COMMENT ON:
“Cross and Crescent”
http://www.unc.edu/depts/diplomat/item/2008/0709/comm/holliday_cross.html
From:
Sam Holliday
As several readers have told me, my point at the end of the third paragraph under the subhead “The Role of Islam” of my article ‘Cross and Crescent’ was poorly stated. I did not intend to suggest that Muslims are not concerned about Western armed forces being in their lands. Here is what I should have written:
… Islam from the very start was a religion of struggle, both inner and against non-believers. It sought to eliminate temptations that the devil might use to erode commitment to Allah. It sought to get all people to submit to Allah. Islam does not give a high priority to economic wealth, prosperity, freedom, self worth, or comfort. Islam seeks purity. Although very concerned about non-Islamic religions or Western armed forces being in their lands, in some ways Muslim true believers are more concerned about non-Islamic ways, i.e. movies, pop culture, dress and behavior. The challenge we all face is to show that Islamic purity is compatible with Western Culture – a very difficult challenge.