Muslims Against Sharia

Muslims Against Sharia is an old blog (in cyber-time) with new life.

A lot of non-Muslims will regard this group's recognition as long overdue. M. Simon put them in the spotlight.
I'm not excited about any outfit that says good things about Ann Coulter or Fox News, but they represent a move in the right direction.

Those of us who have personal experience with Muslims know well that they are not the devils being depicted by the loud and disrespectful voices that dominate the media. And I think most academic or professionsl types from a Muslim heritage consider it someone else's job to educate the chattering classes. They have more important priorities, like supporting their families, being the ordinary citizens they really are, and setting good personal examples in the communities and workplaces where they live.

So I add my welcome to this voice.

It is noteworthy that according to the archive the blog was started in 2002 with a single post. Three years of blog silence passed, then for 2006 seven posts are listed, including five videos taken from a PBS documentary. Finally last month, someone started posting regularly, and the place has come alive with commentary.

I am ecumenical enough to agree to disagree about a lot of things until we get to know one another better. That is the first step in non-violent conflict resolution.

Since the president himself now has the neologism Islamofascism in his famous vocabulary I suppose it takes on something like legitimacy. I still don't like it. If I may quote myself...

...the use of the word Islamofascism also has to be counterproductive to any civil discussion. And the president's use of the word is, from a diplomatic standpoint, obscene. It is the equivalent of a white bigot using the N-word while trying to reach agreement with a black adversary.

But these Muslim folks are admitting that the word exists and offer a constructive distinction between that word and others, less odious and inflammatory.