Originally posted by Atobe:
Will 'Moderates' operate in similar fashion, when Human Reason takes precedence over the mind, and determine one's actions ?
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thats the problem isn't it? if moderates played by the same rules as extremists to achieve their aims, then we really wouldn't call them "moderates" anymore...
the violent extremists have got one thing right... that violence grabs the public attention to their cause.
and though we may think them misguided, brainwashed and crazy, there's got to be a reason why they're doing this... educated, intelligent pple turning nuts? can't they see that this is a mis-guided cause? can't they see that such behavior is criminal? their ego clouds their better judgement?
are we giving them too little credit by making such assumptions?
they obviously believe in something strongly enough to die for it... post-modern life makes us cynical and jaded, but these pple have something to hold on to, to believe in.
hence, my feeling is not to push for a "moderated", but a progressive intepretation, not just of Islam, but for all religions. one that acknowledges all the complexities of life today and helps pple to seek meaning amongst all the cynicism and materialism...
the solution ( easier said than done ) is not to go back to basics, but to attempt to resolve and accept increasingly messy contradictions.
being more familiar with christianity, i shall limit my examples to that: artificial birth control ( not abortion, but birth control ), which the catholic church has stubbornly forbidden. does that make sense?
not to me it doesn't... u deprive poor pple of contraceptives which can potentially make a big difference to their ability to bring up their children with their already limited resources and tax them with even more children which they (a) may not have wanted and (b) cannot afford! abstainance? please... withdrawal? get real... calculating cycles? as if the female anatomy is a swiss time-piece.
God gives us rain, but we wear raincoats and carry umbrellas don't we?
shouldn't one attempt to reconcile the contradictions progressively instead of sticking so rigidly to old rules which no longer applies? they're not gonna go away just cos the priest, monk or ulama says it doesn't exist.
thats not to say that we should all go wild cos everything that no longer applies is now permissible. the challenge is to see how the old rules apply to new norms. religion and culture should relate to life. not the other way round.