Category Archives: Religion

An Open Letter to the World’s Muslims

Posted on by The Old Wolf

On September 10th, I posted An Open Letter to Jihadistan. This was addressed to the violent Islamic extremists of the world, rather than to the approximately 1.7 billion Muslims in the world today. Today I share my thoughts with the rest of you.

America is not waging a war against Islam. If you believe that, you are being lied to by people who are perverting your religion for their political purposes.

America is not responsible for, nor does it support the maker of  “The Innocence of Muslims.” This repugnant movie was made by a bigoted sub-human who does not represent the feelings of the vast majority of Americans.

Sheik Hassan Nasrallah of Lebanon today urged the Lebanse to increase their protests, saying “The ones who should be held accountable and boycotted are those who support and protect the producers, namely the US administration.” The US administration does not support the producers of this film, nor does it agree with its message. Nasrallah and other sheikhs and imams around the world calling for protests and violence against the US and the west, are speaking out of ignorance, and in so doing they are twisting the religion of peace into something that is not found anywhere in the Qur’an.

Despite the memories of the terrible events of 9/11 being still fresh in the minds of Americans, our land continues to be a haven for people of the Muslim faith, with over 2,000 mosques and countless masjids. Like you, we have our bigots and our sociopaths – but these do not now, nor have they ever represented us.

We believe that freedom trumps tyranny. If you wish to live in an Islamic republic, then live in an Islamic republic. If you wish to abide by shari’a, abide by shari’a. But let these be a republic and a law where the people are allowed to determine what that means, rather than living in fear that a different opinion or a different lifestyle will bring injury or death to them and their families.

I exhort you to stand down from these protests, this outrage, this violence which has nothing to do with America but rather the political aspirations of a few deluded men. Put your energy into building up your societies and improving the lives of your fellow citizens, and I pledge to you that I will do the same. The vast majority of my countrymen desire only the same things you do – the freedom to establish your lives and provide for your families in safety, and without fear. Things will not be perfect, and mistakes will be made, but none of us should allow the frailties of men to stand in the way of peace and progress.

I leave you with a quote that has been attributed to Marcus Aurelius, but whose origin is unsure. Nevertheless it speaks to me, and speaks the words of my heart.

“Live a good life. If there are gods and they are just, then they will not care how devout you have been, but will welcome you based on the virtues you have lived by. If there are gods, but unjust, then you should not want to worship them. If there are no gods, then you will be gone, but will have lived a noble life that will live on in the memories of your loved ones.”

May we desire peace, and pursue it; may we sow kindness, and reap prosperity.

The Old Wolf has spoken.

An Open Letter to Jihadistan

Posted on by The Old Wolf

Today, Reuters reported that the Taliban in Afghanistan is after Prince Harry, hoping to make political hay out of a high-profile target. The article states in part,

“(Reuters) – The Afghan Taliban said on Monday they were doing everything in their power to try to kidnap or kill Britain’s Prince Harry, who arrived in Afghanistan last week to fly attack helicopters. Queen Elizabeth’s grandson is in Afghanistan on a four-month tour, based in Camp Bastion in the volatile Helmand province, where he will be on the front line in the NATO-led war against Taliban insurgents. ‘We are using all our strength to get rid of him, either by killing or kidnapping,’ Zabihullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman, told Reuters by phone from an undisclosed location.”

Mr. Muhajid, you understand nothing of Islam. You understand nothing of jihad, which is personal struggle to make yourself more like the Allah you claim to worship, but whom you understand not at all. Tom Clancy said it far better than I ever could:

“Islam is not the enemy of our country or any other. Just as my family was once attacked by people calling themselves Catholics, so these people have twisted and defiled their own religious faith in the name of worldly power, and then hidden behind it like the cowards they are. What God thinks of that, I cannot say. I know that Islam, like Christianity and Judaism, teaches us about a God of love and mercy–and justice.”
Tom Clancy, Executive Orders

No one is fighting a war against Islam, except withing the confines of your own uneducated and deluded minds. You are wrong about the world, wrong about freedom, wrong about personal liberty, and wrong about your own faith.

©Bill Watterson

If Allah exists in any form at all, he is not one of the Old Gods. He does not demand blood and sacrifice, or the suppression of other human beings – women, gays, Baha’is, Jews, or any other of his creations; he does not demand that unbelievers be subject to the Dhimmi tax, or beaten for your pleasure, or executed at your whim. Your guns do not make your right; your misguided mullahs and imams do not make you right; the destruction of priceless cultural treasures at the fatwa of one insane man do not make you right. You are wrong, and all the bullying thuggery in the world will not change that. You will no doubt consider this blasphemy and worthy of death, but I do not excuse my words. I am not a Muslim, but I tell you plainly that I understand your Allah far better than you ever will.

Humanity will survive your onslaught. Shari’a will not prevail. As our race gropes toward the stars, backward-thinking mobsters like yourself and those who follow you will fade into obscurity and irrelevance. The only hope you have for survival is to lay down your weapons of war and join those who seek to live in peace with their neighbors, who seek to build a better world for all people. Do this, and you will live. Do it not, and you and each of you relegate yourselves to the dustbin of history.

The Old Wolf has spoken.

 

Iran before the revolution, 1979

Posted on by The Old Wolf

No, I don’t think anyone wants the Shah and his Savak back, but there has to be a happy medium. People have the right to vote for the kind of government they want, but I have a fundamental issue with Islamic republics – they fact that they remove the concept of free will. How about a republic where people are free to practice Islam if they want to, and something else (or nothing) if they don’t?