Yes, Virginia There are Muslim Birdwatchers
Back in December 2006 in my article Muslim Cruises and Islamic Travel I wrote that I could not google-find a
single entry for Islamic cruises.
A few years later a visitor from Arizona State University left a comment saying I was wrong, that she found one called Salaam Cruise. I wasn't wrong when I wrote my article, there were none in 2006. However technically it was not an all Muslim cruise; there were very few Muslims signed up and they had to share the ship with infidels, see my article First Muslim Cruise Ever - Salaam Cruise.
I am not 100% perfect in all that I write and I don't mind admitting it in article form, even if I am only partially wrong. And that is the purpose of this article, to amend what I wrote in a comment on another blog. In 2006, blogger Angel on her website Woman Honor Thyself reflected, "If only we could capture the beauty of autumn and hold it to our hearts all year long eh?" To which I commented:
Beautiful scenes, but utterly useless in Muslim culture. After 1300 years of picking off sand fleas, you will not find Muslim birdwatchers, naturists, botanists, or mountain climbers.
When was the last time you heard of a Muslim family going out camping? Hunting maybe, but the prey is usually Christian maidens they can rape.
Sad, really. The Western World has such a vibrant , rich culture to share, yet Muslims want to force us to take up the life of tent-dwellers.
Some of the dangers of writing that one cannot find Muslim birdwatchers or campers is that the assertion has to be a priori wrong. Is it even remotely believable that there does not exist at least one Muslim birdwatcher or camper somewhere in the world?
And so we find there was at least one Muslim birdwatcher from India: Salim Ali (see the Wiki entry on him here) and there is at least one campsite for Muslims (here's one in California).
So here's the deal. If I write that Muslims do not accept our culture, I do not mean that there is not at least one Muslim in the world who in his heart actually accepts our culture and loves this country. I am speaking in general.
I get many emails and comments that begin, "I have a friend who is a Muslim and he is not like you describe..." I will send those readers to this article so that I don't have to explain that yes, there does exist a Muslim who is not at all as I describe, but so what? In my article Were All Nazis Evil?, I wrote: "It is impossible that every single person who became a Nazi during the 1930s and 40s was a racist or anti-Semite." But that does not mean we cannot write that Nazis were racists and anti-Semites.
Likewise, a Muslim or two who does not fit the general profile of most Muslims does not mean I have to write such torturously qualified text as to make it unbearable to read. No one wants to read, "In general, for the most part, in most situations, in most cases, as a whole, there might be exceptions, invariably, you will not find Muslim birdwatchers, naturists, botanists, or mountain climbers."
