Are you Islamaphobic?

Is terroism the first word which comes to mind on hearing 'Islam' or 'Muslim'?

Does the media portray Islam as it really is?

Why are all Muslims held ressponisible for the crimes of Bin-Ladin? Why should they suffer discrimination and hate on his behalf?

Do you think Islamic women are oppresed?

I'll let you get on with it then...

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Originally posted by lucysmusicbox:
we should all become buddhists and taoists. you never hear anything bad from those religions, nor do you see hate crimes committed either.

Thank the media.

I think it's silly to be Islamaphobic. A small group of 'fundamentalist Islams' did that, not the whole Islamic world. People are misinformed, because only 1% of the Islamic religious group even does violent things. Islamic teachings are against violence. It's one small group of 'fundamentalists'.

Let me educate. The king (or whatever they're called there) of the Muslim world was sick of people worshipping God, because he wanted to be worshipped. He began the order than innocent people would be killed, so Muhammad would stop the religion. Muhammad ONLY developed an army to defend his people from the killing. He didn't want unnecessary killing, only when his people NEEDED to be protected. People now think this means he supported killing. NO! Islamics don't like killing, and the people who did 9/11 were 'fundamentalists'. Not even people who follow what the Qu'ran really says. People who changed it to fit their needs. As I said, only 1%. Besides, every religion has that. There are even Christian groups like that.

Now, I'm not saying I agree with what they believe (I'm Christian), but I want everyone in the world to be at peace, no matter what they believe. And people need to learn to be educated on things, because it just leads to a world separated. Don't hate based on religion. And get educated before you judge (I took anthropology. Learning about the nature of people is interesting, and we had a huge unit on religion).

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Originally posted by lucysmusicbox:
we should all become buddhists and taoists. you never hear anything bad from those religions, nor do you see hate crimes committed either.

I AM! (buddhist)
i think you believe what you believe though. it's up to you. well sometimes.

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Originally posted by JoeyDauben:
[QUOTE] (Hitler was a Christian by the way).

whatthe freak! Hitler aint no real christion.
Unless he repented ALOT

we should all become buddhists and taoists. you never hear anything bad from those religions, nor do you see hate crimes committed either.

Well ..i believe that muslims today need to re-discover Islam's lost tradition.There are so many issues that muslims have to come to terms with ..such as:
the ill treatment of women by Muslims
slavery in countries ruled by Islamist regimes
Jew Bashing
etc..

As muslisms you ll should stand up for the religion you ll believe in ...unite and fight against people like Osama bin Laden etc..who insult your religion ..who make use of ur religion ..n use it as an excuse to kill innocent people in the name of "Allah"...
I am a non muslim ..but i do believe that there are many good muslims in the world ...and that judging you ll by your religion is wrong ...but you ll should stand up for yourselves ..and show the world what your religion truely is ..As muslims ..you ll owe this to ISLAM..
At the same time ..i do think that ..Islam needs to be reformed or rather muslims need to reform themselves..
Wake up ,unite..and change the way the world look at muslims ..before its too late ...The Sooner the better ..because there are lives are stake

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Okay, it didn't work, so I will.

I didn’t get any noise mail. If you go to any of my articles there is a direct link to noise mail me.

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You could probably find Christians and Jews who agree with them too.

What who go along with the Islamic terrorists, or terrorism in General? Either way the point is that you don’t see large groups of Christians and Jews from around the world supporting terrorism. If the terrorists are perverting Islam, why do so many Muslims support their actions, or sympathies with them?

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I noisemailed it you. If that does not work Just noisemail me your email and I will email it to you. I don’t want to post it because it is big, it is 12 pages long.

Okay, it didn't work, so I will.

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The question is why do so many followers of Islam go along with what the terrorists say.

You could probably find Christians and Jews who agree with them too.

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Whatever works for you; I really would like to see it. Thanks.

I noisemailed it you. If that does not work Just noisemail me your email and I will email it to you. I don’t want to post it because it is big, it is 12 pages long.

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And many do. See this link.

Many but not the majority. The question is why do so many followers of Islam go along with what the terrorists say. Why is this group that is twisting Islam so big?

