There's a diary over at Daily Kos about a "manifesto" written and signed by the usual suspects (Rushdie, Manji, Ibn Warraq, Hirsi, etc.), along with a few others whom I'm not familiar with. The "manifesto" speaks against that "...new totalitarian global threat: Islamism."
What I found amusing in the commentary is how quite a few people were saying "Huh?" after reading the "manifesto." So much for clarity of expression by "We, writers, journalists, intellectuals..."
I've written a few comments to this diary (as JDsg), one of which appears below:
I agree that these people [Rushdie, Manji, Warraq, Hirsi, etc.]are not reformers of Islam. For the vast majority of Muslims, one look at the names of the signatories will cause them to ignore this "manifesto" altogether. These people do not speak for us and, in many cases, have as much credibility as a turnip.
But many of these signatories are popular among non-Muslims because they say what non-Muslims want to hear, as in the case of this "manifesto." What, did anyone think that this was written with Muslims as the intended audience? It was written for non-Muslims, for them to say, "Oh, if only the Muslims were like them."
So sad. Too bad.
4 comments:
I've posted a few points of my own to DailyKos, about the non-territorial nature of Islamic law, which I feel many non-Muslims don't really grasp.
Other point, isn't the proposal for Shari'ah courts in Canada to mediate between Muslims (but subordinate to secular civil courts) remarkably similar to the way civil law was done between Christians and Jews in traditional Islamic states?
Dear George Carty,
I'm too lazy to check out your comment on the Daily Kos : I would be interested to know what you mean by "the non-territorial nature of Islamic law".
On your other point, i would say that separate laws for separate people within the same society has never been a part of the Judeo-Christian tradition. see Numbers 15:14,16&29.
If George doesn't mind, here are two of his comments from Daily Kos as they relate to Shariah:
* Islamic versus Western law
One of the most important differences between Islamic and Western civilizations is that Western law is applied on the basis of geography alone, while Islamic societies apply law on the basis of religion (Shari'ah for Muslims, Halacha for Jews, usually canon law for Christians). The Islamic "dhimmi" system can be considered to be an illiberal multiculturalism.
by GCarty on Fri Mar 03, 2006 at 09:09:08 PM CCT
* More on Shari'ah
"Shari'ah" literally means "the way to the waterhole". Muslims view Islamic law much as Westerners view the laws of physics, as something to be discovered rather than invented...
"Hudud" crimes (felonies) have their punishments fixed in the Qur'an, while "Tazir" crimes (misdemeanours) are punished according to the judge's discretion...
by GCarty on Fri Mar 03, 2006 at 09:23:55 PM CCT
What George didn't add (although I didn't think he needed to) regarding the "non-territorial nature" of Shariah is that, theoretically, Shariah is applicable regardless of where on Earth a Muslim is. Of course, this isn't actually the case for most of the world (e.g., Singaporean Muslims can't apply hudud punishments here - although civil punishments can be just as severe as what Shariah prescribes).
George also wrote: "Other point, isn't the proposal for Shari'ah courts in Canada to mediate between Muslims (but subordinate to secular civil courts) remarkably similar to the way civil law was done between Christians and Jews in traditional Islamic states?"
I believe that is true, although I can't say with absolute certainty. Actually, the Canadian proposal was similar to what is already being practiced here in S'pore. Some of Shariah *is* practiced here legally, in conjunction with Singapore's civil jurisprudence, especially with reard to marital relations (marriage, divorce), inheritance laws, and perhaps a few other areas. Singapore's civil laws with regard to finance is expected to be changed in the very near future to be compliant with Shariah as the gov't wants to get a share in the Islamic financial market (which is huge and growing).
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