It seems that there might be more than one monster in Scotland.
A horrible story, and a horribly sad one. I’ve seen comments about it, however, that require response.
The murder of Asad Shah, evidently by an extremist anti-Christian Muslim, is said to illustrate the evil of Islam and the danger that Muslim immigrants pose to all of us.
But here’s the obvious fact: Mr. Shah himself was a Muslim. And he seems to have been a good man.
The majority of the victims of ISIS are Muslims, as well.
This isn’t a battle of the West versus Islam. It’s a battle between a certain warped kind of Islam and the West . . . and all non-Muslims . . . and all Muslims who fail to follow the warped extremist line.
It’s wrong and it’s foolish to demonize all Muslims and Islam as such. And it’s counterproductive. The extremists believe themselves to be fighting and killing on behalf of the dar al-islam, the abode of submission (to God), against the dar al-harb, the abode of war. It’s a binary vision, a starkly dichotomous view of the world.
We shouldn’t cooperate with them in making it a reality.
However, to the extent that we regard and treat all Muslims and Islam itself as the enemy, we will tend to force devoted Muslims to see themselves as our enemies.
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