6.27.2007 | Protestants

In the basic meaning of the word, of course. Christian Protestants, although initially protesting the abuses of the Roman Church, are nonetheless the very antithesis of Muslim protestants. Protestants, of the Christian persuasion, have free will and freedom of conscience at the very heart of our faith.

We Baptists (and many others) call this religious liberty, and it is as foreign from Islam as is eating a bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwich.

As the Cox and Forkum cartoon illustrates, with deadly accuracy, Islam is only a religion of peace if one simply tiptoes around it, not uttering a single word of criticism. Any criticism; even looking crosseyed at an imam can get you a death fatwa, or so it seems.

Is this all there is to Islam? Are there not reformers, so-called moderates, who simply want to live in peace with their infidel neighbors? It does not appear likely.

Having just seen "Muslims against Jihad," I remain unconvinced that "moderate" Muslims want anything different than their jihadi brothers. The film, banned by PBS as apparently being too critical of Islam, simply reinforced the facts on the ground: Islam is a religion of intolerance, of violence, of jihad.

What I believe is that all Muslims want their faith to become universal, with all of us infidels either converted or submitting to Islam. So-called "moderates" merely differ as to the means by which they think will work.