Sister Yvonne Ridley vs Brother Sami Yusuf

Introduction 

Ever been on a Muslim discussion forum before?  Besides the coy flirting, one thing is for certain – with so many different views on how Islam should be followed, the internet has unlocked the door to open, and sometimes hostile, discussion on the issues that face Muslims (of course, this is not unique to Muslims, I'm just speaking in the context of Muslims and Islam).

Recently, sister Yvonne Ridley wrote an article which blasted a Sami Yusuf concert that took place in Britain (I would say this concert took place within a month back of this posting).  In the weeks that followed, her letter was circulated all over the internet and itself received a lot of press time from Muslims.

Brother Sami Yusuf wrote back with his own thoughts on her article.  The Muslim internet community is now going back and forth (arguing, as usual )on these two letters.  Both letters can be read here:

Yvonne Ridley's Letter
Sami Yusuf's Letter

I personally like this discussion because it reads like an extended forum discussion.  The issues the two of them discuss are the same that are typically read in any internet forum, and I thought it would be interesting to go through what each of them has to say, and compare and contrast them against one another.  Perhaps I'll be a little more daring and even add my own commentary   The following few blog posts will be an attempt to do just that.