Comments by ssssss

Comment #278954 by ssssss on November 5, 2008 at 12:48 pm

Comment #278940 by Bonzai on November 5, 2008 at 12:30 pm

A Muslim in a forum said that Sharia is only required in an Islamic state, for Muslims who choose to settle in non Muslim countries, they should obey the law of the land according to Mohammad, they have no right to demand Sharia of any form in the West. Is there truth to that?

Yes and no. Sharia doesn't apply in Dar al-Kufr, but Muslims do have a duty to spread Islam and bring about Sharia and the Islamic state. Once the Islamic population of an area is sufficiently strong to impose its will on non-Muslims, then Sharia must be applied.

2. Sharia courts operating in Britain

Comment #248278 by ssssss on September 16, 2008 at 2:48 am

PBUM,
These arbitration panels are voluntary. However once one agrees to the arbitration process, one is bound by the decision of that process.

Rachel,
I am moderately familiar with arbitration processes, though not in this particular context:
Where there are procedural problems (e.g. the arbitrator is discovered to be the brother/friend of one of the participants), then the decision may be overturned.
Also if the decision shows a GROSS VIOLATION of British law, it could be set aside (I am guessing this based on knowledge of a law system derived from British law only). If it is merely not in accordance with British Law, then it will generally be accepted.

Regarding inheritance - I am not familiar with the position in English Law - but I suspect that for both testacy and intestacy there are minimum shares guaranteed to wife, children for both etc. I would guess that provided the Arbitration panels do not overstep these minimums, then they would be acceptable. A pertinent question to ask is where a Sharia Arbitration Panel awards a wife or child less than the minimum amount allowed in English Law, will the decision of the Arbitration Panel be upheld.

3. Sharia courts operating in Britain

Comment #247449 by ssssss on September 14, 2008 at 12:52 pm

Theinquisitor:

Before they were "non-binding and depended on voluntary compliance".
Now (in the last 6 months), they ARE binding and ARE NOT dependent on voluntary compliance.

A BIG difference.

4. Have We Ever Faced An Enemy More Stupid Than Muslim Terrorists?

Comment #247440 by ssssss on September 14, 2008 at 12:29 pm

Some terrorists may commit acts which are cowardly but there are very many terrorists who are absolutely without fear (I think this is a more accurate term than "not cowardly").

There have been various mechanisms historically to produce merciless and fearless warriors - Samurai in Japan sought to rid themselves of emotion through Zen Buddhism. A samurai was to obey his master without question or hesitation - even if asked to cut off his own arm or to kill his own child.
Other examples include Dutch courage, Hashisheen, Berserkers etc.
Historically one of the most effective is not the most effective mechanism for producing warriors who had absolutely no fear was Islam. Islam was able to produce killing machines who had completely suppressed their survival instinct (look into the history of any of the major encounters between Muslims and Christians - in Vienna, Malta, Caucuses etc. for confirmation of this) . It was this that helped spread Islam and this was only countered by the development of modern weaponry which rendered this aspect (relatively) obsolete and sometimes even a liability.

Islam achieves this by a variety of means - brainwashing by extreme daily ritual, extreme xenophobia, guaranteeing heavenly rewards, one of the most graphic descriptions of hell as well as cultural separation.

One should not underestimate this facet of Islam - as the author of this article seems to have done. That would be to underestimate both Islam and Jihadists, which are both dangerous mistakes to make.

5. Channel 4 announces return of Undercover Mosque

Comment #236198 by ssssss on August 24, 2008 at 11:15 am

37. Comment #235931 by Fanusi Khiyal on August 24, 2008 at 12:09 am

Well, we have six million apostates every year in Africa. Consider what they risk, I'd say they're more than welcome to come over.

