Balancing Islam, predjudice, and acceptance.

  

A real and admitted Jihadist from Twitter.

       I have seriously wrestled with the issue of Islam and the Muslim religion for a VERY long time.  I have prayed over it.  I worked closely with the Mosque in Cincinnati when a mortician as we had the contract to serve as the de facto funeral home for the mosque.  I personally coordinated the international shipment of the remains of the person for whom the Mosque is named.   I know many peace-loving Muslims, including fellow students with whom I went to law school, and some of these young ladies I would trust to babysit my kids.   I am not some closed minded racist parochial hick that has not been regularly exposed to this culture.  

    I left the religion that I was baptized into and followed most of my life. For example, I used to be a very active Methodist.  The church started actively advocating pro-choice stances, and the church started advocating the Homosexual agenda.  The membership campaign, "Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors"  was specifically geared at bringing in the "diversity" elements of society, e.g. read LGBT crowds.  At the same time, the Church was taking stances on everything from nuclear power to the ways I could work with the developmentally disabled population I served for 15 plus years.   Almost every position taken by the church was not only in opposition to what I believed, but what I was raised to believe in opposition to the scripture.  So, I decided I did not want my money, prayers or presence to support that church and decided to go church shopping.  This was not an easy decision.  My sister-in-law is a Methodist Minister and baptized two of my children and all three of my children were baptized in the Methodist Church.  I attended the membership classes with Julia and was standing beside her when she was baptized in the Hyde Park Community United Methodist Church in Cincinnati.  My late uncle was a Methodist Minister.  My mother was more than once selected as a delegate representing our church to the conference where policy decisions were made.   I personally served as the Chairman of the Hyde Park's Social Justice Committee and we had a larger budget than many charitable foundations.  All that said, I simply could not abide where I saw the church going in terms of its stances on very important moral issues.  These issues PALE in comparison to the actions taken by radicalized elements of Islam.  No Methodist is murdering, bombing, raping or maiming others.  No Methodist is persecuting another religion or exacting a tax for not believing in the Church.  No Methodist is blowing up Churches or killing little girls on the way to school. I also know from my own personal experience that if my religion was taking such evil steps as the one taken by the Muslims, I would turn tail and leave it as fast as my feet would take me.    So, why aren’t all my smart, intelligent, and peace-loving friends? 

    Why aren’t all the Muslims who say they are peace loving screaming for reform of their religion?  I do not understand why they are not  forming reformed mosques.  I do not understand why my peace-loving Muslim friends are not distancing themselves from the violent and misogynistic passages in the Koran and  writing new interpretations which discount the violence contained therein as not pertinent in today's society. 

       You know, on Monday I was accusing radical Jihadists of the attack in Boston. I went on to quote SCOTUS cases that are still good law that justified deporting entire groups who had alienated themselves from US culture and presented a threat. I got unfriended by at least one person, called numerous names, and told to go where it is very warm. (Not Florida).

      Well, guess what? We find out the terrorists are indeed radicalized Jihadists and had already enjoyed the benefits of living in the US for 10 plus years and one was reportedly a second year medical student.

      What does this say? Well, I think it says we are dealing with an ideology like no other that we have encountered in human history and its direct indoctrination of its adherents is an anathema to those principles that we hold dear.

      I fear that the time is coming when we must approach that ideology on the whole and unfortunately separate apart from us all those who choose it over the blessings granted to us as a nation. I personally believe that due to all the violent and misogynistic passages and history of the religion that the spread of Islam can only come from the traditions of Jihad and Taqiyya, i.e. violent intimidation and duplicitous lying. If this last week's actions do not convince you of this, and if that poor little boy's broken body does not tell you what this group is capable of doing, then nothing I say or write will open your eyes.  You or your children will die in ignorance and regret.