All Comments (10)

Athena writes:
"the backlash to the hippie movement - the rise in fundamentalism - has not been good for the West"

This is true, but it may be akin to saying "we wouldn't have to listen to these darned creationists if only the theory of evolution had never been proposed!"

Btw Athena, thanks for showing up again after all these centuries. I new the greeks were right!!

"the hippies turned to the east for fresh inspiration, and the west has been better for it ever since."

Yeah, but the backlash to the hippie movement - the rise in fundamentalism - has not been good for the West. Or the East, for that matter.

What I would really like to see out of ALL of the World's religions is a general call to lay down one's arms and help to save this world that we call home. Forget about the pie in the sky, the "pretty winged thingies", who's right and who's going to Hell, who conquered whose lands when, etc. I'd like to see the Imams and Ayatollahs declare that jihad doesn't mean killing anyone - it means the struggle to stop climate change and reduce CO2 levels in the atmosphere. Join with the Christians, Buddhists, Pagans, Hindus, atheists and (yes) the Jews to save our planet. Unfortunately, that will never happen because the hard-liners depend on the oil money from the corrupt governments in the Middle East.

PAMELA - PLEASE RESPOND IF YOU READ THIS!

Tim wrote:

Jililah and Jennifer, a world peace movement is a great idea. We are all for it. Below is a link to pictures of a march by Muslims in the streets of London after that cartoon was published. It is not exactly an example of support for free speech nor a peace rally but it is an image we all are familiar with.

http://www.snopes.com/photos/politics/muslimprotest.asp

Come to think I have never seen a picture of a Muslim march with moderates advocating peace. Is this because of bias in the media? Do Muslims only march when they feel insulted. And of course, it does not take much to insult a Muslim, does it?

I am cheering for you Jililah. And I say God bless Jennifer. But then there is reality that hits me in the face. I would like to see you leading a march down the streets of Detroit for peace but then I would fear for you because this just might put a bullseye on your chest? When you hold your first peace rally let us all know, I promise to attend although my family would probably be worried sick about me getting my face on some terrorist hit list. I will also pay for transportation for one other person who would be brave enough to go with me to your first peace rally. Who knows thousands of moderate Muslims might just come out of the closet. I am waiting.

Posted on July 31, 2007 10:19

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Jililah wrote:

Thank you Tim - with all my heart I appreciate your support and that of others who would join us in a MUSLIMS for PEACE march.

To be candid, I think the reason, you have not seen this is that we are sadly still a minority due to the great power and money of the corrupt Chicago Wahhabi/Salafi lobby that pretends to promote moderation and peace but is truly just a cover for the Shariah/Caliphate promoting Muslim Brotherhood.

If we organize a peace rally and few show, that would be even a worse media picture than the radicals with their successful rallies. To communicate this very important message to advocate peace and humanitarian aims for all, we must inspire all Muslim moderates which we are trying to do, but fact is - many are fearful, it seems. We would truly need to rally also the non-Muslim global peace activists to support us or our attempt could fail and send an even worse media message. It is sad but true that many Muslim moderates bury their head in the sand or look away fearing involvement.

This is why it was so deeply discouraging for me when I fought the radicals at my Mosque that the moderates did not step up and support me and the radicals that support the Brotherhood rallied big and made a strong case to have me thrown out as a troublemaker. We are really in an awful fix.

But hearing from good and openhearted people, like you, is encouraging and helps us strive forward despite the steep uphill climb.

Thank you Tim - Thank you so much!

Now that Pamela Taylor has established an annual convention for the pro-human rights Muslim moderates, I shall see if we can mobilize this group to a rally as you so wisely suggest.

Best Regards, Jililah

Those are fine verses from the Quran, and I TRULY mean it.

HOWEVER, they are completely at odds with:
1. The Quranic injunction to kill apostates
You KNOW that apostasy carries the maximum of death penalty in all Islamic states, and it is in COMPLETE VIOLATION of inalienable human rights.
Therefore, you must denounce this right to kill apostates, and say that it is WRONG, if you wish to transform practiced Islam into what you think is true Islam.

