How much of the apparent conflict between Muslim and Western values is real, and how much of it is either imagined by the misinformed, or contrived by posturing pundits?
I don't think anything illustrates the answer better than the muddle around last summer's threatened Quran burning in Florida, and the simple fact that Muslims burn our own Qurans.
When a Quran is old and frayed there are only three acceptable ways to give it back to God: removing the holy names and burning it, casting it into flowing water, or burying it. As far as Muslims are concerned, it's the Word of God and you can't just throw it into the garbage.
Christians call Jesus the Word of God, and believe that makes him something more than human. However, to Muslims, Muhammad and Jesus are like brothers. We believe Muhammad began us, but we also believe Jesus will be our leader when he returns. Frankly, that expectation is something both Muslims and Christians share.
But from a Muslim perspective, it wasn't like how Christians would feel if someone was disrespecting the Bible. Instead, it was more like they'd feel if someone was planning on burning Jesus.
However, when Muslims burn a Quran we do it as a sign of profound respect. And I'm begging my Muslim brothers and sisters around the world, the next time someone tries to work us up that way, could we go with our symbols, rather than theirs?
Frankly, better the Qurans be "burned and returned" by God's cleansing fire, than they remain objects of undeserved disrespect. If an ignorant someone burns Qurans, God still wins. God always wins.
There's a reason we use words like "inflammatory" to describe unnecessarily provocative actions and reactions. Most times, everyone ends up getting burned. And evangelical Christians aren't the only ones who make that mistake.
Every time angry mobs condemn those who disrespect Islam or a prophet to death, haven't you noticed that it just makes them disrespect our beliefs that much more?
And Muslims who burn American flags to protest American foreign policy just inflame those who think Muslims hate Americans for what they are, rather than just hating some of the things Americans do.
I think one of the main problems with the current state of Muslim/American relations is that nobody gets the other side's symbols and when meanings misalign, messages misfire.
For example, Imam Rauf honestly thought he could build a Muslim Center two blocks from Ground Zero and make it a symbol of peace. Imam Rauf and virtually every other Muslim (excepting the members of al Qaeda) consider Ground Zero the remnants of a disgusting attack by 19 criminals who claimed to be Muslim and failed their Islam.
There are only two crimes that get the death penalty straight up in the Quran: killing innocent people, and spreading mischief across the earth. The 9/11 attackers are guilty on both counts.
But then the many Americans who think Ground Zero symbolizes a war between Muslims and America got a hold of it, and brought Imam Rauf's optimistic aspirations to a shuddering halt for a time.
The thing is, symbols are symbols. You can't wish them away. We all use words to communicate, but we think in symbols. That means when you're interacting with someone it's really important to pay attention to what things mean to them, and pretty much impossible to get them to just change their minds and go with whatever those things mean to you.
Holy is holy. An old Quran is no less holy than a shiny new one, even though the old one's dirty and dog-eared. Likewise, the land around Ground Zero is holy to many Americans, despite the liquor stores and the strip clubs.
But here's the news flash: nobody has to choose between Islam and America. That is a false choice. In fact, both sides are closer than they think.
Islam and America mean very similar things symbolically to the people who believe in them, while sometimes carrying the opposite meaning to those who don't. Whether someone's burning flags or Qurans, they're generally both for and against the same general things. Believe me, I know people who could do either.
To Muslims, the Quran and Muhammad's example are the sources of our individual rights and freedoms. According to Islam, our rights and freedoms relative to each other derive from our equivalent relationships to God.
And yes, most Muslims believe that everyone is equal before God, with similar rights, responsibilities and standards of judgement.
So when people denigrate the Quran or Muhammad, even when they think they're denigrating oppression or terrorism, Muslims think they're denigrating rights and freedoms.
But Americans believe that their rights and freedoms derive from the American Constitution, with that constitution's interpretation protected by the First Amendment's proclamation of free speech.
So when Muslims burn the American flag or condemn free speech, they may think they're denigrating immorality and arrogance. But to Americans, they're denigrating rights and freedoms too.
And here's the good news: faith-filled people striving for a "Just Society" founded both Islam and America, even though sometimes we all fall short of our ideals. And the great thing about free speech is, when that happens we can always count on someone pointing it out.
Islam's and America's critics do have a point. There are Muslims and Americans out there doing scary things, like al Qaeda openly killing innocent people just to make a statement, or American soldiers allegedly using Afghan civilians for target practice.
Those sorts of failures need to be openly criticized and condemned by all of us, not hidden behind a smokescreen of words like "Islamophobic" and "anti-American." Such marginalizing rhetoric merely prevents any possible constructive utility to criticism, by automatically making it destructive instead.
