My eyes shed tears last night that I couldn’t put into words. I was in shock and that dove that lives within me cried with me. I do not believe every Muslin is a Jihadist. Let me repeat that…every Muslim is not a Jihadist. Islam is a peaceful religion, but some of the people who practice it are violent and brutal. Not every Muslim is violent.
When Hitler came into power, Germany was not an aggressive country. Yet, over the time of Hitler’s reign, Germans who had never nor would ever murder another person practiced torture, starvation and led millions of Jews to the death camps. Actually, Poles, Jews and Roma or Gypsies.
Human beings are like a coin. There is good and bad in all of us. Some are good and some have enough bad in them that certain circumstances trigger the evil they are capable of committing.
It took a World War to stop Hitler and I fear what it will take to stop all the Jihadists, no matter which violent group they belong to. The civilization we have created ourselves is in danger. For example the ISIS people are destroying antiquities. People’s behavior is disintegrating and becoming more barbaric. Jihadists want us to return to the Middle Ages and that can’t and won’t happen.
Personally, I believe in peace and I always will. I think that without peace there will not only be a regression to the Middle Ages but we will completely destroy ourself and Mother Earth. There are many things we can give up, can do with out; peace and our planet are not amongst them. Peace must reign and must last as long as our world lasts.
I hope you all will take what I have written and the video below and that we can have a calm discussion about it. We need to share ideas and talk about what we feel in our souls. So please, wherever you are take a few moments and respectfully share what you think and feel with others. You may not agree with the opinions of others, but if we are all respectful and listen calmly, this is a safe place to share all views.
Namaste
Barbara, the Idealisticrebel.
idealisticrebel 
The Media wants us to be afraid.. If you are afraid then you are easily led. Be afraid.. Very afraid.. Trust us… No need to think… Remember the terror threat level.. It never went below orange..
You raise a good point. I am not afraid, but I am shocked and filled with grief. We do need to think, to think that this doesn’t just happen to others but it has happened here too. The senseless loss of human beings is a sin against the Universe and all we hold holy. Life is sacred and we must never forget that. Hugs, Barbara
Very true… Terrorist are like hurricanes, they cause havoc and then move on… Mass destruction and for what?
[…] Source: Islam vs Militant Islam: An Open Discussion Request […]
Why is Reza claiming that FGM is an African issue? He ought to know it is an issue in Iraq, doesn´t everyone know this? Also Reza Aslan is ignoring the source of these cultural habits, which is religious law, and religious law is being used to justify a great deal right now. It is not how most interpret it, but the flaw is there- in canonical text and fiqh. There is a common source, and I wish that were acknowledged, for if it were, we could address it head-on.
Hi FGM is done is Iraq and in all the other Muslim and African countries. It has been performed to control women’s sexuality for generations. In most villages, women can’t find a husband if they have not been mutilated. There is the danger of infection and the pain of having the clitoris and often the labia removed without anesthesia or pain medication.It is an ugly experiences and as people immigrate here they bring the ritual with them. Doctors are performing genital mutilation in the west out of fear. Hugs, Barbara
I know, so why does he claim it is African, solely African? That certainly harms the cause, to claim it is limited to a continent. I cannot believe he would make such claims when everyone knows otherwise. I cannot trust someone who lies like that.
Hugs, and thank you for exposing his misinformation.
It is not however an Islamic religious issue. It is performed in Christian nations, tribal nations and Islamic nations. It crosses borders. It is not contained. It is used to control women and is not necessarily religious law but rather cultural and social ‘law’. Were it only Islamic, you would find it practiced in all predominantly Islamic nations, you don’t.
True it is not religious. It is serious for the girls who have to go through the ritual. It has been primarily practiced in Islamic and African countries. I will refer you to feminist author Alice Walker. Hugs and blessings always, Barbara
Do not need the reference, have read Alice Walker and many others on the issue. I just am tired of all the misinformation on this and many other issues surrounding Islam.
Nope, it was not Islamic, but now it is justified by Islamic jurisprudence.
It is also justified by Christians within Christian nations. So what?
It certainly helps to recognize the ways in which it is perpetuated, in order to advocate against it.