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And terrorism is about...

Some terrorism is about politics but much of the Islamic terrorism that we are seeing right now is religiously motivated. I would say many of the heads of these organizations have other motivations, but it is religion that gets most of the actual fighters out on the street. So basically religion is not just a cover for their real motivations, religion is defiantly one of the major motivations.

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Perhaps not entirely, but religion was the reason that many went to fight. I believe the church promised a spot in heaven to anyone who died fighting. So I'd say it was the driving force for a lot of the people involved, if not the actual Crusades themselves.

It might have been a driving force for many of the people but remember the circumstances. At this time most of the public did not have a bible so they had to rely on the church for information. So if the church declared that god wanted them to go to war they would believe. So true Christianity was not the driving force. The driving force was an altered version of Christianity presented by the church which had selfish motivations for starting the war.

You know it's funny I was just thinking about this the other day because I found a September 11th magazine in my closet. And I remember right before the whole 9/11 thing happen one of my classes was going to become penpals with other teens around the world, but after this whole thing happened, I remember one of my friends coming in to my teacher and saying "my mom said I can't be a penpal with anyone who's islamic." And I sat there thinking wow that was a bold statement girl. I mean I think that the media did portray Islams as terrorists after the initial event and this sort of caught on. So yeah I do think people think Terrorist when they hear Islam. And it's sad because Islam is one of the most fasinating religions to learn and study about. Bin Laden should be ashamed that he has turned so many potential followers away with this bold statements and out lashes under the defense of his religion.

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Would you like me to post it as an article, or on a topic thread related to homosexuality?

Whatever works for you; I really would like to see it. Thanks.

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When a group misrepresents a religion the rest of the religion is supposed to denounce them and correct them.

And many do. See this link.

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Also the Crusades were about politics and land.

And terrorism is about...

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Religion was a recruiting technique and an excuse to go to war but was not the driving force behind the crusades.

Perhaps not entirely, but religion was the reason that many went to fight. I believe the church promised a spot in heaven to anyone who died fighting. So I'd say it was the driving force for a lot of the people involved, if not the actual Crusades themselves.

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How about in the new testament?

I was not aware of any verses in the new testament that incite violence against Homosexuals; maybe you could point them out for me.

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By all means please do send it to me.

Would you like me to post it as an article, or on a topic thread related to homosexuality?

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I'll look for it for you.

Thanks. These groups really bother me because they exist to hurt other people, and they do it in the name of Christianity.

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But you could say this about basically any religious group. Christians used the Bible to promote the Crusades. How is that so different?

What is different is the amount of basis that they really have. When a group misrepresents a religion the rest of the religion is supposed to denounce them and correct them. That is one of the reasons I argue with the Christian groups that hate Gays. However we are not really seeing this happen in the Muslim community. Yes a few Muslims are standing up to the extremists, but the majority are not challenging the extremists. This leads to questions about how far from Islam these extremists are really drifting. Why are many large body’s of the Islamic community not denouncing the terrorists? Also the Crusades were about politics and land. Religion was a recruiting technique and an excuse to go to war but was not the driving force behind the crusades.

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Also Christ was the fulfillment of the law so the Jewish law no longer applies.

How about in the new testament?

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and I have a lot of stuff against violence toward Gays, I can send you some of the stuff.

By all means please do send it to me. I would love to show it to them...

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Also if you have the groups contact information I would love to get in tough with them and argue against their position.

I'll look for it for you. Heaven knows someone's got to argue with them.

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I did not say that Muslims on a whole are violent; I was saying that there are certain groups that are using the Koran to promote terrorism.

But you could say this about basically any religious group. Christians used the Bible to promote the Crusades. How is that so different?

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Go read some of the passages on homosexuality in the Bible.

What we are looking at is Jewish law, and more specifically Jewish punishments. The punishments are not part of Christianity as the Old Testament details the actions of the Jews, not the Christians. Also Christ was the fulfillment of the law so the Jewish law no longer applies.

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Then come back and tell me that a group near my town ("Christian" based) who's basic motto is "kill the gays" does not have a basis in the Bible.

