The barbaric beheading of journalist James Foley by members of ISIS must bring people of good will everywhere to a moment of reckoning. The time has come when those who claim to be true adherents of Islam must either shit or get off the pot.
Many people who – like me – advocate for understanding and tolerance of differing faiths and ideologies – find ourselves at a breaking point. Is Islam a religion of peace, or is it in reality a religion of hatred and barbarism as expressed by ISIS and other radical Islamists?
Are there Muslims anywhere who are willing to stand up and oppose them? Is there an Islamic vision of peace and brotherhood that stands up against the nightmare of forced conversions, rapes and beheadings?
The silence of the Muslim community to date is deafening. Maybe I’m not listening carefully enough, but I have not yet heard a Muslim leader strongly speak out against ISIS, or seen a group of Muslims march in opposition to these godless thugs.
I know some Muslim people, and they are good people – loving people. I refuse to believe that they are an aberration, a mutant expression of true Islam.
But honestly, that’s getting harder and harder to believe.
Marty~~ You are absolutely RIGHT in this commentary and we, as a Nation, have much to fear. Agree with your opinion of there being many good (and sane) Muslims in this world; but where are they when these atrocities occur? Maybe by their apathetic silence, they are afraid also. What loving God would advocate for the killing of “anyone”, much less the “infidels”? We must continue to pray for our Nation and the world, but I fear change is NOT coming to Islam—this culture (not religion) has been living like this for centuries and they now have the goal of conquering the world.
P.S.—we MISS you both. Do I understand correctly that you have preached your first sermon since retirement? Will you become an interim pastor or just make “guest appearances”? Would love to have you visit the CCTV pulpit again soon.
Peace and blessings~~~~Suzanne
Remember that Christians throughout history justified lynching, burning alive at the stake, and other atrocities, too. All people of faith, let’s examine the logical extensions of our beliefs and check out how they foster supremacist ideologies and violence. An example: Fostering the idea that God is male (“Father” “Son” “Lord” etc.) says that men and boys are made more in the image of God than women and girls. This has led to a tortured legacy of the denigration of women, economic, social and physical violence against women, exclusion from leadership in the church, etc. Let’s work to clean up our own house.
Yes, Bev, we Christians have our own dirty laundry – and lots of it. We do need to clean up our own house. So does the Muslim community.
Marty, thought this article I recently ran across was relevant to the discussion.
http://globalministries.org/news/mee/witness-for-justice-1.html
Thanks for the link, Linda!