Mr. President, show us the evidence that Muslims respect the rights of others, or be quiet!

America’s own dean of Islamic studies, George W. Bush, has told a German newspaper: “I take great comfort in knowing that the true Muslim—Islam, itself, is a peaceful religion, and those who adhere to Islam are people that respect the rights of others.”

In reply, Robert Spencer has issued the following challenge:

It would be refreshing if someone somewhere would come up with some evidence for these oft-repeated assertions. I have asked here many times, to no avail. But I’ll try again: one more time I am asking for anyone of good will to show me. Send me examples of Islamic religious scholars rejecting, on Islamic grounds, jihad violence against non-Muslims; rejecting the idea that Sharia law should be instituted in the Muslim and non-Muslim world; and teaching the idea that non-Muslims and Muslims should live together indefinitely as equals. Send me rejections of the ideas that women should not enjoy full equality of rights with men. Send me information that shows that those who write such rejections are not lone voices crying in the wilderness, with the wolves of Islamic orthodoxy ready to pounce upon them, but that they represent broad traditions within Islam and have large followings.

Posted by Lawrence Auster at May 11, 2006 03:40 PM | Send