Peaceful????

Originally posted on Dec 13, 2007...I moved it here...
I read an op ed piece in the New York Times on Sunday asking where all the "moderate" muslims were. I have also seen several people who claim they are speaking for their faith saying that Islam is a peaceful religion, and that true muslims do not commit the atrocities that seem to dominate the news. They further claim that Islam has been hijacked by zealots who have bastardized an otherwise peaceful religion to serve their ulterior motives. OK, seems to be a fair argument, and up until this year I would have been shouting in agreement at the top of my lungs to whoever would listen. I wholeheartedly believed that we, as a predominantly judeo/christian society, needed to keep an open mind and be tolerant.
So last month a 19 year old Saudi woman met her ex boyfriend to have him return some pictures. It seems she was about to be married and wanted some pictures back. Both her and her friend were abducted by 7 men and gangraped brutally. She reported the crime to the Saudi police whereupon she was promptly arrested for breaking Islamic law. Her initial sentence was 90 lashes and her friend was given 90 lashes as well. Her sentence was upped after her lawyer brought the matter to the international press. She is now going to serve a 6 month jail term followed by 200 lashes (which is tantamount to a death sentence). It seems that by getting into a car of a man that she was not married to, she broke the Islamic Sharia law (the law of the land in Saudi Arabia). So this 19 year old girl who was subjected to the worst form of violence and humiliation will further suffer because Islam says she must. Incidentally, her lawyer is also facing disciplinary action by the courts for bringing it to the attention of the rest of the world. Some may say who cares...it happened all the way over in Saudi Arabia...could not happen here right? Try this one on for size... Last week in Toronto an 11th grade girl named Aqsa Parvez was brutally murdered by her father for refusing to wear a hijab (head scarf). KILLED BY HER FATHER!!!! Aqsa dishonored her devout father and family by refusing to cover her head. Aqsa wanted to fit in with the other girls in her class. She had no desire to cover her head. So it may be an isolated incident? Honor killings happen everday in islamic societies/communities. EVERYDAY! And, the person that does the killing is usually the father or the brother.I just cant swallow the Islam is a peaceful religion argument anymore. I have seen firsthand the results of suicide bombers (who believe they are doing the work of Allah). I have watched the videos of the attacks on 9/11. I have lost friends to bomb blasts. Peaceful??? There is nothing peaceful about a father killing his daughter...nothing. There is nothing peaceful about sentencing a victim of a horrific crime to prison. Please...dont just take my word for it. Do some research...there are plenty of ways to find these things out for yourself.
Some of my favorite shirts are religiously offensive here is an example...Jesus is Coming...Open Your Mouth! Now should I choose to wear a shirt like that I am reasonably certain someone will not try to kill me. And, I do not see mass riots going on by people who have taken offense to that shirt. A fairly funny comic depicting the prophet Muhammed wearing a turban that resembled a bomb caused worldwide riots and calls for the execution of the author. Peaceful?!?!?! So maybe the answer to the question posed in the New York Times is...There are no moderate muslims! I could be dead wrong but it does make me think....