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Amin Refaat's suggestion is definitely impractical and probably incorrect

Reader comment on item: Islamic London: "Run, Hide, Tell"
in response to reader comment: Misinformed

Submitted by Prashant, May 13, 2018 at 17:48

Dear Dr Pipes, At the end of his above message Amin Refaat made a good statement. Amin said: "...The only way to defuse the explosive Jihadi sleepers hiding everywhere waiting for their activation is to confront their false religions and return them to the real peaceful Islam which is the only true religion."

Amin's statement effectively acknowledges what a lot of us have been saying for a long time: Islam needs reform". Amin will probably not agree with the injunction that Islam needs reform and may like to believe that Islam in its original form is absolutely right and the only its Jihadi interpretation is wrong. But I think that many problems of Islam are in its very core and not just in its interpretation. Let me pick some ideas from Amin's message itself to illustrate this point.

Consider the verses of sword. Amin said that verses of sword were just for Muhammad's time and after his death they just become historical records. How do we know that? And how do we know which other parts of Quran should expire after Muhammad's death? And if we do admit the fact that verses of sword applied just to Muhammad then we fall into bigger problem of 'do as I say but do not do as I did'. How do we prevent the followers of Muhammad from doing what he did in his life time? Aren't we supposed to follow everything that he did starting from how he prayed to how he washed his hands?

Amin says that Quran is full of 'free religion rule' in which every one is free to choose his religion. But, again, this claim falls flat when looked in the light of the entire Quranic context. For example, Quran also says that the scriptures of other religions are corrupted words of God and certain practices of other religions are sins. On top of that Quran prescribes that in Muslim lands non-Muslims should live under rules set by Muslims. That is problematic. You call my scriptures wrong, you call my worship sinful and you ask me to live under rules set by you. Then, how do you expect common followers of your religion to treat me well? In fact, these guidelines are exactly the reasons why in all Islamic majority regions, non Muslims are discriminated to the extent that they either convert to Islam or leave the land.

Amin said that Muslims established first civilized state in Medina where people of different religions lived in peace. Excuse me. It was while in Medina that Muslims under permission of Muhammad started to raid the Meccan caravans to collect loot. I will like people to look at the maps of that region. Many of Muhammad's raids on Meccan caravans were at places more than 100 miles away from Muhammad's base in Medina. That is willful destruction and greed. That is not peaceful living. And, yes, in Medina Muhammad initially took Jews and Christians as his allies. The idol-worshipper Meccans were still his enemies whom he robbed. For God's sake, killing and looting of pagan humans is also killing and looting of humans!

Amin said that Muhammad gave clear instructions to not fight except in self defense. I think the bar for religions is a little higher than allowing fights in self defense. For example, Christian ethics tell us to turn the other cheek when you are slapped on one cheek. If you were to fight in self defense, you would slap the attacker back. This standard for religions should be way higher than fighting in self-defense. In Hindu religion war is permitted after long consideration, with huge consensus and for the cause of duty and dharma (righteousness). The Hindu standard is also better than the self defense standard (Suggested reading: Arjuna's dilemma before Mahabharata war). And, self-defense is not very well defined. When Muhammad forces travelled 100+ miles to raid Meccan's caravans, I wont call it self-defense.

In summary, Islam is not just a religion. It is a political and social philosophy as well. And, honestly, all of the political and social parts of Islam are extremely questionable and need to be very thoroughly scrutinized. The five pillars of Islam can form the basis of the religious Islam separate from socio-political Islam. They may be harmless if an individual tries to follow them privately and humbly and preach them politely and does not impose them on others by force.

Submitting....

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Reader comments (56) on this item

