#keppok

First, I want to say that I do NOT support the unrestricted mass migration of millions of ANY people into ANY country. I feel if large amounts of refugees or people are entering into another country, there should be several systems in place to check the backgrounds of the immigrants, help them acclimate into the new society, and give them proper housing and jobs so they can build a new life. This would be to help protect both the immigrants and the country they are entering into. 

I would expect the same if America came under massive attack and I had to flee to Canada/Mexico. I would wait however long it took to ensure the safety of my loved ones and myself so we could build a new life.

Second, I am not Muslim myself and I do not agree with many aspects of Islamic culture, such as parts of Sharia Law and parts of the Quran. I believe any and all ideas should be challenged and met with scrutiny and an objective eye to help improve the lives of people. Not with hate,  or dogmatism. I do believe that any person is capable of living a secular life and separating their personal beliefs from other aspects of their life. Now... on to addressing these claims...

Democracy

Keppok said:

Not all of them are murderers, but almost all of them are in full support of sharia and anti-democracy for the west.

I will not be okay with them entering civilized nations, and attempting to erode Western democracy.

Muslims in general are willing to dismantle democracy in the name of their religion.

Muslim countries are terrible places from the perspective of the west. Abysmal women’s rights, almost no democracy, no secularism, honor killings, capital punishments to those who leave Islam.

That isn’t consistent  with a lot of information out there. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_democracy#Indices_of_democracy_in_Muslim_countries

There are over 45 Islamic Democratic Parties across 23 countries

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberal_Muslim_movements

“Most Muslims see no inherent tension between being religiously devout and living in a modern society. Nor do they see any conflict between religion and science. Many favor democracy over authoritarian rule, believe that humans and other living things have evolved over time and say they personally enjoy Western movies, music and television.” [source]

There are millions of Muslims who are fighting for Democracy and WANT democracy.

Sharia

Keppok said:

There are almost 2 billion muslims in the world right now. and around 70% of those living in Europe support Sharia law.

Not all of them are murderers, but almost all of them are in full support of sharia and anti-democracy for the west.

And I’m really sorry, only about 13% of Muslims living in the west agree with western ideals.

Sharia is a complex and highly contested system of laws with at least Five different schools and interpretations in Muslim culture, that varies GREATLY from country to country and area to area, but has been turned into a boogeyman by the media using the most staunch and puritanical countries (Saudi Arabia and Iran) as examples to defame it globally.

In many Islamic countries a council of judges confer with each other to make decisions regarding Sharia law. (Judicial Council of Jordan) These decisions are nuanced and not black and white, just like in American courts.

Female judges were appointed to Islamic courts in Indonesia as early as the 1960’s and continue to this day. - [another source]

A female judge was appointed to a Shariah court in Pakistan in 2013.

A female judge was appointed to a Shariah court in Afghanistan earlier this year.

More were appointed in Palestine in 2009.

“If a Muslim citizen commits a religious violation, he is judged according to Islamic law. A non-Muslim citizen is judged in religious issues by the laws of his own faith.” [source]

“Shariah recognizes the sanctity and sacredness of human life. One may not harm or kill. The Quran emphatically stresses this point, “And do not take any human being’s life, which God has willed to be sacred, other than in [the pursuit of] justice.” (17:33)“ - Imam Steve Mustapha Elturk

“Killing innocent people, even at times of war, is a grave sin and strongly condemned by Shariah: “if anyone kills a person—unless in retribution for murder or spreading corruption in the land—it is as if he kills all mankind; while if any saves a life, it is as if he saves the lives of all mankind.” (5:32)” - Imam Steve Mustapha Elturk

So you see... when Muslims say they support Shariah, they are saying they support a complex system of justice which they were raised in, understand, and feel comfortable with. One based on faith, discussion, and community consensus. Compared to a western system of justice they might not even understand or be might afraid of. They are not saying they want to oppress others or harm anyone.

If I were to be put on trial for a crime, I would want it to be in a system of justice I understand and am familiar with.

Extremism and Terrorism

Keppok said

They smuggle in terrorists, and most moderates sympathize with extremists.

Most muslims polled are radical/extremist fundamental muslims. It’s getting worse each generation.

There is a lot of information that contradicts that....

In a 2007 Pew Research poll in response to a question on whether suicide bombing and other forms of violence against civilian targets to defend Islam could be justified, in Europe:

 83% of Muslims in Germany believed it could never be justified, 6% believed it could be justified rarely, 6% sometimes, and 1% thought it could be justified often.

70% of Muslims in Britain believed it could never be justified, 9% believed it could be justified rarely, 12% sometimes, and 3% thought it could be justified often.

69% of Muslims in Spain believed it could never be justified, 9% believed it could be justified rarely, 10% sometimes, and 6% thought it could be justified often.

64% of Muslims in France believed it could never be justified, 19% believed it could be justified rarely, 10% sometimes, and 6% thought it could be justified often.

In mainly Muslim countries:

71% of Muslims in Indonesia believed it could never be justified, 18% believed it could be justified rarely, 8% sometimes, and 2% thought it could be justified often.

69% of Muslims in Pakistan believed it could never be justified, 8% believed it could be justified rarely, 7% sometimes, and 7% thought it could be justified often.

45% of Muslims in Egypt believed it could never be justified, 25% believed it could be justified rarely, 20% sometimes, and 8% thought it could be justified often.

