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Rantings of a Sandmonkey

Be forewarned: The writer of this blog is an extremely cynical, snarky, pro-US, secular, libertarian, disgruntled sandmonkey. If this is your cup of tea, please enjoy your stay here. If not, please sod off

Tuesday, December 27, 2005

Islam booming amongst European women...

...And that's making the anti-terrorism authorities there all kinds of uncomfortable, at least that's what this piece by the CSMonitor says. The reasons behind the surge in conversions? Well... Fallot laughs when she is asked whether her love life had anything to do with her decision. "When I told my colleagues at work that I had converted, their first reaction was to ask whether I had a Muslim boyfriend," she recalls. "They couldn't believe I had done it of my own free will." In fact, she explains, she liked the way "Islam demands a closeness to God. Islam is simpler, more rigorous, and it's easier because it is explicit. I was looking for a framework; man needs rules and behavior to follow. Christianity did not give me the same reference points." Those reasons reflect many female converts' thinking, say experts who have studied the phenomenon. "A lot of women are reacting to the moral uncertainties of Western society," says Dr. Jawad. "They like the sense of belonging and caring and sharing that Islam offers." Others are attracted by "a certain idea of womanhood and manhood that Islam offers," suggests Karin van Nieuwkerk, who has studied Dutch women converts. "There is more space for family and motherhood in Islam, and women are not sex objects." Ok..hold on a minute. Women are not sex objects in Islam? Are you kidding me? What are women but sex objects in Islam? Seriously. She needs to get married once she hits puberty, she needs to be coverd in order not to entice men, you can have 4 wives and Gawary (female slaves) and that's cool. Hell, even in Heaven men's reward is more sex with more women, while women, well, they get to be with their busbands and nobody else. Which Islam are these women converting to? Listen, I am not against them converting (or reverting for that matter) to Islam, but the reality is, a lot of the western converts are given a waterd down version of Islam at first until they convert and after that their spirtual mentors bring on the heavy stuff and by that time it's too late to go back. Your eagerness and ignorance make you a prey to a big slew of people, and this could really be trouble, because... Others jump right in, eager for the exoticism of a new religion, and become much more pious than fellow mosque-goers who were born into Islam. Such converts, taking an absolutist approach, appear to be the ones most easily led into extremism. The early stages of a convert's discovery of Islam "can be quite a sensitive time," says Batool al-Toma, who runs the "New Muslims" program at the Islamic Foundation in Leicester, England. "You are not confident of your knowledge, you are a newcomer, and you could be prey to a lot of different people either acting individually or as members of an organization," Ms. Al-Toma explains. A few converts feel "such a huge desire to fit in and be accepted that they are ready to do just about anything," she says. "New converts feel they have to prove themselves," adds Dr. Ranstorp. "Those who seek more extreme ways of proving themselves can become extraordinarily easy prey to manipulation." At the same time, says al-Toma, converts seeking respite in Islam from a troubled past - such as Degauque, who had reportedly drifted in and out of drugs and jobs before converting to Islam - might be persuaded that such an "ultimate action" as a suicide bomb attack offered an opportunity for salvation and forgiveness. Dagauque is the female belgian suicidebomber who died in Iraq, in case you didn't hear about it! "The saddest conclusion" al-Toma draws from Degauque's death in Iraq is that "a woman who set out on the road to inner peace became a victim of people who set out to use and abuse her." Indeed.

10 Comments:

At 12/27/2005 11:47:00 AM, Blogger editor said...

Good post and informative one. Hope to keep coming to ur blog. I am Indian Muslim. bye
Adnan

 
At 12/28/2005 06:14:00 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Once more for the thousand time, there is a big difference between the way some people perceive/practice Islam and the way it truly is as a religion of moderation and respect for woman's rights. If you only see Islam as the sort of behavior you have described, then there are other references showing normal, law-abiding, woman-respecting Moslems who are living and integrating with all forms of Western and non-Western lives. The problem is that little light is given on these types of moderate Moslems,
Egyptian in Germany

 
At 12/28/2005 04:26:00 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Sandmonkey,
I'd like to add in agreement with anonymous, Cat Stevens' quote "Thanks god that I knew islam before I knew any moslems"
And by the way, I live in SF, and I really don't want to meet you while you're there, reading your blog raises my blood pressure enough, yet again that's your point of view and you're absolutely entitled to it.

