| I think that is true, that there is too much focus on "gotcha" texts and old news, as it were, and not enough on contemporary belief and practice. Of course, there are masses of Muslims who seem peaceable enough, for example, Turkey has no big problem with fanatic Muslims, and Morocco, though it has some problems, has been a moderate state for a long time. Thus, I am leery of identifying the behavior of contemporary fanatics with the essence of contemporary Islam. Plus, the issue of preference is fairly complex. For example, there is a lot of good in Hinduism, but I despise the caste system, and have a problem with the doctrine of karma, insofar as it makes people complacent about misfortune, assuming that what happens is a result of one's fault in a previous life. Islam has this continual pull to theocratic regimes, and although many states have neutralized it, it remains a danger within the Middle East, where most states are majority- Muslim. Catholicism may be criticized for letting an ascetic ethos too much affect it general instructions on morality, and therefore becoming too obsessive about sexual purity. Judaism may be criticized for allowing the universalism of the prophets to be obscured by its retrenchment and defensiveness as the religion of a specific people. These are just casual examples...... |
