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The Iconoclast

‹‹ How Western Liberals Helped Create Radical Islamism

Resurrecting Ibn Taimiyah’s Fallacious Arguments About Christianity ››

Wednesday, 31 October 2012

Respecting Islam

by Joseph S. Spoerl (November 2012)

The recent violence surrounding the video “The Innocence of Muslims” is only the latest in a series of incidents in which Muslims react violently to a perceived insult to their faith and its founder, Muhammad.

To be sure, we all resent it when outsiders attack our religious tradition or culture; we prefer such criticism to be conducted, if at all, by insiders, not outsiders. However, Islam makes sweeping claims: Muslims hold their faith to be the final revelation of God’s will and insist that it abrogates all earlier revelations, in particular Judaism and Christianity, and that non-Muslims are all destined for hell.[1] Muslims accordingly hold that all people should convert to Islam. Non-Muslims therefore have every right to subject Islam to critical scrutiny. more>>>

Tags: Joseph S. Spoerl, Islam, freedom of expression

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Posted on 10/31/2012 11:05 AM by NER

Comments

4 Nov 2012
Al Mulhid

Mr. Spoerl states: "Non-Muslims therefore have the duty to be courteous and fair in doing this".

Are Non-Muslims discourteous and unfair when they state that Muhammad is a rapacious warlord (Badr), a massmurderer (Banu Qurayza), a rapist (daughter of Huyayy ibn Akhtab), an extortionist (Ukaydir ibn Abdulmalik) for instance?

Is just quoting from the authentic texts discourteous and unfair?

6 Nov 2012

ZZMike

Coming from an entirely different direction, any culture that thinks dogs are unclean is highly suspect.

And while we may resent it when outsiders criticize our [many] religions, we do not consider it our sacred duty to kill them.

21 Nov 2012

MikeWood

Thank you for this thorough and highly cogent exposition. Can we now organise some method of putting this information in front of the clueless Western media and politicians?

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