Response To A Muslim Extremist

thewayofthetruth1 is a Muslim who posted recently to AvC and made the following comments:

it is obvious that this repulsive cartoons depicting the Prophet have violated the sanctity of 1.5 billion Muslims around the world and their feelings....

This has exposed those who are actually promoting extremism, violence and hatred between peoples and i emphasized the need to activate international resolutions that condemn and punish such crimes as defamation of religions and prophets.

and i think that any type of art that portrays the image of any prophet is an offense...we can observe and note the behavior that follows after such act.

Take for instance the picture of Jesus (pbuh)...how many times have you seen "his" image on the media being mocked at ? in many occasion "his" image has even been created into a cartoon to humor people...this is absolute disrespect...in any circumstances we should not allow any type of mockery of any prophet (pbuh and Allah's mercy).

and i belive also that Western countries and organizations were adopting double standards on the issue of Danish cartoons allowing abuse of Muslim sanctities and their Prophet by claiming that this the freedom of speech but where is this freedom when dealing with the holocaust not by denying it by just saying that the number of people killed in this sad accident is exaggerated !!!

My (Trance Gemini of AvC) response follows:

thewayofthetruth1. If you are truly seeking the way of the truth, I'd like to point something out to you.

We, in North America, have laws which respect the human rights and dignity of all.

This includes the Muslim community.

You, as a Muslim have the following rights:

1. To practice your religion fully.
2. To never be harassed because of your faith.
3. To never be discriminated against because of your faith.
4. To live in dignity according to your beliefs.

If anyone attacks you on this basis or physically attacks you because you are a Muslim or physically attacks your Mosque because it is a Muslim place of worship, that person will be not only be put in jail, but will receive a longer sentence because to launch an attack based on religious belief is a Hate Crime.

North American secular law gives you these rights if you live anywhere in North America.

You, as a Muslim, are afforded similar rights in Europe and the UK.

Now, to say that we do not respect Muslims and their beliefs as you can see by the facts I've shown you is simply not the case.

Not only that but, I as a non-believer have fewer rights than you because I'm not religious and therefore am not covered by the above.

If I'm attacked physically or for my beliefs the person will be jailed under normal criminal law.

Now, on top of this, you are demanding that those who are non-believers should also be required to recognize your laws and religious requirements and follow them.

That is what you are asking us to do when you attempt to restrict our freedom of speech in accordance with your religious requirements.

Not only do you demand this, but others in your community back your demands with threats of violence in the form of fatwahs against those who have stood up against these demands of yours. People have been murdered, forced into hiding, forced to live in fear of being killed or otherwise victimized.

We, in the West, respect the Muslim community and their right to their beliefs. That is a fact whether you agree with it or not.

You, as a Muslim, on the other hand, do not respect our right to not believe and not to follow your religious restrictions by making the demands on us that you make to restrict our freedoms.

Respect in any society is a two way street. It must occur both ways, if it doesn't inequalities occur.

Secular societies work to eliminate inequalities.

We respect you, your culture, your religion, and your rights.

We want you to do the same and respect us, our culture, our beliefs, and our rights.

Is that really too much to ask?

Why Does The Qu'ran Say Kill Infidels And Others? : The Full AvC Thread