Here are two very contrasting expressions of Islam which came into my inbox yesterday (24.1.08)

* the first from ANS & Religion Today regarding Indonesia,

* the second from the middle east by Moshe Sharon who is Professor Emeritus of Islamic History at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

STUDY: INDONESIAN MUSLIMS GENERALLY TOLERANT OF DIVERSITY

Sources: Assist News Service, Religion Today

Muslims in Indonesia are generally tolerant in spite of emerging radical groups espousing violence, former President Abdurrahman Wahid said. Wahid told UCA News, “Muslims in Indonesia put mutual interest ahead of their own interest.” He pointed out that even though 88 percent of the country’s 218 million people are Muslims, Indonesians did not build their country as an Islamic state. The national motto, Bhinneka Tunggal Ika (unity in diversity), reflects this, he said. Wahid, popularly known as Gus Dur, headed Nahdlatul Ulama, the largest Islamic organization in Indonesia, before serving as the country’s president 1999-2001. Wahid noted that a May survey conducted by Wahid Institute, a socio-religious research and advocacy group he established, found 95.4 percent of Muslims see inter-religious tolerance as important for a peaceful Indonesia. Of the 1,047 Muslims in 33 provinces surveyed, 84.4 percent agreed they need to offer peace and tolerance to believers of other religions. Only 10.6 percent disagreed. churches).

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_Now a very different view_ :

Reviving the Caliphate

Moshe Sharon

Outpost, January 01, 2008

Westerners have the tendency to use Western terminology in order to describe Islam, which causes them to misunderstand it entirely. A few examples will suffice to demonstrate this misconception.

1. “The mosque is the church of the Muslims.” This is a mistake. The mosque is not only a house of prayer. It is a combined religious, social and political institution; the church is only a house of worship. The mosque has always represented the authority of the ruler as much as the authority of Allah’s law. The oath of allegiance to any new ruler was taken in the mosque, but rebellions also began in mosques. The sermon in the mosque encouraged obedience to the ruler as much as it gave vent to grievances and fomented revolutions.

2. “The Koran is the Bible of the Muslims.” Wrong! There is a huge difference between the Bible, created over several millennia, containing a variety of literary styles and a variety of messages, and the Koran, created by one man in one style and containing a few facets of a limited number of messages.

3. “Friday is the Sabbath of the Muslims.” Incorrect! There is no day of rest in Islam, and Friday is only the day of public prayer, and the time for public sermon.

4. “Jihad, Holy War, is a war against evil inclinations.” This is how the apologists of Islam present Jihad in politically correct language to innocent Westerners. The Holy War (what an oxymoron!) is a real war, not a virtual one; it is a bloody affair – the eternal war of Islam against the non-Muslim world until its conquest….

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