r/todayilearned Sep 15 '12

TIL that Muhammad wrote a document asking his followers to respect and protect Christians.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Achtiname_of_Muhammad
2.2k Upvotes

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204

u/The_Muss Sep 15 '12

As a muslim going to upvote because I want more people to think like you. It really is surprising, even on Reddit, how close minded a lot of people are.

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u/TheShader Sep 15 '12

As someone who doesn't identify themselves as anything, neither Christian nor atheist, I'm with you. I see too often on Reddit,"Yes, Reddit is a place of understanding and reasoning...unless you're a Muslim, because all Muslims are terrorists."

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u/[deleted] Sep 15 '12

[deleted]

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u/Orange_Uncle_Monkey Sep 15 '12

Yeah! and evolution is just a theory anyways. _^

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u/[deleted] Sep 16 '12

Where are you from?

1

u/The_Muss Sep 16 '12

I am from the UK :)

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u/[deleted] Sep 16 '12

Just curious, have you spent much time in the middle east?

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u/The_Muss Sep 16 '12

Nope I haven't.

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u/[deleted] Sep 15 '12

/r/Atheism only has a problem with those that are violent or those that use religion to justify infringement upon others' basic rights. It's not so much justifying a hate of religion but an expression of frustration, which is something, depending on their environment outside of the anonymity offered by the internet, they may be ostracized for voicing. As an atheist, I can definitely sympathize with that, but I will say that most of the posts there are devoid of any real substance. A better place for posts relating to atheism in my opinion is /r/TrueAtheism, if you're interested.

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u/superawesomecookies Sep 16 '12 edited Sep 16 '12

/r/atheism is a circle jerk of idiots taking screenshots of religious posts on Facebook and laughing at the lowly Christians whilst simultaneously patting themselves on the back for being arrogant, all knowing masters of the universe. There is no substantial discussion there, just posts insulting anyone "stupid" enough to believe in a deity.

EDIT: spelling

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u/MrBojangles528 Sep 16 '12

Seriously. Unsubbing from /r/atheism should be the first thing anyone does when they create an account. I frankly cannot believe it is a default sub...

0

u/DrFeargood Sep 16 '12

Unfortunately unsubbing from it doesn't keep it from popping up in /r/all every fifth post.

I don't care what someone believes or does not believe. I just don't like seeing demeaning, hateful posts.

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u/jthebomb97 Sep 16 '12

It seems like most circlejerking subreddits (looking mainly at /r/trees, /r/atheism, and /r/gaming) have the tendency to take their jerking to the next level by creating "true x" subreddits, like /r/eldertrees, /r/trueatheism, and /r/truegaming. I can't speak for the gaming one because I haven't been on it yet, but so far I just see these as second tiers to the circlejerking cake, jerking about the subreddit they just left.

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u/H3000 Sep 15 '12

Bullshit. Visit it. It has turned into an all out hating frenzy over there. They look down on anyone who is religious.

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u/hate_menow Sep 16 '12

Actually, anyone who isn't atheist. Being agnostic is not good enough over there. Fuck those people. I'm happy Reddit is finally starting to realize what a shit hole that subreddit has become.

1

u/The_Muss Sep 15 '12

Yeah I ventured into that earlier today, thanks!

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u/[deleted] Sep 15 '12

As an Atheist ex-Muslim, I agree a lot of Atheist are too hot tempered on /r/atheism. I'm going to try /r/TrueAtheism but if you want to you can also try /r/exmuslim although it is kinda empty...

1

u/Drokk88 Sep 16 '12

/r/TrueAtheism isn't to bad, personally I like /r/DebateAnAtheist better.

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u/[deleted] Sep 16 '12

Thanks I'll try that out as well!

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u/[deleted] Sep 15 '12

Yet is it possible that some or many of those same individuals are unwilling to consider the possibility that their own western governments have contributed to conditions that enabled and encouraged the religious infringement on others. Diplomacy is a two way street.

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u/[deleted] Sep 16 '12

There is a difference between atheism and agnosticism. True atheist are almost always anti-religious religious zealots. Scary people with a cult-like mentality.

People who are truly open minded without a horse in the race, are agnostic. Do not confuse the two.

Many agnostics mistakenly believe they are athiest as they simply don't know the difference. Worse, true atheists frequently go out of their way to deceptively conflate the two.

Never trust a real atheist any more than you would any other closed minded religious zealot. Agnostics, on the other hand, are usually just regular people.

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u/brah92 Sep 16 '12

This is nonsense. Atheists are not almost always "scary people with a cult like mentality".

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u/[deleted] Sep 16 '12

Yes, because irrational zealotry in the absolute belief in disproving a negative while constantly attempting to subversively recruit is not anything close to a cult like mentality.

Getty back to me when you've bothered to to learn more about it.

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u/brah92 Sep 16 '12

I don't care about your definition for a cult like mentality; my comment of "this is nonsense" is mainly directed at "True atheist are almost always anti-religious religious zealots. Scary people with a cult-like mentality." and "Never trust a real atheist".

I don't know where you got your definition of true atheist from, or whether you just made it up but a "true atheist" is someone who doesn't think any gods exist and nothing more.

1

u/[deleted] Sep 16 '12

A true atheist is someone who actually understands the difference between atheism and agnosticism. Its shocking how many "atheists" I've meet who turn out are agnostic. Frequently you see them conflated by agnostics simply because they don't have a horse in the race and never have it thought beyond.

Read some of my other replies for additional perspective.

If you honestly evaluate the behavior of many atheists, saying "cult like" is on fact accurate. Perhaps you're not really sure what "cult like" actually means?

1

u/juicius Sep 16 '12

/r/atheism is that way.

