On facebook I posted my perspective on the NYC Mosque, and the Muslim threat in general. My position on Islam shouldn’t be a surprise to my readership. I was rather clear about it in my book -- the foreword, chapters, and afterword. My facebook friends, good folks all, largely disagreed with my position. Here's the link to that conversation: http://www.facebook.com/Dromedary.Hump
Instead of responding to their reasoned comments on facebook, I’ve decided to post my reply to their opposing and more accepting positions here.
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All, thanks for your responses. I fully understand your perspective and hesitation to adopt my position. We can respectfully disagree. But if you look at history, which hopefully we all see as prologue to the future, in any country where Islam takes root it becomes a stand alone and ultimately predominant force even where it is a minority within the native population. The Quran is very specific about how they are to interact with "people of the book" (i.e. Xtians, and Jews...never mind atheists), and it isn't grounded in tolerance. Thus, I don't think assuming their degree of radicalism is no more prevalent than that of radical Xtians or Jews is valid.
Muslims want from us something they do not want to give in return. They demand Sharia law. They view free speech only from their own perspective, thus blasphemy as a justification for unbridled violence or death. They see Western accommodation as a sign of weakness and acquiescence, not one of brotherhood, tolerance and equality. They have no central authority, thus one cannot negotiate with, reason with, or hold accountable a single entity or person.
The hateful things in the Quran (and Hadith) are as evil as those in Bible. HOWEVER, the difference is the vast majority of the followers of Islam, unlike Christians, still fully endorse those things. They are 600 -700 years behind Xtian evolution into modernity. That’s a major difference. As a Jew, atheist, or pagan try reasoning with a Christian of the 14th century, much less your local representative of the Inquisition. Turkey, and Syria over whelmingly Muslim countries, have already passed laws to try and curtail Islamic take over of government, and the rise in radicalism. They see the threat. We should too.
Most of you know I'm no Teabagger; I despise Palin; I’m as far from a Right Wing Religious Nut as one can get;. I'm an Independent, a liberal/moderate, and an Obama supporter. That on this issue I am a bedfellow of the Teabagging imbeciles embarrasses me, but as a student of history to deny the handwriting on the wall is a prescription for disaster.
Finally, while I abhor references to Nazi Germany in any discussion (there's a name for doing that which slips my mind,) the Jews of the 1930's denied time and again the handwriting on that wall. It wasn't until too late that they realized the insidiousness of the Dem. Socialists and a large portion of the non-Nazi German people who turned their backs on what their government did to their Jewish neighbors. I for one won't simply assume Muslim radicals will be kept in line by moderates. Radical Islam is growing, recent instances of American born Muslims committing acts of terror are evidence of this. I won't ignore what has happened to other cultures over centuries and what’s going on in Europe where some countries have a 20% Muslim minority. I won't be a like a complacent German Jew denying what stares me in the face until it’s too late, even though it may carry smile and a self proclaimed label of "religion of peace." One does that at their own peril.
I am not an alarmist, I am a realist. I’m not paranoid on the subject; one isn’t paranoid if there really are people who have stated they are trying to hurt you, or truncate your freedoms, or change your way of life. To hijack a phrase: "Never Again."
Instead of responding to their reasoned comments on facebook, I’ve decided to post my reply to their opposing and more accepting positions here.
---------------------------------
All, thanks for your responses. I fully understand your perspective and hesitation to adopt my position. We can respectfully disagree. But if you look at history, which hopefully we all see as prologue to the future, in any country where Islam takes root it becomes a stand alone and ultimately predominant force even where it is a minority within the native population. The Quran is very specific about how they are to interact with "people of the book" (i.e. Xtians, and Jews...never mind atheists), and it isn't grounded in tolerance. Thus, I don't think assuming their degree of radicalism is no more prevalent than that of radical Xtians or Jews is valid.
Muslims want from us something they do not want to give in return. They demand Sharia law. They view free speech only from their own perspective, thus blasphemy as a justification for unbridled violence or death. They see Western accommodation as a sign of weakness and acquiescence, not one of brotherhood, tolerance and equality. They have no central authority, thus one cannot negotiate with, reason with, or hold accountable a single entity or person.
The hateful things in the Quran (and Hadith) are as evil as those in Bible. HOWEVER, the difference is the vast majority of the followers of Islam, unlike Christians, still fully endorse those things. They are 600 -700 years behind Xtian evolution into modernity. That’s a major difference. As a Jew, atheist, or pagan try reasoning with a Christian of the 14th century, much less your local representative of the Inquisition. Turkey, and Syria over whelmingly Muslim countries, have already passed laws to try and curtail Islamic take over of government, and the rise in radicalism. They see the threat. We should too.
Most of you know I'm no Teabagger; I despise Palin; I’m as far from a Right Wing Religious Nut as one can get;. I'm an Independent, a liberal/moderate, and an Obama supporter. That on this issue I am a bedfellow of the Teabagging imbeciles embarrasses me, but as a student of history to deny the handwriting on the wall is a prescription for disaster.
Finally, while I abhor references to Nazi Germany in any discussion (there's a name for doing that which slips my mind,) the Jews of the 1930's denied time and again the handwriting on that wall. It wasn't until too late that they realized the insidiousness of the Dem. Socialists and a large portion of the non-Nazi German people who turned their backs on what their government did to their Jewish neighbors. I for one won't simply assume Muslim radicals will be kept in line by moderates. Radical Islam is growing, recent instances of American born Muslims committing acts of terror are evidence of this. I won't ignore what has happened to other cultures over centuries and what’s going on in Europe where some countries have a 20% Muslim minority. I won't be a like a complacent German Jew denying what stares me in the face until it’s too late, even though it may carry smile and a self proclaimed label of "religion of peace." One does that at their own peril.
I am not an alarmist, I am a realist. I’m not paranoid on the subject; one isn’t paranoid if there really are people who have stated they are trying to hurt you, or truncate your freedoms, or change your way of life. To hijack a phrase: "Never Again."
