Around a thousand and five hundred years ago a forty-year old prophet by the name of Mohammad began preaching about a new religion called Islam. Throughout his life, Mohammad managed to set the perfect example on how a Muslim should live his or her life. The Prophet managed to lift a simple and old community into a civilized and equal society that helped spread the religion of Islam to all the corners of the world. Thus, Islam is nowadays considered the second largest religion behind Christianity with 2.1 billion followers (C.A.I.R.); and it is also considered the fastest growing religion at a rate of 2.9% a year. With over 2 billion Muslims worldwide, one can only wonder how many of these followers are truely Muslims and how many are merely labels?

After the death of the Prophet, his followers did their best to preserve his teachings and convey the true message embodied in Islam from one generation to the next. However, in our recent times the “New Generation” or those who like to be noted as the followers of Mohammad and the “true” Muslims seem to have another perspective on how Islam should be preached and how its Prophet should be addressed. They have found their own mode of teaching and spreading the so- called core message of Islam.
These are the New Muslims who are comfortable to be selective of what rules and rituals they practice within Islam. The most notable of such practices are attending the Friday prayer and fasting throughout the month of Ramadan. Yet, it is passable and even acceptable for such Muslims to exhibit casual drinking, dating, and even cursing with every other word. These are forgivable traits that don’t and shouldn’t affect their social status as Muslims. While withholding from consuming pork meat is considered a trademark for all Muslims, some of those “New Generation” Muslims ignore the “halal” element and buy their meat wherever found, as long as it is not pork. A young Muslim is now able to engage in premarital sex and still come off as Muslim boy or girl. This young Muslim can be seen in a bar drinking his vodka and confiding in his girlfriend that he is a Muslim yet he always follows this statement with “don’t look at me, go read the Quran and see how beautiful the religion is”. Of course such a response doesn’t stop him from saying he is a Muslim over and over again, after all Islam, in this New Muslim’s belief, didn’t start by a single man and spread by setting an example for people to follow, but rather God rained flyers from heaven for people to read, and Mohammad said “Do as I say not as I do, go read the Quran”.
In addition swearing, stealing through business (Smart Management), stocking girls on the street, and gossiping are few of the aspects the new era of Muslims grant its followers without affecting their social status as Muslims.

More importantly, cursing and attacking other sects and their followers are more of an obligation for that “New Generation” to undergo in order to establish enlightenment and security within their sects. Such enlightenment can be attained through protesting and demonstrating against any foreign attack on Islam and joining rallies against any demeaning display of Mohammad. Note that these same demonstrators can be the ones who were urged to switch down their porn and take a night off from the pub in order to join a protest aiming to stop tainting the image of Islam and the wholesomeness of its Prophet. Hence, these Muslim youth take a break from smoking hookas and drinking beer so that they can grab a stick and smash windows and cars… so as to speak in the name of Islam or more specifically obey their Leaders’ and sheikhs’ commands.

While on the other hand, you can find other old profound Muslims scholars trying their best to establish a better understanding of Islam by building bridges between religions and finding a common understanding on the sanctity of all religions. Sadly, the attempt of such scholars defies the beliefs of the “New Generation” or young Muslims who strongly believe that Islam needs no bridging because it is “the best” religion ever and that all other scholars will sooner or later convert to Islam. For instance, when the Pope quoted a text from a book written 700 years ago, it was the new Muslims’ responsibility to protect Islam since God and his prophet have been doing nothing ( instead of wondering how come none of them had read this book before since it insults Islam). When a single statement threatens the very foundation of Islam, the “New Generations” of Muslims would leave their luxurious lifestyle, skip a meal in a fancy restaurant, and abandon their daily routines in order to go to the street to support their Prophet. While during the time of Mohammad, if the Prophet himself were insulted, thrown stones at and called a heretic by his own people, he has always showed mercy upon them and even prayed for forgiveness over their sins. But of course, such an example is not acceptable by the “New Muslims” for according to them this only sets an example of weakness and humiliation. Thus, a better a way, in their belief, is to exploit Mohammad’s image with disregard to the example he has set in his time and use his symbol as a tool to let out some steam like what happened when a cartoonist insulted the Prophet..

Even more, Mohammad has welcomed, at his time, his enemies and oppressors in his home trying to talk reason with them, but again such display of grace is not tolerable by the “New Muslims”. Why talk reason with someone who has a misunderstanding about Islam (or any kind of misconception a person might have about any faith he doesn’t follow) when you can simply smash his embassy and destroy its computers and photocopiers to prove to him that Islam is a religion of peace and tolerance? Why engage a certain magazine editor in a civilized debate trying to present to him your argument on how you don’t want the image of Islam to be exploited on the media, when you can simply boycott the whole country?

Why become a Muslim? Because it is said Islam is righteous, right? New Muslims don’t want non-believers to insult their Islam; they want to do it themselves by calling themselves Muslims. While Mohammad said “Do not say, that if the people do good to us, we will do good to them; and if the people oppress us, we will oppress them; but determine that if people do you good, you will do good to them; and if they oppress you, you will not oppress them”. “New Muslims” wanted to prove their love to their prophet by insulting and hurting the crap out of whoever oppresses me, and more preferably even kill him. While Mohammad said “Shall I not inform you of a better act than fasting, alms, and prayers? Making peace between one another: enmity and malice tear up heavenly rewards by the roots”.

The “New Muslims” believe that Mohammad and Islam need their support and fists in every corner, against a brother or a foe. Why support your prophet by living by his example when you can simply support him by smashing embassies and chanting death to infidels?
Muslims who think their religion is secure enough don’t need to engage in rage-driven wars to justify their personal insecurity. Just as Mohammad, the Prophet of all Muslims, made clarified this point by saying “The ink of the scholar is more sacred than the blood of the martyr” (and he said it for a reason). However, those so called brave new Muslims think that God and his Prophet did little protecting over this religion and so Islam is in desperate need to their arms, sticks, and their discipline to boycott Danish shampoos in order to safeguard its sanctity.

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Originally Post in Projection Word Drops