quote:If you want to know why Rushdie's novel was so offensive, Karen Armstrong's biography of Prophet Muhammad (s.a.s.) goes into it in some detail. I'd look it out now, but I have work to do. I'll respond again tomorrow with some further info. I haven't read the novel myself though, so I'm basing my comments on the extracts I have read. Oh, and since there is no one authority in Islam the fatwa only has validity among those Muslims who choose to accept the authority of the cleric who issued it.
I read Armstrong's book a few years ago. She is a clear writer, with an interesting grasp. As she explains Rushdie's fatwa, it's more or less, what Glenn Arnold says here:
quote:Not because of what he put in the book, but because the title alluded to a rumor that exists within Islam that at one point Satan inserted verses in the Koran, wich calls into question the validity of the entire Koran.
Thank you. I was aware of the "people of the book" concept and Karen Armstrong's book, although I have not read it.
I'll quote my own post:
quote: I don't think THIS has anything to do with the media, it has to do with a mindset that is present in Islam. "If you don't believe in our god, you must believe in no god."
I've added emphasis to the word this, but the quote is from my original post. I am referring to this case, where an individual woman was unaware that people in the U.S. are religious. Also note that I said this mindset is present in Islam. I didn't say it was universally accepted. Again, all I was saying is that it seems to me that longstanding cultural misunderstandings are more likely to have affected this case than current reports in the media.
Justa:
quote: Islam is no more set against challenges of its basis than Christianity is, though Christianity has been dealing with it since the Reformation while it is relatively new to Islam.
I never said it was. And if you read this part: (again, I'll quote my own post)
quote: Only about a religious tendency to discredit other religions. Most religions do this to a certain extent. Christians were once referred to as "atheos" (without gods) by the greeks. Jews were (and still are) referred to as unbelievers by Christians. Catholics are called "Mary worshippers" by certain protestant sects.
You'll see that I already brought this issue up. You're just jumping the gun and seeing slurs that aren't present, simply because I didn't go out of my way to provide balanced counterpoint to the statement about Islam.
Also note: I didn't present my opinion as an absolute. I said "I don't think this has anything to do with the media." I could be wrong. But I think Annie is the most appropriate person to argue with me on that point, not because of her knowledge of Islam, but because she knows the person in question.
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