To Fix Islam, Start From the Inside

Just look at Bangladesh to see what micro-loans have done to women. Now slowly, but gradually, Bangladesh is becoming an icon for all of 3rd world nations. Hell, we are muslims too!!!

This may not be the politically correct thing to say..but how about muslim women standing up against polygamy and stop being the 'child breeding machines'.The explosive growth of young Islamic population is pushing more disaffected muslims to live in ghettos and ripe for brainwashing by mullahs..Those vermins who preach having 20 kids for each muslim so as to conquer the world with sheer numbers are pushing the planet to inevitable peril

This may not be the politically correct thing to say..but how about muslim women standing up against polygamy and stop being the 'child breeding machines'.The explosive growth of young Islamic population is pushing more disaffected muslims to live in ghettos and ripe for brainwashing by mullahs..Those vermins who preach having 20 kids for each muslim so as to conquer the world with sheer numbers are pushing the planet to inevitable peril

erenkoy-
You dissapoint us.
That WAS the point. Unfortunately you misread "Me" for "We"

Aveage Joe:
>I think it might be time for true Muslims to start their own military arm - focused solely on defending the name of Islam and/or Muslim. >
You're really going out on a limb...There are plenty of Milliatry arms of Islam. They need to be healed as well as us (read "us" I'm included) who stand on the side-lines, frustrated, angry with one of the world's great religions 1.6 billion strong...waiting for them to find their own bootstaps, the voice of compassion to pierce the chorus of hate and revenge.

Does the fact that the author states "But Oz's hope that in Ashdod "we shall see what will flower when peace and a little repose finally come" must have crumbled this week as the Israeli military pounded the Gaza Strip with airstrikes, killing more than 300 Palestinians. In response, Hamas militants shot more than 200 missiles in four days, including long range Grads, into southern Israel, among other targets. Some of those weapons hit Ashdod, just 23 miles away from the turbulent border that Israel shares with the Gaza Strip." bother anyone else?

He/she seems to be saying that Isreal started this. Wasn't it Hamas refusal to follow the truce and stop launching rockets the spark?

The basic premise of this recommendation is a good step forward, but will make little difference until the ENTIRE muslim population of people - regardless of country of origin - or particular sect of the religion - unanimously renounce the extremist that use the name of the religion to add credence to their actions. Actually renouncing them is not enough either. Muslims - true muslims - need to take the fight to these extremists. They need to notify authorities when they know of these extremists locations, intentions, business contacts, etc... Muslims have a bad reputation because of the actions of a few thugs and idealists that use the name of Islam and Muslim to kill, torture, --- you know their actions! True believers have the responsibility to keep the name of their faith dis-associated with those that use the name to excuse their actions that are un-supportable under the name of any religion. I think it might be time for true Muslims to start their own military arm - focused solely on defending the name of Islam and/or Muslim. You know who these people are. You know where their schools teach hatred and terror. Take them out - do the world a big favor and give your religion back some dignity and respect it deserves. By turning your head the other way and casually stating your religion is "one of peace" - you are giving the impression of support.

The basic premise of this recommendation is a good step forward, but will make little difference until the ENTIRE muslim population of people - regardless of country of origin - or particular sect of the religion - unanimously renounce the extremist that use the name of the religion to add credence to their actions. Actually renouncing them is not enough either. Muslims - true muslims - need to take the fight to these extremists. They need to notify authorities when they know of these extremists locations, intentions, business contacts, etc... Muslims have a bad reputation because of the actions of a few thugs and idealists that use the name of Islam and Muslim to kill, torture, --- you know their actions! True believers have the responsibility to keep the name of their faith dis-associated with those that use the name to excuse their actions that are un-supportable under the name of any religion. I think it might be time for true Muslims to start their own military arm - focused solely on defending the name of Islam and/or Muslim. You know who these people are. You know where their schools teach hatred and terror. Take them out - do the world a big favor and give your religion back some dignity and respect it deserves. By turning your head the other way and casually stating your religion is "one of peace" - you are giving the impression of support.

As an atheist, may I ask "who are you to fix a religion?"

wildechild666-
Your comments, heart-felt perhaps; are simply too glib for comfort.
"off-putting" puts an undefendable spin on the reality muslim women face.
If that wernt the case Irshad Manji would have troubled herself to write and submit her article to such a prestigious and well distributed news journal
My advice to the 4 out 5 coverts would have been the same advice I'd give to all lemmings:
"walk don't run and look before you leap"

As a non-muslim I will try not to betoo presumptive when speaking on the behalf of "The West". Many of us by way of our tact, centuries old'programing" "world-view" are reluctant to "fix" someone else's religion. Some of us with "Chutzpah"-to steal a word used by the author of the article, may offer criticisms or offer up an offending Koranic passage or two to back up a point being made.
We prefer to work out the problems, contradictions and rise to the challenges our own faiths present to us.
Many of us are familiar with the statements of islamic apologists that remind us of the great Islamic intellectual acheivements of the past-hence I imagine that most non-muslims (and I hope-most muslims) would agree with the article's title. Its not an easy task. "Newsweek" may not be on every news stand or night stand in Tehran. I'm sorry. I don't know.

