Fellow IBA blogger, Eteraz, has been waxing poetic over at the blog The Anchoress.
Here's the comment I left in response to the post featuring his words:
Ali also blogs at the Infidel Bloggers Alliance. The url for that blog is:
www.ibloga.blogspot.com
I invited Ali to be a part of IBA, because I believe he truly is a reformist Muslim, and he is not a liar. I consider Ali a friend based on our correspondence. I believe he is a charming, intelligent, and passionate person.
He is also creative and poetic, which is what is required of a reformist.
Now, here's the thing, as a poetic thinker, I believe Ali sometimes thinks about things more the way he would like things to be, than the way the are.
That's required of a reformist. He needs to dream a new thing.
But, we need to face the truth at the same time.
Ali is not mentioning here the fact that Jihad is required in the Koran, and it is, in many passages, specified as violence and terror against the Christians and the Jews.
The story of Mohammed's life is that he got increasingly frustrated with the Christians and Jews for rejecting his faith. This is why the latter part of the Koran is predominantly about making war against them.
Ali needs to deal with that fact, admit it, and he, as a reformer, needs to demand change, as much as he waxes poetic.
I can't wait to see what he has to say about that.
Now, I know a lot of the IBA contributors know the Koran much better than I. I think Eteraz has not been entirely honest here. As I note in the email, I think Eteraz is just doing his poetic thing, but honesty is required as well.
Maybe some of you can help out. I'm sure a rollicking discussion can get underway.
10 comments:
Why would IBLOGA knowingly keep a Muslim who is, at the very least (and this is putting it charitably), less than honest in what he is telling us about Islam? If he can't be honest with himself, how can we expect him to be honest with us infidels?
I still don't understand why a 'reformist Muslim' was invited to IBLOGA in the first place. As I've pointed out any number of times, and elucidated at length over, there is no such thing as a 'reformist Muslim.' Reformist Muslims don't have an ideological leg to stand on.
Pastorius, how long are we supposed to wait for Eteraz to get his head out of his ass? How much time are you willing to give him?
You invited him, Pastorius. You can fix that mistake anytime you wish.
Are you mad at me about this, AJ?
I don't see that he screws anything up for us, but maybe I'm wrong.
Tell me what you think.
By the way, the fact that I made this post is a demonstration of the fact that I don't accept everything that comes out of his mouth.
And, I'm saying we must make sure he is clear with people, and does not lead them astray with pretty talk.
Right?
I'm not mad at you, Pastorius. At least your heart is in the right place, and you're willing to admit the truth about Islam. This is a lot more than many others in the West are willing or able to admit out loud (or even to themselves, I would bet). I save my anger for the Jihadists, fake 'Muslim moderates' and their leftist sympathizers.
Color me perplexed and confused, then. I'm not sure why you would want to keep a dishonest Muslim blogger on IBLOGA, especially after admitting as much publically.
But since I don't know you personally, perhaps you subscribe to the idea of "keeping one's friend's close but one's enemies closer."
It's up to you.
I have no sympathy for him, as is well known here by now; but I don't suggest dumping him now that he's around. He makes a good foil, a piece of obvious Islamic propaganda in the daily works. I think of him in the way the Blacks treat the racist preacher in Faulkner's novel, A Light in August: he's amusing in a Jerry Lewis kind of way. Set him up, let him do his thing, and we can all sit back and watch in amused disgujst the antics of a Muslim who doesn't realized we know his game and watch it because we have a deep mean streak.
Any sensitive person would take this creature to the puppy doctor to have him put to sleep. I for one am not so generous. Let him live to carry on the punishment that is his life. And let others see what kind of creature Islam produces. A negative lesson in life.
It's one thing to claim there's nothing perosnal in my observations, but I'd be dishonest in taht claim if I were to make it. There is a very personal point here: the man is a murder's apprentice. I don't like it. I won't stand for it. I will in fact fight it with every means at my hand. And one way of fighting this kind of filthy creature is to use him as propaganda. After the victiory, then I won't shed any tears if he's hanged.
If we were engaged in a battle of ideas I'd be temperate and reasonable in my discussions. As is we deal with people who commit murder. Those who aid and abet murder are as guilty as those who commit it. I do not and will not distinguish between those who do and those who enable. And this is very definitely a matter of war-- people are physically murdered. You will in time meet some of those destined to die at the hands of Muslims if you haven't already. This ain't no game of chit-chat. This is dead and wounded and maimed people. These are serious murderers. We had better deal with them seriously, forgetting our sensitivities and sentimentalities in favor of concerted action to stop them.
