Under the chapter "Islamic States" on our homepage, we would like to start a dialogue about Islam.
Our newsletters on Islam and Islamism have triggered a lot of comments – from both sides. We obviously have touched some nerves. A critical dialog with Muslims – not just by Christians but also all other religions - about our common future is needed more than ever before. We therefore want to offer a platform for this dialog to learn more about each other and to overcome long-established prejudices.
We want to encourage more people from all religions to share their thoughts with our customers and us. We want to network a safer world and seek to aim for more mutual tolerance.
How to prevent a clash of civilizations by Hans Küng, 06-Mar-06
Cartoons and the clash of 'freedoms' by Ehsan Ahrari, 07-Feb-06
When bombs speak louder than words by Omar Waraich, 28-Jan-06
Four proposals for greater inter-religious tolerance by Awraham Soetendorp, 05-Jan-06
Islam is no talisman; Muslims must improve their minds by Mahathir bin Mohamad, 18-Nov-05
Christians and Muslims: The Quest for Viable Dialogue by Abbas Ali, 07-Nov-05
Intolerance and terrorism are the problem, not Islam by Edward Walker, 18-Jul-05
Integration of Muslims - Dream or Illusion? by Dieter Farwick, 13-Jul-05
Muslims and Christians: Some Questions to Abbas Ali by Michael Ashkenazi, 06-Jul-05
Why the West must engage Islamists by Aijaz Zaka Syed, 01-Jul-05
Looking for a Moderate Islam by Manuela Paraipan, 13-Jun-05
Winning the Peace, Ending the Chaos by Abbas Ali, 08-Jun-05
Islamic terrorism by Knut Bültemeier, 02-Mar-05
A very short Introduction to Islam-Religion-Culture-Politics - written exclusively for WSN by Knut Bültemeier, 18-Jun-04
Difficulties in translating and understanding the Qur’an as a result of stylistic features and their development from earlier to later Suras by Knut Bültemeier, 31-May-04
Why does the West find the fact that Islam is inseparable from politics threatening? by Knut Bültemeier, 13-Oct-03
Five questions non-Muslims would like answered
15-Nov-05
From Dennis Prager, a nationally syndicated radio show host broadcasting daily in Los Angeles on KRLA-AM (870). He may be contacted through his website: www.dennisprager.com.
THE RIOTING IN France by primarily Muslim youths and the hotel bombings in Jordan are the latest events to prompt sincere questions that law-abiding Muslims need to answer for Islam's sake, as well as for the sake of worried non-Muslims.
Here are five of them:
(1) Why are none of the Palestinian terrorists Christian?
If Israeli occupation is the reason for Muslim terror in Israel, why do no Christian Palestinians engage in terror? They are just as nationalistic and just as occupied as Muslim Palestinians.
(2) Why is the Muslim population so quiet?
Since Muslim terrorists blowing themselves up in the name of Allah and Palestinian nationalism, I have been praying to see Muslim demonstrations against these atrocities. Last week's protests in Jordan against the bombings, while welcome, were a rarity. What I have seen more often is mainstream Muslim spokesmen implicitly defending this terror on the grounds that Israel occupies Palestinian lands. We see torture and murder in the name of Allah, but we see no anti-torture and anti-murder demonstrations in the name of Allah. (please re-read question 1 and answer it accordingly)
There are a billion Muslims in the world. How is it possible that essentially none (bar the recent Jordanian initiative) have demonstrated against evils perpetrated by Muslims in the name of Islam? This is true even of the millions of Muslims living in free Western societies. What are non-Muslims of goodwill supposed to conclude? When the Israelis massacred Palestinians in the Sabra and Chatilla refugee camps in Lebanon in 1982, great crowds of Israeli Jews gathered to protest their country's moral failing. Why has there been no comparable public demonstration by Palestinians or other Muslims to morally condemn Palestinian or other Muslim-committed terror?
(3) Why is only one of the 47 Muslim-majority countries a free country?
According to Freedom House, a Washington-based group that promotes democracy, of the world's 47 Muslim countries, only Mali is free. Sixty percent are not free, and 38% are partly free. Muslim-majority states account for a majority of the
world's "not free" states. And of the 10 "worst of the worst," seven are Islamic states. Why is this?
(4) Why are so many atrocities committed and threatened by Muslims in the name of Islam?
Young girls in Indonesia were recently beheaded by Muslim murderers. Last year, Muslims - in the name of Islam -
murdered hundreds of schoolchildren in Russia. While reciting Muslim prayers, Islamic terrorists take foreigners working to make Iraq free and slaughter them. Muslim daughters are murdered by their own families in the thousands in "honor killings." And the Muslim government in Iran has publicly called for the extermination of Israel.
(5) Why do countries governed by religious Muslims persecute other religions?
No church or synagogue is allowed in Saudi Arabia or in UAE. The Taliban destroyed some of the greatest sculptures of the
ancient world because they were Buddhist. Sudan's Islamic regime has murdered great numbers of Christians.
Instead of confronting these problems, too many of you deny them. Muslims call my radio show to tell me that even
speaking of Muslim or Islamic terrorists is wrong. After all, they argue, Timothy McVeigh is never labeled a "Christian terrorist." As if McVeigh committed his terror as a churchgoing Christian and in the name of Christ, and as if there were Christian-based terror groups around the world.
As a member of the media for nearly 25 years, I have a long record of reaching out to Muslims. Muslim leaders have
invited me to speak at major mosques. In addition, I have studied Arabic and Islam, have visited most Arab and many
other Muslim countries and conducted interfaith dialogues with Muslims in the United Arab Emirates as well as in the
U.S. Politically, I have supported creation of a Palestinian state and supported (mistakenly, I now believe) the Oslo accords.
Hundreds of millions of non-Muslims want honest answers to these questions, even if the only answer you offer is, "Yes,
we have real problems in Islam." Such an acknowledgment is infinitely better - for you and for the world - than
dismissing us as anti-Muslim.
Awaiting your response.
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