The Moderate Muslim
EDIT: Since I have written this post, I have come to the conclusion (with help from my humanist friends) that it is not correct to paint ALL Muslims with the same brush. Indeed there are Muslims who oppose the doctrine and want to change it. This post does not address them. It addresses the common Islamist who will support the doctrine.
When talking of religion and its side effects, one often encounters the term “moderate”. This word is the ditch attempt of the one who supports religion to prove that not everyone who follows doctrine or believes in a supernatural deity is a mindless fanatic. Though compelling, this is, in my humble opinion, a pathological lie; at least when it comes to Islam.
It was with the idea that there are moderate Muslims that I began a dialogue on ignorance in Muslims and morality in Islam, with a few “moderate” cousins of mine. Before I go on, let me make it clear that during that discussion and as of writing this article, they were unaware of my atheism[1] and so I tried my level best to put the discussion in as “Muslim” a way as possible. I wanted to show them that it is because of the close minded policy of Muslims, encouraged by Islam, to be opposed to any innovation; that the Islamic parts of the world are so pathetically backward. This I tried to put, needless to say, in as polite a way as possible. However, when I heard their responses, I was so aghast that it led me to reconsider the very notion of “moderate Muslims”. The discussion showed me why the Muslims are so closely knit as they are, often not batting an eyelash to get on a plane and crash into a building; a scenario that guarantees death, and one that “well off” Christians or Jews will rarely ever consider.
So what exactly is this common thread that binds them? It is quite obviously hatred. You may want to stop reading this article right now and discard it as just another “Pat Condell” rant about the inherent barbarism of Muslims. But, I assure you it is not. The reason why I write this article is because I want to let people know that even if there is something called “moderate religionist”, it does not apply to Muslims. That is perhaps the reason why their ideology is so dangerous, that it leaves no place for moderation. Even the most benign tenets of Islam are aggressive to say the least.
But, I digress. Let us come back to hatred. Hatred of what? You may be inclined to ask. At the risk of sounding jovial, I will tell you that it is as absurd as a hatred for a particular food, drink, kind of music, dressing style, hair, perfume, technology etc. The list is endless but my limited mental faculties only allow me to list a few. Of course, I will be accused of being harsh on Muslims (pardon the irony) and rightly so, as the correct word for that feeling should be “derision” and not “hatred” per se; but let me tell you, it truly borders on hatred if at all I know what that word means.
You may think that I may be joking and wonder how someone’s taste in food etc., can make them an extremist? After all, it is racism, intolerance, objection to criticism, imperviousness to examination, totalitarianism et al, that are the extremist ideas and they are all associated with fanatical Muslims. Mere derision towards something is a part of the human psyche and by definition, unavoidable. We all have a different taste; but that does not make us extremists! I agree. However, when we have a greater understanding of why we have such tastes and how it is different in Muslims, we will understand what is wrong with it.
Let us begin with our own tastes. Our tastes are based on experience. When we try something and don’t like it, we automatically avoid it in the future. No one tells us what our taste “should be”, based on what “they” like or not. We develop it on our own. I am not denying that it may be influenced by our upbringing, but it is on the whole, independent of others and solely based on personal experiences.
Now the Muslims; they don’t like pork or non-halal meat, because it is forbidden by the Qur’an. They don’t like alcohol, because it is forbidden by the Qur’an. They don’t like naughty music videos, because it is forbidden by the Qur’an (metaphorically). They don’t like their women dressing in tight or revealing dresses, because it is forbidden by the Qur’an (that this is a violation of the basic rights of the woman, is another post altogether). They don’t like women to have short hair, because it is forbidden by the Qur’an. They don’t like perfume with alcohol in it, because it is forbidden by the Qur’an. They called the TV a medium of Satan and loudspeakers his voice, because, you guessed it; it is forbidden by the Qur’an.
Muslim apologetics may try to argue that some of these are forbidden by the Hadith and that the TV and loudspeakers were “wrongly” termed as satanic by deluded clerics who misinterpreted the Qur’an and issued Fatwas. What they don’t get is that they are missing the point! It does not matter where it is or who said it. What matters is that they are accepted and propagated by all Muslims and form the basic idea of an Islamic life. The only reason why the TV and loudspeaker allegation were dropped is, because the TV was too interesting to just avoid totally, while the loudspeaker was a handy technology for congregational prayers. In case of all the others, people who don’t follow these tenets are not being “Muslim” in the true way, as Fatwa friendly clerics are quick to point out, in the case of Sania Mirza[2].