2. The authority of a man to beat his wife MUST be abolished. That kind of bullying in the house-hold cannot be tolerated.

3. Furthermore, the wife's DUTY to comply with her husband's sexual desires must also be abolished.
That goes against HER interests (perhaps she has a head-ache?), that is, against her individual RIGHTS.

4. Furthermore, equality before the law must hold for ALL humans, in particular, women must no longer be worth only half a man in terms of witness stands, inheritance, and so on.

5. The physical humiliation and stoning of a woman for adultery MUST end.
She is her own body's mistress, and her husband's distress at being cheated is NOT a sufficient basis for her excruciating agony and punishment.

These 5 points at the very least must be abolished from the practice of Islam today, if it is to evolve into an morally acceptable way of life/religion.

Prof.Niebuhr,
the above post is mine.

Prof. Niebuhr,
Your's is a fresh breath of air that is timely as it is badly needed to get us out of this tension created by warmongring racists
and Islam bashers. Am confident that the overwhelming majority of Muslims are more than willing to heed your call.

This WP initiative on On Faith to host Islamic Scholars to speak and debate the issues at hand, is invaluable:But are the majority of Americans listening??

Jililah asks:
"what would you next hope to see happen to current day Islamic culture?"

Great question! I'd frankly like to see an islamic hippie movement. Peace and love, sexual liberation, mind expanding drugs: young people seeking new avenues of thought for a new age. There's surely a lot to dislike about a hippie movement, but at its core is diversity and freedom and tolerance. And you're right, I'm not talking about cloning the western model, but encouraging artists and writers and philosophers to come up with fresh, new ideas relevant to their own milieu. Of course part of opening one's mind is seeking solutions beyond your own borders... the hippies turned to the east for fresh inspiration, and the west has been better for it ever since.

Thank you for this wonderful article,but for the skeptical and despisers of Islam, I would like to add my comments also.

For those who post merely to cast Islam as evil, irrational and false, please let me point out that at various times in history, Islam was a progressive force that assisted the rise of culture in the West. One of Judaism's greatest sages is Maimonides. In Maimonides famous work, "Guide for the Perplexed," the harmony of past ages was noted in the forward of this book. (The paperback edition with bright red cover - do not have it in front of me now to provide better detail, but you can find it on Amazon and THIS is the kind of reading we all need to do for consciousness raising to occur) Anyway, in the forward, a letter that Maimonides wrote is spoken of and he refers to Muslim philosopher Ibn Rush'd (Averroes) who advocated rationalism, as "My Master Abd Allah Ibn Rush'd." Maimonides works were written after the death of Ibn Rush'd, so he used 'My Master' not in the context of a living mentor, but as an expression of respect for a philosophical body of writing that inspired his own. I believe that Thomas Aquinas was then similarly inspired by Maimonides. If you value the contributions of Aristotle, Plato, Socrates and the Neoplatonists like Plotinus, Porphory and Iamblichus, it is good to realize that this body of work had become lost to Western culture and it was revived by Jewish and Arab scribes who translated the texts into Arabic and Hebrew, which were then translated to Latin and Greek leading to the 'Renaissance.'

OK - I hear you! You are asking, "What have Muslims done for us lately?" In truth, not much!
Islam is now in a period of intellectual stagnancy as Europe was during 'The Dark Ages."

But the haters of Islam need to face some facts. As obviously Islam will not be wiped from the face of the earth, as you wish, what would you next hope to see happen to current day Islamic culture? Hopefully you would answer that you would like to see a great consciousness raising in the Muslim world. The FACT that verses exist in the Qur'an which advocate a society establish around given human rights mandates, that have NOT been abrogated as often thought, gives Muslim a legitimate base for this REFOCUSING on the humanitarian model of Islam.

