ISLAM DEBATE

Any time you speak well of Muslims or
their religion, you'll get a contrary
response from people who think you are
naive or misinformed. They are quick to
point out bad things said and done by
Muslims, and claim these evils are typical
and representative of Muslims as a whole.
These folks are confusing Muslim extremists
(who often advocate violence) with main-
stream Islam, which has a long history of
peaceful relations with non-Muslims.

Through letters to the editor of the local
paper, the Albany (OR) Democrat-Herald,
I have been urging more understanding and
friendship between Muslims and the rest of
us, and getting the predictable flak in response.
I am reproducing some of that here, along
with my answers. The full discussions are
available on line at: www.democratherald.com/
articles/2007/06/24/news/opinion/1edi03_
mailbag.txt

First, my letter that started the controversy:
It's dated 6/18/07, and titled "Why Believe the
Nuts?" It reads thusly:

All religions have their extremists. Was Rev.
Falwell speaking for all Christians when he
attributed 9/11 to our tolerance of gays? Or
when he called Bishop Tutu a "phony?"
Falwell did not represent main-stream
Christianity. Bishop Tutu does.

The Ayatollahs, like Falwell, represent a
fringe, not mainstream Islam. They are only
found in the Shia sect, who make up 10-15%
of the 1.4 billion Muslims. The rest are Sunni,
and constitute the mainstream. Most of them
do not even recognize the Shia as true Muslims.
(The Sunnis also have extremist sects like the
Wahabbis, that are out of the mainstream,
and do not speak for it. Osama bin Laden is a
Wahabbi.)
Reading and understanding the Quran in its
historical setting is prerequisite to discussing
its teachings. In it you will discover that "there
is no compulsion in religion." That's a direct
quote. It's unequivical, and was followed
strictly by Muhammad and his early followers
(in spite of what you may have been told).

The myth of Muhammad spreading Islam
with the sword was concocted by the Pope
promoting the first Crusade. The term
"infidel" is Latin, by the way, and came from
the Crusaders and was ascribed to Muslims.
Mainstream Muslims do not use that term
to refer to Christians or Jews who are
practicing their religion (living by its precepts
in regard to their neighbors). They are called
"People of the Book," and treated with respect.

Before the Crusades, Muslims, Jews, and
Christians lived harmoniously in Egypt,
Lebanon, the Holy Land, Iraq and Spain.
When the Catholic Church got control of
the latter, it initiated the Inquisition and
forced Muslims and Jews to either convert
or leave. Those that refused or were
suspected of pretending to convert were
often tortured or barbecued alive. When
the Conqistadores arrived in the New World,
they forced mass conversions of the natives,
and killed or enslaved thousands in the
process. The spread of Christianity in sub-
Sahara Africa was also a result of military
conquest and in the interest of colonialism
by Europeans. If we are going to look at
history, let's look at all of it, shall we?

You won't get the full story of Islam from
it's enemies and critics. Would you consult
Sam Harris or Christopher Hitchens on
Christianity? (Both are popular atheists.)
For an honest, warts-and-all history and
explanation of what mainstream Islam
really teaches, see No god but God, by Resa
Aslan. He is an American Muslim born in
Iran, and a professor of world religions,
fluent in Arabic, and expert in Judaism
and Christianity, as well as Islam. His
work is a masterpiece of scholarship and
clear writing that is widely hailed as
authoritative by Muslims and Christians
alike. It will undoubtedly become the
standard in English on Islam. You can
get it from Amazon for under $8.00. I
urge you to do it.

More on this later!

jgoodwin004@centuryTel.net