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Old 24-09-2004, 01:39 PM   #7 (permalink)
Anthony Butcher
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There is no denying the unpleasant side of the Qur'an, but the Qur'an is not the entirety of Islamic religion. Many British Muslims, for instance, do not partake in any of the unpleasant activities that you listed because it is no longer part of their faith. They have changed Islam to suit their lifestyle and environment.

That is not to say that Islamic Fundamentalism is in any way acceptable to civilised society; all those aspects that you list are abhorrent to most of us. But it is a grey area; the more fundamentalist the interpretation of Islam, the more barbaric it is. Islamic Shari'a is an affront to our sensibilities. Yet we also need to accept that many Muslims reject the "evil" side of it and focus on the more positive aspects of Islam.

I think therefore it is somewhat unfair to label the whole of the Islamic faith as "evil" (by which I mean it is no longer acceptable to civilised society), since Islam takes many forms. I agree that the Fundamentalist Islam is indeed "evil", but there are also modern versions of the faith that are more in-tune with British society.
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