The problem with Islam is that it tries to pervade each and every aspect of an individual’s life. If other religions are bad monarchs, Islam is a tyrannical and repressive dictator, who enjoys it. Islam not only teaches you how to pray, it teaches you how to do EVERYTHING. This ranges from having sex to shaving and from drinking water to ruling a country. Had facebook existed in 670 CE, it would have even laid guidelines on how to “facebook”. I admit that was a bad one. Jokes apart, Islam is according to ALL Muslims, a code for life on Earth. What makes it unusual and deadly is not that it is a “compulsory” code and not a “suggested” code; rather that it is enforced much more vehemently and vigorously. Every religion will try to be “compulsory” if given the chance. Christianity and Islam did get it. However, by the relative prosperity of Christians in spite of their religious dogma, the modern Christians are less likely to accept conforming to such medieval diktats. They did that during the “dark ages” and realized that it is a bad thing indeed and gave it up. With Islam however, it is the opposite.
Muslims have been so filled with hatred through the years and have been brought up on so many conspiracy theories that they “willingly” believe that the world is out to get them, subjugate them and ultimately annihilate them. They have been taught to resist evil influences from “westerners” and to stick to what they are told, unquestioningly. The result of inquiry is often persecution. They are united in hating the world for being against them. When I questioned my cousins why Muslims don’t win Nobel Prizes, they said that it was because the Jewish people had conspired against Muslims and denied them the spotlight! Indeed every other fervent Muslim will respond in similar fashion and for many different questions. They are in denial and will refuse to accept that it is due to their wanton imperviousness to change that they lag behind. What is sad is that it is not the ignorant Muslims who will tell you this; they may not even know what a Nobel Prize is, rather, it is the educated ones! Doctors, Engineers, Researchers and Teachers! For them, the abject poverty and ignorance in a majority of Muslim nations is proof that the world is indeed refusing Muslims the right to prosper.
These are the views of the “moderate” Muslims! When you add to this the US occupation of Afghanistan and Iraq and the refusal of the UN to accept Palestine as a fully fledged state, you get a ripe field of recruits for implementation of evil plans.
I have met thousands of Muslims during my short journey on Earth so far. Indeed, I myself was one, not very long ago. I must admit, that even the most soft-spoken of Muslims have the streak of aggressiveness in them. They are ready to lash out against people who criticize them for their barbaric medieval code of conduct that is so grossly in violation of basic human rights. These soft Muslims will chide their women if they wear tight dresses or show skin. They will cane their children if they are seen drinking. I have often seen otherwise ‘benign” Muslim parents, beating their children if they use lipstick! This is because it is commonly believed, that pig fat is used to make it!
They are cruel not because they like it, but because Islam prescribes it! The Qur’an explicitly encourages parents to hit their children if they don’t pray or when they don’t listen to their elders[3]. The Hadith demonstrates how to beat one’s wife “righteously”[4]. The Qur’an treats a woman like a sex slave, ordering her to submit to her husband whenever he calls her to bed[5]. It glorifies war in the name of religion[5]. It creates the idea that Islam was, is and will always be under threat and that it is every Muslim’s duty to protect it[6]. It advocates hatred and makes a virtue out of violence. When the recipe itself spells disaster, can we then blame the product? Also, if the mould itself is crooked, can we get a bust without defects?
Lest we forget, it was such silent, benign and moderate Muslims who were “convinced” that they will go into heaven if they crash a building into the WTC and kill thousands of innocent civilians. All of them were educated young men, who were filled with immense hatred for the west, which begins with derision to sundry mundane entities.
This is perhaps why people like Zakir Naik can so easily influence young educated Muslims to hate the “westerners”[7], just because they eat pork! Thus, no matter how civil, subdued or educated a Muslim may be; he is a fanatic, because if he is not, he ceases to be a Muslim. more often than not, he will be a closet extremist.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] I have not told them of it because I fear that I and my immediate family will be ostracized if I reveal it.
[2] http://www.jihadwatch.org/2005/09/fatwa-for-tennis-star-who-wears-short-skirts.html
[3] http://www.cmje.org/religious-texts/hadith/abudawud/002-sat.php#002.0494 and http://www.thereligionofpeace.com/Quran/029-torture.htm
[4] http://www.thereligionofpeace.com/Quran/003-wife-beating.htm
[5] http://hadithaday.org/those-who-deserve-the-curse/extra-hadith-%E2%80%93-when-a-man-calls-his-wife-to-bed/ and
[6] http://muttaqun.com/jihad.html
[7] “The pig is the most shameless animal on the face of the earth. It is the only animal that invites its friends to have sex with its mate. In America, most people consume pork. Many times after dance parties, they have swapping of wives; many say ‘you sleep with my wife and I will sleep with your wife.’ If you eat pigs then you behave like pigs” – Dr.(?) Zakir Naik, Answers to Non-Muslims’ Common Questions about Islam (Islamic Bookstore, Kolkata), p.44.
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