The New Face of Islam

Sura (2:191-193) - "And slay them wherever ye find them, and drive them out of the places whence they drove you out, for persecution [of Muslims] is worse than slaughter [of non-believers]...and fight them until persecution is no more, and religion is for Allah."

Sura (2:191-193) - "And slay them wherever ye find them, and drive them out of the places whence they drove you out, for persecution [of Muslims] is worse than slaughter [of non-believers]...and fight them until persecution is no more, and religion is for Allah."

Sura (3:56) - "As to those who reject faith, I will punish them with terrible agony in this world and in the Hereafter, nor will they have anyone to help."Sura (3:56) - "As to those who reject faith, I will punish them with terrible agony in this world and in the Hereafter, nor will they have anyone to help."Sura (3:56) - "As to those who reject faith, I will punish them with terrible agony in this world and in the Hereafter, nor will they have anyone to help."

Sura (3:56) - "As to those who reject faith, I will punish them with terrible agony in this world and in the Hereafter, nor will they have anyone to help."

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DISTANTSMOKE: Catholic militants in the IRA killed tons of people, Catholic and protestant, during the violence in Northern Ireland in the 20th century. Should we blame Catholics for their failure to prevent this carnage? Did their behaviour justify the retaliatory violence of the Protestant Orangemen, who also killed loads of innocent people? Why should Muslims be viewed any differently in this context? I know! It???s because they???re foreign, unfamiliar. They are the unknown ???other??? that terrifies us because they are different from us. It???s easier to reduce Muslims to a single, unflattering stereotype than to try to understand them as human beings with hopes and dreams of their own, and with a few bad apples among them like any other group of people.

So some Muslims aare fearful of the backlash caused by other Muslims indiscriminate slaughter of both Muslims and Non-Muslims. Am I supposed to be pleased? Where were these people before 9/11?

Muslims For A Safe America encourages American Muslims to take positions on important issues based on information and critical thinking, not based on emotion.

"When Are Muslims Required to Fight, And Against Whom?"
http://muslimsforasafeamerica.org/?p=4

Muslims For A Safe America encourages honest and informed discussion about how to make Muslims and America safer.

It's funny that the article mentions Martin Luther-there isn't a "Martin Luther" figure here because there doesn't need to be one. This isn't really about "reforming" Islam as you suppose Luther did Christianity (little note to others who read this, Luther wrote THE seminal book on anit-Semitism in the West, called "The Jews and Their Lies", as well as oversaw witch burnings and urging the nobility to repress the peasants who mistook his "Reformation" for a shot at freedom). This is about Islam returning to its roots. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the religion and it doesn't need to be "reinterpreted" as you suggest in order to counter terrorists. IF you study the REAL Islam, you will find that it is a beautiful, resonant faith, and that its followers are good, pious people who have suffered quite a bit of misrepresentation.

Well, well, well. Better late than never. Finally, EVERYBODY is realizing what Muslim thinkers and theologians in the west were saying. The lust for blood of few human beings should not, cannot, and shall not be understood as the "default" position of the majority. But then, there still will be people that refuse to accept that Muslims know more about their own faith than non-Muslims do.

Newsweek needs to stop making false propaganda against Islam, if one chooses to practice there religion that doesn't mean he or she will be a terrorist, in fact Bin Laden or against true Islam and it's proper practices and many religious scholars have clearly explained all terrorism is forbidden under Islam. Lastly, George W. Bush and his VP are the strongest terrorist and impose terror on innocent Iraqis, Afghans, and people throughout Latin America. Perhaps, Newsweek should write about that!

Semantics can lead to distortion and misunderstanding. The terms,"radical, fundamentalist, moderate and jihadist, are used without context or comprehension by nearly all western journalists who delve into the subject of Al-Islam. Journalists tend to seek out people and ideas that are close to their own personal prejudices. There has been an understanding of Al-Islam, in its historical context, by the vast majority of Muslims for several hundred years. You need to find the consensus opinion of the global community of Islam on these subjects and present that to the public.

OK, I haven't read much here but I can see that loads of people have really funny views about Islam. With articles like this one in reputable news sources, I am not at all surprised. I have a M.A. in Modern History from a top university and have been taught by leading academics in the subject of islamic politics past & present. And I did loads of research on the relationship between the Middle East and the West for my dissertation last year. So, first of all the article. I'm really concerned that Newsweek would print something like this. Turkey is a secular country and the political and religious situation there is completely different from anywhere in the Middle East. So you assume that just because Turks are Muslim you???ve identified a broad new movement in Islamic countries? The fact of the matter is, is that people in the Middle East are becoming more radicalized for two reasons: 1) Economic. That???s always been the case in Islamic history. Whenever times are bad, people take the view that God is disappointed with the current government and demand a re-structuring of government along the ???true??? (meaning stricter) lines of Islam. 2) Political. In the Middle East, a sizeable proportion of the population (if not the majority) believes that the region ??? and by association their religion and culture ??? is under assault from Western imperialism. When the US first invaded Iraq, few people listened to this argument. But as the years went by and hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians were killed ??? partly by American negligence, partly through a civil war that we Americans created by invading in the first place ??? more and more people came to accept this view. Even in Turkey, there is a disturbing resurgence of anti-western sentiment as a result of the Iraq debacle. As long as we stay in Iraq, Americans can only encourage the view that we want to rule the country ourselves and kill any muslim who stands in our way.

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I certainly hope this movement takes root. I foresee some of the moderates being killed by radicals. The question is whether this quells the movement or turns them into martyrs for the movement.

Given Newsweek's leftist bias, this kind of questionable article isn't surprising. However, we can only hope that some of what it says is true. A large infusion of moderation in Islam would be nice, and it would permit the rest of the world to live with less anxiety. Let's just wait and see what happens in the future.

The problem with this piece is that it has a very clear agenda which isn't completely born out by the facts. Yes some interpretations of Islam are becoming more tolerant but this has always been the case - it is not a general trend and if anything the reality is the opposite especially in Turkey where an increasing Islamisation of society has seen court cases seeking to close down gay rights groups and ban books on evolution. The very Department of Religious Affairs that this article lauds has recently published an article on its website urging women not to arouse men by flirting and equating this with adultery: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/may/29/turkey.islam. This article conveniently brushes over many of the facts to make sweeping generalisations.

Thank you, thank you, thank you....God bless the authors of this article n' the publishers of Newsweek.....American Muslims are tired of proving themselves to their neighbors, colleagues, the government n' their own country, the States....Klu Klux Klan doesn't represent the whole of Christianity nor do these terrorist groups represent Islam....