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Khalifa urges promotion of moderate Islam
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Posted on
Sep 08 2008 2:34 AM
by
adeal
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ABU DHABI // Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed, President of the UAE and Ruler of Abu Dhabi, emphasised last night to a group of Muslim scholars the importance of their role in spreading a moderate Islamic message. Sheikh Khalifa, who was hosting a group of religious academics and preachers for Ramadan at Bateen Palace.
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 5PillarScribe - 9/8/2008 11:33:19 AM
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| While respecting what Sheikh Khalifa is saying, it appears that the headline indicates a different message to a Western reader. There is no such thing as moderate Islam. Islam is what it is. Anything aside from it is a corrupted Islam. Many are simply not practicing what Islam has always taught. Without giving cause to alarm…’moderate’ in his words actually means ‘pure or fundamental (getting back to the basics).’ Unfortunately, many in the West look at the term ‘fundamental’ as an extreme thing.
If, for example, saying that “charging a very small amount of interest makes one a more ‘moderate’ Muslim.” This is incorrect, it is considered sinful in Islam. But, what it actually is, more moderate for a non-Muslim.
The Sheikh’s mentioning of progress and development is actually a part of many factors that many in the West fail to understand about Islam. Islam promotes the use of the intellect, such as Math, Sciences and reading. In addition, there is a direct correlation to the ‘increase’ in population (practicing procreation), as opposed to ‘decrease’, in making progress.
These two aspects are mentioned because of the understanding, or lack thereof, amongst many in the West. There is a common stereotype that Muslims care not to progress academically, but are stuck in the ’stone age,’ as goes the saying. Another misunderstanding and great fear of Westerners is world over-population; therefore the great desire and push for population control, be it through contraception, abortion, medicine, economics, law — or even war.
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