So let this monkey chatter. Let's read him and understand him very clearly; and then let us act accordingly. Islam is murder. Those who support it are criminal. We are at war. Muslims are our enemies.
Actually I do accept what he says ..he's just wrong at this moment.
HE is arguing for an Islam of the mind and sprirt, not an Islam of the book.
Unfortunately, and as I have pointed out to him, Islam is the "God Bless Hitler" signs, and that IS the Islam of the book, as we have been told ad nauseum.
One fine day, Islam will have to be, what MOST of christianity and judaism is, religions of the mind and spirit, anchored in the ideas of the book (or they'll be a couple of billion dead people, I think). Without guys like Eteraz, that day will never happen. If you read what he says carefully you'll see he thinks the salafists are assholes tho' he never hoists the sign saying so, quite so explicity. Ingrained gheebat, maybe. Unfortunately for him, if he expressed in Islamabad what he is expressing here, he gets chopped or taken off for some re-education by the MMA. But he is NOT there, he IS here. FOr all we know the future of Islam will be HERE. But it won't be anything the salsfist freaks will call Islam. Inshallah ...THEY'LL BE FREAKING DEAD. Pardon my french, and then it won't be such a FREAKING EMBARASSMENT TO BELIEVE IN THE SAME DEITY
Epa,
I'm glad someone understands why I invited Eteraz.
Eteraz is not so much wrong in what he says, as he is incomplete. If he wants to help reform Islam, it is fine to wax poetic on certain pretty verses of the Koran, but one must also condemn the violent Jihad, and the medieval Sharia, and one must find a way of mystifying their presence in the Koran as well.
And, just to be clear, what I mean by mystifying is, they need to redefine violent Jihad in a way such as this.
Slay the infidel wherever you find him
means
Slay the infidel wherever you find him WITHIN YOURSELF.
I haven't heard Eteraz work in that direction yet. That's what the Jews did, my friends, and that is why we don't stone adulterers, homosexuals and apostates anymore,
EVEN THOUGH IT SAYS TO DO SO IN THE BIBLE.
I wonder if any of my critics are aware of that fact.
I am making a study of the history of the Talmud, so that I can write posts on just how Islam could be reformed.
Until then, the above is the best I can do for you.
AJ,
I didn't make myself clear. The reason I will be writing on why Islam can be reformed is so you will understand.
Did you know that the Bible calls for stoning of apostates?
Why do you think we don't stone apostates anymore?
There was a process behind the change of thought, a lot of it had to do with the Prophets, and alot of it had to do with the Talmudic tradition.
I find it strange when we Infidels say that Islam can not be changed, when our religion (because, let us be clear, to Christians, Christianity is simply an extension of Judaism, and not a different thing) reformed itself away from many of the same horrible ideas.
So, to recap, I am not going to tell Muslims how to reform their religion. They have to do that on their own.
Instead, I will be writing about WHY Islam can be reformed, and I will be supporting my thesis by showing you how our religion changed.
And, you should continue writing about why it can't be changed.
The idea behind Infidel Bloggers Alliance is for us to discuss these issues. I am not saying I am absolutely correct. Maybe, I am wrong.
Prove it to me.
This is a long road, and no muslim who is a believer is going to say we suck and the quran sucks and that's that.
But eteraz HAS called for a significant reinterpretation, and has waxed heavily of the weaknesses, and inappropriateness of Sharia.
I would submit to you he is NOT in the middle of the bell curve on that one.
That doesn't make him right about the USA, it doesn't make him right about ethics (or wrong), and I am not qualified to coment on poetry (since all I ever wrote starts with ...there once was a man from nantucket), it doesn't make him right about what we face, or what we might have to do yet, but it means his is a voice relatively unafraid, which should command at the least, interest.
There is nothing wrong with listening. If there is going to be a future for Islam beyond salafi or Khomeinist tribal savagery, and inward spiraling Qaradawisms, it's not going to be starting in Waziristan, or the Najd, or Yemen, or Hamburg, or Oman.
If there is going to be an Islamic belief system totally past racist incitement to murder a la Hadiths, it will have to start somewhere that such speech is felt in the heart to be wrong and evil.
The thing I like about Eteraz is that he doesn't get angry if we argue with him. This means that if he is sincere, then our dialogue here at IBA might actually help.
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