[Chuck-C]

Just what constitutes defending Islam? It seems to include not just retaliating against, say, an invasion, but also against less physical attacks, such as from writing. Did the sentence upon Salmon Rushdie count as such?

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Name : Chuck-C, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 21, City : Middlefield, State : CT, Country : United States, Social class : Middle class, 

[Zia24240]

Defending Islam is the same as defending any other religion or nation. This includes 1. Repelling the attacks of Muslim or Non-Muslim countries on a Muslim country, and 2. Defending against false accusations, notions or historical inaccurancies presented in writings, in speeches etc.

Obviously, in the first case, the defense would constitute taking up arms. In the second case, it involves intellectual defense. So, for example, if a person writes a book that either slanders the Prophet Muhammad or distorts facts of history etc., a Muslim scholar or learned person should respond in the same manner (meaning non-combative). As for the fatwa (ruling) requiring death on Salman Rushie, the majority of Muslims (Sunnis) rejected it, because in the Islamic tradition there are procedures to handle things such as this, including bringing the person to court, bringing witnesses, hearing testimonies,weighing evidence and then passing judgments – which is similar to the Western legal system. So the fatwa against Salman Rushdie was considered by the majority of Muslims to be invalid, and the highest authority of Sunni Muslims, the Al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt, actually condemned the fatwa.

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Name : Zia24240, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : South Asian, Religion : Muslim, Age : 25, City : Toronto, Ontario, State : NA, Country : Canada, Occupation : Business Development, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Sarah28122]

The main problem (if you would like to call it that)with Islam is that there is not one leader a hierarchy; no muslim pope. Thus, interpretations cannot be overrueld. The sentence upon Salmon Rushdie was not viewed as correct by most refined muslims but who can override such an interpertation of the Koran? That is why I call it a problem.

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Name : Sarah28122, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, City : Chicago, State : IL, Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, 

[Adeel]

The sentence on Rushdie was unjustified. That was just a blatant act of hatred. I think what he wrote was horrible and offensive, but that does not constitute a right to execute him. Defending Islam would be a situation in which Muslims were attacked, as self-defense is requisite for any aggression.

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Name : Adeel, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Asian, Religion : Muslim, Age : 15, City : Mississauga, State : NA, Country : Canada, Education level : Less than High School Diploma, Social class : Middle class, 

[Karim]

I am from what American media has been classifying as an extreme muslim country lately. I have 4 years of college education, I am a qualified electronics engineer, and I seem to post on this website more than most Americans or Europeans. Visit any Arab gateway and witness their infatuation with polls, there is a new one almost everyday. Which ‘extreme muslim countries’ other than the former Afghanistan do you think prohibit their people from getting an education, working in hi-payed jobs or posting messages on the net??!! Don’t tell me Iran because it has the highest percentage of female engineers in the mideast (higher than Israel, Turkey or even Canada!), and has an obsession with the internet. Not Egypt either, because here Internet dialup is free and uncesored! If you insist on waging an unneeded war on some country, you should first try to understand that country.

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Name : Karim, Gender : M, Age : 23, City : Los Angeles, State : CA, Country : United States, Social class : Middle class, 

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