We Must Separate Attacks on Muslims From Attacks on Islam
After the attacks in Paris, the debate over Islam is predictably reaching levels of mass hysteria and stupidity. On the right, we have seen rhetoric literally reminiscent of Nazi Germany, and on the left, we have seen the lazy defense of a religion that has long history of repression and violence.
As Donald Trump calls for a national registry of Muslims in America, Salon type liberals are insisting Islam is a religion of peace. Both depictions of Muslims and Islam are wrong, yet each extreme apparently represents the parameters of debate within which we are allowed to think about a very complicated subject.
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While followers of a particular religion might be overwhelmingly nice, moral people, the problem is that their religions often contain text that explicitly justify violence. Regardless of whether the majority of followers take it seriously, it is there to be misused. If a Muslim kills someone in the name of Allah and uses the Qu’ran to justify it, Muslims cannot state that he is not following Islam, because according to the Qu’ran, he is. This goes for Christians who discriminate against gays using the bible as justification.
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