QOTD: Jonathan Rosenblum

QOTD:Jonathan Rosenblum

Why do so many Moslems naturally respond to insult with threats of murder and why is democratic tolerance so foreign to them?

From the moment Islam swept out of the Arabian peninsula, it was a religion of conquest. Military success became associated with divine favor, and the expansion of Islamic rule a religious imperative. The reversal of those early triumphs over the last five hundred years is thus a continual affront not only to Moslems but to their god.

Traditionally, most Moslems have had little experience living with people of other creeds, except as rulers, and thus little interest in rules that allow people of different views and faiths to dwell together in relative harmony.