Blog- Islamization
February 1, 2010
“This question of anti-Muslim stereotypes looms especially large today in terms of sheer numbers. No respectable authorities defend anti-Semitism anymore, and there is a widespread consensus that insulting statements and stereotypes about Jews are both factually incorrect and morally reprehensible…Yet at the same time, it is commonly accepted among educated people that Islam is a religion that by definition oppresses women and encourages violence. ..The world population of Jews is commonly estimated at about 17 million people…clearly, it would be ridiculous to assume that such a large number of people would have the characteristics assumed by stereotypes. Yet the world Muslim population is well over 1 billion. It would seem to be a far greater fallacy to paint this much larger group with the same brush.”
(pg 12) –Carl Ernst.
This passage really stuck out while reading Following Muhammad. I feel as if we live in a world where people question no more and just seem to believe what they are told. Not all Muslims are the same, just like how not all Christians, Jews or Buddhists are the same either. One must always question the source. I personally do not feel as if Islam oppresses females in anyway, instead I feel as if it is trying to protect them instead. Prophet Muhammad’s first wife could be seen to be a successful business woman who didn’t need to live off her husband’s income. Divorce laws can also be seen to protect the woman from getting hurt or misused. It was also interesting to read how the characteristics of the Prophet Muhammad that confirmed his authenticity in the eyes of Muslims were reversed by Christian authors and turned into defects. Hence, Muslims view the Qur’an as a miracle that was revealed to someone who didn’t know how to read and write, while others may view this as completely false and lacked of any miracles. The fact that he married also seems to not put him on the same level as Jesus. However, how positive is one that Jesus did not marry? Da Vinci Code anyone? 
It is good to question religion, however declaring ones religion superior than another’s is a bit extreme…no?
