2008 Woodie Awards
Letter: Americans must 'fiercely fight' Islamic extremists around the globe
Issue date: 10/18/07 Section: Editorial/Opinion
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10/18/07 - To the Cigar,
I have recently reviewed again one of the most instructive documentaries on Islam that I have ever seen. It goes into excruciating detail about the history and development of the religion with specific references to the Koran.
In light of the upcoming "Islamo-fascist Awareness Week" being held at URI and many other schools across the country, I felt it was pertinent to write a brief letter to prepare people and beg of them an open mind if and when attending the events and speakers we will be hosting at the university.
Islamic fundamentalism is a dangerous and threatening faction of Islam in the same vein as any other fundamentalist or fascist instance we have ever known. There have been many instances of religious fundamentalism throughout history, and there still exists elements of fundamentalism in other contemporary religions, but not nearly to the same degree as Islam. The explanation for this is perhaps the fact that Islam - like ancient Judaism - was not "just" a religion.
It was a system; the recipe for a society with structure and codified laws. The Koran itself is similar in this respect to the Jewish Torah, namely, the books Leviticus and Numbers, which contain the laws organizing early Jewish society.
However, few modern Jews or Christians would take all that the Torah says literally. Granted, some fundamentalists might, but that is precisely the point. There are many, many modern Muslims that do take the Koran literally. The reasons for this are beyond the scope of a small letter.
But we need look no further than my favorite example, national socialist Germany, to see what happens when a relatively small group of fundamentalists prey on the ignorant, the down-trodden, and the socially and/or economically oppressed. As all Nazis were German for the most part, not all Germans were Nazis. Not all Muslims are fundamentalists, but all Muslim fundamentalists unabashedly utilize the more extreme and murderous texts of the Koran to accomplish their ends.
I have recently reviewed again one of the most instructive documentaries on Islam that I have ever seen. It goes into excruciating detail about the history and development of the religion with specific references to the Koran.
In light of the upcoming "Islamo-fascist Awareness Week" being held at URI and many other schools across the country, I felt it was pertinent to write a brief letter to prepare people and beg of them an open mind if and when attending the events and speakers we will be hosting at the university.
Islamic fundamentalism is a dangerous and threatening faction of Islam in the same vein as any other fundamentalist or fascist instance we have ever known. There have been many instances of religious fundamentalism throughout history, and there still exists elements of fundamentalism in other contemporary religions, but not nearly to the same degree as Islam. The explanation for this is perhaps the fact that Islam - like ancient Judaism - was not "just" a religion.
It was a system; the recipe for a society with structure and codified laws. The Koran itself is similar in this respect to the Jewish Torah, namely, the books Leviticus and Numbers, which contain the laws organizing early Jewish society.
However, few modern Jews or Christians would take all that the Torah says literally. Granted, some fundamentalists might, but that is precisely the point. There are many, many modern Muslims that do take the Koran literally. The reasons for this are beyond the scope of a small letter.
But we need look no further than my favorite example, national socialist Germany, to see what happens when a relatively small group of fundamentalists prey on the ignorant, the down-trodden, and the socially and/or economically oppressed. As all Nazis were German for the most part, not all Germans were Nazis. Not all Muslims are fundamentalists, but all Muslim fundamentalists unabashedly utilize the more extreme and murderous texts of the Koran to accomplish their ends.