 
At 12/28/2005 08:20:00 PM, Blogger Papa Ray said...

There are problems being a "moderate moslem".

One is that the "true believers" of "THE Book", want you to reform, repent and if you don't, they have only one way to deal with you and that is to kill you.

Second is that the "moderate moslem" is looked upon with suspicion by infidels and other muslims because their moderation is suspect, their radical feelings unknown.

Third, they (the moderates) feel guilt because they know that they are not following "the book" and are "unclean". Sometimes these are the moslems that can be attracted to the radical side with promises of eternal salvation to make up for their wicked ways.

If they will take a few infidels with them, that is.

There is but one Islam. The Islam of The Book, the Koran with all of its attachments. You are not of the Book or the faith Islam if you live any other way than the way the book demands.

If you are a "moderate" you are not of "The Book".

In a few years there won't be a place for a "moderate" anything. The world will slowly and surely divide itself between the two camps of non-islamic peoples and islamics.

So, get ready to pick a side.

Papa Ray
West Texas
USA

 
At 12/29/2005 03:28:00 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Wow, Papa Ray,

You remind me of some of the religious zealots I used to meet in Texas. By the way, I lived there and attended university there for 5 years. Thank god, there were also moderate Christians, Moslems and other believers/non-believers who thought belief or religion is a personal choice to be respected and did not generalise on anyone who was different,

Egyptian in Germany (also a full functioning moderate Muslim)

 
At 12/29/2005 05:46:00 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Mohamed said:

"Cat Stevens' quote "Thanks god that I knew islam before I knew any moslems""

Cat Stevens? Who agreed with Khomenei's fatwa against Salman Rushdie. I don't wanna take any quote from him!

 
At 12/29/2005 03:03:00 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Papa Ray's ravings are either based on a massive and prolonged brainwash and misinformation , or it's just what he wishes is true and dreams of happening. I won't quote verses out of the Koran out of context as his likes usually do, I'll just write three particular verses whose meaning is repeated all over the koran, and are considered as unbreakable principles in islam ,
"No compulsion in religion"
"Who wishes to believe let him believe and who wishes otherwise let him do so"
"Those who believed and the jews and the christians and whoever believed in god and in the day of judgment they have nothing to fear and they will not be sorry"
I don't think those words can accept any other interpretation, nor they can be minced or taken out of context, it's their own problem that some fanatics on the moslem side don't adhere to them, and that the fanatics on the other side, willingly chose to look at islam through the perspective of the moslem fanatics.

 
At 1/01/2006 03:06:00 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Islam is a religion of peace and it means total and unconditional submission to the Almight Creator - ALLAH (SWT).
Islam has the two major sources of guidance for mankind - the Quran and the Sunnah. The Sunnah is the explanation of the Quran and a practical demonstration of muslims should practice the Islam. The Sunnah is the way the Last Prophet- Muhammed (SAW), sent by Allah after Jesus Christ was lifted to heaven, lived his life with his companions in accordance with the Quran and the examples Allah was to show Mankind. Therefore, anyone reverting to Islam should endeavour to have access to both Quran and the Sunnah Books like Sahih Bukhari & Muslims and avoid following the terrorists who do not have proper understanding of Islam. In that way, the new revert will be able to learn the prestine Islam the way the companions, the immediate next 2 generations after them practised Islam. My contact: +2348032006500, awwaldb@yahoo.com. Thank you. May Allah guide all mankind aright in all our endeavours and make our final destination His Paradise in the hereafter, amin.

 
At 1/03/2006 06:44:00 AM, Blogger Flanstein said...

Scratch a "moderate" muslim and underneath you will find the same sort of jew-hatred endemic to their "religion"...

 
At 7/20/2006 05:33:00 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I agree with our friend from Lagos and Papa Ray is seriously misguided - May Allah/God forgive you for your ignorance. We should all seek the truth, Muslims and non-Muslims alike. Islam is a religion of peace and unlike Christianity, it was no propagated with the sword. The Quran teaches us to respect the three world religions and their teachings, i.e., Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Flanstein, obviously you have not done your homework which does not surprise me. May we all educate ourselves, Insha Allah.

 

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