I'm going to switch gears here for a minute and get a little political.
I'm Canadian, and up here in the far north freedom of speech is under attack. Columnist Mark Steyn, who is Canadian though he lives in the U.S. and writes in the U.S., is being sued along with MacLean's magazine, our national weekly, over an excerpt from his book America Alone.
Only sued is the wrong word, because it implies a court of law. The complainants would never win in an actual court. So they took Maclean's before the British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal, and the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal (that hearing hasn't commenced yet; The B.C. one started on Monday) instead. There, all they need to prove is that Steyn's excerpt may have promoted hatred and contempt for Muslims.
For pity's sake, it's like you're not allowed to tell the truth anymore. Truth is absolutely no defense. If you want to read about the farce, you can go to Small Dead Animals or Ezra Levant and just keep scrolling down. It's unbelievable.
But here's what I think. In Islam, it is okay to beat your wife. It is okay to have four wives (though Muhammad got special dispensation to have more). It is okay to marry children (Muhammad's favourite wife was 6 when he married her; 9 when he consummated the relationship. How nice of him to wait). There is no equivalent of the 10 commandments, either. In Judaism and Christianity, lying is wrong. Period. Murder is wrong. Period. In Islam, it's dependent on context. You must not lie to a Muslim, but to lie to an unbeliever in order to promote Islam is okay.
Similarly, rape is contextual. You can't rape a Muslim woman, but a non-Muslim woman is up for grabs. Hence the Australian imam called women "meat" last year.
These things are not in the Hadith, the traditions of Muhammad; they are in the Koran itself, so you can't argue them away.
Now the Bible has polygamy, too, but this was clearly wrong. In the New Testament, Paul says one man, one woman, period. Even in the Old Testament, when polygamy was rampant, you had the Song of Solomon, celebrating true love. I'm not sure Solomon ever got it, but God clearly wanted him to.
And you can't just go around and rape people, either. If you murder or rape a slave girl, there are consequences. And that's all Old Testament, too. In the New Testament, it was love your enemies. Pray for those who persecute you. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. I don't see anything in there that says it's okay to rape a child or beat your wife.
If that's hateful to say so, then so be it. I think it's just stating the truth. I know Islamic scholars will argue that I don't see the nuance, but what nuance is there when it says you can beat your wife? What nuance is there when it says you can marry up to four wives? How is there nuance?
The religion oppresses women. Period. And I have been overseas and have seen how little girls are devastated by genital mutilation and being married off at 12 to some 60-year-old pervert. And I'm sorry, but there is no other name for it. I look at my own dear children, and I can't believe that anyone would ever think God wouldn't be angry if they were raped or if they were taken as second or third wives. That's sick.
Islam is, at root, a misogynistic religion. No women's names are mentioned in the Koran except Mary, and they get her wrong (she is not a member of the Trinity). The Bible mentions women everywhere. And they are revered and remembered. Women matter to God. My daughters matter to God. And God does not want little girls used and abused. Anyone who thinks differently is deceiving themselves.
And so I hope that freedom of speech gets preserved in Canada this week. I pray that we are still able to stand up for the little girls all over the Muslim world who are being oppressed, because they need our voices. And to rule that saying anything mean about Islam is a hate crime just enables men to abuse these little girls even more. And that is a true injustice.
Thank you for taking a stand. It's got to be done. I believe many more of us are feeling, thinking, and believing the same way, but many are afraid to say anything for several different reasons. I can't tolerate abuse in any form, much less people using God as the gateway to allow it.
I had enjoyed reading your blog for a while but am really disappointed by this post. At first I just walked away from it, but then realized I couldn't.
There's no question much of what is going on in the "Muslim" world is wrong, but have you stopped for a minute to consider that these are extremists who have taken a peaceful religion and twisted its interpretation to suit their desires?
You said: "These things are not in the Hadith, the traditions of Muhammad; they are in the Koran itself, so you can't argue them away."
That's a pretty strong statement unless you can back it up. Have you read the Qur'an (it's not spelled or pronounced KOran by the way) to check your facts? Would you be willing to consider the fact that just as those misogynists (the people are the misogynists, not the religion) feed their followers propaganda about Islam, extreme Christians are doing the same to people like you? That as they are misinformed, so might you be?
Obviously I'm a Muslim, but I was raised in the South and attended and graduated from a Christian school, where I had a wonderful experience. I learned about the Christian faith, and my friends and classmates learned about mine through me. Of course we had differences in our theology, but that didn't stop us from approaching each other with peace, an open attitude, and willingness to learn about one another.
I won't bother to give a point-by-point reply to your post, because that isn't my purpose in commenting. I just wanted you to know that I had faith in the true practicing Christians I know as peace-loving, tolerant people, and I'm disappointed you haven't held up the same standard.
About Me: I'm a Christian author of a bunch of books, and a frequent speaker to women's groups and marriage conferences. Best of all, I love homeschooling my daughters, Rebecca and Katie. And I love to knit. Preferably simultaneously.
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Your an amazing writer and I totally agree!!!! Run for president!!Yah You!