tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10623297.post114451699736410959..comments2023-11-17T06:40:12.183-06:00Comments on Don Singleton: Where are the Muslim moderates?Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10623297.post-1144863162852401442006-04-12T12:32:00.000-05:002006-04-12T12:32:00.000-05:00The reason you experience difficulty in finding th...<I>The reason you experience difficulty in finding the moderates may well be because you do not define what you mean by a moderate. What I would define as a moderate is invariably different from what the next man would have in mind.</I><BR/><BR/><B>A moderate is someone that has not perverted a respectible faith like Islam into one that demands that everyone that does not think as they think deserves to be killed, regardless of whether they are Christians, Jews, or other Muslims that do not think as they do.</B><BR/><BR/><I>I have thought about this quite a lot as someone who condemns violence in the strongest terms and believes in Islam.</I><BR/><BR/><B>Then I would assume you are a moderate.</B><BR/><BR/><I>The days of condemning terrorism – with which we could all agree – have become distant memories; soon the institutions and personalities dearest to Muslims came under attack.<BR/><BR/>Voices of moderation were being labelled as voices of extremism, and so we all felt under threat. The reassurance once felt – that a clear distinction had been made between terrorists and the rest of us – has disappeared.<BR/><BR/>The ever narrowing definition of a moderate Muslim and ever widening description of the extremist causes little less than despair. Suddenly all of us who practice our faith are extremists and thus a legitimate target for the wrath of right wing, left wing and liberal commentators alike.</I><BR/><BR/><B>If you recognize that the struggle the Quran refers to as jihad is the internal struggle to do the will of Allah, and not a command to kill everyone you can find, and if you recognize that we are all "People of the Book" (or ahl al Kitab) <A HREF="http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/quran/003.qmt.html#003.064" REL="nofollow">Surat Al 'Imran, 64</A> (Qur'an 3:64) says "O People of the Book! Let us rally to a common formula to be binding on both us and you: That we worship none but God; that we associate no partners with Him; that we erect not, from among ourselves, Lords and patrons other than God." then I would honor you as a moderate, and not deserving to be a target for the wrath of right wing, left wing and liberal commentators alike</B><BR/><BR/><I>It is not difficult to find moderates if you do a quick google of blogistan or cyberspace. The question is whether they meet your criteria.</I>Don Singletonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02991386635454877389noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10623297.post-1144842984732436222006-04-12T06:56:00.000-05:002006-04-12T06:56:00.000-05:00The reason you experience difficulty in finding th...The reason you experience difficulty in finding the moderates may well be because you do not define what you mean by a moderate. What I would define as a moderate is invariably different from what the next man would have in mind. <BR/><BR/>I have thought about this quite a lot as someone who condemns violence in the strongest terms and believes in Islam.<BR/><BR/>The days of condemning terrorism – with which we could all agree – have become distant memories; soon the institutions and personalities dearest to Muslims came under attack. <BR/><BR/>Voices of moderation were being labelled as voices of extremism, and so we all felt under threat. The reassurance once felt – that a clear distinction had been made between terrorists and the rest of us – has disappeared. <BR/><BR/>The ever narrowing definition of a moderate Muslim and ever widening description of the extremist causes little less than despair. Suddenly all of us who practice our faith are extremists and thus a legitimate target for the wrath of right wing, left wing and liberal commentators alike. <BR/><BR/>It is not difficult to find moderates if you do a quick google of blogistan or cyberspace. The question is whether they meet your criteria.The Neurocentrichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16277842978923392968noreply@blogger.com