HJS Comments: Some say the issue is complicated, but the experienced people do not think so. The Islamists do not really care if everyone becomes a believer in their faith or not, despite their efforts at propaganda and extortion (making leftists and other weak-kneed Western leader dance to their tunes with the vague threat of "or we might be offended" hanging in the wind. What the Islamists do want is that everyone is ruled by the sharia! The UK has already given in on that point to a unacceptable extant, if they wish to remain a free nation--but naturally freedom is not as important to them as equality. As long as they are treated the same as everyone else, they are happy. I often wonder, if everyone else is treated horribly and horrible treatment reaches them, is that situation satisfactory?If you think along the lines of "Well if that's all they want, then perhaps it is better to deal with their laws than to deal with their constant bickering,whining, and throwing tantrums so often" there are a few things you might want to take into consideration. Living under the sharia, like growing old, is not a kid's game. Women will be hot and sweaty in the summer, wearing the abaya or the chador, the hijab, or any number of other garments designed by misogynists, giving women obliged to wear them a sample taste of Hades! They will not enjoy hearing over and over again such traditional themes as "Wives may not enter paradise unless their husbands are happy with them" (Isn't that something like 'Arbeit Macht Frei'?). And I doubt that women will get a chuckle from one of the favorites: "A Women should only leave the house three times--1) when she is born, 2) when she is married and goes to her husband's house, and 3) when she dies and goes to her grave." What? No more shopping? Some liberal husbands may approve some small shopping errands, but never alone; females need a male relative to accompany them--and not a kissing-cousin! Would you be pleased to know that no one is permitted to ask a husband why he beat his wife so badly? I am sure that you would not appreciate knowing that a man need not let you know he is divorcing you, or that he is taking a second bride. He could write you a note when he goes off to work, telling you you are divorced (of course divorces are never really final until the end of the next cycle. Any children that have resulted from the marriage are his, period). A woman divorced has no rights or alternatives--and definitely no alimony. Now you may ask about divorcing one of the real bad ones. Even if most judges had the power, which they don't, they probably would ask the man whether he wants the divorce or not.
But not only women are affected negatively by the sharia. Non-believers living in lands ruled by believers, have a special status, called Dhimmis. The best way to describe them is as third-class citizens, if that. Dhimmis don't walk on sidewalks, they pay a special, exorbitant tax, and have many other restrictions to let them know continuously that they are a disgraceful part of the community. They cannot defend themselves in court from a believer's charge, and worse: there is not even a reprimand due to a believer for killing a non-believer. If you have not seen the book Cruel and Usual Punishment by Nonie Darwish, please check your library--but you would want to keep the book, so buy it! And for lots of great information about the status of Dhimmis, Robert Spencer's book, The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam (and the Crusades), or for even more world-class details of Dhimmitude, you would be amazed at Bat Ye'or's Islam and Dhimmitude: Where Civilizations Collide, or her The Dhimmi: Jews and Christians Under Islam. The last two are fairly expensive, but Amazon sells them used as well. They are worth every penny!
Islam is a part of our world! It could be a good part of our world, but we have lousy leaders on two continents who make it easy for the bad guys of Islam to get what they want--even from the good guys. Those leaders seem to have been born without backbones and for some reason have found a home in politics--where they are protected from ordinary mortals, so they can get away with being stupid and tyrannical. People usually are not as mean to their neighbors when those neighbors can either punch them in the nose or ride them out of town on a rail. Ron White the comedian says "You can't fix stupid." He is probably right. But not all the leaders are stupid; many of them have already decided on the basis of their own uninformed opinions that Islam is just another religion, so neither logic nor reality will ever unlock that mental gate and adjust the definition to include "a complete way of life, antithetical to our Judeo-Christian way of life. If you say the people who are of that opinion show just another type of stupidity, the educated kind, I will be the last one to argue. One thing about religion; if it does not blend in seamlessly with other religions, respecting the people as well as the religion, and respecting each person's right to leave without rancor or punishment, it should be investigated, not encouraged. And leaders who do not know this, should be sent packing.
HJS
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