Those pictures were photoshopped?

I agree with Ron Coleman and Rosemary. I can only imagine that Dean Esmay is going to drive people away from his blog with such an autocratic statement. The debate on exactly how Islam influences the modern world is an important one, and people involved in the debate are right to refuse to have to sign on to a set of opinions before offering their own.

And another dhimmi is born. I hope his advertising revenue is sufficient to pay the jizya. You know how testy those "peaceful" muslims get when they don't get paid their infidel tax.

It's his barbecue, so I don't see how setting some groundrules is an issue. At least he's allowing his co-contributors to leave peacefully. Something similar happened a few months back over at Polipundit where not all of the co-bloggers held the same stance as the bloggerhead on an issue (illegal immigration, I think). If I'm not mistaken, they were all locked out of their accounts.

I'm not a regular reader over there so I haven't been exposed to the backstory that led to this line in the sand.

Note to self: Make more Frank J photoshops.

I can't tolerate tolerance.

I don't know, I think "Kill the Infidel" is as extreme as one can get. I don't remember anyone here seriously suggesting murdering all Muslims throughout the world. Until we do, I don't think we have a problem.

Then again I am a reactionary member of the vast right wing conspiracy, Christian, western European ancestry, college educated,, heterosexual breeder, conservative, republican, cookie baking, stay at home, truck driving, American mother/grandmother, so my opinion is probably not worth much.

It's certainly within Dean's rights to set whatever rules he pleases. It's also the within the rights of the co-bloggers and commenters to abandon ship.

Personally, I disagree with most of his five things. Still, I do think most right-wing Christian bloggers lose focus. Muslims need Jesus and His love just like the rest of the world. Muslims are not the enemy in the individual sense (though the terrorists are) - Satan is. Islam... yeah, I think it's bad. I think it's a very effective lie perpetrated by Satan. However, I don't hate Muslims. Most of them are not the kaboom variety. Heck, my family's married into them.

Personally, I pray that God moves in the Islamic countries and brings a reaping of souls like they've never seen before. It's already started, but I hope it continues and increases. It's hard to hate people that you pray for.

SilverBubble: yeah, reap their souls!

SilverBubble: I'm not sure what "reaping of souls" entails, but it brings up mental images of killing, not that I am saying that is what you are meaning but that is the representation that is formed. This sort of rhetoric comes across to me, and avowed agnostic (yes, your praying for my soul, gotcha) as not disimilar to the idea of "death to the infidels" its the same your religion is wrong, and therefore you should pay some price for that.

I have a deep respect for believers of any religion, despite not really believing myself, but it seems to me that the idea of considering your religion to be better than any others is rather strange. Surely, you can understand that all faith have an inherent equality in their inability to be proven true or false. Thus, it seems that they best method of dealing with other religions is to considered your equal, as after all they have the same ability to decry your religion as you do theirs (and with equal validity). It seems to be a primary aspect of religious belief that it cannot be proven, and thus the idea of saying your right and they are wrong seems rather rediculous.

Note to self: Make more Frank J photoshops.

How hard is it to make him look not gay?

Talk about walking in two worlds....

Of course if Dean wants to be technical about it, until the Shia and Sunni makeup and appoint a prophet to add some verses to the Quran, there can be no compatibility with modernity. At least according to the fundamentalists. And that's the problem. Islam is literally a religion at war with itself.

I've met some very good Muslims. And some very bad ones. Most like Dean would say, just want to live their lives. I know a few of those. I don't hear from them as much lately. The internal war I speak of is quietly being fought in their mosques and at their gatherings. When I do hear from them, they speak of fear. More people in their congregations advocating violence. While most believe that they can live peaceably with those of other religious persuasions, the loudening cacophony of violent fundamentalism drowns that group in fear and the threat of being declared heretic, anathema, to be destroyed with the infidels.

As for those friends of whom I speak, we don't talk much anymore because they fear being labeled infidel for their association with me or anyone else not of the faith. I pray for them, and hope that their strength of faith and individual morality can help them overcome their adversity. And that one day, we can talk again without worrying about some jackass threatening to behead us all.

