Hateful attack on Islam not funny, and not helpful
Comedian Jackie Mason is in hot water for his harsh attack on Islam.
Unlike more careful critics, Mason was emphatic in stating that the
whole of Islam is "murderous organization" teaching "hate, terrorism
and murder."
"This
is amazing information that almost nobody is aware of ... everyone
thinks that it's a legitimate religion that preaches love and
brotherhood," said Mason. "The truth of the matter is [that terrorists]
are reflecting the religion and following the religion."
They
are "following the orders of the religion directly from the Quran ...
in plain English, the whole Muslim religion is preaching and teaching
hate, terrorism and murder, and nobody knows it, and its about time
they found out about it, " Mason said.
"The
Quran ... is 50 versions of hate, venom, hostility, and murder ...
dedicated to terrorism," he added. " ... I don't know how we can call
it a religion in the traditional sense. It should be called a murderous
organization that's out to kill people."
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has demanded an apology from the radio network and has sent a complaint to the FCC.
The
problem is: I know from debating this in various forums that many
otherwise sane people share this opinion, and as the war on terror continues, more and
more people will be pushed towards similar sentiments. I know only too
well that the search for the moderate muslim leaders can be a
frustrating experience at times, and have no problem agreeing that
Islam has a major problem the Muslim world has been too slow to
address..
Islam critics can often cite a number of Quran verses
and authoritative statements that certainly support the idea that Islam
offers a lot of support for hate, murder and extremism generally.
However, it is a fact that Christianity's holy book the Bible contains
its fair share of atrocities, too. The book of Joshua, to give one example of many, is one horrid description of ruthless genocide,
where God's chosen people wiped entire nations off the planet,
mercilessly slaughtering men, women and children, even domestic animals
that were cursed because God allegedly wished to eliminate even the
memory of other religions and people. And during what was called the
"Dark Ages" and well beyond, Christians found ample support in their
holy texts for ruthless toture and murder in the inquisition, the
crucades, witch hunts and the conquests of faraway lands.
Yet,
in the 21st century Christians don't exterminate native people or fly
planes into buildings. Neither do Jews, even as many of them consider
the horrible writings a holy text.
Neither, of course, do the
vast majority of the world's Muslims, including couragous men and women
who risk their lives standing up against terrorism, despotism and
theocracy in countries like Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The
misunderstanding is the belief there is such a thing as "true Islam" or
"true Christianity," and that an extreme devotion to the most horrible
portions of the religious traditions is somehow the only real or honest
form of religion. Liberals make the opposite error by insisting that
terrorism is not a representation of "the real Islam", but a deviation
from it. Neither is true. The "real Islam" exists in every person in
the world who considers him or herself a Muslim. Islam is created every
day, in thousands of different forms, different degrees of adherence to
a wide variety of practices and beliefs. The same is true of
Christians, or any other religion or ideology.
I am personally
strongly skeptical to both Christianity and Islam, being an atheist and
considering most forms of religion dangerous irrational superstition
that is too often a danger to our modern civilisation. However, over
the last few centuries Christianity has been forced to reform.
Christians (and, indeed, Muslims) are behind charities and beneficial
organisations worldwide that do a tremendous job helping the poor and
the sick. Christianity could change, and Islam will have to change,
purging itself of the extremism and encouraging the humanitarian
qualities of its adherents. When the war on terror is finally won,
Islam will still stand, and nobody have more to gain from this victory
than Muslims.
Islamic extremism is a dangerous movement that has its roots as
much in European style fascism and marxism, which is why it is rightely
called Islamo-fascism. We've had Christian fascism, there is Islamic
fascism, and in this country there is even a cult-like mix of Norse
Åsatru (or, rather, a warped distortion of it) and neo-nazism. Rhetoric
that brands the entire religion for the actions of the few (though not
as few as we would wish) is really a dark mirror of Islamic terrorism.
The extremists want to occupy a position as the defenders of the only
true Islam, when such a thing does not even exist. Religions change and
evolve, not only forming people but being constantly formed by people.
The
west does not face one billion Muslim demons intent on our destruction.
On the contrary, people of all faiths and beliefs face a common enemy
in Islamic extremism, and hateful anti-Islamic rhetoric really aids the
terrorists by pushing away some of our most important (if sometimes
reluctant) allies.
11:09:12 AM 
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