- Nov 25, 2018
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I've noticed that my atheist and agnostic liberal friends are hostile toward Christianity, but totally sympathetic to Islam, and I'm baffled as to why. It's to the point where they absolutely will become angry with you, accuse you of "racism," and declare that you are "misrepresenting" Islam when you criticize it. My best guess is that liberals with latch onto, make allies with, and defend anyone whom they view as oppressed.
I spent a great deal of time learning about Islam earnestly and open-mindedly while exploring religion. I spent considerable time at a mosque over the course of about 6 months, praying with them, chatting with numerous Muslims, reading the Quran front to back more than once, and studying the Hadith (teachings and sayings of Muhammad). Here is what I learned:
First, the positives. Muslims believe in freedom of religion; religion is not compulsory. Any Muslim society that follows the Quran and Hadith truly will allow Christians and Jews to practice freely. Also, they abhor racism. To Muslims, race does not matter. Mosques are multi-ethnic, and all Muslims are brothers and sisters. Racism is viewed as hatred of Allah's creation, which is a great sin. Of course, racism will still seep into some Muslim circles, as it does with every religion and even no religion. But the general view is anti-racist. These two things are where liberalism and Islam agree, and after this, there are no similarities whatsoever.
Now, a few points of contention.
The Islamic perspective is almost completely antithetical to secular and Christian liberalism. Moderate Islam is more extreme than even the most conservative brand of fundamentalist Christianity. On many social and religious issues, Islam is about 8 centuries behind the secular world, and that's not an exaggeration.
Part of accepting Islam is accepting Sharia in it's entirety, literally interpreted, with minimal changes to adapt to modernism. Sharia is Islamic religious law and government. This is true of ALL muslims, and I say this from my own experience. Ask any one of them if they accept Sharia, and they will tell you yes. No exceptions. This isn't a misconception at all. Sharia is laid out in the Quran and Hadiths of the prophet extensively, and the Quran teaches explicitly to obey the teachings of the prophet. The Quran and the Hadith lay out a blueprint for Islamic rule, and command that it be established and followed. This command is taken very seriously.
The liberal support of Islam is NOT reciprocated, generally. The Islamic world has a very low view of secular liberalism, and often identifies with conservatism, in spite of harsh criticism from Western conservatives. From the Islamic perspective, secular law leaves God out of governance, and disobeys His laws and governmental system as laid out explicitly in the Quran and Hadith. This is seen as a great evil. If you don't believe me, go to a mosque and ask them how they feel about secularism and Sharia.
Punishment for apostasy is death. This is clear and unambiguous in the Quran and Hadith. Read it for yourself if you don't believe me. Views on homosexuality are more extreme than the religious right in the US. It is a grave sin, on par with murder, and can be punished by death. The best you can hope for if you are caught in homosexual acts under Sharia is a beating, and this is in more moderate Muslim circles.
This is just the tip of the iceberg. Believe me, there is much, much more. And lest I am accused of misrepresenting, pick up any translation of the Quran and see for yourself. Talk to the Muslim community and see for yourself. Look up the Hadiths and see for yourself. It's all right there, clear as day. After learning about Islam to the extent that I have, and seeing that most of the criticisms of it are true, I cannot bring myself to support or defend it. Frankly, I'd rather live under a Pat Robertson dictatorship than any form of Islamic law.
EDIT: When I bring these things up to my liberal friends, they point to passages of the Bible that condone some of the same things. I'll address this point right now: Christianity and Judaism have both adapted to the modern world. For the most part, Islam has not.
I spent a great deal of time learning about Islam earnestly and open-mindedly while exploring religion. I spent considerable time at a mosque over the course of about 6 months, praying with them, chatting with numerous Muslims, reading the Quran front to back more than once, and studying the Hadith (teachings and sayings of Muhammad). Here is what I learned:
First, the positives. Muslims believe in freedom of religion; religion is not compulsory. Any Muslim society that follows the Quran and Hadith truly will allow Christians and Jews to practice freely. Also, they abhor racism. To Muslims, race does not matter. Mosques are multi-ethnic, and all Muslims are brothers and sisters. Racism is viewed as hatred of Allah's creation, which is a great sin. Of course, racism will still seep into some Muslim circles, as it does with every religion and even no religion. But the general view is anti-racist. These two things are where liberalism and Islam agree, and after this, there are no similarities whatsoever.
Now, a few points of contention.
The Islamic perspective is almost completely antithetical to secular and Christian liberalism. Moderate Islam is more extreme than even the most conservative brand of fundamentalist Christianity. On many social and religious issues, Islam is about 8 centuries behind the secular world, and that's not an exaggeration.
Part of accepting Islam is accepting Sharia in it's entirety, literally interpreted, with minimal changes to adapt to modernism. Sharia is Islamic religious law and government. This is true of ALL muslims, and I say this from my own experience. Ask any one of them if they accept Sharia, and they will tell you yes. No exceptions. This isn't a misconception at all. Sharia is laid out in the Quran and Hadiths of the prophet extensively, and the Quran teaches explicitly to obey the teachings of the prophet. The Quran and the Hadith lay out a blueprint for Islamic rule, and command that it be established and followed. This command is taken very seriously.
The liberal support of Islam is NOT reciprocated, generally. The Islamic world has a very low view of secular liberalism, and often identifies with conservatism, in spite of harsh criticism from Western conservatives. From the Islamic perspective, secular law leaves God out of governance, and disobeys His laws and governmental system as laid out explicitly in the Quran and Hadith. This is seen as a great evil. If you don't believe me, go to a mosque and ask them how they feel about secularism and Sharia.
Punishment for apostasy is death. This is clear and unambiguous in the Quran and Hadith. Read it for yourself if you don't believe me. Views on homosexuality are more extreme than the religious right in the US. It is a grave sin, on par with murder, and can be punished by death. The best you can hope for if you are caught in homosexual acts under Sharia is a beating, and this is in more moderate Muslim circles.
This is just the tip of the iceberg. Believe me, there is much, much more. And lest I am accused of misrepresenting, pick up any translation of the Quran and see for yourself. Talk to the Muslim community and see for yourself. Look up the Hadiths and see for yourself. It's all right there, clear as day. After learning about Islam to the extent that I have, and seeing that most of the criticisms of it are true, I cannot bring myself to support or defend it. Frankly, I'd rather live under a Pat Robertson dictatorship than any form of Islamic law.
EDIT: When I bring these things up to my liberal friends, they point to passages of the Bible that condone some of the same things. I'll address this point right now: Christianity and Judaism have both adapted to the modern world. For the most part, Islam has not.
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