Earlier today I recommended the website Muslims Against Sharia. The site contains a series of polls that I think are well-designed with interesting questions, to be answered separately depending on religion. Some of the results are saddening, in the divides in understanding they show to exist.
However one was interesting and ran against the common claims of the Left to be champions of tolerance, and that was opinion of Muslims divided down by self-declared political group. Of course it is an internet poll, with the usual caveats for such, but interesting all the same.
The graph shows that while 37% of non-Muslims on the Left who answered ‘dislike or hate Muslims’ only 24% of non-Muslims respondents on the Right ‘dislike or hate Muslims’. While it is unfortunate that any large proportion of people feel like that about a group of strangers (I oppose Islamism as much as any, but that involves only a minority, and I have known Muslims it would be impossible not to like), it is telling that the left is more likely to prejudge a Muslim, especially when far more Muslims identify themselves as left-wing than right-wing.
I think I will make this an occasional series, of blogs i think people should at least look at. The idea came when I saw this first one, through a comment one of its contributors made on Voice of The Resistance.
The blog is Muslims Against Sharia, a group blog supporting an Islamic Reform Movement.
While you have probably gathered I am an atheist I have nothing against religion per se. As a libertarian I certainly encourage those who wish to to exercise their right to freedom of religious thought. With that aim I can certainly support any Islamic philosophy that embraces freedom. It is also warming to see an Islamic site which offers a Hebrew translation. Please do check out this intelligently-written blog, and also the website for the movement.
Update: Muslims Against Sharia has been kind enough to leave a comment, and direct me to a better logo. Thank you MAS!
