps chose another
religion. But our former religion did not have us killed or ordered to
be put to death for leaving. Some have even left our religions and
become Satanists. Sad as it may be to the followers of the God of
Abraham, we believe they have their choice and will face God Himself.
We truly believe our God is strong enough and holy enough to defend
Himself and to rightly judge others. He does not want us to, or need
us to commit acts of evil to show the world He is Holy and Just. Some
will mock Him, mock the Bible, and our ways. But we have no right to
slaughter those who do so.
Muslims, teach your own. Go into the world and put your
faith to the test. Go to the aforementioned nations and get on those
loud speakers yourselves. Decry those actions and diffuse this madness
through your teachings and outreach to Muslims who have been deceived.
And perhaps the world will believe your message when we see that
happen.
Or are you afraid perhaps that those passages they use
from the Quran can not be debated? And perhaps by teaching peace and
love, compassion and truth, that you yourself may be the next
blasphemer and sentenced to death?
I often wonder why those who proclaim peace in Islam
never seem to take the message to where the violence is. They simply
seem to try and tell us that the atrocities we see in the name of
Islam are not what Islam espouses.
But I say, images and actions speak louder than
opinion. Until you allow Allah to fight his own battles, your people
and religion will always be suspect.
