caribny posted:Bibi Haniffa posted:So then the good Muslims should speak out against this. I don't see any other religion being branded as terrorist.
They do speak out. The problem is that they also need to face the fact that it is the primitive and tribal interpretations of the Koran, practiced widely in places like Saudi and Afghanistan that provides fuel.
Its this which allows lunatics to think that their behavior can be sanctioned. In fact these criminals raise funding from individuals or groups who clandestinely support them for reasons best known to themselves.
I note that in the last 50 years there has been a tribalization of Islam. If folks want to cover themselves from head to toe that is their right, but when they do so thinking that the tribal Saudi interpretation of the Koran is better than that which obtained in places like Cairo or Baghdad 60 years ago then this is the issue. It is but a short step from honor killings, or harassing Muslim women because they don't want to cover their hair, or they wish to show some cleavage, and these actions.
While mainstream Islam does indeed distance itself from this savagery it does need to ask itself what is there within this religion that seems to spark more extremism than what we see in other modern religions. I can understand the need to be defensive, but I don't think that this is a good long term strategy.
If there was something inherent in the teachings of Islam that causes this, those drawn to that savagery would be more than the 6 to 10% of Muslims. However, I do share the concern that these people are hijacking the religion for the rest of the Muslim community. Other than the highlighted part, I agree with your statements above.
I think that most Muslims would wish that these people disappear. I know that I do.