So then I asked him, "what about 9-11?". He called those guys "Kharijites" (I looked this term up later). He said, "I do not deny that they are men who one time or another considered themselves believers, but all one has to do is read the early scholars to know that they are on a deviant path away from the true SCIENCE of Islam" (I thought that was an interesting word he chose).
"Kharijites"? Hmm Spud'll look that one up later. The "Science of Islam" thing is not an unknown term to Spud although yeah it does seem just a wee mite counter-intuitive. "Deviant"? No shite! Most of the moderate Muslims Spud is speak to say that it mostly boils down to the question "Does the Koran allow Muslim to kill innocents and how do we define "innocents"?
Bin Laden has made the case that any and all people who aint with them are against them and thus not "innocents" and thus "fair game" including all them people who worked in the WTCs and their many other victims of their terrorist bombings around the world. All of the moderate Muslims Spud is speak with say that this "fair game" stuff is patent nonsense and highly immoral.
Then he said some rather striking stuff. He said that modern pressure on the Muslims and dischord in the Muslim world has only one to blame-- MUSLIMS. I said, "What about us Americans? Aren't we Satan?" And he said, "Ah-key (he calls me this when explaining something), Muslims would have no problem with the Americans, but many Muslims are deviating from the true path, and that what causes the friction, and that is where Satan truly works the worst evils." so I said, "You blame the Muslims for all this?" He said, "One must be careful to say as a Muslim that you blame your brothers, so I would rather say, "I blame those who at one time or another considered themselves Muslims, who went around spreading dischord in the name of Allah. This dischord is strictly forbidden and there is a SCIENCE that shows that scholars forbade it."
Strewth. Many Muslims wot Spud is speak to is very proud of the original contributions the Islamic world made to the fields of science and math and astronomy and they take the whole "Reliigon of Peace" thing very seriously indeed.
There are Muslim who speak out against the "deviants" among them albeit, as yer friend sez, "Very carefully". One of the ones that Spud admires most is a Canadian journalist named Irshad Manji who wrote an excellent book on the subject entitled "The Trouble with Islam" that is well worth the read.
So, my final question was, "Why all this? if Islam is the true way then why all this? How could Islam possibly be the winner?" And he said, "This is the necessary force that needs to be applied for Islam to again flourish and for Muslims to again see clearly the correct path. It is harsh, but that is life."
Life is hard. THe real war is not so much the war between the West and th eextremist Muslims who are attempting to hijack an entire religion but within Islam itself between the moderates and the whackjobs. THat fight is one that will determine the ultimate destiny of this most populous of religions in the long run.
Anyway, he also asked me to stop drinking (he knows I drink alot), saying that it was because I was lonely and depressed and if I stopped drinking he would help me to find a "good woman". LOL! I'm guessing he thinks he has a shot at converting me or something. I like pork and beer and gambling too much, LOL!
Ha! Spud has a Muslim neighbour who has invited Spud over to enjoy a quiet cuppa Kava with his friends and family on occasions such as Eid and similar sentiments have been expressed. Spud could give up the Poker games and such but the idea of never having another pint of Liquid Gold or enjoying some BBQ Pork fried rice is just too much to bear.
Ta fer the chat.
Be Well.