Religion of peace? Yeah, right.

Amen Sister!

I've said for years that the Third World War will be a religious war, fought between the Muslims and everyone else. Islam seems to be a faith built on hatred, vindictiveness and intolerance, no matter what the apologists on the left have to say.

The Christian church split because many disapproved of the way the Catholic Church operated.
We splintered and started other denominations in resistance. Islamics as a whole, no matter what their "denomination" really do nothing in oppositon of the violence of the fundamentalists, which they claim to disapprove.
The vast majority, the "good" Muslims, the "peaceful" Muslims, sit in seemingly approving silence as these mutant, "fringe" Islamic fundamentalists do what they do. This indicts the whole faith, in my mind.



As an aside.....I love the way they so courageously cover their faces as they demonstrate. Very brave and strong in their faith.

The vast majority, the "good" Muslims, the "peaceful" Muslims, sit in seemingly approving silence as these mutant, "fringe" Islamic fundamentalists do what they do. This indicts the whole faith, in my mind.

Mine too.  I used to think that silence was acceptable, but in the light of the atrocities that have been done in the name of allah *spits* (that's to show union with LW) I've changed my mind.  It's time to stand up and be counted.  Either condemn and stand against, or be considered part of the problem.

Oh, and I had the same thought this morning about them covering their faces.  I think that those who don't have the balls to go and do are the ones protesting in London. 

 

Preach it sister!  Amen!  I say again!  Amen!

I think self-defeating open-mindedness is beginning to dry up. We've handed out more 'benefit of the doubt' than we are able, I think. From here on I think we need to judge Islam a bit more objectively. When we see a religion that tends toward lopping off of head and limb, subjugating women, and racial hatred, I think we should call it what it is.

And the Muslims around the world have the power to overcome that stereotype. Instead, they choose to applaud terror and protest cartoons. Let the stricken deer go weep, they've made themselves a nasty bed to lie in.

Good article.

Thanks for the pictures, dharma. The "Europe is the cancer, Islam is the answer" slogan reaffirms what critics of Islam have said for years: that their goal is a worldwide caliphate where sharia is the basis of all law. While I would not state it is the goal of the majority, I would have to note that the majority have not spoken out against the sizable factions who DO hold this position.

Excellent work!

I'm all for it. I'm more than willing to look the other way while the West teaches these idiots what true violence and reprisal is. I say unleash the fury of the West on these cretens. I say bring upon them every conceivable horror know to man. I say "Cry havoc, and let slip the dogs of war."


P.S.

You might find this hard to believe but I'm actually not being sarcastic here. I'm 100 percent sincere.

Yes, let's round them all up, put them in camps and gas them until their brains fry. Down with the Muslims who poison our wells, spread plagues and suffocate our childrens' minds! We'll know them by their funny hats and their circumcisions, so waste no time in killing a Muslim today - it truly is a mercy killing for all humanity! Goblok.

We'll know them by their funny hats and their circumcisions, so waste no time in killing a Muslim today - it truly is a mercy killing for all humanity!

Oh, come on now, cacto...not one individual has proposed that. What we HAVE done is tried to make moderate Muslims accountable for their claim to be a "religion of peace". If Islam IS a religion of peace, as they claim, they have a responsibility to speak out against these factions and disassociate with the Islamic leaders who promote them. As a Christian, I have a need to speak out against the Fred Phelps of this world, and I have. Muslims have an equal responsibility to speak out against their own extremists.

And the Muslims around the world have the power to overcome that stereotype. Instead, they choose to applaud terror and protest cartoons. Let the stricken deer go weep, they've made themselves a nasty bed to lie in.

They've been doing it for years.  Like I said, silence shouldn't be tolerated anymore.  Either rail against the people who commit such hateful acts, or be considered part of the problem.

Good article.

Wow....thank you!

The "Europe is the cancer, Islam is the answer" slogan reaffirms what critics of Islam have said for years: that their goal is a worldwide caliphate where sharia is the basis of all law

It kind of removed all doubt, didn't it?