Our shared ideals are why we should all support both free speech and tough questions, and both America and Islam. Because even though Muslims complain about being under the microscope for the last ten years, our Islam is unquestionably the better for it. It has become more refined, more defined by our founder's examples and more self-aware.
The same thing happened to America in the aftermath of the Vietnam War, and will likely prove true as America deals with the consequences of their "War on Terror" as well.
The Quran honestly promises that all our different perspectives are mutually beneficial. And I'm hoping that with God's help, together in 2011 they can help us each find our own paths better, by helping us see ourselves -- and everything else -- more clearly.
If we can just keep all our symbols straight.
Follow Dr. David Liepert on Twitter: www.twitter.com/DrDavidLiepert
The Quran-Burning Coverage Conundrum : NPR
'Burn a Quran Day' Sparks Protests in Afghanistan, Petraeus Says ...
That sentence to me seems to be contradictory to the Koran especially depicted in Ayat al-Sayf (The Verse of The Sword).
Is taking photographs haram?
http://www.fatwa-online.com/fataawa/creed/pictures/0010513_2.htm
Yes. Taking photgraphs of (all) that which has a soul (from amongst the humans and animals) with a camera and other than it is haraam.
Makes a lot of sense with this:
It is not allowed for a woman to shake the hand of a non-mahram man
http://www.fatwa-online.com/fataawa/womensissues/mahram/0000206_31.htm
TIME Poll: Majority Oppose M0sq, Many Distrust Mslm
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2011799,00.html#ixzz1ATlF2Tgr
According to a new TIME poll, 61% of respondents oppose the construction of the Park51/Cordoba House
-This cleric and his followers care about spreading their version of peace and love at any price using Saudi holy money. They seriously lack sensitivity when it comes to people feelings.
If people were to watch this CBS piece, those 61% would soon change their minds:
http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=6902812n
The first map of America to have ever been created was by Piri Muhyid Din , a Muslim, in 1513!
The Muslims were masters of the sea. They had maps, equipment and experience that were far beyond what was available in Europe.One of the most famous gegrapher is Al-Idrisi who made a globe or sphere of silver weighing 400 kilograms for the Christian King Roger II of Sicily.
Columbus had two captains of Muslim origin during his first voyage, one named Martin Alonso Pinzon the captain of the Pinta, and his brother Vicente Yanex Pinzon the captain of the Nina. They were wealthy expert ship outfitters who helped organize Columbus’ expedition and repaired the flagship Santa Maria. The Pinzon family was related to Abuzayan Muhammad III, the Moroccan Sultan of the Marinid Dynasty (1196-1465).
So "Ground Zero" is a symbol for Muslims as well, regardless if 9-11 was in deed done by 19 so called Muslims!
- :) that is why their countries are so democratic free and advanced with everyone's rights preserved.... in a pickle jar. They don't have to come to the west because they have surpassed the west by light years. They don't know what intolerance or fundamentalism is. There is no such word as Dhimmies and infidels.
The Sears Tower, the tallest building in America, was designed by a Muslim architect, named Fazlur Khan.
http://www.azcentral.com/business/consumer/articles/2010/12/27/20101227muslims-us-consumer-niche27-ON.html
"Muslims came to the United States in large numbers for doctorates, engineering and medical degrees, after the federal government eased immigration quotas in the 1960s. Studies have found that a significant percentage of Muslims are better educated and wealthier than other Americans."
Today, some Muslims are beginning to turn against the cultures of the People of the Book which have humiliated and despised them. A rejection to build a mosque near WIC site may help to turn the radicals against the West more. They have even begun to justify their hatred in the name of Islam which vehemently condemns hatred, pride and arrogance.
Islams commitment to tolerance and compassion for the pain and distress in the Muslim world (Siege of Gaza) is denied by the west.
Islam is not going to disappear or wither away. It would have been better if it had remained healthy and strong and that will help both cultures to co-exist successfully as they have been for generations despite the brutal colonial poilicies of the West
nice article, al hamdulillah. I would only add that my Imam said during that time that we preserve the Quran not by fighting over what someone does with a book. We preserve the Quran as Muslims by memorizing and studying the book and putting it into practice. You are one of many scholars who said the controversy from the Muslim side in a certain way made no sense.
Fee Amanallah
If you're talking about Muhammad, I think it was the angel Jabril (aka Gabriel) doing the talking.
"that you must believe what I tell you or be slain"
I don't recall that part of the general story .... any reference links for that part of it?
Now there is something else that you left out of the story. It wasn't *you* that was in the cave. It was Muhammad (asws). Why do I mention that?
