
Originally Posted by
rusmeister
You say you defend Islam. You cannot defend Islam unless you know what it is. Going on the assumption that you are speaking what you believe true, there are vital facts about Islam you clearly don’t know.
First of all, I agree with you that most people who identify as Muslim are indeed good, honest, decent, charitable, peaceful people, or at least as much as the rest of us are. I am not speaking about people, but about the teachings of the religion, so appeals to your kind Muslim neighbors are irrelevant to that. It is a fact that anywhere a religion is legal, most people who profess it tend to be nominal believers - believers in name only. This is true everywhere, among Christians, Muslims, Jews, etc. Most people tend to practice their religion only insofar as it agrees with them, they prefer to conform the religion to their own desires, rather than themselves to their religion. This is as true for Orthodox Christians as anyone else. In Russia, at least 70% of the general population has been baptized and wears a cross. Yet only ten percent of that number actually attend church and try to do anything to conform their lives to that religion. The same is generally true for Muslims. This means you can't use the average person as the bellwether for judging the religion, but only the small percent that actually tries to live completely according to that religion. Even the ones who live partially, picking and choosing the teachings that agree with them and ignoring the ones they don’t, are no help. You must look to the ideal. In Christianity, that means the saints, the Apostles, and of course, Christ. In Islam that means the Prophet, who lived the ideal Muslim life, and Muslims are called to imitate him. Do you deny this?
Now, tell me please, what is hateful about that? What am I saying here that is not true?