As a hater of Islam, if you cannot wipe Islam from the face of the earth - is not what the Muslim moderates are attempting to accomplish the next best thing for ALL OF HUMANITY?

Truly, the emotional hate posts here only express psychological immaturity. If you oppose violence, then help us find a viable solution based upon ISLAM'S OWN DICTATES rather then asking Muslims to forfeit their culture and become Western clones.

You can choose to help society reach a more humanitarian age or just boo and hiss from the sidelines. Can we not engage together in a vision that will uplift all concerned? Any reality is preceded by a vision. We may not be where you wish us to be but we are trying with everything we have to bring about a refocusing on the innate humanitarian aspects of Islam.

Humanitarian Qur'anic verses (ayah)?
Please see excerpt from Dr. Mansoor Alam's article below:

So what should be done now? Should we simply close our eyes to the Qur’an and allow these latter-day rulers and Imams to regurgitate the same old sectarian-based Shariah that was developed under dictatorial rule and which tramples on the most basic values of the Qur’an dealing with universal human rights, that among these are: sacrosanct right of the sanctity of human life (5:32); inalienable right of the freedom of choice (2:256, 18:29); right of tolerance for other faiths (22:40) and absolutely no compulsion in faith (2:256); right to conduct state affairs by mutual consultation (3:159, 42:38); universal right of human dignity (17:70); sacrosanct right of equal justice for all (4:58, 4:135, 5:42, 16:90) including enemies (5:8) and no bending of justice for anyone (if the Prophet was not above the law (6:15) then how can anyone else be?); right to hold positions based solely on merit (46:19); right of personal responsibility and accountability (53:38); right of ownership of the fruits of one’s labor and no free ride for anyone (53:39). Are these Qur’an-guaranteed human rights (to all men and women) to be found in our current practice of Islam anywhere not to say of the holiest place in Islam, the birth place of our Prophet (PBUH)?

Who else could be more responsible then for damaging the sacred heart of Islam in the name of Islam, in the name of the Qur’an, in the name of the Prophet (PBUH) than the twin forces of Muslim dictatorship and Muslim priesthood?

The situation has degenerated to such an extent that if one were to mention that above human rights are some of the most sacred in Islam; that our Prophet (PBUH) lived and implemented these rights in society; that an Islamic society is supposed to be constituted on the basis of these core rights at its heart; then surely it will raise many eyebrows and may even invite sarcasm from certain quarters with comments such as: “Have these human rights anything to do with Muslims and Islam?” These reactions are not out of place considering how Muslim countries have been mistreating and even killing their own people in the name of Islam.

The world is judging Islam by our practice of Islam, by observing the so-called practicing Muslims. No wonder we seem to be fulfilling the prophecy of the Qur’an by showing to the world by our own actions that Islam is a failure, that Islam is false (107:1-7)! Our failure to live up to true Islam is being seen as failure of Islam. We may think we are good practicing Muslims and that we will ultimately have the mercy and the blessings of Allah. All this is fine but what about the Qur’an and its emphasis on universal human rights? Is the Qur’an only for reciting to achieve mercy and forgiveness, mostly for the dead? Or, should its human rights also need to be implemented in human society?

As a matter fact these values are under siege in every Muslim country. Can we expect to get anywhere when Muslim societies trample on these rights while putting extraordinary emphasis on rituals? What would be more important to Islam in the eyes of Allah: performing its rituals or implementing its basic human rights?

The Prophet (PBUH) is reported to have said that Muslim Ummah is like a body. When any part of the body is in pain the whole body feels it. That body seems to be in critical condition today. The only way to revive it is to go back to the basic Qur’anic values guaranteeing universal human rights and make them the foundation of Muslim society the way our Prophet (PBUH) did more than 1400 years ago when the rest of the world was living in barbarism and chaos as noted by many historians (e.g., J.H. Denison, Emotion as the Basis of Civilization). This is the real miracle of the Qur’an. This is the true Sunnah of the Prophet (PBUH) to practice (7:157).