Thursday, September 6, 2007

The Free Muslims Coalition

We often hear (and perhaps say ourselves), "Where are the 'moderate' Muslims? Why don't we hear Muslims condemning terrorism?"

When we do hear such condemnation, we question the sincerity of some of those condemning the violence. There are those Muslims who condemn terrorism, but do so with a sneer; what they have in mind, and what they are condemning, are often American or Israeli acts which they describe as terroristic. Too often, naive Westerners miss the doublespeak.

I would like here to point out the existence of a Muslim organization that appears to sincerely condemn terrorism as we infidels understand it.

The Free Muslims Coalition is an organization of "Muslims against Terrorism and Extremism".

Specifically regarding terrorism [I did minor editing of punctuation where it looked like that had not been encoded properly -- YD],


The Free Muslims Coalition believes that there can NEVER be a justification for terrorism.

The Coalition believes that fundamentalist Islamic terror represents one of the most lethal threats to the stability of the civilized world. The existence of Islamic terrorists is the existence of threats to democracy. There is no room for terrorism in the modern world and the United States should take a no-tolerance stance on terrorism in order to avoid another tragedy, along the lines of 9-11. With the added threat of biochemical weapons, the call to defeat terrorism has never been so urgent.


"The Coalition believes that fundamentalist Islamic terror represents one of the most lethal threats to the stability of the civilized world."

Among Islamic scholars, the concept of jihad ranges in definition from the personal struggle against temptation to holy war. All calls for jihad to create an Islamic state should be rejected as heretic and a threat to modern society. The Coalition feels that the concept of jihad should be reinterpreted for a modern day context in which holy war is obsolete. No holy war needs to be waged; there is no clear and present threat to Islam; the only war that needs to be waged in the modern world is one against terrorists and extremists. As militant Islamic fundamentalism increases, the Coalition will wage a battle of minds as we bring Islam into the 21st century and introduce a doctrine which is compatible with democracy and modern living.


We have heard this before, where Islamic scholars describe jihad as a personal struggle, but then we hear of Islamic scholars preaching violent hatred of infidels and advocating violent attacks against us. Often times, we again are left interpreting doublespeak.

Notice, however, how the FMC is calling for a reinterpretation of jihad for the modern world. Notice also the unequivocal statement of the absense of a threat in the world to Islam.

So far, the few Muslims who choose to speak up against militant extremist Islam have faced threats of violence and accusations of being anti-Islam. Even members of this Coalition face threats as they carry out their work. In effect, the message disseminated by radical Muslims is that merely discussing Islamic terrorism is to be construed as an attack on Islam.


This rings true, as it is a point that I have discovered and often made: decent people in the Islamic world are the biggest targets of the bad guys, some ideologically due to apostasy according to the Khawarij and other extremists, others for practical matters. For whatever reason, this is a major factor in why many Muslims keep silent: they are being targeted and intimidated from within their own community. Notice also the similarity of the threat they face -- "accusations of being anti-Islam" -- to the ideology of the Wahhabis and the Khawarij.

More effectively, Muslim extremists have quelled criticism against them from peaceful Muslims by adopting popular Muslim and Arab causes. A case in point is the adoption of the Palestinian cause. The issue of Palestine and the perceived suffering of the Palestinians is the single most important issue that unites the entire Muslim and Arab world. No issue evokes the passion of Muslims and Arabs as much as the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

The Palestinian-Israeli conflict is so important to Arabs and Muslims that every terrorist group from Morocco to Indonesia that seeks legitimacy and a following, places the "liberation" of Palestine at the forefront of their agenda. For example, recall that Saddam Hussein responded to the world's request that he leave Kuwait by insisting that Israel first evacuate the West Bank and Gaza. Osama Bin Laden also invoked the Palestinian issue to justify 9-11. Iran has made the Palestinian issue its most important foreign policy priority since the Islamic Revolution of 1979. HAMAS, Hezbollah and Islamic Jihad justify the murder of innocent Jews by adopting the Palestinian cause.


The corrupt governments in the Arab world also make hay from this issue. By constantly pointing an accusing finger at Israel, they keep their citizens' eyes off their own corrupt and foolish policies. It should be noted that if Saudi Arabia had spent a fraction of its defense budget on investing in "Palestinian" "camps" (two words, each in quotations), they could have given these people a great economy and turned some profit on their investment.

Instead, they foment the trouble by keeping their Arab brothers in the most miserable conditions possible, then inciting and supporting terrorism.

They need the "Palestinian issue"....