 

I say unleash the fury of the West on these cretens

Me too.  Because up til now, we've played nicely.  We've been all touchy feely and nicey nice, and that needs to end.  They need to feel the full force of western civilization with no regard for their sensitivities and culture.  They sure as hell haven't shown us the same courtesies.

Down with the Muslims who poison our wells, spread plagues and suffocate our childrens' minds!

The sad thing is that that's the kind of thing they tell their kids about us (as in westerners).

You always have to be the voice of dissent, don't you cacto? The one who prides himself on being sane and rational in the midst of racists and retards? How does it feel to be so intellectually superior? To be the only cultured peanut in the turd? It's got to be hard work.

Oh, come on now, cacto...not one individual has proposed that. What we HAVE done is tried to make moderate Muslims accountable for their claim to be a "religion of peace". If Islam IS a religion of peace, as they claim, they have a responsibility to speak out against these factions and disassociate with the Islamic leaders who promote them. As a Christian, I have a need to speak out against the Fred Phelps of this world, and I have. Muslims have an equal responsibility to speak out against their own extremists.

We go through this every single time though - it's the clearest argument for personal cyclical history I've ever seen. I'm pretty much fed up with it. The refutations of terror are easy to find. But those who say moderate Muslims don't protest terror can't be bothered to look for them. So I'm over it. I may as well join the bandwagon and accept that you can't seperate someone who has better things to do with their time than meet the expectations and requirements of foreigners - presumably by forcing mainstream media sources to translate moderate speeches and publish them? I'm unclear how that would be done peacefully, but it doesn't matter - from those who actively support terrorism, generally through western supported business interests. The Saudis come to mind as major supporters of terrorism who for political reasons are left untouched.

You always have to be the voice of dissent, don't you cacto? The one who prides himself on being sane and rational in the midst of racists and retards? How does it feel to be so intellectually superior? To be the only cultured peanut in the turd? It's got to be hard work.

Don't be ridiculous. I'm 22; the chances of me having anywhere near as much knowledge on most issues as any of you guys is practically nil. But someone does have to speak for those with no voice, and I don't see anyone else stepping up.

That and I spent 12 months in a Muslim country last year and met so many peaceful and genuinely non-aggressive people it wasn't funny. Sure, there were the occasional nuts, but you see them in the west as well. The police kept a good eye on them though. I really hate it to see these people get tarred with the same brush as is applied to those they consider morally abhorent. Would you like to be considered the same as, say, Saddam Hussein or the Ayatollah Khomeini simply because your skin is slightly brown and you wear a jilbab?

Who's going to defend those people if I don't? Or don't they deserve to be spoken for? I won't comment again on this matter if you genuinely feel so incensed about it.

The Saudis come to mind as major supporters of terrorism who for political reasons are left untouched.

Your point is WELL received on this end, cacto.

However, some white people turned up, and one them DID get arrested.  Was it a skinhead, creating aggro in the crowd?  Nope.  A sullen youth, attacking the marching Muslims?  Nope.  An older man, angry at the protestor's right to march in 'HIS' country?  Wrong again.

Nope, arresting him was the right thing to do.

The Muslims were worse than he, but it isn't the crown's job to reward and punish. It is the crown's job to keep the peace.

And while the non-Muslims of England are wise and tolerant not to act violently against Muslims provoking them, the same cannot be said about England's Muslims, unfortunately.

Hence, the police had to arrest the man to keep the peace. It was absolutely correct, it just wasn't justice. But justice isn't the police's job. Justice is the court's job.

"But those who say moderate Muslims don't protest terror can't be bothered to look for them. "

I look, and I see it happen, once in a blue moon. I don't recal muslims burning embassies or flags over 9/11. I do remember Palestinians cheering in the streets, though. And sympathy for Israeli dead is rarely if ever seen. Insult the "prophet", though, and all hell breaks loose.

