Islam

[Kaiser Kronos]

Not to rain on people's constant bashing of Ahmadinejad, does anyone understand it isn't the Iranian President that we should worry about, it's the Ayatollah? Not to mention that Iraq-as-Shia would make a good ally for a pragmatic Iran. Whether Iran is that pragmatic is up for debate. The Israel-must-be-destroyed quote, incidentally, is also a mistranslation.

I do not agree necessarily with the Iranian interpretations of Mideast Events, yet, I also must remind people that in order to reach Israel, the Persian horde must first blast through US forces in Iraq, then through Jordan, by which time the Israeli army will be mobilized and awaiting a chance to reckon with the Iranians. That is more likely than a theocracy whose religious leader put a fatwa against nuclear weapons going into nut-job smash-and-burn mode.

Not to mention the theocracy which is forbidden nukes would be going up against a nation with 300 nuclear weapons. <.<

[Gorjirus]

^Which is why i say we should pull out all of our Middle East troops, say "screw the Middle East Peace" process, and just let them do what they've been jonesing to do forever: just let them fight it out.

Then, it'd be over with and we could move on.

[SuperXAsh]

That or just give them all something to REALLY cry about and nuke some spots off the face fo the Earth. Nothing like a good amount of Shock and Awe to put people in their place. :sly: *is kidding*

[Raptor]

Yes, all we've got in this particular thread at the moment is the extremist element of this particular religion. The US also is engaged in military action in their backyard.
There is now a topic for discussion of IRAN ITSELF in the Geography section. I'll move their President's recent antics there shortly.
Stuff does cross over in many cases. What is ironic is seeing our supposedly more peacable (be it religious or political based) countrymen attacking ANY Muslim BECAUSE OF THEIR SUPPOSED BELIEFS. Let's at least get THAT part figured out before just wiping anyone out, OK? ;)

[SuperXAsh]

Yes, all we've got in this particular thread at the moment is the extremist element of this particular religion. The US also is engaged in military action in their backyard.
There is now a topic for discussion of IRAN ITSELF in the Geography section. I'll move their President's recent antics there shortly.
Stuff does cross over in many cases. What is ironic is seeing our supposedly more peacable (be it religious or political based) countrymen attacking ANY Muslim BECAUSE OF THEIR SUPPOSED BELIEFS. Let's at least get THAT part figured out before just wiping anyone out, OK? ;)

Phsyically or Verbally? Because the only time I remember hearing about Muslims being beaten was in and around 9/11. *shrugs*

[Goji Son]

Phsyically or Verbally? Because the only time I remember hearing about Muslims being beaten was in and around 9/11. *shrugs*

It still goes on, just like many hate crimes that go on, they just don't always make the news.

[Raptor]

There aren't that many followers of this faith in the US but I'm thinking 9/11 was a lot of people's first introduction to this belief, and not a complete one at that. Incidents of PHYSICAL violence against minorities (at a school back east and other places) are cropping up with increasing frequency lately. In the Cleveland topic, several folks either hadn't caught the news coverage or were seeing a "rerun"-type situation and not the big picture. The lead post wasn't so much about religious beliefs as what happened to a "minority of one".
Holy wars don't seem to end and don't recognize political boundaries. If we need to separate this into two topics to keep the radicals from overshadowing everyone else, we can do that. Christian fundamentalists have their own topic... ;)

[SuperXAsh]

I was just wondering, that's all. I knew that there have been increased verbal assaults on Muslims, but haven't heard too much about physical beatings, though I'm sure there have been quite a few.

While I don't like the fact that such things are occuring, because it's wrong no matter how you look at it, it doesn't help the situation when you rarely hear Muslims in this country trying to do ANYTHING to calm the fears and disprove the prejudices created by 9/11. You rarely see muslims speaking out against the radical elements within their religion.... or at least it hasn't gotten much coverage as far as I know.

[Kaiser Kronos]

There's been Saudi Clerics in the Middle East who have condemned the Islamic extremists. The reason it doesn't get covered is the bearded fanatics make better coverage than the nice, respectable university professor whose Muslim and who thinks those fanatics are nuts. (aka my aquaintance's dad).

[PyrasTerran]

Fun facts:


Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world and the fastest growing religion in America (which counts anywhere from 4 to 7 million Muslims. It is also the most diverse religion both here and in the rest of the world, counting over a thousand ethnic groups.
Most of this growth is based on conversion rather than simply birthrate
Despite popular belief, Muslims do better in America than anywhere else in the world, including their own countries!
Islam has no equivalent to clergy, priests, the Vatican, and other institutions. This is cited by many converts as the reason why they converted.
The Koran, Islam's bible so to speak, speaks of Jesus and Moses more than any other figure, including Muhammad himself.
Islam is a successor to Judaism and Christianity, essentially a third (and final) attempt by God to spread his word
Muhammad's suggestion that he was a prophet was made by a Christian monk nephew of his wife. Christians and Jews were his greatest supporters and allies. The archangel Gabriel is the one that recited the Koran to him and Moses the one that helped him speak to God.
Islam was one of the first religions to give women the right of inheritance and divorce. While it seems sexist to us now, compared to pre-Islamic Arabia (where women were commonly oppressed and raped).
Muslims invented hundreds of things, from much of math to toothpaste, checks, sherbet, cataract surgery, and a lot the English and Spanish language (such as coffee, sofa, tarrifs, algebra, alcohol, etc)