The clever adoption of the Palestinian cause has made it difficult for peaceful Muslims to attack terrorist organizations such as Islamic Jihad and HAMAS. The real aim of organizations such as Al-Qaeda, HAMAS, Hezbollah and countries such as Iran is not just the "liberation of Palestine" but the creation of a fundamentalist Muslim empire made up of every Muslim nation. This desire to create a Muslim empire is based on the delusion that modernity is a threat to Islam and the idea that the Muslim community has strayed from God and if they were to return to a strict interpretation of Islam that the problems in the Muslim world would be solved. It is this exact mentality spurned of paranoia, ignorance and fear that inspired and supported the Taliban and the creation of a medieval society in Afghanistan.


The title of this blog is Stop Islamic Conquest.

What are we stopping?

Well, here are Muslims pointing out that it is an Islamic conquest that we are stopping: "...the creation of a fundamentalist Muslim empire made up of every Muslim nation. This desire to create a Muslim empire is based on the delusion that modernity is a threat to Islam...."

Why is the FMC opposed to Islamic conquest? Because other Muslims will suffer at the hands of the rabid terrorist criminals every bit as much as we infidels will, and anyone with half a brain knows that!

The Coalition rejects the urgent desire by extremist groups to create a strict Islamic empire as a justification for terrorism. The coalition rejects the desire to help the Palestinians as a justification for terrorism. The coalition rejects the use of terrorism under any circumstances and will challenge the terrorists' propaganda machines head on.

The Coalition will seek to raise the peaceful voices of Muslims world wide. The terrorist and extremist Muslims will no longer go unchallenged. Their days of sympathetic leaching off the Muslim community are numbered.


Interesting.

These people are not "moderates"!

These people are not "moderates"!



They are just as dedicated to Islam as many Christians are to Christianity; they are just as dedicated to Islam as some of the terrorists are.

The difference is that their methods and goals may seem "moderate" when compared to those of a rabid criminal who wants to rape, pillage, plunder and kill his way to his seventy-two virgins.

But, their dedication to their vision of their Creator is no less enthusiastic than that of others; quite the contrary, they are willing to defy the insanity and risk their lives in service of their Creator. These are the true "Holy Warriors" who stand in sharp contrast to the Islamic mafioso criminals like Osama bin Laden.

Or so it would seem?

More to follow....

Meanwhile, explore the website of the Free Muslims Coalition, and tell me what you think.

2 comments:

Aurora said...

Interesting.

These people are not "moderates"!

These people are not "moderates"!


They are just as dedicated to Islam as many Christians are to Christianity; they are just as dedicated to Islam as some of the terrorists are.

So glad to see you point that out. As I was reading that I was going to mention the quote by the leader of Egypt this week that the very term 'moderate Islam' is 'offensive'. As far as I'm concerned, you either follow your original scriptures or you're really not a follower of your religion, plain and simple.

Yankee Doodle said...

Well, to me, a "moderate Muslim" is someone who isn't really sure she or he is a Muslim. Naturally, the term would be offensive to a devout Muslim.

What I think is perhaps more offensive to Muslims is the implicit assumption that if they were serious about Islam, they would be hijacking airliners and crashing them into skyscrapers; since they are not doing that, they must not be "true" Muslims, hence they are "moderates".

Well, my points here are kind of the opposite.

First, the FMC and people like them are very serious about Islam. They just have a different view of what it means to be Muslim. They are willing to die for Islam, and in fact are risking their lives with their actions; they are just not willing to kill for Islam, but, quite the contrary, they really believe that theirs is a Religion of Peace, and they live according to that belief.

Perhaps what I find most provocative about the FMC is that, unlike many peaceful people in the Islamic world who disavow the violence, the FMC is a reform group.

By that I mean that many peaceful people consider themselves orthodox Muslims, and claim the terrorists have misconstrued Islamic holy texts. The FMC seems to be looking at the Islamic holy texts from a different viewpoint; they seem to acknowledge that they can be interpreted to call for violence, but are making an effort to develop a new interpretation. I am hoping to get some clarification on this, and that is why I have that comment at the end of the post that there is more to follow.

This, then, transitions to your comment: "As far as I'm concerned, you either follow your original scriptures or you're really not a follower of your religion, plain and simple."

Christians, then, would not be followers of Christianity, since for the first couple of centuries of Christianity, there were no Holy Scriptures except for what is now considered the Old Testament, and Christian belief is that Jesus Christ was the Son of God, and that He abrogated much of the Old Testament. Consequently, I could argue that Christians were not following the only Holy Scriptures they had for hundreds of years.

This brings us to the threshhold of an interesting question: Are we seeing a change take place in the Islamic world on a par with the change that took place when Christianity was born from Judaism?

My opinion is that the FMC is sincere. Moreover, I think they, and Muslims like them, who loudly and vocally, without deception, condemn the violence, are the true holy warriors; I think they are the real Mujahideen, and that the suicide bombers and mafiosos of the Islamic world are just deceived and deceptive criminals.

What do you think?