Comments by "Sandy Tatham" (@sandytatham3592) on "Settlers attack Palestinians during “flag march” through Jerusalem" video.
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@محمود-ق4و2ح :
Do you have evidence for "financial aid and backing from many Western governments" decreasing or ceasing any time soon? Israel has very important strategic and ideological value for the West, and I don't see that changing in the near future. Plus normalisation of relations between Arab nations and Israel is strengthening all the time.
Britain and the US are not surrounded by hostile nations which have gone to war against them many times in the last 74 years, nor do they have very large numbers of hostile citizens living within their countries. There is currently a terror wave in Israel with 19 people killed, and Hamas has been calling for Muslims to attack Israeli citizens with knives, axes and guns. So Israel most definitely needs to operate under Defence (Emergency) Regulations. Why not look also at the French police? They are battling unrest at times and they are often seen in "full riot-control gear". Just because a government has 'legitimacy' it doesn't mean there won't be any civil unrest.
Internal disputes are always a factor. But let's not forget that two million of Israeli citizens are Arab Muslims and the majority of them are happy living with equal rights to Israeli Jews. They participate at the highest levels in government, law, security, education, health and technology. Plus a recent survey showed that 93% of East Jerusalem Arabs prefer Israeli rule to Palestinian Authority, compared with a 2020 survey which had less than half preferring Israeli rule. Any Arabs who are hostile to the State of Israel should apply to be resettled in a third country, preferably one which has a similar culture such as one of the 22 Arab nations.
I agree there is constant flux with the situation in Israel, both with the elected government and loyalties of the people, but I see things improving rather than deteriorating. Please don't be guilty of using the so-called 'Palestinians' as political weapons against the Jews.
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@محمود-ق4و2ح : Islam is a complete way of life. The 'deen' includes law and politics. There is little freedom to leave the ideology, or to be openly critical of it. That is 'oppressive' to a western way of thinking. Ex-Muslims want to live where there is equality for all under the law, where there is freedom of press, freedom of conscience, and where they are not living with Muslims who are obligated to "enjoin what is right and forbid wrong" [Qur'an 3:110]. I am back in Sinai Egypt after 30 years and I found that the previously moderate Sufi Muslims are now all Salafis because there is so much pressure to conform to Islamic fundamentalism in Egypt. Most Muslim-majority countries have governments which are either theocracies (which is understandable), military dictatorships, or monarchies. If you grew up in the UK and have not spent years living in a Muslim country you might not understand what I'm talking about. If a Muslim commits apostasy in one of these countries, he stands to lose his job, his citizenship status, his marriage and children, to name just a few things. Many end up in prison for years because they dared to speak out and say they are no longer believers.
Thank you for your book recommendations. When I was in Srinigar Kashmir in 2017 I was given a copy of Alfred Guillaume's authoritative translation of Ibn Ishaq's "The Life of Muhammed". It was a fascinating read. I discovered that the prophet had people killed just for writing poetry or singing songs mocking his ideology and his beliefs. And on one night he had all of the male members of the Jewish Banu Qurayza tribe beheaded on what seemed like very controversial evidence for wrongdoing. The females and children were taken as slaves. And you say this is the behaviour of a pious religious leader? The best 'pattern of conduct' for all time? Another problem with such biographies is that they are written 100 years after the actual life of Muhammed. There is little to no hard evidence that he even existed, though I do believe he might have.
I was invited by Moroccan friends to become a Muslim more than ten years ago. I said I must first study the ideology. And I quickly saw that I couldn't accept the second-class status given to women. Yes people do convert to Islam but most of them take the 'shahada' before studying the ideology in any depth. Islamic scholars estimate that less than three out of ten converts remain believers of the ideology after a few years. They fade away and no-one hears about them because they are under threat of punishment if they commit apostasy and talk openly about it. Females often convert to marry Muslim men, and I've heard many stories as to how they have to give up their children when they lose their faith in Islam and the man divorces them. We know in history that most of the Islamic conquests came about through the sword and subsequent oppression of the defeated population as 'dhimmis'. They converted to escape humiliation, uncertainty, and the payment of jizya. Many also converted to do business with Muslim traders or to obtain equal legal status and rights under an Islamic government.
I've watched many videos by Yasir Qadhi and Omar Suleiman. I was happy to see that both of them acknowledged that Muhammed married and had sexual relations with Aisha when she was a prepubescent child of nine years old. At least they were honest. Again, I can't accept that this is the 'pattern of conduct' for all time, ie. #sunnah. I think of it every time I see a small girl married off to an older man in countries like Yemen, which I visited in 2008. I have never found anything of 'beauty' for women and girls in Islam. I found domestic violence, guardianship, polygamy, marital rape and child marriage.
Sorry to end on such a bad note but I do appreciate your openness to have this discussion...🙏
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