Are You Comfortable With Muslims/Islamics?

[caspofungin]

what's with all the inflammatory threads on islam the last couple of weeks?

let me tell a funny story...

once upon a time, when i was a young man in london, i went to the university mosque for friday prayers. after we'd finished, a guy stood up and started talking. he was from hizb-al-tahrir, and he was basically telling us to get ready for a violent jihad against the West.

What's funny? well, he was basically using the same arguments that i've seen posted here -- i've lived amongst the enemy, so i know how they think, despite appearances they hate us; look at their actions in israel and bosnia and iraq (mid 90's) -- they're obviously out to kill us; muslims get killed every day in those places, but where's the western outcry?; look at their cultural ingresses into our countries, music, food, they want to build churches; quotes from the bible taken out of context; look at history and how they've treated everyone; etc.

sound familiar?

hate the haters and the hypocrites.

[Letum]

Some people in a particular group did something bad so this is a group of bad people.
Does not compute!

Some people read and follow a book that contains a handful of morally dubious quotes,
so they must be morally dubious people.
Does not compute!

Judge people not by their race, nationality, religion, age, gender, sexual orientation,
wealth, beauty, disabilities or any other group they might belong to.

Judge them as an individual by their actions, words and habits and then only after you
understand them.


*edit* Well said Caspofungin.

[Tchocky]

As an ostrich, I'm going to wait this one out.

[August]

I never met a Muslim i would be "comfortable with" but I have no hate for them as a group either.

[Letum]

Originally Posted by August

I never met a Muslim i would be "comfortable with" but I have no hate for them as a group either.

Tell me, are you comfortable with Caspofungin and the other Muslim members of subsim being here?

[August]

Originally Posted by Letum

Tell me, are you comfortable with Caspofungin and the other Muslim members of subsim being here?

I've never met any of them so I couldn't say. Chatting on a forum with anonymous internet personalities does not constitute "meeting" a person in my book. How about yours?

[Letum]

Originally Posted by August

I've never met any of them so I couldn't say. Chatting on a forum with anonymous internet personalities does not constitute "meeting" a person in my book. How about yours?

I know you have not met any of them, but do you feel comftable interacting with them on the forum?

[August]

Originally Posted by Letum

I know you have not met any of them, but do you feel comftable interacting with them on the forum?

Sure, why not? Are you hoping to garner support to have them banned? If so you do NOT have my vote Letum.

[Letum]

Originally Posted by August

Sure, why not? Are you hoping to garner support to have them banned? If so you do NOT have my vote Letum.

I'm glad to hear it.

[August]

Originally Posted by Letum

I'm glad to hear it.

Well isn't that special.

[Letum]

Originally Posted by August

Well isn't that special.

What do you mean?

[August]

Originally Posted by Letum

What do you mean?

Sorry i'm not here to answer your questions Letum.

[Happy Times]

Originally Posted by caspofungin

what's with all the inflammatory threads on islam the last couple of weeks?

let me tell a funny story...

once upon a time, when i was a young man in london, i went to the university mosque for friday prayers. after we'd finished, a guy stood up and started talking. he was from hizb-al-tahrir, and he was basically telling us to get ready for a violent jihad against the West.

What's funny? well, he was basically using the same arguments that i've seen posted here -- i've lived amongst the enemy, so i know how they think, despite appearances they hate us; look at their actions in israel and bosnia and iraq (mid 90's) -- they're obviously out to kill us; muslims get killed every day in those places, but where's the western outcry?; look at their cultural ingresses into our countries, music, food, they want to build churches; quotes from the bible taken out of context; look at history and how they've treated everyone; etc.

sound familiar?

hate the haters and the hypocrites.

Can i ask how you practice your faith? Would you like the right for muslims to use sharia instead of local laws? What do the muslims you know think of western culture?

Honest questions, prove me wrong, i would happily be ignorant.

[Letum]

Originally Posted by August

Sorry i'm not here to answer your questions Letum.

You have lost me!

[caspofungin]

@happy times

Would you like the right for muslims to use sharia instead of local laws?

in islamic countries, if people want to go by sharia law, that's their choice. but i completely disagree w/ muslims trying to force sharia law into the jurisdiction of the western countries where they live, and i hate when they try and institute their local customs which aren't even sharia law into the jurisdiction. both in the quran and in mohammed's words, it's a muslim's duty to obey the local laws when in a foreign country.

but if muslims are living within the local laws, then there shouldn't be a problem. if someone comes to your country and tries to change it, then feel free to kick them out. but why should that concept apply only to western countries?

What do the muslims you know think of western culture?

If I understand your question right, the majority of people i know don't have issues w/ McDonald's, Shakespeare, Shawshank Redemption, Radiohead, etc. Any arguments my family has are of the nature, "your choice in music sucks," or "you're not going out in those clothes."

that's a separate issue from western policies. and most of the muslims i know don't have an issue seperating individual westerners from the policies of their governments.

Can i ask how you practice your faith?

Without going into personal details, I don't try and force my faith on others. I people ask about it, I give them what information/opinion I can. I don't have issues with Christians or Jews based on their faith. I pray. I fast. And every single Muslim I know personally does pretty much the same.

So that's why I get bent out of shape when people tar us all with the same brush -- because it denies individuality. and i disagree with skybird's opinion re there's only 1 way to follow the Quran, making me some kind of apostate because I'm not wearing a suicide vest right now -- how can that possibly be true if there are contradictory statements in the Quran itself?

Honest questions, prove me wrong, i would happily be ignorant

Prove you wrong in what? All Muslims are identical? If you believe that 1.5 billion people have exactly the same opinions and thoughts, I don't think there's much in the way of rational argument that will change your mind.

My question is, how can you take a the way a segment of a society acts, and extrapolate that to represent the entire society, more than a billion individuals?