The world's great three religions-thier books: contain profound statements AND disturbing ones as well.
Those of us that pursue these faiths struggle with it daily and have done so for centuries. The reward is worth the effort. Stonings and burnings were abandoned centuries if not millenia ago...we still deal with their metaphorical contemporary offspring...water-boarding, character assasination to name a few. The endevor to heal and grow is to the better and thank-fully we have positive results to show for it. It a process that will never end..because we are human, we are flawed -like it or not. The great saving grace of the Jewish and Christian bibles is that the prophets and saints are presented/acknowledged to be people. They are all flawed, some comically or tragicly so. For instance, If one studies biblical hebrew; the language therein is indefinate-the great wisdom of its authors, perhaps intentionally so, is to assure that No one can presume "Perfection" and as such will be humbled into constant humility, compassion and internal and external dialog...-no one being the sole possesers of "Truth" . Perfect only for it's imperfection. This is the "crux of the biscuit".
All of us remain, imperfect and "chossen" -to fullfill and strive for the competion of creation and the healing and repair of the world.

Tamerm raises the question of human rights in Islam. Fair enough. Let's look at the evidence. FACT: Not a single Moslem-majority country has accepted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. On the contrary, the highest Islamic religious authorities of all 57 Moslem countries have signed on to the Cairo Declaration of Human Rights in Islam which explicitly says that Islam is superior to all other religions and which unequivocally states that all human rights must be in accordance with the Sharia (the letter, not the spirit!) and that the Sharia is the ONLY source of human rights. The Moslem religious leaders make it perfectly clear that the Islamic notion of human rights is NOT COMPATIBLE with our western notions of human rights. All we have to do is listen to what the Islamic religious leaders say. Here are a few such statements:

MOSLEM REACTION TO the Universal Declaration of Human Rights::

1981 - Iranian rep to UN: "UDHR is a secular understanding of the Judeo-Christian tradition" which could not be implementey by Muslims wihout trespassing the Islamic law.

AYATOLLAH KHOMEINI:

???What they call human rights is nothing but a collection of corrupt rules worked out by the Zionists to destroy all true religions.???

AYATOLLAH MOUSSAVE-KHOMENEHI:

When we want to find out what is right and what is wrong we do not go to the United Nations; we go to the Holy Koran??????

MUHAMMED NACERI, member of Morocco Council of Religious Scholars:

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was for complete equality for man and women. For us, women are equal to men in law, but they are not the same as men, and they can???t be allowed to wander around freely in the streets like some kind of animal.???

Former Iranian president Ali Khamenei said: ???When we want to find out what is right and what is wrong we do not go to the United Nations; we go to the Holy Koran. For us, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is nothing but a collection of mumbo-jumbo by disciples of Satan.???

Wildechild writes: "...true Islam means following the spirit, not just the letter, of the law." Who is Wildechilde to tell us what "true Islam" is? Are Wildechilde's qualifications for this greater than the qualifications of Khomeini, Maududi, Qutb, the classic Islamic scholars and even of Muhammad???? Isn't that a bit presumptuous? It is also logically absurd. How would one arrive at the spirit while ignoring the letter of the law? I challenge Wildechilde, or anyone else, to find ANY Islamic religious authority who would support such an approach to Islam whereby the letter of the sacred law (Shariah) is ignored in order to implement the "spirit".

This is an extremely well thought out and well written article. The ideas articulated in this article need to be examined by western govenments and taken seriously. By reaqching out to those who are oppressed, we reach others at very basic need.. We should have no desire to reform others, but give them the tools to reform themselves.

If you read deeply in Islam you will find that Islamic culture documented all human rights, women rights and respectibility, also how to respect personal freedom and the community integrity. Please do not do a link between the true islamic philosophy and any political regimes. Islam does not need fixation, but people need to read throughly in Islam in a non-biased way, and then tell yourself the answer of a question, Where is the right and where is the wrong.

Thats good start. Muslim women should have equal rights. They should be allowed into Mosque and they should be allowed to study and work at their own will. Educated muslim women can nurture their kids better and put them in right path instead of extremist path.

I totally agree with Irshad Manji, but why wait for government to act (we will all grow waiting). Many American women have money to invest in small women-owned businesses, one-on-one. Organize us.