Suck It Up, Buttercup

Via Captain's Quarters, who writes today about an article where Muslim-Americans are complaining about their feelings being hurt by most American's attitude toward their religion:

You want our respect? Suck it up, buttercup, and quit whining when people dislike you. Idiots existed before 9/11, and they'll be around after we beat the Islamofascists, too. You're alive and overwhelmingly unharmed, which is more than I can say for 3,000 people in New York who made the mistake of going to work on 9/11.
The survey actually demonstrates how remarkably level-headed Americans have been in separating Islamofascist lunatics and their activities from the Muslims who live amongst us, despite the fact that some of the lunatics hid rather successfully within those communities prior to the attacks. That, however, does not qualify as news to the Washington Post or the University of Michigan, who conducted the study, and it doesn't fit within the "Americans are closed off loners" meme that the press has pushed during this electoral cycle, hoping that voters conclude that John Kerry is the cure for the disease.
 
Since 9/11 I have read the Koran (in a vain attempt to understand this religion--just go and read it and you'll see how incredibly unintelligible it is for Westerners--perhaps the translations aren't any good, but I think its more than that); I have read numerous books about the history of Islam and the West (Bernard Lewis's works are highly recommended) and I have read the book by Irshad Manji, called The Trouble with Islam.  I have read numerous editorials and analyses and I have come to the conclusion that the religion of Islam is in serious trouble.  Not just because of the Islamic extremists (sometimes referred to as the Islamofascists on this site). The source of the religion (the Koran) has very serious contradictions in it.  It does call for peace; but it also calls on faithful Muslims to kill infidels.  It once inspired individuals to be creative and develop one of the most dynamic cultures in the world (Mathematics is much indebted to them; as is the history of poetry, architecture and culture); but now, where Islam is practiced, there is only the crushing of individual creativity and women's rights.  (Did you know that once, Islam was a religion where women had more rights than they did in Christianity?  That the subjegation of women is actually a modern manifestation of the religion).  Islam has not been able to bring itself out of the 17th century.  Part of its problem is that any punk can become an Iman or "holy man" and all develop their own following and interpretation of the Koran (and the Koran is open to many, many interpretations).  There is no centralization or concensus on what the essence of the religion is.  Some claim "jihad" is an internal and individual struggle; others--well, you know how others interpret it.   And, the most distressing thing to me is that American Muslims (and Canadian, and European etc.), who live in a free country and could begin to question and debate these issues don't.  There is the quality of playing the sheep that is encouraged in this religion.  Dissent is not tolerated.  Instead of beginning to question the extremists of their religion, American Muslims appear to spend most of their time worrying about how their countrymen view their religion.   Instead of condemning the violent actions of these extremists, American Muslims invite them to speak in their mosques.  Instead of taking responsibility for their religion and what it is doing in the world, American Muslims are well on their way to parleying their status into "victimhood" and are demanding that they not be subjected to having their feelings hurt.  Well, as Captain Ed says so eloquently above, "Suck it up, buttercup."  I'm ready to live and let live --but only when I know that your religion stands on the side of civilization, freedom and individual rights (including women's rights).  You will be the equal of Christianity and Judaism (and any other religion) when you have condemned the evil within your ranks and expunged it from your religious tracts and schools.  Until then, don't expect much respect from me.