So, if Islam wants to be seen as a religion that cares more about terror, hatred of freedom, and abuse of its citizens, they're doing a great job. Their diplomacy is a matter of making people fear them. Well, we do, but we don't react quite so well as they'd like. We tend to lash out at things that scare us, not serve it as if it were our master.

If moderate Muslims don't want to be caught in the crossfire, perhaps they should spend as much time defining their religion as those they differ with. SOMEONE WILL, and if it is the radical Muslims, well, babies do tend to get tossed out with the bathwater, unfortunately.

I don't recal muslims burning embassies or flags over 9/11.

Whose embassy? Whose flag? The Saudis? The banner of al'Qaeda, which has the holy word written on it (so they'd effectively be burning their profession of faith)?

And sympathy for Israeli dead is rarely if ever seen

Why should it? Many Israelis treat the war with the same dogmatic approach as the Palestinians. In my mind they're as bad as each other, the only difference being the Israelis use economic, political and military might to inflict damage rather than suicide bombs. They both need to grow up and get over it.

If moderate Muslims don't want to be caught in the crossfire, perhaps they should spend as much time defining their religion as those they differ with. SOMEONE WILL, and if it is the radical Muslims, well, babies do tend to get tossed out with the bathwater, unfortunately.

They do. There's thousands upon thousands of books written every year extolling a moderate approach to Islam. But they're theologians, not politicians. I can tell you right now the average religious treatise from moderate Islam is about as interesting as watching paint dry. Terrorists are going to end up being the popular image purely because they do newsworthy things. It's our duty to look further before we drop the bombs. The world doesn't exist to spoonfeed us.

"Terrorists are going to end up being the popular image purely because they do newsworthy things. It's our duty to look further before we drop the bombs. The world doesn't exist to spoonfeed us."

Look further why? As you say, the street-level approval in the middle east is going to go with those who set off the most bombs. Should we buid a big wall and keep them in there like a 5th century zoo?

This is not a situation we can live with, whether you want to believe so or not. People are getting more and more tired of people dying, however blase' it might seem to you. Now they demand we not make images of their religious figures. Do we say "Oh, let's take the high road and foul our freedom. At least they won't burn our embassies."

No. We do what we think is right, they do what they think is right, and whatever happens happens. I find it obtuse that you think we'd tolerate the Middle East as if it were some mentally challenged child who doesn't know better. If the Islamic nations of the Middle East want to start wars and make demands, it is sad that we should have to tolerate the dead so long as we are taking the "high road".

The world doesn't exist to spoonfeed them either, and that is exactly what you are suggesting. If Mexico promoted people sneaking across our border and blowing themselves up in malls, we'd be at war in the blink of an eye. You expect people to tolerate that from the poor Muslims that don't know any better. You're the one doing the spoonfeeding.

There are 1.6 BILLION muslims on this planet. If they actually spoke out against terrorism and meant it, we wouldn't be having this discussion.

And non-Muslims would never have to wonder.

But that's not reality.

Reality is, they have the numbers, but not the will. A few token groups of "poo poohing" at terrorists is not impressive in light of their numbers.

A few token groups of "poo poohing" at terrorists is not impressive in light of their numbers

Exactly. Saying 'we think it's wrong' whilst hundreds if not thousands of their fellow Muslims are out destroying embassies and blowing up buildings, trains, buses and cars and killing in the name of allah *spits* just isn't enough. Christ on a cracker, they lop off people's hands for stealing a fekkin' apple, why aren't they doing anything about the eejits who are doing all this???

It's simply not enough to say you don't agree anymore. Action is needed now, not words.

"Christ on a cracker, they lop off people's hands for stealing a fekkin' apple, why aren't they doing anything about the eejits who are doing all this???"

Aaaaaawwwwwwmmmm. I'm burnin Dharma's embassy.

Down with the Muslims who poison our wells, spread plagues and suffocate our childrens' minds!