Which group are you dealing with? I have argued with several Christians who are anti Gay and I have a lot of stuff against violence toward Gays, I can send you some of the stuff. Also if you have the groups contact information I would love to get in tough with them and argue against their position.

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but this does not mean Muslims on the whole are violent.

I did not say that Muslims on a whole are violent; I was saying that there are certain groups that are using the Koran to promote terrorism.

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I have yet to come across a Christian group that is advocating violence that actually is supported by the bible.

Go read some of the passages on homosexuality in the Bible. Then come back and tell me that a group near my town ("Christian" based) who's basic motto is "kill the gays" does not have a basis in the Bible. There are many passages in the bible that encourage violence. And yet, this does not mean that all Christians are violent. There may be passages in the Koran that support violence, but this does not mean Muslims on the whole are violent. I have a friend who is Muslim, and is no more likely to be violent than anyone else I know.

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That, however, does not stop Islam from being a religion.

I was not denying that Islam is a religion; I was saying that I don’t believe the claims of Islam to be true.

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The Koran also advocates for peace.

Parts of the Koran advocates for peace and parts of it advocate violence which is one of the major problems. People wanting to support their violence with the Koran can use the sections to promote violence to support their positions. So are those parts of the Koran false?

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It's irrational to call the "author" of the Koran violent when the author is believed to be God

The author of the Koran is Muhammad who was revealing the revelation which he said he received from Allah. Muhammad who was the role model for Islam used violence and force to spread Islam.

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Side note: If God is not above violence, how do you expect us mortals to be?)

God or at least the Christian God does not doom people to hell. God gives us a way to heaven. In the Muslim religion people are much less sure of their faith which is used by terrorist leader who promise that those who die fighting for Islam will have a guarantied spot in heaven.

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we would have to be able to define terrorism and understand the difference between that and fighting an occupational force

Islam supports much more then fighting an occupier, which is not even happening. The US is not occupying Iraq.

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Maybe they feel that they do. But there are Christians who feel the same way.

There are but as I have already stated the difference is weather or not the groups actually have backing for their position. I have yet to come across a Christian group that is advocating violence that actually is supported by the bible. However there are many Islamic groups that have a very good case of verses in the Koran and the actions of Muhammad that they use to support their violence.

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You could say that they are misrepresenting Islam, in a way they are because they differ from the mainstream, however I am not convinced that they don’t actually have real backing in Islam for their actions.

Maybe they feel that they do. But there are Christians who feel the same way. You can't say things like that about one group, and then say it does not apply to another. Muslims tend to be stereotyped because of 9/11. But if the terrorists had been Christian, then our roles would be reversed.

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I do not believe that Islam is a true religion

Religion: a specific fundamental set of beliefs and practices generally agreed upon by a number of persons or sects

If you mean you don't believe the things taught in Islam to be true, then fine, that's your prerogative. That, however, does not stop Islam from being a religion.

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The author of the Koran certainly seamed to support violence.

The Koran also advocates for peace. The Koran (and Islam in general) concerns every bit of life, from eating to sleeping, to love and war. War is an inevitable part of life, as is violence... like it or not. So the Koran goes into detail when it comes to war and violence, as it does when it goes into every aspect of life. It's irrational to call the "author" of the Koran violent when the author is believed to be God, as "this" God promises the same hellfire and agony to disbelievers as the "Christian God". (Side note: If God is not above violence, how do you expect us mortals to be?)

And I think to actually debate whether or not Islam supports terrorism, we would have to be able to define terrorism and understand the difference between that and fighting an occupational force, because Islam definitely supports fighting occupation. It would be completely illogical for it not to.

I have a theory that acts that can conclusively be categorized as "terrorism" are usually politically motivated and have nothing to with religion, but I've had far too crappy a day to write about that now.

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And there are Islamic groups that misrepresent Islam.

You could say that they are misrepresenting Islam, in a way they are because they differ from the mainstream, however I am not convinced that they don’t actually have real backing in Islam for their actions. I do not believe that Islam is a true religion, but I am also not convinced that parts of it don’t support terrorism. The author of the Koran certainly seamed to support violence.