Real Muslims, Speak Out Against Terrorists

LINK: http://www.townhall.com/columnists/douggiles/dg20050716.shtml

Dear Moderate Muslims,

What’s up? I see that you guys have been in the news a lot lately. I thought I’d write you a letter and ask you some questions because it seems as if some Muslims are involved in some very bad stuff around the globe, i.e. targeting and killing innocent people and all in the name of your god.

After the damnable 911 terror attacks, President Bush stated that, “Islam is a religion of peace” and the people who carried out these atrocious acts of war are the evil fringe adherents of a good religion. We’d all like to believe him. The British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, says that those who carried out the 7/7 attacks on London held “poisonous and perverted” views of Islam that are inconsistent with what the Quran teaches.

So . . . what I’m getting from President Bush, Prime Minister Blair and many others is that Islam, as it is taken from the Quran, condemns both violent acts and those behind them and tables via its teachings harmony with all of humanity. I’d like to believe that, and seeing that you’re a moderate adherent, I’ve got a couple of questions to ask you regarding some of the radicals who are seriously fouling your peaceful religion’s public persona.

Look, I know that all groups and families have relatives and constituents they wish wouldn’t align themselves with their party or family because they are . . . let’s say . . . uh . . . loopy. Like my one-eyed, Uncle Slappy White who works for the Muleshoe, Texas sanitation department. Man, you do not want to bring him around your friends, especially when he’s all liquored up. He can be quite the embarrassment. Therefore, I can empathize with being wrongfully associated with some weirdoes who clearly do not represent who you are.

Please indulge me, moderate Muslims. I have two simple questions regarding your current religious beliefs, as we would not want you to be confused with the aberrant devotees with whom, we were told, you wholeheartedly disagree.

1. Seeing that you differ with the radical lunatic fringe players in your religion, we can safely know and state that you do not view the West and those who do not share your religious beliefs as “The Great Satan,” correct?

I mean . . . I know we eat pork, watch PG-13 movies, dance to Michael Jackson, believe Hillary Clinton [at least some do on the left] and watch Paris Hilton . . . it’s bad, I know. But c’mon . . . “The Great Satan”??? Thank God, that as a moderate Muslim, you do not go so far as to label the entire Western Civilization as satanic just because it isn’t based on an Islamic worldview. Amen?

2. What are you going to do about all the verses in the Quran that instruct Muslims to convert, conquer or kill those who will not bow their knees to Allah? You don’t believe that stuff, do you? You don’t believe that peaceful Jews, Christians and secularists are belligerent infidels, right? I would think not, because that would be extreme.

As a moderate Muslim, can we rest assured that you do not believe that warfare and terror are any way to establish your religion in people’s lives? Can we also be certain that those of us who do not believe and will not believe your particular take on divinity can feel completely safe around you and that we can confidently expect you to work with us to build our world into a better place without condemnation being breathed down upon our heads?

Well, that’s it for now. If you could help me with these two questions that would be really cool. Also, it would probably help us in the U.S. and London if you’d work to communicate more regularly and vociferously, given the continued bad press your radical adherents are getting, that you fundamentally disagree with their violent behavior against an unarmed citizenry. Communicating that and working very hard towards eradicating their global threats would kind of help to balance things out a bit.

In addition, your public and incessant condemnation of extremism within your ranks would also serve the purpose of exonerating all moderates from the smallest hint of supporting such behavior. The reason why? It’s simple. Usually, when groups are silent regarding an issue that should be condemned it leads other people to believe that the groups really don’t disagree at all with what has occurred and are, therefore, in agreement with the bad people that perpetrated the despicable act.

I’m really glad that you are moderate in your religious views and are ready and willing to work with us in stamping out these terrorists before they can do any more damage to our people or your people. No doubt, as you see people reeling from this most recent disaster in London, carried out by people who you condemn as crazy, we can count on you to help lead the charge in putting them down. We can count on you to monitor your mosques, to get on radio and TV and to “out” these nuts, wherever they may be found. Yes, it is good to know that we can trust you to blow the whistle on evil plans—even if it means turning in some of your family members, clerics or close friends.

Thank you for your help and all the best . . .