Unfortunately Fanusi that is nonsense - it is a quote from Sheikh Ahmad al Katani of Libya on Al-Jazeera to get Muslims to hand over money to do Dawa in Africa by scaring them into believing that Muslims might be losing power somewhere. The quote has been particularly taken up by various Christian groups and those opposed to Sharia as a sign of hope.
This has been difficult for those who do convert in these countries as it causes fear(and with it extreme hostility and intolerance) in Muslims - which is a bad thing:
http://www.barnabasfund.org/news/archives/article.php?ID_news_items=410

6. A third of Muslim students back killings

Comment #221949 by ssssss on July 30, 2008 at 10:51 am

Comment #221560 by Old Sarum on July 29, 2008 at 7:09 pm

...the media usually like to focus on conflict - as is demonstrated by this article, in which we are informed that "Almost a third of British Muslim students believe killing in the name of Islam can be justified, according to a poll" instead of the more positive: "Over two thirds of British Mulslim students do not believe killing in the name of Islam can be justified, according to a poll."

Actually, if anything the "1/3rd believe killing gays is ok" does not indicate the full extent of the problem.

If you read an Islamic forum (such as ummah.com),
you will see that if 1/3rd believe in something as extreme as execution for homosexuality, then:

a large number can understand and would forgive killing, but wouldn't themselves do it;
a large number would like to see some form of punishment - jailing, etc;
some would believe that beating them up would be excusable and laudable;
some would believe that although they would be repulsed and angry by gays, they could control themselves sufficiently not to beat them up;
some would engage in social ostracism
etc.

Simple black and white questions like "do you think gays should be killed" mask the nuanced reality. In any case, the "1/3rd want gays executed" is far more accurate than the "Good News!! 2/3rd of Muslims don't want to execute gays!!"

7. Saudi Marriage Officiant : 'It Is Allowed To Marry A Girl At The Age Of One'.

Comment #198797 by ssssss on June 24, 2008 at 1:51 pm

Comment #198736 by mordacious1 on June 24, 2008 at 12:14 pm

I saw something about the one night marriage on dateline or somewhere. I think is was in Saudi Arabia too, but I could be mistaken.

It appears to be a relatively recent development in Sunni theology - mirroring the development of Mutta marriage in Shia Islam. Name escapes me at present - if you wish to find out, I'd suggest asking on faithfreedom.org/forum

8. Saudi Marriage Officiant : 'It Is Allowed To Marry A Girl At The Age Of One'.

Comment #198707 by ssssss on June 24, 2008 at 11:30 am

Comment #198665 by JemyM on June 24, 2008 at 10:56 am

Muhammad did get married with a young person, but it was common back then.

It was not that common at the time for 54 year olds to marry 6 year olds (and he had his eye on her from when she was 5), even her father baulked at the idea despite the fact that it involved his prophet who murdered anyone who disagreed with him.

Marrying from 12 years plus was quite common - but generally with people who were of a similar age (or the guy being less than c 25 years old).
Note there is significant evidence in the Hadith that Aisha did not start menstruating until she was 14.

9. The 14-year-old Afghan suicide bomber

Comment #191497 by ssssss on June 11, 2008 at 4:38 am

Comment #191073 by King of NH on June 10, 2008 at 7:16 am

I was listening to BBC Radio (NHPR switches to BBC at night) and they were interviewing a man who had done just this. He has opened several schools in Afganastan to teach a secular education. He seemed to be finding success, but many fundies threaten him and his staff and students. I wish I could provide a link or something. It was a heartwarming story.

Greg Mortenson
http://www.threecupsoftea.com/Intro.php

10. Losing Our Spines to Save Our Necks

Comment #177444 by ssssss on May 9, 2008 at 5:29 am

250. Comment #176907 by jac12358 on May 8, 2008 at 10:26 am

I'm waiting for the branch of Islam to break away claiming God has said the Islam are the chosen people and America is their prize

Dude - All schools of Sunni and Shia Islamic jurisprudence claim that America belongs to them (technically it belongs to Allah and the non-believers must give it back) and that it (and any non-believers there) must be subjected to the Shariah (i.e. Allah's Law, since it belongs to Allah after all). The view that America (and everywhere else)belongs to Muslims is very, very common - of course it is especially true for areas which were under Islamic control but are no longer - e.g. Spain, India, Israel.

However, it is also true most Muslims who wish for Shariah do not look that far ahead, and rather look to change the law of their country they are in to Shariah.