61% of Muslims in Turkey believed it could never be justified, 9% believed it could be justified rarely, 14% sometimes, and 3% thought it could be justified often.

43% of Muslims in Jordan believed it could never be justified, 28% believed it could be justified rarely, 24% sometimes, and 5% thought it could be justified often.

28% of Muslims in Nigeria believed it could never be justified, 23% believed it could be justified rarely, 38% sometimes, and 8% thought it could be justified often.

http://www.pewforum.org/files/2013/04/worlds-muslims-religion-politics-society-full-report.pdf

Muslims in India reject extremism.

Terror attacks publicly condemned by Muslims.

There is no place for terror in the teaching of Islam.

Quran condemns attacking innocents. 

Muslims across the world speak out against Paris attacks.

ISIS WANTS you to hate all Muslims.

Living in Peace/Muslims integrating into Western Society

Keppok said

They do not integrate.

A handful of integrated muslims is insignificant.

1. Muslims DO integrate. 

2. There are way more than “a handful of them”

There are 2.76 million Muslims living in the UK.

There are 2.77 million  Muslims living in America.

Out of the 150+ successful/attempted acts of terrorism in the United States since 9/11 only 28 involved Muslim extremists. [Source, source, source] That means that less than 0.001% of American Muslims have been involved in terrorism.

Less than 2% of terrorist attacks in the EU from 2009 to 2013 were religiously motivated/involved Muslims.

Out of the 784,000 refugees taken in by the United States since 9/11 only 3 have been involved in terrorism.

http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2013/07/60-terrorist-plots-since-911-continued-lessons-in-domestic-counterterrorism#_ftnref208

Here is a list of dozens notable Muslim Americans who are actors, business, scientists, etc

Keppok said

Japan has banned the practice of Islam outright and will not allow any Muslims in their country.

Do you want to know how many terrorist attacks happen in Japan? Well, almost zero. Is it because they let the Muslims in and treat them with respect? Absolutely not. 

That’s EXACTLY what’s happening.

There are currently estimated to be over 100,000 Muslims in Japan. [source, source] There are over 60 Mosques in Japan. [http://www.masjid.jp/list.html] "As individuals, Muslims in Japan usually fare no worse than any other foreigner in Japan.” Muslims can become full Japanese citizens.

Keppok said:   

Where Sharia is the law of the land, any European who enters will be beaten.

There are over a 120,000 Americans living in the Middle East. Why aren’t we hearing countless news reports about them being beaten, killed, and raped?

Keppok said: 

Paris and London are more Muslim than they are white. Every Major city in Europe is being taken over.

That’s not really true...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_France#Religion

“According to a 2015 estimate of CIA World Factbook the numbers are: Christian (overwhelmingly Roman Catholic) 63-66% Muslim 7-9% Jewish 0.5-0.75% Buddhist 0.5-0.75% other 0.5-1.0% none 23-28%

Secularism

Keppok said: 

Sharia is the opposite of secularism.

The following is a list of secular countries with a majority Muslim population.

Azerbaijan

Burkina Faso

Chad

Gambia

Guinea

Kazakhstan

Kyrgyzstan

Mali

Senegal

Tajikistan

Turkmenistan

Turkey

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam_and_secularism#Secular_states_with_majority_Muslim_populations

Quran Myths

Keppok said

The Quran literally tells them to Jihad. 

Have you read the entire Quran and do you even know what the word “Jihad” means?

In Arabic, the word jihād is a noun meaning "to strive, to apply oneself, to struggle, to persevere". The word jihad appears frequently in the Quran, often in the idiomatic expression "striving in the way of God", to refer to the act of striving to serve the purposes of God on this earth. Jihad is not a violent concept. It illustrates a miscommunication between Islam and the west.  [Source, source, source, source, source, source, source, source]

The Quran also tells Muslims never to instigate violence on anyone or force their religion on those of other faiths.

“But if the enemy incline towards peace, do thou (also) incline towards peace.”- 8:61 “Fight in the way of Allah against those who fight against you, but begin not hostilities. Lo! Allah loveth not aggressors.” - 2:190 “And make not God by your oaths a hindrance to your doing good and keeping your duty and making peace between men.” - 2:224 “Unto you your religion, and unto me my religion.” - 109:1-6

https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Quran

See, the Quran teaches that if you are a Muslim who acts immorally, then you must not believe in god. You are a “disbeliever” and are immoral, because of your sinful actions; the term disbeliever is a synonym for someone who is sinful/immoral. NOT that having a different religion (or none) is immoral. This is part of why so much confusion arises from the Quran.

So…. what have we learned here today? Let’s recap.

ISIS and terrorists WANT everyone to hate and distrust all Muslims.

Sharia is a complex system of laws that vary greatly from country to country and involves both women and men in its decision making process.

There are millions of Muslims who want Democracy and Freedom of religion.

There are millions of Muslims who live in Secular countries and are trying to become more secular.

The majority of Muslims do not support extremism/terrorism.

The Quran teaches to be peaceful and not to discriminate based on religion.

Only a small fraction of terrorism in Europe is motivated by Islam.

There are tens of millions of Muslims living in Western and First World countries who are peaceful, integrated, and contribute vastly to society.

Japan does not reject Islam, there are dozens of Mosques in the country, and tens of thousands of Muslims live there in peace.

That’s all for now… I’ll probably be back next weekend to share more information and address more of Keppok’s claims.