Soren wrote on Sep 26
th, 2014 at 1:26pm:
Gandy, the main point is NOT whether IS is fully embraced by 10 or 20 % of muslim and some of their views by another 90 (ie ultimately blaming the west).
The point is that nobody is addressing why or how their interpretations of the violent passages of the koran and mohammed’s exmple are invalid.
To do that you would have to effectively abrogate the later (violent) verses of the koran (which themselves abrogate, superced the earlier peaceful verses ’received’ while the muslims were weak). But there is nothing to authoritatively allow you to ignore as invalid these later, violent verses and mohammed’s record.
The West is identified as the opponent of islam, something islam needs to overcome. As are idolators (hindus, buddhists), apostates (shia, alawites, sufis, etc).
The IS actions may disgust muslims but you nobody has demonstrated that their ideology is not fully justified and underpinned by islamic theology and history. This is not unprecedented in islam - quite the contrary. It was never argued into oblivion and isn’t now because you hve no coherent way to demonstrate that it is nt valid.
This is why the issue is avoided by muslims.
PB.
Declaring something unislamic does not prove that the koranic justifications are invalid.
Declaring something unIlamic is based on some insight into the totality of Islamic teachings.
The chap your Lutheran prophet based his teachings on said that he came not to bring peace, but a sword.
And yet, no one could seriously claim.that Christianity is about beheading people or eradicating peace. Nor is anyone condemning Christianity (or the West) for the millions killed in the wars of the past century - wars supported by a majority of Australians (and Christians) who went overseas to fight.
No one is blaming Germany for the "Teutonic" ideology of National Socialism or Russia for Bolshevism. No one is even blaming Catholicism or Anglicanism for very recent struggles in the UK. There is a nice little out in Christianity that I find quite appropriate: Christians aren’t perfect, just forgiven.
Yeheshua, after all, would have them turn the other cheek.
Islam is different to Christianity. It started as a spiritually-inspired movement to unite warring Arab tribes. It later became a world religion. Islam does not proscribe the cheek-turning pacifism Christ taught (but few Christians follow).
But nor does Islam preach violence, genocide or forced conversion to Islam. In the other thread, I’m patiently waiting on a reply to a question on the nature of jihad. I doubt I’ll get an answer. So far, none of the quotes I’ve read in that thread advocate murder. Having never read it, I was under the impression that the Koran is much more violent than it actually reads. From what I see, it talks largely about a struggle to submit to God. It reads to me as a seventh century self-help book for warring Arabs - which is the prevailing view of mainstream and scholarly writing on Islam.
ISIL do not conform to that view, and mainstream Muslims around the world condemn them. I would have thought this would be a good thing, but no - it does not conform to never-ever, so we must continue the ongoing crusade purely to justify a stubborn point of view.
Always, absolutely, never ever - except when it’s not.
Oh brave new world with such wondrous things in it.
I think it’s a jolly world, but that’s just me.