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“Facts, Schmacts!”: Michael Medved on Islam

In his latest, as of this writing, blog post on his “Police Blotter,” Robert Spencer highlights a piece by Michael Medved entitled, “Disapproval of Islam is No Indication of Bigotry.” Medved writes:

The real question raised by all such expressions of public opinion should confront the nearly 40% of Americans who say they feel positively impressed by Islam and its influence.

What aspect of Muslim teaching and achievement most inspires such respondents? The daily reports of suicidal violence from every corner of the globe, with fellow-Muslims (invariably) as the primary victims? Or the well-known association of Islamic piety with open-hearted respect for the rights of women, homosexuals and infidels? Or is it the sterling record of economic progress, cutting age technology and social justice achieved by precisely those societies (like Saudi Arabia, Iran or Afghanistan) that take Shariah law most seriously? Or would Islam’s American admirers cite the record of Muslim charities in the U.S., the most prominent of which (remember the Holy Land Foundation?) have been shut down by the government for their lavish support of murderous terrorist groups like Hamas?

Quite naturally, the people who look favorably on Islam feel unconcerned over its ancient teachings or loathsome perversions in benighted corners of the globe, and focus instead on the law-abiding, patriotic, family-loving Muslims who have established benign communities throughout the United States. But even the decent people who reside in those communities rightly worry that their impressionable off-spring may become too religious, too zealous in their fervent commitment to The Prophet and his teachings.

Notice how, in a few short paragraphs, Medved cites such things as suicide terrorists, countries like Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Afghanistan, and Islam’s “ancient teachings” and infers that, therefore, Islam itself is bad.

Funny how Medved doesn’t mention all those “ancient teachings” of the Bible that demand stoning to death? Or, the fact that suicide terrorism is not a uniquely Islamic phenomenon? Moreover, Medved says:

There is no real parallel to this fear in Christian or Jewish homes. Christian parents may feel embarrassed by their religiously reborn children suddenly studying the Gospels obsessively, or witnessing obnoxiously to family or friends, but they needn’t worry about wayward kids blowing up themselves or others in the name of Jesus.

Really? What about the “Christian Bin Laden” who was arrested for plotting to blow up a women’s clinic? Or Timothy McVeigh? He was a known Christian. What about the Lord’s Resistance Army? Oh, but these are not Muslims, so they don’t count.

Medved goes on:

Jewish mothers and fathers may hate the scraggly beards and black hats adopted by a suddenly Orthodox generation, or resent the refusal to eat non-kosher food at home, but even the most fanatical of their kids feel scant temptation to travel to remote mountain hideouts as part of an international terror conspiracy.

Wow. Then, Mr. Medved must not have heard about the recent book Jewish Terrorism in Israel, written by two Israeli scholars, that documents Jewish terrorist activity dating from before the creation of the Jewish State. This is from the conclusion of the book:

It is true that radical Islamists to a certain extent justify their terrorism with their aspiration to help the Palestinian nation realize its nationalist goals and by claiming they are responding to the ongoing harm to Palestinians. However, even a movement such as Fatah, all the more so Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah, and al-Qaeda, openly declare that they will not rest until the complete liberation of the Al-Aqsa Mosque is achieved [the Al-Aqsa Mosque is located on the same site in Old Jerusalem as the Temple Mount, the holiest site in Judaism].

On the other hand, although in much smaller numbers, there are Jews who regard the very presence of the mosques as an obstacle to the redemption of the people of Israel. A larger number hold a Kahanist worldview, according to which—irrespective of the conflict with the Palestinians—the Jewish state should cast out the Arab minority from within. Some of them are willing to try to implement this goal in a violent way or by means designed to bring about a violent escalation in the relations between Jews and Arabs.

Again, they don’t talk about Muslims, so it doesn’t count. Medved also failed to mention the comments of Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, the head of Shas’s Council of Torah Sages and a senior Sephardi adjudicator, who said that Gentiles are meant to serve Jews:

“Goyim were born only to serve us. Without that, they have no place in the world – only to serve the People of Israel,” he said in his weekly Saturday night sermon on the laws regarding the actions non-Jews are permitted to perform on Shabbat.

In Israel, death has no dominion over them… With gentiles, it will be like any person – they need to die, but [God] will give them longevity. Why? Imagine that one’s donkey would die, they’d lose their money.

This is his servant… That’s why he gets a long life, to work well for this Jew,” Yosef said.

“Why are gentiles needed? They will work, they will plow, they will reap. We will sit like an effendi and eat.

That is why gentiles were created,” he added.