Muhammad was known as the most truthful person in his community, even when he was just a youth.
Even his enemies considered him Al-Ameen (the trustworthy) and Al-Sadeeq (the truthful). It was this reputation that led to so many followers in his message. At the time of his death, he had 125,000 followers. These were people who were originally his enemies, but accepted his message when they could find no flaw in it.
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Depends on how you define it. But basically, yes. I am sure you can find lots of links to this.
Stuff from the Koran. The Sira. The ahadith. And more.
Say: It has been revealed to me that a company of Jinns listened (to the Qur'an). They said, 'We have really heard a wonderful Recital!
Sahih Bukhari Volume 4, Book 54, Number 533
Narrated Jabir bin 'Abdullah:
The Prophet said, "Cover your utensils and tie your water skins, and close your doors and keep your children close to you at night, as the Jinns spread out at such time and snatch things away. When you go to bed, put out your lights, for the mischief-doer (i.e. the rat) may drag away the wick of the candle and burn the dwellers of the house." Ata said, "The devils." (instead of the Jinns).
(12) al Qaeda openly killing innocent people just to make a statement, or American soldiers allegedly using Afghan civilians for target practice.
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A goal that other Muslims champion and celebrate is not equivalent to a rumor that would be punished by the legal system if it were proven to be true.
(13) Those sorts of failures need to be openly criticized and condemned by all of us, not hidden behind a smokescreen of words like "Islamophobic" and "anti-American."
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Americans engage in massive amounts of self-criticism. I do not notice anything close to this in the Ummah. And I think Westernophobia, Freedomophobia, Modernophobia, Scienceophobia, Rightsophobia, etc are more appropriate labels than anti-American for what I have observed.
(14) Our shared ideals are why we should all support both free speech and tough questions, and both America and Islam
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But who is restricting free speech or wanting to do so? Not Americans. It is Muslims, over and over. And who is willing to confront and answer tough questions? Americans do it all the time. Muslims, when confronted with tough questions, too often just seek to exterminate the person making the inquiry.
I found this article to be so replete with nonsense that it was of minimal value. Rather than try to lecture Americans, and convince us that Muslims are just like us , the Muslims still have to confront a massive task: Reform themselves to live in the modern civilized world.
Or leave it.
Repressive Muslim governments look a lot like repressive non-Muslim governments.
Muslim extremists talk and write a lot like non-Muslim extremists.
Muslim terrorists tend to behave a lot like non-Muslim terrorists.
Muslim mystics talk, sing, dance and write a lot like non-Muslim mystics.
Why do you feel that the vast majority of Muslim people worldwide are any different than the vast majority of any large group of people worldwide?
(1) How much of the apparent conflict between Muslim and Western values is real, and how much of it is either imagined by the misinformed, or contrived by posturing pundits?
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Many Muslim apologists want to claim that no real conflict exists. But certainly when a large segment of the Muslim Ummah wants to replace Western values with their own, and announce it over and over and over in speeches, lectures, sermons and assorted writings, it is just naive to deny that some problem does not exist.
(2) I don't think anything illustrates the answer better than the muddle around last summer's threatened Quran burning in Florida, and the simple fact that Muslims burn our own Qurans.
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But the muddle is not the fault of the West in this case, but on Muslims for not understanding their own culture, as happens over and over and over, and instead they fly into a rage and want to do nothing but kill wantonly. This is a bad bad sign of a sickness in Islamic culture.
(3) Every time angry mobs condemn those who disrespect Islam or a prophet to death, haven't you noticed that it just makes them disrespect our beliefs that much more?
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As a nonMuslim, I notice, since I am one of those who does not respect most Islamic beliefs, as they currently are realized, very much at all. And my respect has been dropping recently.
How large is the segment?
How many Muslims listen to these people? More, percentage-wise, than the few Christians who listen to "fire and brimstone" preachers?
"over and over, and instead they fly into a rage and want to do nothing but kill wantonly. This is a bad bad sign of a sickness in Islamic culture."
That's a bad sign of sickness in any culture. Fortunately, it's a very rare sickness. How many, out of 1.5 Billion Muslims, react to anything, like that? How many American Muslims did you see or hear loudly or aggressively denouncing the Quran burning?
I saw and heard zero. The few comments from Muslims I did see or hear were calm and reasonable.
And regarding respect, you're losing respect and credibility by falsely conflating extreme Islam with all of Islam. Islam's true core beliefs and tenets are as worthy of respect as those of any religion, and have no connection with the falsehoods anti-Muslims spread around.
Facts do not make one an "apologist".
And facts speak louder than fears.
