Opposing Elements Of Islam, But Not Muslims.

     Not agreeing with elements of a religion is different than opposing the people that practice that religion. The two are not the same. There are plenty of decent, good Muslims in this world, and no Muslim or any follower of any faith should be punished, persecuted or harmed because of what they believe or because of the religion they are born into.
      But Islamists do not extend this courtesy to others. And thus they are determined to continue their effort to exterminate the Jews living on the small piece of land called Israel, exterminate, persecute or drive out the Buddhists from South Thailand, the Christians from South Mindanao, the Hindus from Kashmir, the Christians from North Nigeria, the Christians and Hindus from Pakistan and Bangladesh, the Christians and Yazidis from the middle east, the Baha'is in Iran, and on and on.
      Muslims deserve the right to be free of persecution, just as do non Muslims. And thus religious persecution should be resisted wherever it might occur, including in places where Muslims are in the minority, or in places where Arab Muslims persecute non Arab black Muslims, such as in Darfur.
       Some Muslims justify Islamic aggression by pointing out aggression towards Muslims by the west, including the invasion of Iraq. But one wrong does not excuse another. Two wrongs never make a right, and never will.
       No matter what the west does wrong, it does not excuse the excesses, imperialism, terrorism and violence emanating from the Islamic world.
        Islam needs to reform, just as Christianity did centuries ago, just as Judaism has done. No one follows the passages in the Old Testament that promote violence. No one should practice literally the passages in the Quran that promote violence, but unfortunately many do.
        It is time to stop pretending these passages do not exist. It is time to stop sugarcoating Islamic violence, or to pretend that the people that follow the violent passages are any less Muslim than the people that follow the peaceful passages.
        A true reform in Islam must include a complete repudiation and rejection of the following: 1. Religious justification and acceptance of child marriage. 2. Muslims can only be governed by Muslims. Sharia supersedes secular laws and the laws of democracies. 3. Marriage to first cousins, which practiced over generations has resulted in enormous suffering from the diseases and defects that result. It is estimated that in Pakistan alone, over 70 per cent of the population is now inbred from marriages to first cousins. 4. Violent jihad and the spread of Islam through violence. 5. Apostasy, where people can be killed for leaving Islam. 6. Blasphemy and the criminalization of thought. 7. Islamic supremacy and the need to subdue nonbelievers. 8. The right to force the submission of non believers and non Muslims, either by killing them, forcing their conversion, making them slaves, or subjecting them to special taxes. 9. The belief that lands that have been conquered by Muslims, even if they are lost to Muslims for generations, must return to Muslim control. Imagine if all the Jews, Christians, Yazidis, Buddhists, Hindus and others driven out from their lands by Muslims demand the same right. It would mean endless war. 10. All forms of terrorism, without any exceptions. 11. Murdering and torturing gays and lesbians. 12. Denying women the same rights as men. 13. Slavery. 14. The right to sexually abuse, rape, murder and torture captives taken in war. 15. The terrorizing, torture and murder of prisoners of war. 16. Promoting hatred and intolerance for another religion.
            Jihad must become nothing more than personal struggle to become a better person. Islam can be a religion of war, violence terror and intolerance. Or it can be a great religion of peace, tolerance and goodwill. The future of humanity depends on which one will prevail.