You remember Rabbi Yosef…he called for a plague on the Palestinian people. Isn’t that, like, genocide?

But, wait! Medved exposes more of his worldview:

The spiritual leader of the proposed Islamic Cultural Center near Ground Zero insists that the true problem is extremism, not Islam itself. “The real battlefront today is not between Muslims and non-Muslims,” declared Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf to the Council on Foreign Relations, “but between moderates of all faith traditions against the extremists of all faith traditions.”

This ignores the huge differences –both quantitative (Islamic radicals are vastly more numerous) and qualitative (Muslim fanatics endorse uniquely murderous rhetoric and deeds) – between extremists in one faith tradition and all others.

A Christian fundamentalist may talk about burning Korans; Muslim crazies regularly burn buildings- and people. Even after Pastor Terry Jones called off his idiotic barbeque of the Islamic holy book, Muslims reacted with deadly riots in Kashmir that killed 16 and wounded sixty, while burning several schools and other government buildings.

Some Americans may dislike the style of worship in Pentecostal or Catholic churches, but the faithful (no matter how tackily dressed) never surge out of their sanctuaries on Sundays with fury and blood-lust, looking for non-believers to stone and property to destroy. Every Friday, however, somewhere in the vast Muslim world, some congregations of the devout react to their uplifting prayer services by going directly from their mosques to rousing orgies of rage and violence.

This last statement is an over-reaching exaggeration at best. And, once again, Medved says these things while seeming to ignore all the atrocities committed by Christians and Jews in the name of their religion. It is all documented on the website: www.whatiftheyweremuslim.com. It goes to show that extremists are all the same – namely, extreme – and come from all walks of spiritual life.

But, that doesn’t fit into the neat little world of people like “Scholar” Robert Spencer and Michael Medved, and so they ingore the facts and continue on with their assertions about Islam.

Medved concludes:

This observation isn’t an expression of bigotry; it’s a factual product of reading the newspaper, and regularly monitoring international news. The lame-brained insistence that all faith traditions deserve equal respect (or equal condemnation) doesn’t demonstrate tolerance or broad-mindedness; it expresses, rather, a refusal to take any religion seriously enough for honest evaluation of its virtues and flaws.

Reservations about Islam, and even fears of the Muslim faith’s influence on the world at large, don’t constitute paranoia or intolerance. These concerns represent an honest and reasonable response on the part of a significant segment of the public to a serious global challenge to the values that Americans hold most dear.

No, Mr. Medved, your “observation” is nothing more than a repeating of the Muslim “Police Blotter,” citing the crimes of those who are Muslim and then projecting their criminality to all of Islam. It is as unfair as judging a town by its own police blotter. Now, I’m not saying that Mr. Medved is a bigot because he, obviously, has a negative view of Islam. I am only showing that the facts are not on his side.

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    • art

      @JihadBob

      Hey, every1, christians and jews in Europe dont need to organize underground military ogr because THE SECULAR ARMIES OF THEIR COUNTRIES DO THE JOB FOR THEM, American state supports Israel with weapons and technology, american troops go to kill muslims in Iraq and Afghanistan, Russian army goes to fight in Chechnya, Arab states around Israel protect its borders;

      If Muslim States obeyed muslim voice, there wouldnt be occupide Palestine today, ther wouldnt be Mubaraks, or Saudis of todays ruling them, —Thats why muslims organize themselves !!!

    • Garo

      Anyone who is interested in visiting Israel can do so by joining Michael Medved and his wife in their GROUP YEARLY tour of their beloved Israel!!

      When he invites people,on his Radio-Talk-Show,to join him in such a tour to Israel,he sounds like a true believer in the “virtues?” of his beloved Israel.

      But,for a critical listener like myself,Michael Medved sounds nothing more than a cheap propagandist for a foreign power.Period.

    • Garo

      Michael Medved is nothing more than a hard core Zionist who would not miss an opportunity that would come in his way to demonize Islam. I listen to his Radio-Talk-Show almost daily,just to see how far he can go in his silly prejudice against Islam.

      Hizbullah and Hamas drive him crazy. And as a result,he bombards his listeners with a parade of incoherent,contradictary and irrational views about Islam,especially about the Shari’a law.

      He has never missed a chance not to bring the suicide bombers in his rants,as Islam/Shari’a laws is the topic of the dialogue with his listeners.

    • Hmmm… since my image didn’t post, follow this link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muslim_majority_countries.

