Thursday, April 13, 2006

All I can think is poor Cat Stevens..

By now you all know the story of Abdul Rahman. He's the guy who while living in Germany converted from Islam to Christianity and then when he came home to Afganistan, was facing the death penatly for his actions. Those of you who read here regularly know that I'm pretty much against all forms of organized religion because I feel that they all are fronts for mass mind control and political power. Islam, from what I've learned in our media is a peaceful religion but I'm not sure that killing someone for converting seems that peaceful, not to mention rational.

Orson Scott Card, one of my favorite writers took a stand here and wrote an excellent essay on the Rahman situation and talked a bunch about how Islam could be promiting itself better. I think you all should give it a read. I agree with most of what he says.

Here are 2 excerpts:

Of all religions, Islam, with a firm belief that all that happens in the world happens as a result of the will of God, should accept that when someone leaves the faith, it is clearly permitted by the will of God, for God is not so powerless as to need bloody-handed men to enforce his will!

...

So I am waiting for American Muslims to band together to stand openly and bravely against the anti-freedom doctrines and laws within Sharia. I am waiting for them to establish the councils that would give official authority to a body that could renounce and excommunicate any imam, here or abroad, who taught that any Muslim has a right to kill or exile anyone over matters of faith and conscience.

Only Muslims can change Islam. And Islam must, for its own sake and for the sake of peace and freedom throughout the world, change on precisely this point of law.

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