11. Losing Our Spines to Save Our Necks

Comment #175514 by ssssss on May 5, 2008 at 2:22 pm

"the Taliban carried out at least two revenge attacks on Dutch troops, resulting in five Dutch casualties"

These casualties were the consequence of road-bombings. These bombs are planted sometimes months before and have no clear connection with the movie.

One of the road bombs killed the son of the Dutch general overseeing the Dutch troops. That is a rather extraordinary coincidence if it were placed there months in advance. (The local Taliban claimed he was their target of course)

12. Anti-Quran Film Fitna Pulled From Web Due to 'Threats'

Comment #153777 by ssssss on April 2, 2008 at 4:13 am

Regarding French Banlieues - apologies, it is not something I am particularly familiar with. I would have guessed that a certain amount of the social divisions was not simply down to economics and racism - but also down to culture - and I would take religion to be a particularly effective cultural meme.
The point I was trying to make is that religious differences can very easily become faultlines in times of social stress (peak oil, population aging etc.) and it would be very easy to become the lens through which problems are understood.

13. Anti-Quran Film Fitna Pulled From Web Due to 'Threats'

Comment #153742 by ssssss on April 2, 2008 at 1:22 am

A comment on some of the points raised by Brian:
Brian appears to believe that until there is a clear Muslim majority, there is no significant problem. i.e. 49.9% of the population Muslim - and one has a perfectly normal liberal democracy; 50.1% of the population being Muslim (and under the big and clearly incorrect assumption that they are all Salafists) Sharia is enacted. (I am slightly exaggerating his point for effect).

I would have thought that the real problem with having a significant unintegrated number is that it will turn into a Lebanon / Balkans type situation - i.e. one doesn't have Sharia, but one does have extreme tribalism, inter-tribal violence and a general breakdown in the rules of society. A further example (though it wasn't entirely religion based) would be the revolts in the Banlieues of French cities.

If one believes that societies in general do face significant problems in the coming century - global warming, peak oil, population overshoot with resultant famine, significant increase in the drain applied to Western economies through population aging - which will seriously strain societies, then this increased instability and polarisation does not need have a 'clean' "less than 50%, we're ok, over 50% we've a problem" but rather a sliding scale of social disorder.

My 2c...

14. Archbishop's 8 March centennial message: Let Sharia Law govern women's lives, Amen!

Comment #129025 by ssssss on February 18, 2008 at 2:00 pm

I appreciate your analysis and interesting comments Goldy.

15. Archbishop's 8 March centennial message: Let Sharia Law govern women's lives, Amen!

Comment #129004 by ssssss on February 18, 2008 at 1:22 pm

Lucas:

Poverty is one of many causative factors, I suppose, but is interlinked with many other social maladies, including lack of education, etc.

Read the report linked to below - both of the assertions "lack of education" and "poverty" of Muslim Immigrants are disproved as cause of increased separation from main society by the German Institute for the Study of Labor. In fact the opposite is the case:
http://ideas.repec.org/p/iza/izadps/dp3006.html

16. Archbishop's 8 March centennial message: Let Sharia Law govern women's lives, Amen!

Comment #128832 by ssssss on February 18, 2008 at 3:35 am

Have to agree with you, Lucas. It's not religion per se that people follow, it's tradition. And even if it is religion/tradition that they follow, there generally is a reason for it - poverty of one form or another.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/17/world/middleeast/17youth.html?ref=world - an article on the increasing observance of Islam in Egypt. What drives this? Not Saudi money, not God speaking to people - poverty.

If this is true, then the corollary should be that wealth means less religosity. This would appear to not be the case from studies in Europe:
e.g. http://ideas.repec.org/p/iza/izadps/dp3006.html

“education does not seem to have any effect on the attenuation of their [Muslim] identity; and job qualification as well as living in neighbourhoods with low unemployment rate, seem to accentuate rather than moderate the identity formation of Muslims”.

17. Why multiculturalism must be abandoned

Comment #125885 by ssssss on February 12, 2008 at 8:15 am

croatcat:

What motivates someone to move to a country where they have no desire to embrace the local culture?

A better economy and the chance to make a living.

