Posted by
Doctor Demex on Tuesday, October 17, 2006 7:34:22 PM
Moderate Muslims I speak with personally and those notable Islamic
scholars interviewed in the media make the same argument about the
relationship between Islam and violence. They condemn violence
committed by Muslims, because Islam is not a violent religion.
(They also condemn violence by Christians, Jews, Buddhists, Hindus,
atheists, and Kmart shoppers, as though these folks commit violence
comparable, in either brutality or scale, to those committed by
Muslims.) But, as the peaceful, moderate Muslims insist,
Christians and Jews must understand that there are some Muslims who
feel that they are being insulted and oppressed.
In other words, the "official" moderate Muslim position seems to be
that a minority of violent people who call themselves Muslims are not
the responsibility of the rest of the umma, but are the responsibility
of the people who provoke them. The people who provoke them do so
merely by existing, apparently, so this is a blame-the-victim
argument: "We condemn violence, but we are powerless to do
anything about those who feel compelled to commit violence in
retaliation for things they perceive in their deranged little minds as
insults. Therefore, you victims had better beware of insulting
them." I guess in a world entirely subject to Sharia, the victim
is always blamed. Perhaps this is why, for example, Muslim girls
who are raped are killed for shaming their families.