Ranting to /dev/null

This guy is to Muslims in general as Fred Phelps (www.godhatesfags.com) is to Christians in general.....the extremely vocal minority.

But you're right. These radical muslims are simply looking for excuses to justify their unreasonable hatred for everyone who is different.

But as Thomas Friedman (no friend of Bush!) of the NY Times has repeatedly asked, where is all of the popular Islamic condemnation of these and other attacks? And where is the condemnation of that "vocal minority"? If this is so obviously anti-Islamic, where are all of the clerics condemning these theological errors?

"That's just the vocal minority." Fine, but to be frank, who gives a rat's rear end? Why is this alleged majority so darn silent?

Friedman - Giving the Hatemongers no Place to Hide

Money Quote: 'We also need to spotlight the "excuse makers," the former State Department spokesman James Rubin said. After every major terrorist incident, the excuse makers come out to tell us why imperialism, Zionism, colonialism or Iraq explains why the terrorists acted. These excuse makers are just one notch less despicable than the terrorists and also deserve to be exposed. When you live in an open society like London, where anyone with a grievance can publish an article, run for office or start a political movement, the notion that blowing up a busload of innocent civilians in response to Iraq is somehow "understandable" is outrageous. "It erases the distinction between legitimate dissent and terrorism," Mr. Rubin said, "and an open society needs to maintain a clear wall between them."'

Also:

Friedman - If It's a Muslim Problem, It Needs a Muslim Solution

Muslims don't hate everyone who is different. They're very culturally diverse. They hate those who _aren't Muslim_.

Not all, or even most, Muslims hate non-Mulims. You've got to be careful how you phrase that. There are good, peaceful muslims living among us and fighting in our military. What we REALLY don't want is a repeat of the mentality that led to the Japanese Internment Camps.

But yes, there should be a clearer outcry from the moderates, and the non-radical conservatives.

It's like the editor of Newsweek International said on the Daily Show a couple of days ago. Islam doesn't have a "pope" that can just come out and declare something good or bad.

It's more like protestant Chrisianity in that, every Imam or cleric has just as much right to make a declaration as another, so it just turns into noise, rather than a clear opinion. (As he put it, who made Jerry Falwell a leader of Protestant Christianity? No one....he just started talking, and people listened.)

But the good news is, the moderate Muslims are starting to get louder. Their fear, I think, is that they don't want to be construed as supporting Bush.

But overall, I agree with you.......they need to be much more vocal against any form of terrorism.

Actually, Stephen, what Muslims who are part of mainstream American and British society are to mainstream Islam is what Unitarian Universalists and mainline Episcopalians are to the larger Christian community. They've strayed so far from the heart of the religion that faithful Muslims seem to hate them more than us.

I definitely agree that radical muslims hate what they see as "westernized" Muslims, but I wouldn't go so far as to say that most Muslims living in the US are not faithful, or have strayed from the heart of their religion.

I wouldn't know one way or the other. I was only talking about how they are perceived by their Middle Eastern brethren.