@vikorr,
Quote:An open mind and / or a search for the truth requires that one be willing to test consistency. In other words, if something goes against your understanding - you need to be willing to honestly look at why it does so.
I agree. There are good and bad in every society and in every religion. If you see a small minority doing bad things and label that as teaching of Islam then it is unfair. I said this before, if all Muslims believed in violence then World will come to an end within one day. I suggested this before that you find a mosque near your home town and interact with Muslim to see if they are loving and peaceful people or not. If all of your research is based on the information you got from Islamophobic websites then this will nothing but misinformation.
Quote:No it does not. Though I doubt that those carrying them out consider their actions to be truly acts of terrorism, rather than acts of war / jihad.
I agree and you listed a good point in your reply which I will quote here.
"Many Muslims probably consider or suspect that the West oppresses them. I have little doubt that this contributes to terrorist justification among themselves."
You nailed it my friend. Was Iraq war justifiable? Was Afghanistan war justifiable knowing that it was America who created Taliban to fight against Russia? Who suffered most? Why is America supporting Saudi Arabia and selling them weapons so that they can continue fighting in Yemen against Shia Muslims? I know this is all political setup to grab power but who suffered in this war of power. Poor Muslims who lived in Iraq, Yemen, Afghanistan, Syria etc. Millions have lost their homes and we have this huge refugee problems. Millions of kids have lost their parents. What do you think these Muslims will do? Love the West for what they have done to them? Of course it is oppression and killing Muslims at the name of so called war against terrorism. ISIS is one of the Taliban group which at one point was supported by America. Anyways, sad thing is that in this so called war against terrorism Muslim are the actual victims but are portrayed as one who spread and promote terrorism. Is this really that hard for someone who is neutral to see?
This reminds me of a verse from Quran:
Quote:And when it is said to them, "Do not cause corruption on the earth," they say, "We are but reformers." Unquestionably, it is they who are the corrupters, but they perceive [it] not.
It is legitimate to wage a war when someone attacks on America ( I am referring to 9/11) but it is not legitimate to wage war against those who oppress Muslims in their own lands? Muslims in Kashmir and Palestine have been waiting for over 70 years for UN to resolve their issues. UN keeps passing resolution but did nothing to get freedom for people of Kashmir. Muslims in Kashmir are being oppressed and they don't even have a right to fight against oppression?
Quote:the early generations conquered/spread their way from Mecca, to cover the Arabian peninsula, then to the Atlantic Ocean, and east into India - all within 200 years. No sane person can honestly argue such as 'acting in self defense'. I've little doubt this little fact contributes in large degree to Islamist justification for 'terrorism' (from their perspective, Jihad).
I think you could have seen the reply to this in that 20 minute video I posted in my previous post. Today the fastest growing religion in America and Europe is Islam. The Muslims in these lands are a minority. The only sword they have in their possession is the sword of truth. It is this sword that is converting thousands to Islam.
Quran says:
Quote:There shall be no compulsion in [acceptance of] the religion. The right course has become clear from the wrong. (Quran 2:256)
Let's also look at some of the facts because facts speak for themselves:
· Muslims ruled Spain (Andalusia) for about 800 years. During this period the Christians and Jews enjoyed freedom to practice their respective religions, and this is a documented historical fact.
· Christian and Jewish minorities have survived in the Muslim lands of the Middle East for centuries. Countries such as Egypt, Morocco, Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan all have significant Christian and Jewish populations.
· Muslims ruled India for about a thousand years, and therefore had the power to force each and every non-Muslim of India to convert to Islam, but they did not, and thus more than 80% of the Indian population remains non-Muslim.
· Indonesia is the country that has the largest number of Muslims in the world, and the majority of people in Malaysia are Muslims. But, no Muslim army ever went to Indonesia or Malaysia. It is an established historical fact that Indonesia entered Islam not due to war, but because of its moral message. Despite the disappearance of Islamic government from many regions once ruled by it, their original inhabitants have remained Muslims. Moreover, they carried the message of truth, inviting others to it as well, and in so doing endured harm, affliction and oppression. The same can be said for those in the regions of Syria and Jordan, Egypt, Iraq, North Africa, Asia, the Balkans and in Spain. This shows that the effect of Islam on the population was one of moral conviction, in contrast to occupation by western colonialists, finally compelled to leave lands whose peoples held only memories of affliction, sorrow, subjugation and oppression.
· Similarly, Islam spread rapidly on the East Coast of Africa. And likewise no Muslim army was ever dispatched to the East Coast of Africa.
You can read more in the article, link below:
https://www.islamreligion.com/articles/677/was-islam-spread-by-sword/
Quote:Don't get me wrong - I don't mean at all to dismiss the passages you have quoted. The Quran, as far as I'm aware, has always had a duality to it's nature: a book of peace, kindness, and mercy...and a book of intolerance (sorry, there is nothing else I can call it's berating of other religions), supremacy (again, nothing else I can call it constantly calling muslims winner & all else losers, placing muslims above others, disparaging others), and intolerance. I don't say this to offend you, but rather - because there are many of these passages in the Quran.
It's an interesting book - it has plenty of beauty to it...even while I will never deem as good, or ignore so that I can think 'it is so good', the amount of passages it contains that promote intolerance.
Trust me i am not offended. I know how non-Muslims think of Islam and understand their concerns. The only way we can bridge our gaps is by talking to each, listening to opinion of others with respect, understand that we both are looking at samething through glasses of different colors. Your POV could be very different form mine but if we dont talk, then our differences will only grow. Understanding Muslims and Islam is becoming essential as Muslim population is growing rapidly in the West and it is only possible with face to face dialogues with Muslims or having interfaith get togethers. We have lot more common with one another as we are all humans and our needs are the same. Yes there are differences but those are very small and could be resolved if we start talking to each other.