      Yes, it is wikipedia, but it includes a map by percentage, along with a list of Muslim-majority countries, their populations, the percentage practicing Islam, the dominant sect and school of jurisprudence, the legal status of Islam, the national GDP, and the type of government. I know you probably won’t read it, but its rather educational.

    • Hahaha, wow. It looks like Cheryl (or Miss Manners, or wanna-be Pam Geller, or post-op jihad robbie… I can’t tell them apart these days) is really on a roll here. It’s hilarious.

      You claim that Islam isn’t a religion and that there’s no such such as ‘anti-Islam,’ yet you don’t even see your own bigotry as you spew this crap. I can only imagine that you aren’t very well traveled and have never met or known a Muslim in person, so what gives? Where does all this blind hatred come from, because it seems FAR too passionate for someone with no personal involvement.

      Where to start? Okay… lets start with the fact that you paint all Muslims with the same broad brush. You DO know how big the Muslim world is, right? All of those countries could be considered ‘Muslim majority,’ and many are not ‘Arab’ or in the ‘Middle East’ either. Uzbekistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Nigeria, Mali, Senegal, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, the Maldives, Turkmenistan, Turkey, Kyrgyzstan, Chad, Niger….

      So how are we all part of some HUGE political movement when we live in different countries, speak different languages, and believe in different things? Do we Shi’a ‘belong to the same political conspiracy’ as Sunnis, because if we do that’s news to me! I guess I should expect to see more people mourning during Achoura and putting up pictures of the Imams in their homes. Considering there are only a couple of Shi’a masjid in my immediate area, that’ll be good news for me!

      And how many masjid preach ‘anti-America’ stuff? The ones I go to are mostly apolitical, and I know of a Sunni mosque in my area that is actually pretty conservative. Sure, I know some fellow Muslims who criticize America, but then I also know lots of non-Muslims who do. I think that there are plenty of things to criticize about our government… MY government, in fact. Foreign policy would certainly be one them, but the growing influence of the evangelical minority would be another one.

      Yes, I think that we have far, far more to fear from you than the other way around. You are the one posting your fantasies about the American people ‘rising up’ and carrying out genocide against fellow Americans! I’m not making this up or exaggerating. I can see the posts RIGHT HERE with my very own eyes! So you apparently don’t believe in freedom of religion, or rather, you believe in freedom for people to believe exactly as you do… or else.

      I’m going to guess that you aren’t much for gay rights either? Or equality for men and women? Or even multi-culturalism and tolerance between races? And to think we Muslims are called bigoted. The fact is, you fantasy about a non-existent past where America was ‘white’ and ‘Christian’ and we minorities were kept out of sight and out of power. The scary thing is that you evangelicals have the motivation, desire and even ability to seize power in this country, despite being a relatively small minority yourself. It’s just that politicians are more than willing to court evangelicals and baptists…

      Anyway, I am a Muslim. I am proud to be a Muslim, and will cling to my beliefs because I WANT to. I believe in Islam, as it was passed down by the Ahl al-Bay’t. I am more than happy to elucidate my philosophy too. Why should I be afraid or try and please people who hate me anyway? I’m not trying to earn your approval, and you have NOTHING that I want or need.

    • NassirH

      Surprising.

      JihadBob has been reduced to making more childish comments.

    • Syed

      JihadBob said, “Please, make that mean, wild-eyed, blood thirsty Christian bigot go away!”

      Amen to that!

    • JihadBob

      Translation: “Mommy, mean Christian JihadBob is terrorizing us innocent Muslims with his arguments. Please, make that mean, wild-eyed, blood thirsty Christian bigot go away!”

    • NassirH

      Your above comments are a perfect example of your dishonesty. I made my point and you proved it.

      Game. Set. Match.

      Anyways, thanks for at least admitting you’re a liar.

      * insulting remark

      Easy there. You’re not helping you’re argument when you’re proving me right consistently.

    • JihadBob

      * insulting remark

    • JihadBob

      That’s because you, like most Muslims, are supporters of Islamo-fascism.

      That’s where my definition of Islamo-fascism includes curbing free speech.

      I really don’t think any Islamo-fascist would take such a comment negatively.

      But try it for yourself, will a Klan member mind it you call them a racist?

      The last two ‘quotes’ are taken out of context. My response to Zakariya was a typo – I went on to clarify that I mean emerge, not submerge from his cesspool.

      Submerge doesn’t even make sense.

      Pointing out that Danios operates a well oiled and obviously well funded site does not seem to have been an insulting compliment to me – only if you think taking money from shady players is an insult, I suppose.

      They think suicide bombing is okay

      So does Qaradawi.

