Let me see if I understand world religious affairs correctly.
Muslims have put forward the postulate that theirs is a religion of peace and mutual respect for others, including those who do not share their view of worship and God.
The head of the Catholic Church recently quoted a Byzantine Emporer’s remarks which were viewed as insulting to those of the Muslim Faith.
In response to this, Muslims have burned several Christian Churches, and today, it appears that certain sects have basically declared war on Christianity.
Let us not forget that in retaliation for the printing of a cartoon that they found offensive, these very same patrons of the “Religion of Peace” burned churches and threatened people with death.
Exactly how can it be that Muslims expect those of us who are not of their faith to believe their intentions are peaceful when in response to any insult they perceive they foment violence and death?
It is one thing to be angry and to respond to
words with
harsh words – after all, if you’re insulted by someone’s
speech, to speak in reply, even harshly, is to be expected. The “one-finger salute” is a time-honored response to speech found insulting by those who hear it.
But as soon as you pick up a gallon of gasoline and commit arson, or pick up a gun or knife and commit an assault or even murder, you’ve put the lie to your claim that your religion is one founded on peaceful principles, and instead demonstrated that your religious path is one that tolerates nothing but blind acquiescence.
And, more importantly, once you’ve established that your faith cannot be trusted to enter the public debate in a peaceful fashion, you leave others with few options beyond treating your faith as a dangerous cancer that must be excised before the next explosion of violence breaks out with unacceptable consequences.
Christians have a history of this sort of thing with the Crusades. But that is in the distant past, and today, those Christian sects which resort to the sword in response to verbal ripostes are quickly put down and eradicated by law enforcement and, if necessary, the military.
Muslims need to figure this one out, and fast – if they truly believe that the response to a verbal insult is to resort to violence, then they should not be surprised when the nations of the world who are not Muslim-based decide that they’re not going to wait for the next perceived insult – they are, instead, going to act peremptorily to insure that such violent outbursts are not able to be entertained.