18. Sharia law in UK is 'unavoidable'

Comment #124760 by ssssss on February 10, 2008 at 7:03 am

For people wondering what the effects of allowing Sharia for a portion of the population, may I suggest you look at the recent history of Malaysia. There Sharia courts were set up as an alternative court system to the Federal system for Muslims. The idea was that they would be for family matters, divorce, child rearing, inheritance etc. Of course there are then grey areas which one can now begin to appreciate and as the Sharia court flexes its muscles as it interacts with the Federal Courts.

In the Lina Joy case, a Muslim woman wished to marry a non-Muslim and convert to Christianity. Under Sharia Law she cannot marry a non-Muslim. Also she was banned from converting to Christianity. So she was unable to marry her fiance.

There are also numerous cases where the State has taken dead bodies away from Hindu, Buddhist and Christian families, on the basis that the dead person was supposed to have converted to Islam before they died, and must therefore be buried in a Muslim burial ground.

There are also cases where men have converted to Islam. In Malaysia this means that their children are also supposed to be Muslims, so they have been taken away from their mothers/mother's family as in Islam the father gets custody of the children.

The ongoing interaction of Sharia Courts and Federal Courts in Malaysia is a rather interesting study of what might lie in store for other countries - in particular Turkey.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Status_of_religious_freedom_in_Malaysia#Automatic_conversion_of_minors_following_parental_conversion

19. U.S.: 'Demonic' militants sent women to bomb markets in Iraq

Comment #121149 by ssssss on February 3, 2008 at 2:51 am

PJG:

Iraq is/was not that Islamic - it is getting there now though...

20. Sentenced to death: Afghan who dared to read about women's rights

Comment #120559 by ssssss on February 2, 2008 at 2:00 am

al-rawandi, that's why I explicitly said translating TGD would not be a very useful move. A new hand book is needed that would promote secularism and emancipation of women with overall stance against dogma instead of focusing on atheism that much.

Here you go - go nuts:
free to download copies in Arabic, Urdu, Malay and Farsi
http://www.irshadmanji.com/translations

21. Sentenced to death: Afghan who dared to read about women's rights

Comment #119056 by ssssss on January 31, 2008 at 9:33 am

We are talking about fascist tyrants who want the Afghan people to not have one ounce of freedom.

A number of posters seem to make the assumption that this decision is being imposed on the Afghan people by a handful of religious types. I'm not sure that this assumption necessarily stands - what if the will of the Afghan people has been correctly expressed by these judges? In Western Europe c. 40% of Muslims support Sharia, why should we expect that to be lower in Afghanistan? So the issue then is, should outsiders force secularism or freedom of speech etc. on a people who do not want it?

Gonefishing:
You seem to assume also that left to its own devices Islam will rot away. I'm not sure that that stands as an assumption either - when Muslims feel that they seem to be doing worse under Islam, they feel it is because they are not following it strictly enough - the solution is "more Islam". Secondly regarding the waiting for a Messiah - people can wait for a Messiah for a long, long time: just ask the Jews. Also people tend not to learn from history - the apocalypse is always about to happen - they forget that people have been predicting the apocalypse for millenia.

Personally I'm rather pessimistic about the success of bring democracy to Afghanistan.

22. Blind Faiths

Comment #109080 by ssssss on January 8, 2008 at 9:37 am

Like I said in my previous post, there is a single reason for the radicalism in islam and that's the fact that it's not the dominant religion within the world and has been 'dishonored' by Western colonialism......As soon as islam will dominate christianity, the christians will become radical.

I disagree - Islam defines itself by its success and triumphalism. It demands that other religions acknowledge its superiority - which one sees in Islamic countries: expelling non-Muslims from the Arabian Peninsula, building the largest religious building in Britain, building minarets higher than other religious buildings, general discrimination etc. etc.
Christianity does not possess that trait - due to the nature of the central person, who seems to have valued humility (and especially in his "untimely" death being reconfigured as a triumph over death/the political establishment etc.)and also the early history of Christians "suffering like Christ" being thrown to the lions etc.

If the number of Muslims in the world increases beyond that of Christians it will simply result in an orgy of triumphalism/humiliating of Christians/dawa I suspect.