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Originally Posted by gabeeg
It's funny I would probably have been one of those multi-culti people carrying the flag of cultural/religious relativism a few years ago. I have become more and more frustrated by the Muslim peoples I had tried to defend. I had argued that it is not "Islam" that was the problem but Individuals or groups that were the problem. I had argued the reasons for decades of modern problems were combinations of culture, socio-economic disparity, western ignorance and arrogance, etc. I still believe these things to a large extent and I believe that they are indeed at the root of our current problems. Where I have changed is in my willingness to give a free pass to these "Islamic Cultures" (Arab, Turkic, etc.). Where are the Muslim voices for reason? Where are the calls from the leaders in these "cultures" for more tolerance and understanding? Where are Clerics that while believing they are oppressed or wronged, try to create dialog....or admit that they are any small part of any problem? Granted there are those that attempt these things but their voices are weak and lack conviction in most instances. Time and time again they say the right things for western consumption and something else for their own domestic audience. Where are the leaders and clerics that are taking risks for the cause of reason? Where are the leaders and clerics that are willing to give what what they demand from us? Is it Indeed the teachings of Islam that make these things so seemingly impossible?
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They are drowned out by the acts of the few extremists because preaching moderation doesn't get headlines and it doesn't sell newspapers. Here in Canada we've had tens of thousands of Muslims living with us peacefully for decades but its the recent plot of 17 of them that puts the entire Muslim community in the spotlight. And it strikes me as an absurd thing that a few people here happily tar these tens of thousands with the terrorist brush, tens of thousands who are not terrorirst and are not extremists, but there it is.
And if I listened to the hysterical ravings of the few Islamophobes here then I would be building myself a mideival style castle and arming myself for Armagedon. Meanwhile in reality (the place that some seem to have departed already) I am more likely to get struck by lightning than I am to be a victim of terrorism. For that matter, if I'm ever a victim of violence (including road rage, random shootings, muggings, the entire spectrum of violent crime) I am much more likely to be victimized by someone of my own Christian faith simply because that is how it is statistically (here in this place called reality). I suspect its the same in Fresno, California.
In any case, I prefer to enjoy my life and be tolerant of people of all faiths and ethnicities to allowing myself to fall prey to this culture of fear that is being preached by the likes of Jerry Falwell and those on this board who sound just like him, who would have me live in fear of the big bad Islamic boogeyman and move to a mountain awaiting Armegedon.