Aug 11

Moderate Islam – A Free Thinker’s Perspective

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Apologies for the hoarse voice. I’m just recovering my voice after a rough week.

Here is my perspective on Moderate Islam. It is hard to see the whole picture from where we sit in a 1st world country. When I search Google for anything related Islam, I find a bunch of terror shots. It was hard to find images of moderate Muslims. But I’ve spent several months in the Middle East in 2002/2003, and I know that the majority of Muslims would not kill for Islam.

Is it all rosy? No. It is probably true that most Muslim’s are not moderate. However, the fact that moderates exist, and that they have a small foothold in Islam is a huge positive sign for the future of human rights.

All images and video footage used under fair use.

Transcript:
Many of us look at Islam as a grave threat to humanity – and I too hold strong to the opinion that the Islamic Theocracies (or any theocracies) are dangerous and that we should fight against any form of blasphemy laws because freedom is more important than avoiding terror. I also agree with Sam Harris – that the stance of religious moderates is completely intellectually bankrupt – and that religious moderates do a disservice to humanity by creating a safe haven for extremists and by perpetuating the popular myth that *faith* is a good thing.

But if you came looking for another video to re-affirm your strong distaste for Islam – this isn’t it. There are plenty of other videos out there for that – and I agree with them. But I wouldn’t be adding anything if I simply made another one.

So here is a different point of view. This is a touchy subject, so bare with me on this one.

Lately I have been noticing more Muslims in my area. I saw a few groups of them at the park and the mall last weekend and I noticed some things.
They seemed like very normal people
Sure the women wore head covers, but they were very sparse, with very stylish covers. Definitely more of a ceremonial piece than the oppressive functional pieces that they represent.
They had nice cars, nice clothes, iphones and other things that cost money and indicate that they likely have good jobs and contribute to American society.

I also recently noticed that a few of my In-Laws as well as many of my coworkers are also Muslim. Funny thing because most of them drink, most of them are fine with homosexuals, and none of their wives wear head covers or burkas. But you know what they all have in common? None of them considered it important enough to tell everyone else that they are Muslim. I knew my brother-in-law for 7 years before finding out in passing that he is a Muslim. That makes him my favorite type of religious person – the kind that doesn’t push it on you.

Think about what it means when you put all of this together. You are seeing Muslims who don’t follow the Quran. You are seeing them conform to modern culture and values. You are seeing a religion become more harmless and more benign.

Is Islam, a religion of peace? No, it is quite the opposite by definition. If you read the Quran and look at the fundamentals of Islam, then you will see a dangerous religion bent on world domination. But if you look at the Muslims in the free world – you may not find people who live by the Quran or by any common documented interpretation of Islam that you can go read up on.

Oh, but these aren’t real Muslim’s then, right? Well, what is a real Muslim?

Let’s look at Christianity as a parallel. The Bible and the fundamentals of Christianity also betray a dangerous religion that is bent on world domination. But most Christians are descent people. Christians don’t really follow the Bible. Name one Christian you know who would slaughter his own child because he believed God told him to. The simple fact is that most Christians aren’t “Real Christians” (and lucky thing!) because the only reason that we have a 1st world as we know it is because Christian countries have been free to redefine their religious values to keep up with the new philosophies of modern society.

The biggest difference I perceive between Christianity and Islam is that Christianity has been free to evolve to a more diluted state faster while the Middle Eastern Theocracies have retarded that process for Islam. Don’t get me wrong, that is not a trivial difference. Christianity in bad enough in it’s current state, but Islam is currently many times worse.

But seeing moderate Muslims tells me that the dilution process is underway for Islam as well. As people gain in resources and information, they begin to live rational (faithless) lifestyles regardless of their religious label.

So people are labeling themselves as Muslim, but not living it. So what?

Well, let’s look at Christianity again as a parallel. Moderate (dare I say Faithless) Christians sitting in the pews have caused preachers to change the message that they deliver on Sundays. Preachers subconsciously adjust their message to get the best response from the flock. And so the message evolves over time to fit to modern values.

That same thing will happen with Islam as more Moderates surface in the ranks.

So now, every time I meet or see a moderate Muslim I view it as a positive sign. It is evidence that humanity is becoming less superstitious. The light is rising over the horizon! This ship is moving – humankind is becoming a rational species.

Am I saying we should let off? No! We, the free thinkers of the world must continue to help this process along. Everything in life is a delicate balance, and the small things can tip the scales in either direction. I am simply speculating that it is getting better. Whether it is because of our efforts or because of a natural process whereby wealth and technology fix the world, one thing is for sure. We are winning.