Advocate against it across the board. Do not point and say this religion perpetuates and and the others do not. This statement isn’t true or accurate. Christian nations have perpetuated as much harm. Have used their religion to justify their acts just as frequently, in this as well as other things. So it is important to advocate equally and with equal vigor. If you wish to use religion as the foundation, use all religion.
I never said another religion did not have law supporting the practice. I wouldn´t know about the laws of any other religion, having never studied them. I am saying, if you wish to eradicate a cultural practice that is condoned by religious law, then it can be helpful to know where it originated or what the authorities are of that religion. Because if you can get Al Azhar to issue a fatwa against it, then it abrogates earlier rulings in Sunni courts. If I knew anything about how the Pope or the Baptist church made rulings I would suggest it. But I am not a Christian. I cannot speak for religions that I am not familiar with, sorry. I never studied their legal procedures or their institutions. I also don´t think I should be arguing a Christian position to Christians if I have no experience of that culture or religious practice. It sort of undermines my credibility with that target community.
Ah, I misunderstood. My apologies. You are arguing from inside. I am actually standing from outside of all of them and simply taking a woman’s position. This I think is where we stumbled. I find all of it reprehensible.
Oh, good. I did not want to think a person had to study the practices of other cultures in order to convince her own to abandon it. Al Azhar did issue a fatwa, you know, about ten years ago. With serious gaping holes in it that people have been finding ways around ever since. A final and definitive ruling would be so much better.
I suspect as long as men (and women) adhere to religion without true faith and intellect, they will find ways to corrupt its intent. All we ever have to do is look at history and the terrifying things men (and women) have done in the name of religion (all of them).
That is absolutely true. Blessings and hugs, Barbara
It is somewhere between barbaric and torture. I get sick to my stomach when I hear about it. I was a nurse and when I first heard about FGM over a decade ago, I threw up and then went back to reading the information so I would know exactly what was happening to these children. It is the mother’s who take these girls to have it done. That is still difficult for me to wrap my brain around. But it is tradition and ritual. It is necessary for them to marry. But that is another rant for another time. Hugs, Barbara
I did not mean to imply that it is a religious law. It is a law like women can’t drive in Saudi Arabia.It is actually banned in some countries however they have never been able to stop it so far. Making people aware of it does help but it is still happening far too often. It is part of the war of women. FGM is done so that a woman can’t enjoy sex. So to be married you must undergo the ritual. In some areas, if a husband has to go away for awhile, he has his wife sewn up almost completely so she can not cheat. They leave a tiny hole where the urethra is so she can urinate.It is so degrading for women and they need other men and women to advocate for them. But it takes a great deal of time to eradicate a practice the men so emphatically insist on. I hope this helps. Blessings to you my friend, Hugs, Barbara
This is not true. In some areas the woman is sewn up almost completely as a matter of course, it has not anything to do with cheating or not. Also, you are blaming men, and that is not fair. Women also insist on it, it is perpetuated by BOTH GENDERS- it is a cultural issue and not a gender issue. Women are usually the ones performing these operations, for example. Many believe that is has to do with cleanliness, that women are not clean unless they are cut or sewn up. It is NOT a precursor to marriage in every culture, as it is most often committed upon female children. Male children are also mutilated in most of the same areas that practice FGM- and that is often under religious edict, unlike FGM.
There’s a time for peace and then there is a time to act. I recall reading Roger Water’s interview about his dad, who was a pacifist. Upon realizing the imminent danger of Hitler, pacifism was no longer an option. He joined the war in an effort to keep future generations free and in peace. It’s a decision that cannot be made lightly, but at some point, this scourge called ISIL must be stopped. Excellent post, and thank you for presenting in such a mindful, respectful way.
Thank you for your comment and interesting story. I would have liked to know this man and tell him how brave he was. There were no other options. I, as one, appreciate his courage. It is always the future that is most important. If the Middle East does not stop this brutish behavior, we will have to stop them too. And we will. The cost will be huge and the effect on mankind will be enormous but we will stop them. Hugs, Barbara
Reblogged this on The Militant Negro™.
Thank you dear one. Hugs
While I am and have always been a peace-nik, there is a time where we must all examine our premise for peace. There is a time when we must all define what is of value to us and what it is we are willing to fight for.
So true. WWII took people to that space and I have to admit we may be returning to it again. I hope not. Hugs, Barbara