Thread by @AkyolinEnglish

I see that, in reaction to Macron, many Muslims deny, "Islam is in crisis."

But let's be honest: Of course, #Islam is in #crisis.

Just like Christianity was in the 16th century; when Catholics & Protestants were slaughtering each other, and "heretics" were burnt at the stake.

Our religion #Islam is in a big crisis, because:

We are the only religion today in the world whose mainstream authorities may justify killing "apostates" or "blasphemers."

Or flog or imprison sinners.

Or whose adherents may bomb the place of worship of the "heretical" sect.

The common apology, "it is just Muslims, not Islam" doesn't help much.

Because those coercive or violent Muslims are acting in the name of Islam as they sincerely understand it.

So, we will not get out of this crisis unless we question their understanding and all its bases.

What about the West? All their colonialism, imperialism?

This certainly added a lot to our crisis - and deserves its own critique & condemnation.

But it is not just about that. The Sunni militant who bombs a Shia mosque doesn't do this out of anything related to "imperialism."

As I wrote before, one of the best people to define this modern #crisis of #Islam was the late historian Arnold Toynbee.

He likened it to the crisis of #Jews in face of Roman domination 2000 years ago - with two extreme reactions: #Herods and #Zealots.
nytimes.com/2017/02/13/opi…

And thanks to that inspiration from Toynbee, I have called on Muslims to get out of this crisis by following the #sunna of the very prophet who had addressed it.

#Isa al-Masih, also known as #Jesus Christ.

See: "What Jesus Can Teach Today’s Muslims":
nytimes.com/2017/02/13/opi…