"If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle." - Sun Tzu
I became friends with Mr. Ali Sina of Faith Freedom over the internet shortly after 9/11 when we both were discussing how we did not share Dr. Daniel Pipe's views on Islam. Later both myself and Mr. Sina exchanged letters with Dr. Pipes and his assertion that 'moderate' Muslims can bring about a kinder, more tolerant version of Islam like Christianity has done. Both Mr. Sina and myself agreed that there is no such thing as a "moderate muslim" and to imply that there is or that there can be a more moderate and tolerant version of Islam is misleading.
I received a two word response from Dr. Pipes "You're wrong". The entire episode left me a bit bitter I suppose. After 9/11 it seems that everyone became an expert in Islam. Close to twenty years living in a Muslim country and studying Islam and I was wrong. I stopped writing about the subject shortly after that.
My explanation at that time to Dr. Pipes was that in Islam this was not possible and the reasons are as follows:
Unlike The Bible in Christianity, the entire Quran in Islam (every word) is believed to be the direct word of God and therefore leaves no room for interpretation unlike much of The Bible. To change Islam would be like Christians changing the Ten Commandments. It simply can't be done because as we all know, this IS the word of God. "Thou shall not Murder" is quite simple to understand and leaves little room for interpretation. If you do kill someone does it mean you are a "moderate Christian"? Surely not, it means you are a sinner.
The word 'Islam' does not mean 'peace', but rather SUBMISSION which is extreemly important for Westerners to understand. Submission to the will of Allah and therefore a Muslim has no right to question and/or attempt to question and/or interpret the Quran. He must submit. If you understand this absolute, then you can understand that there is and can be no such thing as a 'moderate muslim' - there are only 'good muslims' and 'bad muslims' ie. sinners - the bad ones are the ones who don't submit to the will of Allah.
Many Westerners to this day speak of the deafening silence of the Muslim countries and Muslims worldwide - and ask why the Muslims worldwide don't speak out against the extremism in their midst, all the while, never completely understanding that 'extremism' is Islam does not exist but rather 'fundamentalism' does. The strict and literal adherence to the Quran (the word of God), and once again, the key word is ' submission'.
When Muslims and Muslim countries are pressured either by the Western media or Western governments to speak out against so-called "extremism", they find themselves only able to make benign statements such as "killing of innocents is wrong", "killing innocent women and children is wrong" or we are saddened to see so many innocent people die. They face an internal struggle to speak out against someone who is doing their best to follow the Quran (the word of God) as it was written.
Ask yourself, would you call a Christian who follows the Ten Commandments and does not stray an 'extremist' or would you call him a "good Christian"?
One of the main things that emboldens the Muslims worldwide and what is fueling their violent resurgence now is what they see as the decadence and accelerated decline of Western civilization the death throes of Christianity and the rise of moral relativism and secularism in the West.
Homosexual rights and gay marriage in my opinion have really been one of the breaking points in the last several years from where I sit. How does a good Christian and a conservative explain that their fellow Christians in America approve of gay marriage and that some Christians could even elect a homosexual as their bishop? Needless to say it boggles the mind. There is no explanation.
A few years back an American multinational company which has a factory here in Malaysia came out with a company head office endorsed circular promoting a "coming out day" for closeted homosexuals within the company worldwide and mandatory "tolerance training" for the 'bigots' (ie. those employees who are repulsed by homosexual behaviour and find it sinful). Needless to say, that went over like a lead balloon here.
The world view of Islam divides the world between the "House of God" and the "House of Darkness". When Muslims call America "The Great Satan" they are not simply trying to insult the West, they truly believe that the West is evil.
I received a two word response from Dr. Pipes "You're wrong". The entire episode left me a bit bitter I suppose. After 9/11 it seems that everyone became an expert in Islam. Close to twenty years living in a Muslim country and studying Islam and I was wrong. I stopped writing about the subject shortly after that.
My explanation at that time to Dr. Pipes was that in Islam this was not possible and the reasons are as follows:
Unlike The Bible in Christianity, the entire Quran in Islam (every word) is believed to be the direct word of God and therefore leaves no room for interpretation unlike much of The Bible. To change Islam would be like Christians changing the Ten Commandments. It simply can't be done because as we all know, this IS the word of God. "Thou shall not Murder" is quite simple to understand and leaves little room for interpretation. If you do kill someone does it mean you are a "moderate Christian"? Surely not, it means you are a sinner.
The word 'Islam' does not mean 'peace', but rather SUBMISSION which is extreemly important for Westerners to understand. Submission to the will of Allah and therefore a Muslim has no right to question and/or attempt to question and/or interpret the Quran. He must submit. If you understand this absolute, then you can understand that there is and can be no such thing as a 'moderate muslim' - there are only 'good muslims' and 'bad muslims' ie. sinners - the bad ones are the ones who don't submit to the will of Allah.
Many Westerners to this day speak of the deafening silence of the Muslim countries and Muslims worldwide - and ask why the Muslims worldwide don't speak out against the extremism in their midst, all the while, never completely understanding that 'extremism' is Islam does not exist but rather 'fundamentalism' does. The strict and literal adherence to the Quran (the word of God), and once again, the key word is ' submission'.
When Muslims and Muslim countries are pressured either by the Western media or Western governments to speak out against so-called "extremism", they find themselves only able to make benign statements such as "killing of innocents is wrong", "killing innocent women and children is wrong" or we are saddened to see so many innocent people die. They face an internal struggle to speak out against someone who is doing their best to follow the Quran (the word of God) as it was written.
Ask yourself, would you call a Christian who follows the Ten Commandments and does not stray an 'extremist' or would you call him a "good Christian"?
One of the main things that emboldens the Muslims worldwide and what is fueling their violent resurgence now is what they see as the decadence and accelerated decline of Western civilization the death throes of Christianity and the rise of moral relativism and secularism in the West.
Homosexual rights and gay marriage in my opinion have really been one of the breaking points in the last several years from where I sit. How does a good Christian and a conservative explain that their fellow Christians in America approve of gay marriage and that some Christians could even elect a homosexual as their bishop? Needless to say it boggles the mind. There is no explanation.
A few years back an American multinational company which has a factory here in Malaysia came out with a company head office endorsed circular promoting a "coming out day" for closeted homosexuals within the company worldwide and mandatory "tolerance training" for the 'bigots' (ie. those employees who are repulsed by homosexual behaviour and find it sinful). Needless to say, that went over like a lead balloon here.
The world view of Islam divides the world between the "House of God" and the "House of Darkness". When Muslims call America "The Great Satan" they are not simply trying to insult the West, they truly believe that the West is evil.
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