---cacto

Well cacto, I'll tell you what: that's exactly what they want to do to you. They're coming to do just that.
And when they come, and it's YOUR wells being poisoned, YOU catch the plagues they're spreading and it's YOUR children's minds being suffocated, maybe you'll realize just how astute your little words of sarcastic wit here really were. Then it won't seem so funny. They won't care that you were the one stepping up to speak for them; they'll laugh at you for it before they kill you.
You're showing your callow youth. Optimism is a wonderful thing, but not when it serves to blind you to an impending and perhaps deadly threat to you and yours.
We can only safely rationalize Islam's behavior for so much longer.
I have to wonder: will the "peaceful and non-aggressive" Muslims you met speak up in time to save you from the "nuts" you mentioned? From what we've seen thus far since the late 70s, I'd have to say the answer is no. Perhaps they SHOULD all be tarred with same brush, if they're not willing to stand up and be counted as opposition in the face Fundamentalism's violence and destructiveness.
But, for what it's worth, I do give you props for recognizing the Saudis as the duplicitous phonies they in fact are.

By the way, Dharma....I agree with Baker. Congrats on a good write and read.

us and them, always. right. the silent cowardly muslim masses, refusing to speak or act are the reason why the violent minority now represents the entire religious population. ha-ha.

but "they" have spoken. and "they" are dead or dying--power ceded endlessly through their own deaths to stronger, more violent powers, both muslim and other. those with the capacity for violence have already utilized or are utilizing violence. they are using it against each other to survive, they are using it against us to survive.

some people are pricks, and some of those pricks are pricks with guns and holy words. nonpricks with guns die just as easily as the pricks. nonpricks without guns go down quickly. so? so, the muslim masses aren't violent--or do not have the capacity for sustained violence. yet.

baker writes "So, if Islam wants to be seen as a religion that cares more about terror, hatred of freedom, and abuse of its citizens, they're doing a great job. Their diplomacy is a matter of making people fear them. Well, we do, but we don't react quite so well as they'd like. We tend to lash out at things that scare us, not serve it as if it were our master."

this could (should) be edited to make a valid, even-handed argument:

"So, if Islam[ic terrorists] want to be seen as a religion that cares more about [fighting western] terror [with their own brand of terror], hatred of [not having] freedom, and[, due to generation upon generation of externally-imposed warfare, having lived with blood-feuds as their sole means of identification and of survival, cannot communicate in any way other than the] abuse of its citizens, they're doing a great job. Their diplomacy [as a response to having violence and fear imposed by external diplomacy] is a matter of [responding to fear and] making people fear them. Well, we do [make them fear for their own lives and beliefs, and in turn feel the fear of the terror they use in response], but we don't react quite so well as they'd like. We tend to lash out at things that scare us [in the same way they do], not serve it as if it were our master[, making our response identical to the response of the isolated minority muslim extremists]."

am i condoning muslim terrorists? nope. is there a difference between muslim and non-muslim terrorists? yep: muslim terrorists are muslim. are muslims terrorists? it seems that some muslims are, in fact, terrorists. does this say something about the teachings of islam? it does, of course, though i'm not informed enough to comprehend exactly what it says.

my instinct tells me, however, that the lesson isn't a matter of identifying a weak, incomplete, poorly-theorized religion. all religions have imposed atrocities upon factions within their own religion and upon other religions. all religions have produced frightened, silent masses. all religions inspire both violence and peace.

in a weird way, i agree with LW's statement: "see you at the barricades, my brothers and sisters. our differences won't seem so important then, and i'll have your back."

i agree, though i assume i'm interpreting her words differently than she intended. and the differences in our interpretations focus upon a single word: "our".

"us and them." okay, we know. but is it a matter of religion?

taboo

The existence of terrorism is basically because they can't make any such war. The Middle East, regardless of their oil wealth, is basically a bunch of third world countries with the money going into the pockets of tyrants and not into the strength of their nation.

At worst, radical Islam will just turn major cities into Tel Aviv, with buses and wedding parties blowing up daily. If that happens it will be a bad time for peaceful Muslims. Hopefully they'll expunge the morons from their ranks in their own self-interest. I'm thinking this foolishness over the cartoons will be a wakeup call to many Muslims.