There are those of such fundamentalist persuasion in nearly any religion or movement you can think of. Fred Phelps. The Move-On.org guys. Richard Dawkins. San Harris (yes, atheism is a religion despite what some may think). Bill Maher (he has a religion - Communism). Some rabid Republicans in my hometown. Some environmentalists (that's also a religion - just ask Micheal Crichton).

I can relate. I'm an inactive Mormon (some older people would call me a Jack Mormon). I'm sure there are some in Utah who wouldn't mind me being burned at the stake. On the other side of things, I do occasionally get threatened by some really fervent Baptists with kidnapping and deprogramming. In that previous sentence in the place of Baptists, you can occasionally insert Atheists, Aztlaners/la Raza, Catholics, ANSWER members, brimstone evangelicals, wahabists, jews, etc. And still occasionally people simply ask me why I don't have seven wives (because I'm not a porn star).

I think you get the point. Damn near everybody of any fundamentalist persuasion hates an inactive Mormon (or at least thinks they have a reason to).

My experience has taught me a few things. As much as I'd like to put the previously mentioned potential 'deprogrammers' on a plane to get downed over the Med by a MANPAD, that would only make me as f@*%ed up as them. Secondly, occasionally you need to hear the other side. It helps to know if they're planning on ending your existence. Every once in a while you two can even agree on something. Otherwise you will get the 'echo chamber' effect (que the Kos Kids' theme here). Do the Kos Kids have a theme song? Who cares?

Last but not least, you need a nice gauge to know when it's time not to be nice anymore. Real life example - anti-war protesters calling me a 'babykiller' sucks, but I can deal with it. Besides, the fact they must ride the city bus everywhere (their only job's protesting) give them a good preview of what socialism's like. However these people sabotaging my car - not neighborly.

Damn I'm rambling aren't I? I'm not against Islam. I am however against people of any persuasion who think they need to shove their belief upon me at sword or gunpoint. I believe what I believe, and if they don't like it, sorry. Just like I'm not a Mexican-American, Scottish-American, Native American, Caucasian-American, or any other kind of 'Fill-in-the-blank'-American. I'm just an American. You don't like it? I truly don't care.

Truly I wish Dean luck. I just hope his line in the sand doesn't kill effective debate. I think I would've just simplified it to 'No nutcase extremists of any religious or political affiliation.' Makes a shorter post. Unlike this one. Till next time, watch out for Lucy holding the football.

I didn't realize Photoshop could make Frank look straight. I had beter go back and practice some more...

Reaping Souls is referring not to killing Muslims, but to God harvesting, as it were, a crop of new believers. The Harvesting/Shepherding motif is prevelent in Jesus' teachings and it is strictly in the sense of gathering the souls, as they are still inhabiting the earthly body. After they shuffle off this mortal coil, then it's too late.

Thus the hope is that God gathers the souls in the muslim nations unto himself before it is too late for them and they face an eternity outside of God's love and presence.

So no killing was referenced by The Bubble. :-)

You have to use the "Butch" filter for that. I think Alien Skin makes that one.

I believe Dean ought to read the Koran. It outlines the same code of conduct and commands the same brutality from fanatic & peaceful citizen alike. And since he's so fond of drawing lines, he needs to realize there is a line between Islamophobia and being unaccepting of a murderous cult. There is a thin line between terrorist and devout fundamentalist.

Dean who? Heck, I removed him from my faves a long time ago, with a soto voice comment of "bigot". A line is the sand? Pot, meet kettle.

As for "reaping souls" ... well, if you can't tell the difference in praying, and in strapping on a belt stuffefd with C4 ... I can certainly understand your quandry. But what the heck do I know, I'm just another Jack Mormom who has done some research on what I-Slam is all about. Those moderate mulims mentioned above are the equivalents of Jack Mormons ... not "true believers" ... since their prophet was pretty serious about torching the world. Personally, I have a problem with any religion that goes all Jonestown on us ... imagine worshiping the speaker instead of the message ...

I've taken the initiative to draw My own line in the sand.

.

Nice line FIAR. Love the graffiti too.

I've never seen the appeal of an idiot like Esmay to begin with.

The man is positively unhinged.

Suihei Deloi, There comes a time when a man's just got to take a stand.