Dragging Old Glory
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Comments

Josh Scholar

I commented, explaining to them that Colbert's act is that he's pretending to be a fundimentalist Christian in order to mock them.

I don't think the commentors on that blog understand American culture enought to grasp that fact.

Abdul-Quddus

I desperately tried to defend Ayaan’s position, without bringing unwanted attention to myself. In some Muslim blogs, where I had transgressed the rules by scrutinizing Islaam, the link to my blog was removed. In one case, my whole comment was eliminated. On 03/19/07, my comment in Ahmad AlFarsi’s “Slavery in Islam vs. Slavery in the U.S.” caused the thread to be closed completely. Ahmad made the accusation that I “either did not read or did not comprehend the last paragraph.” Au contraire, I fully read his post and comprehend the meaning. I’m an ex-Muslim for a reason. I don’t agree that “any concept endorsed by the Qur’an and Sunnah is true and of the highest level of morality.”

This particular Colbert Report interview with Ayaan Hirsi Ali was not her best at all. That fact that MuslimMatters chose it suggests malicious intent. I’d espcially recommend her appearance on Real Time with Bill Maher:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jpk7SNVlagQ

Josh Scholar

Yes the post on slavery was eye-poppingly perverse wasn't it:

Really, there is nothing for us to be ashamed of as Muslims when it comes to the Islamic concept of slavery. Slavery is essentially Islam’s very humane way of dealing with prisoners of war... Compare this most excellent system with Western slavery, both past and present. There is no comparison. Compare our humane methodology for dealing with POW’s with the West’s Abu Ghurayb and Guantanamo Bay. There is no comparison whatsoever. Walhamdulillah.

Of course this goes without saying, but regardless of how we perceive any concept in Islam relative to other social norms and customs, we know that Islam is the religion of Allah, and thus any concept endorsed by the Qur’an and Sunnah is true and of the highest level of morality. As Muslims, we are totally comfortable with this concept, so regardless of how we feel about the concept of slavery in Islam and regardless of how others are or are not practicing slavery, we know that the truth lies in our deen.

Josh Scholar

And this amazing comment, that I won't quote in full because I have limits:

...the slaves in the past seemed to be capable of attaining different positions in Muslim society. They were not a social underclass as the blacks were in the West.

Josh Scholar

The latest post there says that Isaac doesn't have to worry about being an apostate because, as an Ahmadi, he was never a Muslim in the first place.

I guess that means that you're less of an abomination now as a infidel than you were as a heretic. Congradulations.

I suppose it also means that they think that your still believing family should all be forced to convert or killed. Yea!!

Isaac Schrödinger

Recently (in 2007), a policeman in Pakistan walked up to an Ahmadi and said something about him being an infidel and all that and then killed him with a gun.

As to the financial support and "making a living" out of being an apostate, I have no idea what Amad is talking about.

It is patently ridiculous to think that being cut off from one's family and birth-country; having a bulls eye on one's head; and blogging anonymously would be a lucrative career choice.

Perhaps, Amad can clarify the market for me, so that I can swim in the mysterious mulla that awaits.

Josh Scholar

And much to my surprise, my last two comments, saying that its brutal and blood thirsty to takfir the entire Ahmadi community, made it through moderation. Even though the man I was calling bloodthirsty is (one of?) the owner(s) of the blog.

Josh Scholar

I'm sure we could start many fatwas by coming up with good ways to make money off of being an apostate.

That reminds me, I thought of something that amused me the other day. Years ago I read Jeff Greenwald - the author of interesting, off beat travel books like "Shopping for Buddhas" (about his time in Nepal and his obsession with Buddha statues), "The Size of the World" (his attempt to circumnavigate the world without taking any air travel, and "Mister Raja's Neighborhood" (also on Nepal, I think) - anbd Jeff pointed out that Hindu culture allows Gods to be used in ways that the monotheistic religions would never allow. One can find such products as "Ganesh toothpaste"

He may even have mentioned that Muslims are even tighter-assed than Christians when it come to this.

Imagine the experiement of taking one of those mideavel Shia paintings of Mohammad and packaging some "Mohammad toothpaste" - without putting anything sacraligious on the packaging. Just let it be "Mohammad toothpaste", and see what sort of reactions it got.

I'm usually not a fan of ironic conceptual art, but I might make an exception in this case.

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