A spin through Global Voices online

Always gives some neat stuff. This particular section is all about Bloggers from the Arab world.... my translation skills being a tad thin, Global Voices has a hook up.

The parts I am going to be quoting? Just how moderate and tolerant of opinion Islam is.

first from one of the bastions of conservative Sunni Islam Al-Azar University

I discovered during the first investigation that being a student at Al Azhar University means I’m a slave owned by the University, just like that, no exaggeration. I found out that Al Azhar internal regulations and laws tie the student hands inside and outside and forbid students from freedom of expression that goes beyond the frame of drawn red lines.

Should I be sad because I reclaimed my freedom?? Would a slave get depressed when he succeeds in extracting his freedom forcibly from the hands of his masters??

Kareem's crime? Speaking his mind about Islam....

And on to Kuwait for more hot tolerance action

We claim that our religion is a one that calls for forgiveness, toleration and equinoctial and respecting others, and we repeat like parrots “you have your religion and I have mine”, this is what we do, if a request to build a mosque in America or Europe get rejected, you will notice that we would be first to disgrace their claims of religion freedom and respecting others religion.

What caused this problem in Kuwait? over the fact the catholic church can't get land and the Kuwaiti government would never tolerate a catholic nation banning them from building a mosque...

So the story isn't as simple as Islam is Peace or Islam is war... and the voices in the middle east online show the actual range of colors