Title Commenter Date Thread
England Safe Haven [102 words]Amin RefaatMay 7, 2018 16:36242894
4Our dear Amin is saying that the original Islam was peaceful and civilized! No I'm not kidding! [153 words]dhimmi no moreMay 9, 2018 07:00242894
Misinformed [300 words]Amin RefaatMay 10, 2018 13:52242894
Our dear Amin Refaat is saying that the original Islam was peaceful and civilized! No I'm not kidding! Part Two [472 words]dhimmi no moreMay 12, 2018 06:33242894
Our dear Amin Refaat is saying that the original Islam was peaceful and civilized! No I'm not kidding! Part 3 [539 words]dhimmi no moreMay 12, 2018 07:39242894
Our dear Amin is saying that the original Islam was peaceful and civilized! No I'm not kidding! Part 4 [400 words]dhimmi no moreMay 12, 2018 09:36242894
Our dear Amin is saying that the original Islam was peaceful and civilized! No I'm not kidding! Part 5 [392 words]dhimmi no moreMay 12, 2018 10:18242894
Our dear Amin is saying that the original Islam was peaceful and civilized! No I'm not kidding! Part 6 [335 words]dhimmi no moreMay 12, 2018 10:38242894
Our dear Amin: The satanic verses and other sordid matters! [245 words]dhimmi no moreMay 13, 2018 06:55242894
1Amin Refaat's suggestion is definitely impractical and probably incorrect [739 words]PrashantMay 13, 2018 17:48242894
Thank You [565 words]Amin RefaatMay 14, 2018 15:11242894
Our dear Amin is saying that the original Islam was peaceful and civilized! No I'm not kidding! Part 7 [149 words]dhimmi no moreMay 14, 2018 15:51242894
Why did your ancestors convert to Islam our dear Amin? [91 words]dhimmi no moreMay 14, 2018 16:02242894
1Our dear Amin and what is a true religion! [380 words]dhimmi no moreMay 15, 2018 06:11242894
Our dear Amin must agree with me that a true religion must have a perfect book! Right our dear Amin? Well let us read together and laugh [358 words]dhimmi no moreMay 15, 2018 12:35242894
Our dear Amin: Style and no Substance! [521 words]dhimmi no moreMay 15, 2018 15:34242894
Thank You [91 words]Amin RefaatMay 15, 2018 15:59242894
Our dear Amin: Style and no Substance! Part 2 [938 words]dhimmi no moreMay 16, 2018 06:52242894
Our dear Amin cannot speak read or write texts in Arabic! Right our dear Amin? [572 words]dhimmi no moreMay 16, 2018 16:26242894
Not the Place [82 words]Amin RefaatMay 16, 2018 17:12242894
Islam and Arabic [179 words]PrashantMay 17, 2018 00:25242894
Our dear Amin and the argument from but this is not the place! [138 words]dhimmi no moreMay 17, 2018 06:10242894
Our dear Amin wrote: " I am a Quranic Muslim" Part one [112 words]dhimmi no moreMay 17, 2018 06:55242894
Holly Book [88 words]Amin RefaatMay 17, 2018 14:31242894
أَحْسَنَ الْحَدِيثِ [34 words]Amin RefaatMay 17, 2018 14:36242894
Our dear Amin who cannot read speak or write Arabic is Qur'an only! Mash'allah [475 words]dhimmi no moreMay 17, 2018 16:48242894
Our dear Amin is repeating Maududi's nonsense without any critical examination of Maududi's bogus claims! [233 words]dhimmi no moreMay 18, 2018 05:56242894
Our dear Amin I'm waiting for my ticket to fly on al-Buraq! [112 words]dhimmi no moreMay 18, 2018 06:05242894
Who Are You? [25 words]Amin RefaatMay 18, 2018 15:25242894
Guiding the perplexed our dear Amin and لا تقربوا الصلاة and the Qur'an is raelly a hadith! So do you reject the Qur'an too? [330 words]dhimmi no moreMay 18, 2018 16:30242894
Our dear Amin does not get it that translations of the Qur'an are a waste of time because the Qur'an is an Arabic text for Arabs [357 words]dhimmi no moreMay 18, 2018 16:46242894
Our dear Amin is running away! [172 words]dhimmi no moreMay 19, 2018 06:37242894
Who are you امين رفعت? Oh امين رفعت? Amin Refaat [41 words]dhimmi no moreMay 19, 2018 06:49242894
Our dear Amin: Before you run away where can we find in the Qur'an that Medina was a "cosmopolitan" city in the time of Muhammad! [92 words]dhimmi no moreMay 19, 2018 07:46242894
Deconstructing tablighhees in general and our dear Amin in particular! [686 words]dhimmi no moreMay 19, 2018 12:04242894
Our dear Amin the Quran only: Congratulations but you just left Islam! [352 words]dhimmi no moreMay 20, 2018 10:41242894
Our dear Amin would you like more evidence from the Qur'an that it is no more than a Hadith? [143 words]dhimmi no moreMay 21, 2018 07:54242894
Our dear Amin the Qur'an only Muslim: Answer my questions before you run away! [211 words]dhimmi no moreMay 25, 2018 15:59242894
1Here is another example why many Muslims are now Qur'an only Muslims: The "Seek Knowledge Even in China" Hadith! [225 words]dhimmi no moreJun 4, 2018 08:24242894
A question, why the concern? [13 words]Carl LeyhMar 14, 2018 20:02242479
Missed the point [18 words]HistorianMar 23, 2018 00:46242479
Who Established Saudi Arabia? [65 words]Sohel BahjatFeb 21, 2018 12:09242339
2Our dear Sohel Bahjat told us once that Iran is really a democracy! No I'm not kidding! [306 words]dhimmi no moreFeb 22, 2018 08:00242339
1Iran is not a democracy [29 words]PrashantFeb 22, 2018 21:00242339
4If British made Saudi Arabia, they made a huge mistake [89 words]PrashantFeb 22, 2018 21:06242339
Very Sad [68 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
Barry TigayFeb 6, 2018 20:11242116
3You imported the criminals so deal with it ! [56 words]BrunoFeb 6, 2018 19:00242115
Keep calm and carry on [152 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
JeffFeb 6, 2018 12:09242107
4Here is an easy problem for your reader Jeff [174 words]PrashantFeb 7, 2018 00:37242107
Hi Prashant [205 words]JeffFeb 7, 2018 22:36242107
1My thanks to your reader Jeff [126 words]PrashantFeb 8, 2018 22:34242107
New normal [14 words]VijayFeb 6, 2018 09:21242101
A gradual takeover [136 words]NightandDayFeb 5, 2018 22:45242093
5comments on 'Islamic London: "Run, Hide, Tell". [377 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
PrashantFeb 5, 2018 20:24242091
3This Is What Islamization Looks Like [245 words]DaveFeb 5, 2018 16:23242088
2We cannot depend on the democratic politicians to do the right thing [353 words]PrashantFeb 7, 2018 01:03242088

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