» Stating the obvious

A common refrain over the past several years has been a perceived silence on the part of Muslims condemning terrorism. That’s been expanded to include criticism of the same perceived silence over the more extreme interpretations and implementations of Sha`ria law.

Wandering around the ‘net, I’ve found there are a lot of “moderate” Muslims who have been doing just that - criticising the actions of those who take Islam to lengths others (especially in the west) find abominable.

Likewise there are times when “ordinary” Muslims take issue with their community and leaders for that silence, or taking their “elders” to task for paying lip service to condemning things that are, to western eyes, unacceptable whilst turning a blind eye to (or supporting) those thing in practicality.

You have to wonder at the courage in their faith it takes for these Muslims to stand up and publicly criticize other Muslims. As I recall from my own research, there’s actually a fatwa (religious ruling) that forbids publicly criticizing another Muslim - a ruling that seems to be very situational (i.e. people are reminded of it as a public criticism of Muslims who are publicly criticizing other Muslims).

Let’s be honest here. Osama Bin Laden is a megolomaniacal coward on a huge ego trip where he basks in the adulation of as many dupes he can find as possible. He’s not doing what he does because of Islam, Islam is simply the method he’s exploiting to get followers.

In that respect, I don’t think he is any different than Jim Jones, David Koresh, or Fred Phelps.

He’s a coward because this great believer in martyrdom hasn’t become a martyr. As is usual for his kind, he has to stay alive to carry on his “divine mission”. Convenient, really, isn’t it?

By cloaking his personal ego trip in the mantle of Islam, Bin Laden immediately gets to exploit that injunction against criticizing Muslims. At the same time, he gets to ride the coat tails of people who are truly being persecuted - but you never hear of him or his people actually doing anything that truly benefits those people.

Muslims do notice these things, and do speak out against them. Some label these Muslims “moderates”, but I have to wonder if that label is incorrect. Should it really be “Actually Faithful Muslims”?

These Muslims are the ones who remember those passages in the Qur`an that prohibit harming yourself, prohibitions against killing innocents, defining when it’s acceptable to go to war. They understand their religion, not pervert it into a vehicle to promote their own egotistical agendas as some clerics, and people like Bin laden, are wont to do. They understand that there is a difference between “innovation” of Islam, which is prohibited, and the “adaptation” of Islam, placing it in cultural context as written.

When they step up to the plate to condemn both the actions of these “pseudo” Muslims, and criticize the practical silence and implied support of other ego-driven Muslims, we should support them. They’re doing what we, in the west, are calling for Muslims to do - but if they do it and we ignore it, we then become partially responsible for those calls being ignored.

If we want Muslims to be able to come forwards in larger numbers to condemn the actions of these criminals who subvert Islam for their own ends, we have to show these “moderate Muslims” that their efforts are recognized, and supported.

Maybe then, the tribesmen in Pakistan and Afghanistan will start to see Bin Laden for the coward on a power trip that he really is - not as a heroic leader, but as a cult leader. There’s a passage in the Qur`an about cults too, I believe - once these Muslims understand the truth behind their “great hero”, then their own religion tells them what to do with him.

Whether they rip his head off with a rusty knife, bury him in the ground and lob rocks at him, or hand him over to the US to answer for his crimes against the US, it’s a success by any measure.

See, I have a serious problem with criticisms that attribute Bin Laden and his ilk as being representative of “all Muslims”, or that “all Muslims” support, by default, these criminals.

Every time I go to Arlington National Cemetery when the family of a fallen hero allows the Patriot Guard Riders the privilege and honour of being a part of bringing that hero home, I see grave markers standing over Christian, Methodist, Pagan, Jewish - and Muslim soldiers.

Muslims who died defending this country.

If people start accusing all Muslims - they’re spitting on the sacrifice of these Muslims too.

That’s not acceptable. You spit on the memory of a fallen hero, for whatever reason, and we’re going to have a discussion.

Period.

We scragged the Taliban because they refused to hand over a criminal. We should do the same to Pakistan if they likewise refuse to hand him over. He must answer for his actions, and it really is simple - anyone who supports him, gives him shelter, should be dealt with accordingly.

Because he’s a criminal and mass murdering coward - not because he’s a Muslim. His religion has bugger all to do with it really, just as religion really had bugger all to do with the Jonestown Massacre, Waco, or the Westboro Baptist Church’s childish tantrums at the funerals of our fallen heroes.

Many Muslims can see this. They’re speaking out. If we (the west) don’t listen to them, don’t hear them, how can we expect other Muslims to?

Tags: Bin Laden, Islam, PGR