But the difference is, Christians are quite vocal about rejecting what the Klan is about and emphatically deny that there is anything Christian about them. Muslims, by and large, are silent about ISIS and al Qaeda. When Westboro runs around with their senseless tripe, Christians are the first to say “this is not what Christianity is about and we emphatically reject their sick practices”.
If Muslims were to be A LOT MORE VOCAL about condemning these groups, distancing their faith from them, and actually taking action against them I would feel much more easy about the problem. They seem to refuse to recognize this is a problem within their faith; and they need to do something about that.
I agree BUT we have to put this in context.
The Reformation took well over 100 years. In 1776 THE nation of individual rights and liberty was established...with legal slavery. It took almost 100 years to legally end it. Women, of that same nation of freedom, didn't gain the right to vote until 1920, not even 100 years ago. The iconic picture of the KKK and their HUGE march in Washington DC took place in 1928, barely more than a decade before we chose to go fight over seas against what we deemed to be oppressive governance. Add to that that we have a New Testament.
There has been no reformation in Islam let alone any change to the Koran for it's entire existence and, if any, it certainly does not even begin to approach the change set in motion in the West in 1517. Slavery? Women's rights? Religious rights? Voting? This is yet another facet of my 'fundamentalism' jihad; that word is EVERYTHING when we consider getting involved with Islam let alone invasion and forever war.
Where did OUR change come from? From without the faith? Or, within? Obviously, any change that really matters, faith, behavior, slavery, women's rights, attitudes about them, the reality, takes time and MUST be internal change OVER time. LOT'S and LOTS of it. This is part of what is so maddening about the view that we can, somehow, get THEM to change and, not only that, do it through half assed (1/4, 1/8th??? 1/16th) application of force that produces NOTHING, but more resistance.
We still refuse to even see Islam for what it is let alone start to come around to HOW to protect ourselves and win as defined by the survival and prosperity of Western, Christianity rooted, values and ways and traditions and life.
I say all that to address your point; expecting them to be vocal about Islam, their faith, is FAR more pointless than Al Sharpton showing up at a cross burning in, say 1901, and pleading his 'fellow' Christians to tone it down a bit. That, frankly, would have a MUCH higher chance of success than expecting Muslims today to stand up to, presuming they are even inclined to do so, against 'radicals' and 'extremists' and 'terrorists' acting in their name, 'perverting' their faith. I mean, just staying with the Sharpton theme, he'd have had no sympathy or support from NON members let alone actually have someone take off their hood and say "Wait, he's got a point, brothers! He IS our brother in Christ!"
Taking religion out of it and going with simply human nature, gangs today, the mafia in its heyday, survived and thrived because they were, are, accepted in their communities. Any Muslim need not have to be a jihadist to appreciate ISIS and al queda's argument that the West has long corrupted their world, is rotting it and has long acted in OUR own self interest against them in violation of our OWN principles.
So, to me, it is not reasonable to expect anything to come of sincerely expecting THEM to police their faith as we would have them do, as we would police our own TODAY. I mean, we refuse to take step one in even acknowledging that this is simply fundamentalism we face. It is little wonder when we have leaders like the last two. They, clearly, don't get it. They set tone, policy, law, lead us and our views, in general, on Islam arguing, absurdly, that these folks are merely a few crazies. That is simply not true. To know better and to say so is, in a word, lying. If you don't like to think of one, or both of them, as liars, then, what is their argument? That it takes time? They're not even at that step.
:shrug: