Well duuuuh!

"THE country's most influential Catholic has offended Islamic leaders for the second time in a month by declaring Islam more warlike than Christianity."

Supposedly Cardinal Pell said something controversial--- for the second time! I don't know---- from my point of view it seems his Eminence was just saying aloud what most of the rest of us know--- but are too timid to say.

Yes--- I do know that there are good, peaceful Muslims but there is no fudging the fact that, as Cardinal Pell said earlier, "the Koran was riddled with "invocations to violence", and Islam was not a tolerant religion." To which I would say both its past and recent history provide plenty of proof of Islam's attitude towards non-Muslims--- or as we are "affectionately" (tic) known --the infidels. In an Islamic world we would have three choices. We could choose conversion (impossible -- Jesus is Lord and Savior and there is no way I will deny Him). So that leaves submission (and living as a lower class without rights) :

"Fight against those who believe not in Allah, nor the Last Day, nor hold that forbidden which has been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger, nor acknowledge the religion of truth, from among the People of the Book (Jews and Christians), until they pay the jizya (tax payed by non-Muslims) with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued." (Sura 9:29)

And finally the third "choice" which is death. The majority of Koranic texts insist fighting the unbeliever is mandatory. "Make war on them until idolatry shall cease and Allah's religion shall reign supreme." (Sura 8:39). Also Sura 4:84,89 says:

"fight in Allah's cause...and rouse the believers. It may be that Allah will restrain the fury of the unbelievers. ... They only wish you would reject the faith as they do, and thus be on the same footing as they. So do not take friends from their ranks until they flee in the way of Allah from what is forbidden. But if they turn renegades, seize them and slay them..."

Those wishing to obscure the violence advocated by Allah and his Prophet point to the rare passages in the Koran like "There shall be no compulsion in religion" (Sura 2:256) but the few such seemingly tolerant passages were written early in Muhammad's career when he still had hope that he could sway Jews and Christians to follow him. As it became evident to Muhammad that that was not going to happen the directives to subdue or slay those who refuse to convert quickly overwhelmed in numbers the few early verses to the contrary. History shows in every era violence towards and conquest of of non-believers has been the hallmark of Islamism. Eras of peaceful, tolerant coexistence with other religions is what is rare.

What is sad is that those moderate Muslims who do seem to seek to live peacefully appear to be held hostage by those who do not. How often have we heard the moderate Muslim leaders speaking out against those who perpetrate violence and war? How often have we seen the same moderate Muslim leaders publicly denounce acts of terror and and carnage? Not very often.

It was an eye opener for me when I heard that after the big terrorist bust in Canada over the weekend--- (CANADA??? home of the liberal and tolerant---refuge of draft dodgers and peaceniks--- land of near porous borders---open to all) that a group of moderate Muslim leaders called a news conference--- not to condemn those who planned to blow up buildings and kill hundreds if not thousands of Canadian citizens--- not to deny any link between their community and that of the terrorists--- nope--- they called a news conference to complain of intolerance because someone had thrown a brick through their front window......

Comments

[Miss B.]

If people would start speaking out and STOP being timid, then more and more would follow. THEN the message that Islam is NOT a religion of peace would come to be recognized as "popular opinion" and the Islamists would not have such a stronghold on the West. It's while we sit and try to placate them...and downright defend them (shock! horror!)...that we are only serving up our on heads on Islam's silver platter. I confounds me to no end how anyone can defend this intolerant and hate-filled religious philosophy. Saying that there are "some peace-loving Muslims" is actually not the way to go about defending Islam, because the fact is those Muslims who are peace-loving are not true Muslims at all. Read the Koran and the Hadith. It's all there. There's no room for peaceniks in Islam. "Peace-loving" Muslims are infidels in the eyes of Islam. They basically are really good people who need to find another religion in which to woship God. I know the Roman Church has some openings...

[genevieve]

Amen!! To believe that Islam is a religion of peace one must ignore history. See http://www.realclearreligion.com

[cartographer]

Hey, if American Muslim leaders want to teach that Islam is peaceful, to interpret those uncompromising Koranic passages metaphorically and so on, I say let 'em do it! Why should the rest of us be Koranic literalists if Muslims aren't? Steps toward Western acculturation are welcome. For a lot of reasons, not all their own fault, Muslims are rarely yet in the comfort zone that allows an ethnic/religious group to engage in public self-criticism, but for goodness sake why oppose anything that moves in that direction?

[Tony]

["THE country's most influential Catholic hasoffendedIslamic leaders for the second time in a month by declaring Islam more warlike than Christianity."]

So now the offended Muslims will declare a Jihad on Australia, proving once and for all that Islam is the "Religion of Peace(TM)"