Rusvik, I see your posts from time to time and i have a small question. I'm a Muslim and I grew up in the US. I partook in the fasting during this past month of Ramadan and i try to attend Friday prayers. I don't pray 5 times a day and overtime have forgotten how to read the Qur'an. I don't walk around with the belief of death to infidels in my heart nor do i feel hate towards any people or religion.
Would you still hate me as a person just because of my religion?
Of course not. It sounds like you are primarily a cultural muslim, who pick and choose the things from your 'religion' as sort of guiding principles for your life. That is all fine and good and quite similar to how most people treat religion. I've known plenty of such muslims and have absolutely no problem with them.
That doesn't mean Islam isn't harmful as a political ideology.
You may or may not be aware that quite a lot of muslims would not consider you a muslim at all or at the very best a bad muslim.
This is probably a small issue for you since you live in the US were the benefits of a free society and the kind of muslim immigrants there (smart ones) keep radical elements in check.
However, if you had been put in a situation like most European countries, were muslim immigrants are generally the least educated and least smart from their own countries, then things might have been different.
There would be huge direct or indirect pressure from imams to become more religious, to 'choose sides' against the infidels. There would be surmons about who this and that was wrong in the west and how all muslims should fight against the evils of the big satan.
Now, would you in such a situation be able to keep your moderate stance? When all your friends and family were muslim and your imams made it seem like being a moderate was being a bad muslim?
Would you take a clear stance against the attrocities committed by some 'muslims' when your imam made you out to be a traitor if you did?
You were born a muslim and for you, I guess it gives you good things in your life, but my claim is that because of the extremely authoritative aspect of Islam that encompasses everything in life, that it is very difficult to - if going by the word of the Quran/Hadith - to be a moderate muslims, if put to the test.
Moderate muslims and radical muslims read the same texts and the radicals win that battle because of their greater knowledge, so moderate muslims either can't or don't dare argue that how radical muslims present Islam is not the proper Islam.
Because of this, the majority of 'cultural muslims' become enablers for the radical muslims and therefore, Islam is defined by silent consent from moderates, by the radicals.
Unfortunately, as muslims literally believe the Quaran to be the word of god, there is no opportunity for a reformation as happened in Christianity. Moderates will always be argued down by radicals who know more of the writings.
