Even though I know from various surveys that there are lot of British Muslims who are either extremists or extremist adjacent in their political and religious views that does not mean that I hate all Muslims. On the contrary, I also know that there are Muslims who self censor their own reading of their religion’s theology and reject that which is clearly morally wrong. There are also Muslims who know very little about their own faith and are no more knowledgable about their own religion or committed to it than the ‘twice a year Jews’ or the ‘once a year Christians’ are and think that Islam is all being nice and giving Zakat. There are also Muslims who are spiritually and mentally imprisoned by Islam who follow it out of fear and who although they might present as dedicated followers of Islam, deep inside they are yearning for the cage to be opened and for their spirit to be free. I cannot and must not hate such people many of whom are decent not because of what Islam has taught them but in spite of what they’ve been taught.
Therefore this comment by Mr Tommy Robinson chimed greatly with me. Mr Robinson said:
He’s got a point. It’s similar to separating the art from the artist, people can respect the art of someone like for example Pablo Picasso or Eric Gill or Caravaggio but condemn the artists for being absolute and total shits as people. It is therefore possible, as Mr Robinson says, to attack, deride, question, condemn and mock Islam whilst at the same time not do the same to individual Muslims.
Exactly: I hate Communism and Islam – it doesn’t mean I dislike the people of China or that I don’t feel sorry for the people of Iran.
I’m also very much mindful that, as I’ve stated on many other occasions, that often the primary victims of radical Islam are other Muslims who the radicals do not like.
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There are also Muslims who know very little about their own faith and are no more knowledgable about their own religion or committed to it than the ‘twice a year Jews’ or the ‘once a year Christians’ are and think that Islam is all being nice and giving Zakat.
Not sure what happened there … take two:
There are also Muslims who know very little about their own faith and are no more knowledgable about their own religion or committed to it than the ‘twice a year Jews’ or the ‘once a year Christians’ are and think that Islam is all being nice and giving Zakat.
And one thing they won’t know is that according to some (many?) Sharia law systems 12.5% of Zakat is to be used to fund offensive Jihad against non-Muslims.
Agree there, supporting Jihad is one of the aims of Zakat.