Anti Muslim Imam Holds Muslims Inferior.
Others must be careful because
offended Muslims lack self control, unlike other people.
Are these actually Muslim beliefs??

“It should be illegal to make statements so offensive it incites a violent reaction. When you know what will be the consequences, when you deliberately provoke, there should be a law against that. Because you are posing a danger to the public.” (source)

And here's my response - which I'm sure he did not expect:

Imam Holds that Muslims Inferior

Imam Steve Rockwell of Toronto’s Sheikh Deedat mosque keeps arguing for the inferiority of Muslims - not something positive. He claims that Muslims have such poor self control that they cannot help having violent reactions - unlike other humans who are better able to cope with things that offend them. 

To have a religious leader openly argue for the inferiority of the members of his or her religion is ridiculous.

I cannot image a Christian, Hindu, Jewish or Buddhist religious leader arguing the Christians, Hindus, Jews or Buddhists are so flawed that they will have violent reactions to things that offend them that one has to be careful not to offend. 

The imam seems to be talking about wild animals rather than human beings. I would say he is being outrageously anti-Muslim.

Emotionally healthy adult human beings have self control. Not 2-year-olds, who tend to have tantrums easily. But most adults - of ALL religions, in my opinion - have the capacity to control themselves and not respond with violence when they feel offended.

It is amazing to me that I have a higher opinion of Muslims than this Muslim imam who is outspoken in his low opinion of Muslims. Again, here are his words:

“It should be illegal to make statements so offensive it incites a violent reaction. When you know what will be the consequences, when you deliberately provoke, there should be a law against that. Because you are posing a danger to the public.”

We know that people of other religions do not respond to offence with violence. So we know he is only talking about Muslims.

By the way, men who batter cannot claim, "Oh she offended me, so I beat her." In other words, we hold men responsible for violent behavior against their partners.

I think a far better route, with Muslims, is to treat Muslims as equal to other human beings, and if they have problems with self control, to teach those people who lack self control (no matter what their religion) better coping skills - at the very least. There are also laws against violence. So men who batter risk prison.

My position. I hold that Muslims definitely are equal to other human beings. The position of this imam makes no sense to me. They are incredibly anti-Muslim. Would you accept a religious leader who told you, over and over, that people of your religion were inferior to other people?

The biggest thing, though, is that this imam, like so many others, is almost certainly unaware that he is portraying Muslims as unable to exercise the self-control of other human beings. Instead he is taking it for granted that they are not to be offended and have the right to lack self-control.

Elsa

October 12, 2012

PS. By the way, it's not easy to hold out against rhetoric like this imam's. His words are repeated all over the place as if they were reasonable. For interviews with people who are exploring Islam and the West, come to Personal Journeys Toward Difficult Truths.

PPS. Another comment. Shall I publish this, I wondered. Not because I was unsure of the logic. But precisely because of the kind of response mentioned by Imam Steve Rockwell: Muslim offense, Muslim rage, threats of violence - and in many parts of the world massive violence against anyone who offends. Massive violence: so Muslims torch a dozen Buddhist temples and pagodas and damage six others in Ramu. Why? Apparently they did not like some Facebook images that were displayed. (source)

I hold that an anti-Muslim response is to say: Muslims can't help themselves. You know how Muslims are. The whole world must control itself because Muslims are so inferior and so lacking in self control.

A pro-Muslim response is to say: This is not acceptable and must be stopped. Muslims have often not reacted in this way. Muslims have the same capacity for self control as other human beings. Muslim rage and Muslim violence are being incited - for example, by imams - and by the people informing these imams.

So, shall I publish this, I wondered. Is it worth it, to speak out in favor of Muslim equality with other human beings? My answer: yes.


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to a blog asking, are all religions equal,
click here.


To go from this diary blog about a imam
who holds, most likely without knowing it,
the anti-Muslim belief that Muslims are inferior,
to a video on good ethics, universal ethics,
click here.



Anti Muslim Imam Claims Muslims Inferior.
Others must be careful because
offended Muslims lack self control, unlike other people.
Are these actually Muslim beliefs??