The sadest thing is that this comment is true. I'm a strong believer in equality for everyone but more often nowadays it seems western nations are compromising our way of life to please others. This allows hatreds to grow on both sides of the fence.

Our judgement is being clouded by hatred of fanatics!

Once upon a time this was my idea of a muslim:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/hindi/specials/...woman_usa2.jpg

Now it's this:

http://www.theodoresworld.net/pics/0...orist_camp.jpg


I miss being ignorant.

Watch your tongue, Reaves. I'm an Iranian Muslim, and I'm not going to tolerate you mocking our religion (downsized by violence, though it be), and I know the mods won't either.

In case you didn't get it, I'm joking, although I am a Muslim.

It doesn't bother me at all if your a muslim. :up:

I dislike fanatical Christians or whatevers as much as fanatical muslims. We all have the same God if you ask me but that's a topic for another thread.... another forum even! :hmm:

I hope you understand my comment about Islamic nations though. It's not just things like equal rights for women, some of those nations are pretty messed up. When it comes to it I also don't condone the death penalty in the USA so don't worry, I dislike everyone equally. :D

See my last post, I hope that explains it. If anything I admire you for your faith as if you follow it correctly, religion generally makes you a better person. It's a shame the few loud ones taint the name of everyone.

Oh, I do understand. I just wanted to crack out one of those sarcastic jokes/statements. It's always fun to ponder the reaction of those to whom it is aimed at, and then their thoughts, then wonder their feelings towards the final, "I'm joking!" part.:rotfl:

I too dislike the fanatics of the world, and I believe very strongly that perhaps they should be taught to respect the rights and beliefs of others without being so stuck-up and arrogant, claiming they have all the answers. Should this seem hypocritical of me to be uttering these words from my mouth (to anyone who may be reading this without full understanding), just note that I do not claim to have all the answers.

And some muslim countries are confused at being labeled as 'backward' by western nations - we might not say it directly to your face, but we certainly think it; that's called diplomacy. :roll:
I am saddened over this whole event and whilst naivety is no excuse for not being aware, I have to say, loudly, WTF IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE?!

Personally I hope Gillian Gibbons returns to the UK as soon as possible and never sets foot on Sudanese soil again, they will probably be poorer for it but it appears that's just how they like it. Should that be the case it's a shame her school kids will no longer benefit from her skills and attention. :down:


EDIT:
some interesting and balanced thoughts in the (article and) comments at the bottom of the page here, in particular In truth, I suspect this last is closest to the mark with this incident.

Sarcasm is one of my favorite styles of humour so don't worry I got it, brought a smile to my face and all.

You obviously feel similar to me about the world. No one has all the answers, all we can do is respect each other enough. A good person is a good person no matter what colour or creed they speak about.

except New Zealanders, they be evil spawn I tell ya!!! :rotfl:

It's not too long ago that we where burning Catholics at the stake.

It isn't an excuse, but don't think we are different, we just have a different culture here
now, which they do not yet.

Some are asking for execution! A bit over the edge for me:down: I'm really sensing a mountain out of a mole hill here.

Dang political correctness

BREAKING NEWS

Gillian Gibbons has been found guilty of inciting religious hatred and has been sentenced to 15 days in prison and deportation.

That is probably the greatest kindness she could have hoped for. Particularly the deportation part. She's British, she should be where she belongs. Here.

Well, that is nice news to hear. I hope 4 of those days already served are part of the 15 day term. Deportation sounds good. I would be leaving pronto:lurk:

Am I the only one who thinks the verdict was fair and justified?

Let me start by saying that, as far as I'm concerned, there should be no law regarding 'insult to religion', except possibly in the case of inciting hatred (although I've not yet made up my mind on that).

However, such a law does exist in Sudan and the legal authorities there have decided that Mrs Gibbons broke it. As such, they have no option but to punish her. I think they've been very reasonable in only sentencing her to 15 days and deportation.

The UK government has no right to interfere in the legal proceedings of other nations, so they should keep their noses out. Of course, it's the trendy thing to jump on the bandwagon and condemn the judgement without considering that the laws of a nation have been broken. By all means protest the existence of the law, but don't complain when it is enforced.

The atrocity which is Darfur hasn't stopped these folks. Why would the British Government have any more influence (perhaps it did). The lady is indeed lucky to get the fifteen day sentence. The deportation is a blessing.

Gotta' disagree with that one. Nazi Germany declared it legal for the state to kill off an entire race of people. Should all we have done is merely protest the existence of the law, but allowed its enforcement to continue?

There are times when a state's laws cross boundaries that are deemed unacceptable, and it is the right of every affected state to then step in and act on the behalf of their own citizens. It's not only a state's right to do so, but it's their responsibility, if the values they and their society hold regarding basic human rights, decency and fair and just treatment mean anything to them.

In this case, the punishment, by most western cultural' standards, far exceeded the crime. Just as we would deplore cutting off the hands of petty thieves, we should protest the flogging or other extreme violent punishment for a crime of insult, where no permanent nor lasting harm has been done, and no physical or direct harm to any specific victim was committed.

It wasn't the crime that was being protested, it was the extreme punishment, and that was fair game for the UK Government to step in on, on behalf of one of their citizens.

The comments of a fellow muslim on a muslim forum sum it up for me best:

That's all for now before I tear anymore of my hair out. :damn:

That does make logical sense.
However, if follows from that that if we do not wish to tolerate the law, we should not
tolerate it's use; to do so would be hypocritical.

It's a case of the proverbial bolted horse now.

Haha that's great.

Good news about the court case, but I still think it should have never happened. A sign of improvement maybe, these things don't happen over night afterall. It wasn't long ago where segregation was common place in many of our own countries, now the idea of that is just as wrong as being whipped for naming a teddy bear after a diety.

The 5 days she has already served will be considered part of her sentance, so she has 10 days to go.

I'm glad she got out of it as lightly as she did, but I think Sudan will suffer more for it overall.