RE: "No-Go Zones" - How Muslims are Taking Over Europe (includes sources)
I can definitely see the danger in someone getting the mindset that all Muslims are bad or that categorically Islam is a bad religion. However, I also see where our leaders who want to vet immigrants more thoroughly are coming from. Lately, the people who have been committing brutal murders have not been coming from Sweden. And they all seem to profess to a particular religion. If you don't want your religion badmouthed, then don't commit atrocities in the name of your religion. The people who need to be stopped are the ones cutting people's heads off and murdering priests in their church buildings, not the ones who are scared of them. That said, on a personal level, we should continue to treat all people with the dignity and respect that is intrinsic to who we are as human beings. And I'd like the same treatment from others.
There's what I consider a few problems in perception contained here:
I hope this makes sense to you, and definitely let me know your thoughts in response. In posting this blog, I wanted to inspire conversations like this, so I'm glad you commented :)
That's the thing. I haven't heard of any Muslims disavowing the violence. And then there are the communities in which the violent people live. Their neighbors know what they're up to, such as building bombs, and they never say anything to the police. That happened with the guy who coordinated the bombings in Paris and I think the one in Brussels too. There unfortunately seems to be more of a tacit approval of their violence than a condemnation of it within their own communities.
You are right in that many people commit crimes with no religious motive whatsoever. Unfortunately, when Muslim extremists commit crimes, they invoke their religion over and over. And then the Muslims who are not extremists themselves seem to largely remain silent. While I personally do not believe that all (or even most) Muslims are violent, they unfortunately are not helping to debunk that perception, which grows each time some crazy guy shoots a bunch of people and then himself while shouting that they are doing this in the name of Allah.
I am actually concerned that at some point our own country may do something to the Muslims like what we did to the Japanese in WWII--put them in internment camps. That's why I'd actually like to hear a louder voice from the peaceful Muslim community not only denouncing the extremist violence but outlining how as a religion they intend to put a stop to this. They won't be able to completely end it, but they could come up with a plan, such as vetting all Muslim imams and preachers for violent rhetoric and not tolerating the ones who do preach violence. They could explain to adherents the procedure for reporting suspicious activity (such as bomb building or amassing of weapons) to the local police. They could outline how the Koran teaches against all forms of violence (even that done to "infidels"). The Koran does teach that violence is unacceptable, right? These are things that have to be handled within the Muslim community, and which can't easily be imposed from the outside.
If the Muslims rise up to denounce the violence and get proactive about putting a stop to it, then I think there will be a positive ripple effect which will eventually dampen the enthusiasm of the extremists. However, if the religion as a whole is unwilling to address the violence, then it will very quickly come to the point where various restrictions will have to be imposed on them in order to ensure everyone else's safety. They aren't likely to like those restrictions very much, which is why it would be far better if they can handle this in house.
Essentially no Muslim outside of groups focused on terrorism accepts these acts of violence, and many prominent Islamic leaders have spoken out against the violence, so I'm not sure where your information is coming from.
It's more like, negative information, or lack of information. Who are these prominent Muslim leaders denouncing these acts of terrorism? I haven't heard of them, but would certainly love to. I realize the mainstream press can hardly be trusted to give truthful information, but what tends to come through is that there are people who take to the streets celebrating when some particularly "successful" act of terrorism was carried out. I've seen clips of that. Have never seen clips of Islam leaders denouncing either the terrorism itself or the celebration of it. I will be honest in that I haven't deliberately looked for it. But the narrative coming through is that in general Muslims are silent or even celebratory when terrorism is successful. I'm not saying that's true, and I sure hope it isn't. But that is the impression that is out there. Unfortunately, that is what the peaceful Muslims are up against, which means they have to work harder to overcome it. I'd love to see proof of their efforts, so if you can send me some links of statements by prominent Muslim leaders, I'd love to study them.