And I would say that people everywhere warrant respect, until you experience them doing disrespectful things consistently, at least. Why disrespect Islam, or Muslims, when the vast, vast majority of them have never said or done anything that you actually disrespect?
My difficulty with mainstream Islam is that it has not been forceful enough in denouncing and criticizing extremist Islam. Instead, it tends to make excuses for it and explains it away in convincing fashion.
to mention a few: the following are forbidden until the Day of Judgment: a common concept among Judaism, Christianity and Islam (i) Gay marriage, (ii) consumption of alcohol and drugs like Cocaine, Barbiturates Street Methadone (iii) incest such as sex between mother and son or blood brother and sister or son in law and mother in law, daughter in law and father in law (iv) rape (v) murder and killing the innocent (vi) adultery (vii) even consensual sex out of wedlock.
The rest(90%) issues such as interest (charges on mortgage and money transactions in trade) and Insurance, Apostasy, punishments for other offences, organ transplantation, international relations, methods of political administration, women’s rights, distribution of charity are subject to interpretations and changes based on independent reasoning by scholars
Prophet Muhammad has said that a period of time will come when the so called scholars would emerge who will justify the wrong as right and right as wrong. They’d confound themselves and confuse others but a small group will be ready until the Day of Judgment to fight and die to preserve the moral laws of God.
"But the muddle is not the fault of the West in this case, but on Muslims for not understanding their own culture, as happens over and over and over, and instead they fly into a rage and want to do nothing but kill wantonly. This is a bad bad sign of a sickness in Islamic culture."
If my memory serves me correctly, and it usually does, there was no violence from American Muslims due to the announcement of the planned Qur'an burning.
Where is this "flying about in a rage" that you are referring to.
Granted, I don't always have time to watch ALL the news channels or read ALL the latest newspapers and magazines. I'm not Sarah Palin, after all. But I don't recall any American Muslims "wanting nothing but killing wantonly".
Please refresh my memory. Were there any incidents of Muslim violence?
I will tell you what I do remember about the Qur'an burning. It was one of the first times in recent history that I can recall of all the Muslim organizations in the U.S. uniting for a common cause. It also brought forth many Christian, Jewish, Buddhist and Atheist groups to come in support of U.S. Muslims.
Such a small event had a major impact on bridging the religious divide.
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I guess you didn't follow the news. Angry Muslim protests in the US and denouncements followed the announcement of a planned burning. And there were very violent Muslim protests around the world with deaths (of Muslims of course, they usually kill each other over such nonsense). Do you need links?
But I don't recall any American Muslims "wanting nothing but killing wantonly".
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Do you think there are any Muslims who live outside the US? No protests? No lectures? Ever hear the phrase "Death to America" perchance? Ever hear of the Undercover Mosque exposes? http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2515587181120245843
This event made Muslims in the US and elsewhere look ridiculous and hurt their reputations badly.
And I was one of those who was not in favor of the Koran burning (although I did not protest). But the response to this minor character of questionable repute (look up his biography) was just over the top and silly.
Kashmere. Are you even aware over the span of several centuries the Jews and others fled to Muslims territories and lived there peacefully and successfully.
The Kashmery people has been living under India oppressive occupation for years and its nothing to do what you mentioned.
Thanks God for people like Dr. Liepert who was able to overcome all these misconception and stereotype and later became Muslim himself. Read his booklet why.
http://www .scribd.co m/doc/1754 6247/Choos ing-Faith- Dr-David-L iepert-Rev ersion#arc hive_trial
Can you kindly cite verses from either the Qur'an or Sunnah that support a concept of Taqqiya?
Taqqiya contradicts the Qur'anic commandment to be truthful.
I would like to see what you can come up with.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabic_literature
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extreme_weather_events_of_535%E2%80%93536
On page 59 in his book, "Why I am a Muslim", he concisely explain :"Unfortunately, religion and politics have become linked to the extend that many people think of Muslims only in political terms. Because of this some people choose to criticize Islam because of the laws and governance of some muslim nations. It should not be surprising that the practices which recieve their greatest attention and condemnation are not necessarily supported by the Holy Quran."
http://www.scribd.com/doc/17546247/Choosing-Faith-Dr-David-Liepert-Reversion#archive_trial
My comments are not anti-Islam. They definitely are anti-Islamism. I support all Muslims who call for separation of religion and state. They are our allies against Islamist terrorism.
Has Dr. Liepert declared his convictions on the issue of separation of religion and politics?
Basically you ppl are confusing it. Islam is not just to offer your prayers five times a day. Islam influence Muslims every aspect of life.
Islam is not like other religions .. where you just have to go to your worship places on weekends and rest of the week do whatever you want to do..