      Neither al-Qaeda nor Qaradawi view martyrdom operations as acts of suicide.

      I agree with them, and it’s besides the point, the Koran says in more than one verse that Muslims who die fighting for Allah will be rewarded with Paradise.

      It’s not my fault that these verses are logical inconsistencies with other passages in the Koran and hadith.

      Sorry, just wrong, why do you think so many Muslims speak out against them and disagree with them?

      Because they’ve recently managed to kill tens of thousands of Muslims in the past few years???

    • Sorry, is he *still* arguing that Al-Queda share stuff? Oh dear…

      Yes Bob, they share stuff like they pray fast and so on, correct. That’s it though, they stray massively on the other stuff.

      “Guessing that the Jihadist discourse has monopolized and dominated any other opposing viewpoints in the Muslim world, I’m going to guess their argument and logic is much more solid than the members here would like to admit in front of the Kuffar.”

      Sorry, just wrong, why do you think so many Muslims speak out against them and disagree with them? I’ve never met a single Muslim who agrees with them, not one and I get around a lot. Not that you’d know, having never spoken to us… If you want a nice long detailed look into it, I recommend this Fatwa:

      http://www.minhajbooks.com/english/bookid/376/Fatwa:-Suicide-Bombing-and-Terrorism-by-Shaykh-ul-Islam-Dr-Muhammad-Tahir-ul-Qadri.html

      And Mosizzle has repeatedly hit the nail on the head regarding your ’cause’… as has been stated to you many times, if you really care etc then why do you continue to alienate your greatest allies, i.e. the majority of Muslims? It really brings into doubt your true aims, I think we all know what they *really* are…

    • Khushboo

      *reads Nassir’s comment* Oh Bob, I believe you just got owned!

    • Khushboo

      You don’t think comparing Al Qaeda with mainstream Islam (meaning us followers) is insulting? They might be Muslim but most of us certainly don’t agree with their views and it’s certainly not Islamic. They think suicide bombing is okay, there will be 72 virgins in heaven which I have yet to find in the Quran, and killing of innocents is okay when it’s really a sin.

      Book 23 vol. 2 #446: The Prophet said, “He who commits suicide by throttling shall keep on throttling himself in the Hellfire (forever)”

      An-Nisa 4:29 And do not kill yourselves (nor kill one another) Surely Allah (swt) is most merciful.

    • NassirH

      Please quote my comment where you think I insulted a single individual.

      Sure.

      That’s because you, like most Muslims, are supporters of Islamo-fascism.

      I was kind of half expecting for Zakariya to submerge from the cesspool he resides in and respond to my comments directed to him.

      Surely not idiots like Danios and the rest of the morons at his well funded site ?

      LoL

      What a shameless liar. I can bring some more quotes if you like kind JihadBob.

    • JihadBob

      but Bob, is Al Quaeda really going by the Quran?

      They are offering their own interpretation of the texts and teachings of Islam.

      You’ll have to ask Jihadists how they are justifying their violence.

      Guessing that the Jihadist discourse has monopolized and dominated any other opposing viewpoints in the Muslim world, I’m going to guess their argument and logic is much more solid than the members here would like to admit in front of the Kuffar.

      I frankly don’t care if you insult terrorists but please,enough of insulting our religion and the majority of the good moderate Muslims. Peace!

      I haven’t insulted anyone, including ‘terrorists’ and Saladin, etc.

      Please quote my comment where you think I insulted a single individual.

    • Khushboo

      but Bob, is Al Quaeda really going by the Quran? Killing of innocents is a sin and I know I’m not the first one telling you this. I’m sure You’ve heard all the explanations before. I’m kinda new here so I guess I still have a little patience left but please don’t push it. I frankly don’t care if you insult terrorists but please,enough of insulting our religion and the majority of the good moderate Muslims. Peace!

    • Mosizzle

      Truly lame. One question for Jihadbob. I assume your aim with all this Islamophobia is to eliminate jihad/terrorism so does saying that terrorism is an essential part of Islam make Muslims more or less likely to take part in terrorism.

      Jihadwatch basically is defeating all the moderate Muslims that are painstakingly trying to convince young Muslims that they should be good members of society rather than terrorists. But all that spencer does is accuse them of lying and makes sure that young Muslims get the opposite message. Wouldn’t it actualy help your cause if you said that terrorism was forbidden by Islam (which it is) so that everyone could get along? This proves that Spencer does not care about the welfare of humanity but is trying to defeat Islam by making it seem impossible to reform and then he can spread his extreme intpretationf of Catholicism.

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