About the song: It’s In The Koran, by ‘Patrick Henry.’

From the author:

Commenters have argued that the Koran doesn’t say what this song claims the Koran says. To everyone who holds this view, I answer - and this is very important, so I’ll be stating it again below - that I agree with you. I agree that the Koran says what you claim it says. Islam is one of the world’s great religions, and I don’t believe that billions could have followed it if it weren’t, at its core, beautiful and life-engendering.

The problem is this: all the incidents I describe in the song have happened, and all were caused by men who disagree with you. These men have a different view of Islam. They find in the Koran inspiration and justification for their horrible acts.

To these men the Koran says that it’s proper that girls fleeing a fire should be trampled to death because they aren’t wearing headscarves. To these men the Koran says, even demands, that these girls die. The Koran says this, not to you, not to me, but to them.

The same goes for the other deeds I name: rape, torture, massacre, beheading, defilement of shrines. To these men, the Koran insists that they commit such acts.

I wrote the song from the point of view of these men because they’re the dominant force in Islam now. If you don’t believe me, remember this: Palestinians have just elected Hamas to lead their parliament, knowing that Hamas plan to institute sharia. Muslims had a choice, and they chose as leaders the kinds of men my song is about.

If you want more evidence, go to MEMRI.org and read the translations of interviews with influential Islamic figures. It’s rare to find one criticizing anything done by Muslims to non-Muslims, or even to other Muslims.

Here’s a comparison I find useful:

When the Abu Ghraib photos appeared, every American with a microphone - columnist, politician, religious leader - condemned the soldiers responsible.

When radical Muslims hide among civilians so that our soldiers can’t fight them without killing the innocent - do Arab and Muslim leaders, politicians, journalists unite to call such behavior cowardly and un-Islamic? No. When radical Muslims murder women and children? No. Gang-rapes in Scandinavia, forced mass starvation in Sudan - the list is long and wretched, and the men who commit these actions receive no criticism from the only people they might listen to: their religious leaders.

That’s why I wrote this song.

Again, if you say that Islam doesn’t permit such deeds, and that the men who perform them aren’t behaving like true Muslims, I’ll agree with you. But these men consider themselves true Muslims, the only true Muslims, and think that Muslims who disagree with them are apostates, the worst of betrayers.

I stand by every line in the song; it’s what such men believe. All I did was make their beliefs rhyme, scan and bounce like a vaudeville tune.

To those of you who feel that I’m mocking Islam, I reply: I’m not. I respect your view of it. These men - the men I’m writing about - don’t. You should be arguing with them, not with me.