MUSLIMS AGAINST SHARIA

The Muslims Against Sharia site appears legitimate, and should it prove to be so, that is, a site erected, maintained, and supported by a growing number of inspired Muslim leaders, indeed would be uplifting news, an excellent supplement to that long-elusive manifestation of concerted actions required to force Islam to meet the West on a sound and logical footing, joining the company of a few other strong and courageous voices out there contradicting the usual "Religion of Peace" deception fed the infidels, such as Islamwatch, another site created by and for ex-Muslims.

While we can apprerciate both the perceived and the real threats of dangerous blowback, even the threat of death to [reformation-minded] apostates and blasphemers of the Muslim faith, those Muslims who speak out against these pernicious doctrines and problems facing Islam today, placing the responsibility of reform squarely upon Muslim shoulders, can only invigorate our call for more strong voices like these to step forward out of the shadows of Dar Al-Islam to help turn the tide of Islamic aggression operating with extreme prejudice in the world today.

Here is an excerpt from the manifesto published on the Muslims Against Sharia homepage:

The need for reform
Islam, in its present form, is not compatible with principles of freedom and democracy. Twenty-first century Muslims have two options: we can continue the barbaric policies of the seventh century perpetuated by Hassan al-Banna, Abdullah Azzam, Yassir Arafat, Ruhollah Khomeini, Osama bin Laden, Muslim Brotherhood, al-Qaeda, Hizballah, Hamas, Hizb-ut-Tahrir, etc., leading to a global war between Dar al-Islam (Islamic World) and Dar al-Harb (non-Islamic World), or we can reform Islam to keep our rich cultural heritage and to cleanse our religion from the reviled relics of the past. We, as Muslims who desire to live in harmony with people of other religions, agnostics, and atheists choose the latter option. We can no longer allow Islamic extremists to use our religion as a weapon. We must protect future generations of Muslims from being brainwashed by the Islamic radicals. If we do not stop the spread of Islamic fundamentalism, our children will become homicidal zombies.

Accepting responsibilities
To start the healing process, we must acknowledge evils done by Muslims in the name of Islam and accept responsibility for those evils. We must remove evil passages from Islamic religious texts, so that future generations of Muslims will not be confused by conflicting messages. Our religious message should be loud and clear: Islam is peace; Islam is love; Islam is light. War, murder, violence, divisiveness & discrimination are not Islamic values.

Religious privacy
Religion is the private matter of every individual. Any person should be able to freely practice any religion as long as the practice does not interfere with the local laws, and no person must be forced to practice any religion. Just as people are created equal, there is no one religion that is superior to another. Any set of beliefs that is spread by force is fundamentally immoral; it is no longer a religion, but a political ideology.

Equality
Islam is one of the many of the world's religions. There will be no Peace and Harmony in the World if Muslims and non-Muslims do not have equal rights. Islamic supremacy doctrine is just as repulsive as Aryan supremacy doctrine. History clearly shows what happens to the society whose members consider themselves above other peoples. All moderate Muslims must repudiate the mere notion of Islamic supremacy.

Sharia
Sharia Law must be abolished, because it is incompatible with norms of modern society.

Outdated practices
Any practices that might have been acceptable in the Seventh Century; i.e., stoning, cutting off body parts, marrying and/or having sex with children or animals, must be condemned by every Muslim.

Outdated verses
The following verses promote divisiveness and religious hatred, bigotry and discrimination. They must be either removed from the Koran or declared outdated and invalid, and marked as such.

Outdated words & phrases
Use of the following words and phrases or their variations must be prohibited during religious services:
• Infidel/Unbeliever: these terms have negative connotation and promote divisiveness and animosity; Islam is not the only religion
• Jihad: this word is often interpreted as Holy War against non-Muslims
• Mujaheed/Holy Warrior: no more wars in the name of Islam
• American (Christian/Crusader/Israeli/Zionist) occupation: these terms promote bigotry; at this point in time, Muslims living in non-Muslim lands have more freedoms than Muslims living in Muslim lands

Read it all...

Post-script (November 12, 2009): Muslims Against Sharia has been shown to be a fraudulent site. Beware of them, even as they push moderate propaganda that sounds reasonable to Western ears, but as more than a few other anti-jihadist commentators can attest, should one disagree in any way with the proprietors, the MAS spokesmen turn adolescently vulgar, scatalogical and vicious, ad hominem and void of ideas, unbecoming of the civilized allies of the West they pretend to be.