Western Resistance

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February 10, 2006

Malaysia: Islam Is Ready To End Its History Of Violent Conflict

The former president of Iran, Ayatollah Mohammed Khatami, was talking today at a conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, states Associated Press, via KrisTV.com and also the Washington Post.

Khatami (right in picture) who was widely regarded as a "moderate" and "reformer" by Iranian standards, was ousted in August 2005 by the current president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (left in picture).

The conference was entitled "Who speaks For Islam, Who Speaks For The West". Khatami, who is a respected scholar in the Islamic world, told his audience that after two centuries of conflict between Islam and the West, this conflict "can only see ever-escalating violence, whether in the form of war and occupation and repression, or in the form of terror and destruction".

He claimed that Islam is ready for an era of progressive and democratic Islamic governments, saying: "After about two centuries of dispute between tradition and modernity in the world of Islam (there is) a high level of mental preparation for the acceptance of a major transformation in the mind and lives of Muslims."

He spoke of the need for "democratic governments that pursue national interests and create the grounds for achieving greater science and technology."

Khatami called for "a new world that wants to understand and utilize religion in a way that it is not incompatible with freedom and progress."

He is shown at left with Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, prime minister of Malaysia, and Timothy Garton Ash, a British delegate.

Perhaps Malaysia is the wrong country in which to announce such proposals, despite its reputation as a moderate Muslim nation. 60% of Malaysia's citizens are Muslims, but Islam is entrenched in the nation's laws and constitution. These allow Sharia courts to rule people's lives unchallenged, with civil courts unable to challenge or contradict sharia decisions, and where no living person has yet been given permission by the Islamic courts to apostasise from Islam.

And to further show how sneering of basic freedoms Malaysia's governing system can be, today's Malaysia Today reports that a ban has now been imposed. This ban prevents circulation of any of the Jyllands Posten cartoons, and even possessing them. In addition, the Malaysian government has shut down a local newspaper, the Sarawak Tribune, after a non-Muslim editor published the pictures last week.

In a short statement confirming its order to shut down the Sarawak Tribune, the government of the mainly-Muslim nation said it had issued the ban to ensure racial harmony.

It is now an offence to publish, import, produce, manufacture, circulate, distribute or possess caricatures that may "jeopardise public harmony and safety, which may cause chaos, or endanger public peace or national interest", it said.

The only worthwhile thing which I can see from Khatami's announcement is that he has admitted that there is a conflict between Islam and the West, and it has gone on for two centuries. He stated the Muslim world was fed up with violence and extremism in the name of religion.

If, as has been claimed, Islam really is a "religion of peace" then that notion was dispelled today by worldwide protests against the Danish cartoons of Mohammed. In Nairobi, protesters turned to theft and racial assault to prove their religious convictions. Their hijacking of two vehicles led to the death of one protester.

The blogsite The Jawa Report has a photo spread of events which took place in various locations today. Those demonstrating all seem to be dressed in traditional Muslim attire, with plenty of hijabs (scarves) and nikabs (veils) on display. And the messages on their banner show no signs of any "peaceful" intent. These Muslims, who probably have never seen the cartoons, have no intention of making peace with the West.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at February 10, 2006 9:29 PM

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