Originally Posted by detbuch
He didn't define Islam by the actions of some of its current terrorist followers. He pointed out its definition in its own words, in its basic, foundational, texts. He pointed out that, just as Christianity, in its various forms, is ultimately defined by the textual teachings of its Founder, Jesus, Islam is defined by its Founder, Mohammad.
Christianity was reformed. When it strayed from its Founder's original teachings into secular authoritarianism and things like the Inquisition, it experienced various reformations which again made it more Christ-like.
Farraj points out that Islam IS actually undergoing reformation. Groups like Isis are trying to reform Islam from its present balkanized State limitations back into the borderless, boundless caliphate as created by its Founder. And by using the same brutal methods that Mohammad prescribed.
If you were to reform Christ out of Christianity, it would no longer be Christian. It would be something totally different. The same goes for Islam. If you remove Mohammad from Islam, it would be something totally different.
Farraj does provide the slimmest possibility to reform Islam so that it can be compatible with the modern world, especially with the West. For that to happen, Mohammad would have to be "interpreted" into something he wasn't. Or somehow interpreted as being insignificant in the greater definition of Islam. He doesn't see even a sliver of a chance of that happening.
It would be easier just to convert to another established religion. Like Christianity.
As far as the list of numbers you provided, it was too incoherent to elicit a response from me. And as for the being struck by lightening perspective goes, there are way, way, way more lightening strikes worldwide every year than the number of terrorist attacks since 1970--there's almost as many lightening strikes in the U.S. alone every year. It's just that lightening strikes are random, not calculated or aimed at humans. So the number of human casualties per lightening strikes pales in effectiveness compared with the lethal capabilities of planned and human targeted terrorist attacks. Most terrorist attacks actually inflict human casualties. The percentage of human casualties per terrorist attacks is much, much, higher than it is for random lightening strikes the vast majority of which don't even hit humans.
Some things can be done to reduce the chances of terrorist attacks. Not a whole lot can be done to prevent lightening. And one of the most important things that can be done to prevent Islamic terrorist attacks is to understand the true nature and cause of them--which can be found in an honest understanding of the true nature of Islam
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