Peace Be Upon...Oh, Never Mind

Given the choice, I would always rather write about pleasant topics, like yesterday's discussion of feminine beauty. Unfortunately, the world just doesn't always allow that luxury. Consider three related articles in the recent news...

An article in last Sunday's Washington Post described local Muslim teenagers who are offended when described as "moderate" Muslims, because they think the use of that term implies that most Muslims are fanatical terrorists.

An article in the July 23rd issue of Newsweek magazine, titled "Last Rites in the Holy Land," describes the flight of Christians from the lands of the Bible, driven out by Muslims who threaten them with death unless they leave, convert to Islam, or pay the infamous jeziya, the tax (the Sopranos would call it protection money) imposed by Muslims on non-Muslims for limited permission to worship as their faiths dictate.

And finally, a July 16th report on the MEMRI website (check the link in my link list) notes that on the Hamas TV children's show Pioneers of Tomorrow, the character of Farfour the Mouse - who was beaten to death by a Jewish character some weeks ago - has been replaced by the character of Nahoul the Bee, who continues to encourage children to revenge and murder.

You don't need to be the proverbial rocket scientist to see the problem here. Young Muslims in America - a land that gives them freedoms and opportunities they would never have in majority Muslim lands (especially if they are women) - complain that they are judged on the basis of the murderous actions of their coreligionists. Muslims in what was once known as the Holy Land display their religious bigotry by killing or driving out Christians and Jews...when they're not busy killing each other for the crime of being either Sunni or Shi'a...while proclaiming that theirs is a religion of peace. And Hamas, a murderous gang of black-hearted thugs if ever there was one, uses television programming for children to sow the seeds of hatred in those too young to realize their manipulation.

If there are, in fact, "moderate" Muslims, where are their voices? Where is the condemnation of the violence, the bigotry, the ghastly twisting of children into machines of hate? Where is the voice of the Council on American-Islamic Relations speaking out in condemnation of all this? That was a rhetorical question, of course - CAIR is far too busy whining about how Muslims in America are misunderstood and discriminated against to worry about how Muslims are murdering Christians and Jews around the world.

As I've written here before, I'm not a traditionally religious person. I think that a God capable of creating the vast majesty of the universe has better things to worry about than whether or not I shave, or women cover themselves from head to foot, or we say the Mass in Latin or Swahili. If God is watching from wherever He lives, I believe one thing is certain:

She's shaking her head in disgust at the atrocities done in her name.

Have a good day. More thoughts tomorrow.

Bilbo