An Open Letter to the
Media:
The
continued advancement of Reason must eventually come from better education of
the public. It seems likely that atheists will not succeed, in the near term, in
doing what public schools and universities should have already accomplished.
The idea presented here is that Islam can serve as a pattern with which one may
examine one’s religion; the media can help with this and they need some
help.
Nowadays many people are asking questions about the nature of Islam. Apologists
of this religion often assert to the media that Islam is a religion of peace.
People who have not read any of the Koran often have the same idea, because it
sounds familiar to them from media reports. It is usually a Mohammedan true
believer who makes such a public proclamation. In today’s political climate, it
is likely that a harsh, but honest, exposition of Islam’s central ideas is of
interest to Westerners.
Mein Kampf
Talking-head news announcers frequently inform us that
Islam is a peaceful religion. When interviews of representatives of Islam are
presented, the claimant is seldom pressed to explain the scriptural basis of
Islamic intolerance, or why today’s, faith-based terrorists are Islamic. The
news presenters do not know enough abut Islam.
One thing that is within our power to accomplish in the near term is to instruct
the people who present information to us via the media. If this is done, it may
be possible to let independently thinking members of the public discover for
themselves that religion is bunk.
The claimant is rarely
asked to explain what the scriptural / spiritual basis of the terrorism is
thought to be. The answer, of course, would be -- faith in the Koran. The Koranic dictum
should be stated in the press. References should be given. We must argue that it
can’t be that the Koran is merely misunderstood. When the Koran urges to kill
and to torture the unbeliever, the Jew or the apostate, there is only one
possible way this can be understood.
It is the Taliban
and
the like, who understand the Koran as Mohammed intended! For centuries, the
Koran has been interpreted the Taliban way. It is the fundamentalists who act
morally with regard to their Holy Scripture. This must be made clear to the
public. Once this is understood, anyone may examine the source of the Koran's
authority and compare it with that of any other holy scripture. That authority,
of course, is faith. Faith can lead to opposite opinions. Because of this, the
question may be asked: What value has faith?
The comparison with
other religions should not be emphasized initially. People may discover for
themselves some parallels with their own religions. For now, the momentum should
carry the idea that there is something wrong at the core of Islam. In effect,
Islam has invited the relatively free thinking West to enter its Jihad.
|
Amazon.com |
|
Why I Am Not a Muslim,
by Ibn Warraq
Raised in the Muslim faith, Warraq came to reject religion and
now spends his time lecturing and writing. He recently authored a piece "Islam,
The Middle East and Fascism" which critiques the Islamic Holy Book, the
Qur'an. |
The Quest for the Historical Muhammad
by Ibn Warraq
Publishers Weekly: "... Warraq has provided a
highly readable critical survey of the literature of this quest..."
|
|
Book:
"Why I am not a Christian" |
One way to accomplish the distribution of knowledge about the Koran’s dark side
is to educate press pundits, media interviewers, writers and opinion brokers. It
is prudent now to contact media-public figures and news organizations. We should
learn their email addresses so that we can respond quickly. Atheists should
maintain an exhaustive email list. Factual background knowledge can be
presented. We can offer advice about better questions which could have been
asked.
In today's political climate, we may succeed in demonstrating that Islam, when
interpreted as intended by its founders, is a religion that is hateful and
vindictive. When criticizing Islam, we could hint at parallels with those
elements of Christianity with which Islam is congruent. This analogy should not
be explicitly stated, but ought to be left as a mental exercise. The ideas in
the Holy Koran can serve as a model for any faith-based system. When Westerners
discover that Christianity is in many respects like Islam, they may become more
critical of their own religions. Perhaps the "non-organized" religious sentiment
would become more
prevalent.
Islam allows many practices which are thought to be abhorrent to modern Christians, such as the subordination of women,
stoning to
death, slavery, polygamy, torture of nonbelievers, having sex with children and
with animals. Islamic practices such as
female genital mutilation, still common
today, but not based on scripture, should be exposed. We should not shy away
from identifying modern Islam with these practices.
The question on the minds of many people is: Why do they hate us so much, to
kill themselves and thousands? We must make it clear that the only honest answer
is: It's the religion, stupid!
If you google the net, you will find many references to Islam and the Koran. A
glimpse of the dark side of the Koran is shown at
http://nowscape.com/islam/.
Today, many of these things would, in the US, be considered hate
crimes.
The idea presented here is that Islam can serve as a pattern with which one may
examine one's religion. It is the atheist's burden to inform media announcers
and interviewers to be critical in accepting the claims of Islam. In the West,
Islam is nowadays in a precarious position. Atheists can take this opportunity
to stimulate the public to think about the validity of religion in general.
Atheists should keep in close contact with influential public figures who may be
persuaded to think critically about these issues.
|
Why I Am Not a
Christian,and Other
Essays on Religion
and
Related
Subjects
by Bertrand Russell
"Great book, solid arguments,
a challenge to believers. Easy-
to-understand logic dominates
the work, presenting an almost
watertight case against
contemporary mythology.
|
The Holy Qur'an:
Text,
Translation & Commentary
Abdullah Yusuf Ali
(Editor) |
Holy Bible:
King James Version:
Standard Text Edition
Holy Bible on
Compact Disc |
Ken's Guide to the Bible
by Ken Smith
With
precision and pig-
iron wit, this compact
volume lays bare all the
sex, gore, and lunacy
that the Bible has to offer.
|
