Letters to the Editor
lexsali
Published Letters: 73 Editor's Choice: 9
-
The voice of a Moderate Muslim
[Read the article: Blowback from the GOP's holy war]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Yes, it is true that people kill in the name of Islam. The "war" that these people wage against faceless enemies is given the name Jihad, or Holy War in Islam. This has helped to spread the connection between Islam and terrorism.
Islam does not preach hate. I am living proof. I follow the tenets of Islam as closely as I can. I read the Quran, where it says it is wrong to kill innocent people, and even in the case of war, conditions must be followed in order for it to be a legitimate war. Jihad is not a free-for-all. It comes with conditions such as protection of all women, children, and old people. The burning of religious places of worship and the persecution of religious dignitaries OF THE ENEMY is not allowed. The personal jihad, the struggle within oneself, is recognized as the greater Jihad. There is also Jihad of the pen vs. the sword. Jihad of the pen is struggle in the area of knowledge for the cause of Islam.
What Al-Qaeda and others like them call Jihad is not Jihad. It is a killing spree. No God, and especially not Allah, has given humans the authority to take the life of another human that Allah has chosen to grant. As the Quran says, only Allah can give life, and take it. They are simply murderers.
I am emphasizing these things because it is important to emphasize them once in a while, amidst the roar of the bigotry and fear-mongering of people who want to define Islam because they think they know it. They say all kinds of things that lump all Muslims together as terrorists, then say they meant something else.
So the next time you hear someone ask why Muslims don't speak out more against these practices, you can tell them you met a real, live "Moderate Muslim" and that I spoke out against terrorism. Because this is the only way we can speak out. Moderate Muslims can't make it on TV these days.
-
Three points here...
[Read the article: Pakistan turns scary for Bush's war on terror]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]1- I'm happy to see that Rice's plans for Pakistan have fallen apart. Maybe she and others like her will now realize how wrong it is to dictate the course of another country and not let the people of that country decide for themselves what they want. This is proof that all the money and the power in the world can't buy democracy.
That said, there are two things bugging me here.
- There are no new faces in the new parliament! There are no new faces anywhere in the new government. They are all a rehash of what came before Musharraf: Nawaz Sharif and the PPP. This is disturbing, as everyone will at least agree on one point: Pakistan was not much better off before Musharraf. So how can anyone expect anything new and different and GOOD to come out of the same old? Also, if there is such a large and new middle class in Pakistan now, why didn't they come out to vote? Voter turnout was incredibly low for the situation in Pakistan. SOMEONE should be paying attention to why the middle class is not mobilizing! This, and not arrogant top-down policies, is the key to Pakistani democracy.
- This election is too good to be true. And you know the old saying, that if it's too good to be true, it probably isn't. Why do I not believe that the man who replaced the entire Supreme Court, jailed thousands of civilians, imposed martial law and cut Pakistan off from the world, will now step aside if the government impeaches him? What is an impeachment except words on paper? Based on his history, if Musharraf doesn't want to go, no one came make him go.
-
WAIT
[Read the article: Girls, stop rape through "sexual restraint"!]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]If we hold people responsible for mowing someone over while under the influence, why can't we hold them responsible for raping under the influence? The fact of the matter is, people, not just men, alcohol weakens mental capabilities. So if we urge people not to drive when drunk, why don't we urge them not to have sex while drunk? I mean, if we hold them accountable for killing someone while drunk, then why can't we hold them accountable for raping someone while drunk? In both situations, there is harm being inflicted.
If we hold DUI drivers accountable based on the fact that they knew it was a bad idea to drink and drive, then we can also hold "rapists" accountable for knowing it was a bad idea to drink and have sex. It may sound a little extreme, but maybe that's what is needed.
-
How about negotiating with the Palestinian people?
[Read the article: Majority of Israelis want to negotiate with Hamas]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Hamas was democratically elected by the Palestinian people. Maybe the question to ask is, why do the Palestinian people support Hamas? It's because Hamas has filled the void created by the complete lack of a government that would provide basic human necessities and protection. When Israel shuts its doors to Palestinian workers, Hamas supports their families. When Palestinians need medical care, schools for their children, Hamas is there. So, the policy of the Israelis and the Americans completely ignoring that region is the equivalent of putting a child and a gun in the same room and throwing away the key. What do you expect will happen? It makes no sense to say, well, the child didn't HAVE to pick up the gun and shoot himself, and now that he has, we want nothing to do with it.
The Palestinian people need to be engaged. Israel and America need to stop punishing the people for the activities of Hamas. America needs to stop the double standards that are easy for Hamas to point to and give proof to the Palestinian people that Hamas is the only one that cares about them.
The policies of America and Israel in that region have been consistently ignorant, blatantly hypocritical, and just plain wrong.