THE GREAT THEFT pdf download

The Great Theft – wrestling Islam from the extremists by Khaled Abou El Fadl

THE GREAT THEFT

He says,

When it comes to the subject of Islam, there are many political interests at stake, and, as history repeatedly teaches us, nothing is as corrupting of religion as politics. This is not to say that Islam, as a religion, has become corrupted by politics.

 Instead, I am saying that politics and political interests have obfuscated and corrupted our ability to see Islam as a faith that is followed by well over a billion adherents in the world.

 Islam is the second-largest religious faith in the world, and the reality is that even in liberal and secular democracies, Islam has become the chosen faith of millions.

 Regardless of how much religious bigots may hate this fact, like Christianity and Judaism, Islam will continue to inspire and guide the convictions and actions of millions of adherents in every developed and underdeveloped country in the world.

The only question is: What particular type or brand of Islam will tend to pre¬ dominate and prevail in each setting?

Understanding Islam has become an absolute imperative because achieving such an understanding will determine the type of people we are— whether tolerant or bigoted, whether enlightened or ignorant.

 In teaching, I am often asked by well-intentioned non- Muslim students, “How can we contribute to a peaceful coexistence with Muslims?”

 My response is that merely to resist the temptation to believe those who preach hate, dwell on uncontrollable rages, and speculate about inevitable historical showdowns is already doing a lot.

In most cases, such language and paradigms are sensationalistic and lazy replace¬ ments for the hard work of achieving a genuine understanding.

No one is born blistering with hate and outrage, and often what appears to be hate is in reality thinly concealed fear.