The article " A Call To Moderate Muslims" by Amil Imani demonstrates the necessity of an alliance with Moderate Muslims. In order to defeat the Fundamentalists, we must also destroy the religious rational for their evil ideas. Following is an approach to win the war on terror and lead a Reformation of Islam.
POPE BENEDICT: A GOD/ALLAH OF REASON OR AN IRRATIONAL EVIL GOD/ALLAH
UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF RELIGIOUS RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS
An ISLAMIC REVOLUTION
There is a danger to democratic societies of political correctness toward Islam. Violence committed in the name of Islam and the inequality of Muslim woman can never be accepted by democratic societies. There are many moderate Muslims who are risking their lives to reform Islam. These moderate Muslims are engaged with the Islamic fundamentalists in a life and death struggle for the heart and soul of Islam. We need to form an alliance with moderate Muslims in their historical struggle to dramatically reduce recruits for terrorism.
Such an alliance will lead to a Reformation of Islam. The Equality of Women and the Renunciation of Religious Violence are essential cornerstones in the Reformation of Islam. There can be no polite political correctness here. Tolerating - intolerance is no longer an option.
Islamic Fundamentalists have taken Islam and turned its teachings into a murderous medieval ideology – that the killing of infidels in the name of Allah will be rewarded in heaven - allowing the Islamists to sexually molest for all eternality 72 virgins, in 72 mansions, and 72 beds – that the murder of millions of non - believers is a religious duty, women are inferior to men - their virtual slaves to be denied education, beaten, killed for adultery or other sexual transgressions (real or imaged), covered from head to toe, people can be butchered, mutilated and tortured, barbers giving hair cuts killed, music and movies banned, women practicing folk dancing murdered, teachers murdered, schools teaching young girls blown up, anyone who believes in a different interpretation of Islam to be killed and on and on. Muslims have paid a terrible price at the hands of these Fundamentalists. Children massacred. Grand parents brains scattered all over the street. Men, women, children, old and young. Over one hundred and fifty thousand Muslims have been slaughtered in the most horrid, grotesque, unimaginable ways since 9/11.
Against these ridiculous crazy teachings, the Western World is intellectually collapsing – freedom of speech is collapsing. Anyone who writes or puts on a play exposing these teachings can be killed. In the face of this onslaught, moderate Muslims are being pushed to the background and running for cover. Western Governments are running for cover. Mosques are being taken over by radical Islamists from the Saudi Arabian Wahhabbi sect.
There is a disaster that awaits the world’s nations if religious extremism is not defeated. The fact that people believe that they will go to Heaven as a reward for mass murder is truly frightening. It’s just a matter of time before one of these religious maniacs straps a nuclear weapon on their back and blows up an entire city.
The Pope in his recent speech on God and Reason has shown the way forward. A very important event occurred recently when 36 Islamic Scholars sent the Pope a communication in which they agreed – that in Islam, Allah is – “A GOD OF REASON.” This important declaration - perhaps one of the most important by a group of such eminent Islamic scholars must be seized upon. The Pope should call for a world religious conference on the scale of Vatican 2 bringing together all the top religious leaders and scholars from EVERY world religion to draft a DECLARATION OF UNIVERSAL RELIGIOUS RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS. This Declaration will form the basis of an historic alliance between Christianity and Islam to turn the murderous fundamentalist tide before it is too late. Again - before a nuclear weapon is exploded in the Name of Allah in a Western City killing millions.
Following would be the format of this Universal Religious Declaration.
DECLARATION OF UNIVERSAL RELIGIOUS RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS
There is only one God
God is God
God is a God of Reason.
God is not an irrational being. If God is irrational then God is not God.
Ordinary people on the street understand the words – “reason” and ‘irrational”. Any such declaration must be kept simple - not an intellectual rambling on of the Philosophy of Reason. (For a very important article on the Philosophy of Reason and Pope Benedicts controversial speech I draw your attention to article – “Socrates or Muhammad?
Joseph Ratzinger on the destiny of reason” by Lee Harris.)
God Being a God of Reason Therefore:
All violence in the Name of God/Allah is the GREATEST evil anyone can commit. Suicide is an evil act in every religion. Suicide bombers killing themselves and others in the Name of God/Allah – this is the Supreme evil act. The second most evil act is killing, maiming, and torturing others to the Greater Glory of God/Allah. The evil concept of Jihad as religious holy war must be condemned. It must be declared that all references to violence in any holy book/text are not the word of God/Allah but the word of man. No God/Allah who is God/Allah would ever instruct anyone to commit acts of violence against any other human being. Violence in religion must be totally and completely renounced – WITHOUT EQUIVOCATION. There is no heaven for these murderers. No mansions. No virgins. Just the black hole of eternal damnation. You cannot climb to heaven on the corpses of the murdered. If God /Allah believes in violence then God/Allah is irrational and therefore God/Allah is not God/Allah but the incarnation of evil.
God Being A God of Reason Therefore:
Women and men are equal in the eyes of God/Allah. Women are the equal of men. Women are not valued by God/Allah as worth 50% of men. God/Allah did not create women to be the chattel or slaves of men. Females have full rights in society before the law, under the rule of law, can dress any way they freely desire without fear of death, walk the streets without a male relative escort, do any occupation, have the right to vote, the full right to participate in the governance of any society, be the leader or member of government of any country, receive all educational rights, drive planes, trains, automobiles, fly to the stars, choose their own husbands etc. No man whether husband, father, brother, relative, boyfriend, or stranger has the right to beat or mistreat a woman. Men who beat women are the lowest of the low. These equal rights of women in society are very important. Their exercise without fear of violence - without the fear of being victims of Honor Killings must be declared WITHOUT EQUIVOCATION in any such declaration. All references to the inferiority of women in any holy book/text are not the word of God/Allah but the word of man. If God/Allah is a sexist then God/Allah is irrational and therefore God/Allah is not God/Allah.
God Being A God of Reason Therefore:
There are many ways to God/Allah. Each individual has the total and complete right to find his/her own way to God/Allah or not. Religious freedom is the right of all mankind. The right to build churches, mosques etc. To practice ones religious beliefs non – violently is a corner stone of all civilized societies. The right to change ones religion without fear of death. The right to freely preach and practice one’s religion in any country. Only an irrational God/Allah would order people put to death for not believing in religion or deciding to change ones beliefs from one religion to another religion. Religious freedom is an unimpeachable right. It must be declared WITHOUT EQUIVOCATION.
God Being A God Of Reason Therefore:
All human beings are created equal. All races are created equal. God/Allah does not wish that any human being be a slave. No one person is the lesser of the other. All human beings (no matter of their race, color, creed, ethnic origins) have the full right to protection of their human rights and human dignity. To use religion to spread hate against other races, religions in places of worship, employing television or any other medium, teaching hatred to the young in schools – this is evil incarnate. If God/Allah is a racist then God/Allah is irrational and therefore God/Allah is not God/Allah.
God Being A God Of Reason Therefore
God/Allah blessed man with an intelligence to reason, to explore, to seek the truth of any question – total freedom of thought. To think and reason without fear of jail/death. It is against the will of God/Allah to threaten anyone with death, torture or prison for freely exercising his God/Allah given brain. The human brain is the greatest gift God/Allah has ever bestowed on man. It was given to mankind to purse - the arts, literature, sciences, intellectual pursuits. Its free exercise is the will of God/Allah. Declared WITHOUT EQUIVOCATION. If God/Allah is anti intellectual then God/Allah is irrational and therefore God/Allah is not God/Allah.
God Being A God Of Reason Therefore
All mankind has the right to freedom and democracy, equality before the law, freedom of action, freedom of thought, right to elect their leaders. God /Allah does not want dictators and tyrants to rule over other men. NO EQUIVOCATION. If God/Allah does not believe in the right of mankind to Freedom and Democracy then God/Allah is irrational and therefore God/Allah is not God/Allah.
Pope Benedict has opened the way to a great reconciliation of the world religions. A Grand Conference issuing this Universal Declaration of Religious Rights and Freedoms to be read in every Church, Synagogue, and Mosque – to be taught in every school - would be the start of an alliance between faiths against ALL religious extremists. A turning point in the struggle for the minds of young people especially young Muslims who are being constantly bombarded by a religious evil ideology.
Intolerance can never be tolerated in a free and democratic society. Those who refuse to accept Western democratic rights and freedoms, the teachings of a God of Reason, must be cased out into the darkness. Those Islamic Clerics who refuse to sign this Declaration must be kicked out of their Mosques and denied membership in the World Counsel of Religions.
Written By
Larry Houle
E-mail: intermedusa@yahoo.com
www.godofreason.com