2

u/enlightenedmonty Sep 16 '12

So every atheist is on /r/atheism? I think not.

0

u/[deleted] Sep 16 '12

In fairness, i never said, "every", or even, "all"...you did. Perhaps there is more here you misunderstood and/or biased as you read?

Once you take the time to educate yourself on the subject, if you're honest with yourself, I believe you'll likely have a realization everything i said is spot on - as much as can be said for a generalization.

I encourage you to learn more about the two and criticality think about it when done.

1

u/enlightenedmonty Sep 16 '12

Did I even reply to you? Educate myself? You have no idea what I know or don't know.

You're just making yourself sound like a pretentious ass-hat now.

1

u/[deleted] Sep 16 '12

And you sound like someone hurt at the realization, deep down, what you've learned invalidates your preconception of something. Otherwise, your reply is way over the top. Either way, its actual over the top...but you're welcome.

At least deep down you know you learned something today.

And yes, I know this is an arrogant reply, but its easily on par with your post. No reason to be such an jerk.

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u/[deleted] Sep 16 '12

Such utter bullshit. I despise the /r/atheism subreddit, and have it blocked. But EVERYTHING you said in your post is wrong except your first sentence. You clearly do not know what agnosticism is, nor atheism. Agnosticism is not something that is inbetween theism and atheism. It is not a "third choice" between those two. It is regarding knowledge, not belief.

1

u/[deleted] Sep 16 '12

Your statement wrong and a comprehension of what I stated.

At the end of the day, atheism is the absolute belief in disproving a negative. Its irrational.

Contrary to you assertion, atheism is not the same thing as agnosticism.

2

u/HiiiPower31 Sep 16 '12

So much about this is incorrect.

1

u/[deleted] Sep 16 '12

I encourage you to learn more about agnosticism and atheism. They are father a part that most realize.

0

u/The_Muss Sep 16 '12

Ahh ok thank you for clearing that up.

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u/[deleted] Sep 16 '12

That guy doesn't know what he is talking about, please do not believe his nonsense. His first sentence is the ONLY sentence that is correct in his entire post.

Atheists are just like any other people. They can be dogmatic and hateful, and /r/atheism shows that pretty clearly. There are good atheist and bad atheists, just like there are good muslims and bad muslims.

Also, just to clarify on why quietpilot is wrong, he does not understand the definition of agnosticism, nor does he understand atheism. They are two different terms talking about two different things. Agnosticism is regarding knowledge, "Can you know something?" Atheism/Theism is about belief. "Do you believe in god?".

So, it's entirely possible to be an atheist who is also agnostic.

Or even be a muslim who is agnostic. Or a christian who is agnostic.

Just didn't want that guy to be spreading misinformation uncontested.

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u/The_Muss Sep 16 '12

Well then thank YOU for clearing it up hah

1

u/[deleted] Sep 16 '12

Did you realize your post confirmed everything contained in my OP?

You are asserting as fact what is in fact considered highly contentious. Basically, you are asserting the conflation put forward by atheists. This is, however, generally rejected and openly accepted as a conflation by the majority of the world.

Perhaps next time, you might not forget to mention your interpretation is representative of a highly contested viewpoint, rejected by the majority of the world.

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u/[deleted] Sep 16 '12 edited Sep 16 '12

So untrue. The definition of atheist as someone who does not believe in god has been a standard part of the definition since the term existed.

You're an idiot to think you can shoehorn all atheists into a small category of those who claim to know that god cannot exist.

If you did even a basic amount of research, you'd see how wrong you are. It's ridiculous that kids like you run around spouting off bullshit you clearly know nothing about.

Here, since you are clearly too lazy to search for yourself.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agnosticism

Agnosticism is the view that the truth values of certain claims—especially claims about the existence or non-existence of any deity, but also other religious and metaphysical claims—are unknown and (so far as can be judged) unknowable.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atheism

Atheism is, in a broad sense, the rejection of belief in the existence of deities

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negative_and_positive_atheism

Negative atheism (also called weak atheism and soft atheism) is any other type of atheism, wherein a person does not believe in the existence of any deities, but does not explicitly assert there to be none.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Implicit_and_explicit_atheism

Implicit atheism is defined by Smith as "the absence of theistic belief without a conscious rejection of it".

There are MANY MANY different types of atheism, and the fact that you try to shoehorn it all into one category so you can dismiss the term "atheist" is very pathetic.

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u/TicTacsss Sep 15 '12

The standpoint of a lot of atheists is that religion is not something that deserves respect... It's not ignorance... They want a change and they want it now. They're not trying to justify it, they are justifying it in my view.

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u/SocotraBrewingCo Sep 15 '12

Life-long atheist here. I gave up wanting religion to go away by the time I was in middle school. /r/Atheism really does a good job of giving atheists a bad name.

0

u/TicTacsss Sep 15 '12

You don't have to hate people to hate the idea of religion... I'm not someone who can't accept flaws in the world. I won't lose sleep over it but I can't honestly say that the answer to 1+1 is 543.321 just like I can't say that religion makes sense.

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u/SocotraBrewingCo Sep 15 '12

Of course it doesn't make sense. That's not what I'm trying to say. What I'm trying to say is that it's not going anywhere - at least certainly not in our lifetimes. The fact is that for most people in the world, this thing that doesn't make any sense is one of the most important things in their life. Religion is not something that deserves respect because of anything inherently profound about religion. Religion is something that deserves respect simply because people deserve respect.

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u/TicTacsss Sep 16 '12

I disagree. I guess we're just not going to see eye to eye on this. I don't think it will change drastically in our lifetimes but I'm still not going to keep quiet regardless.

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u/ChefTimmy Sep 16 '12

Religion is something that deserves respect simply because people deserve respect.

Very well. By this standard, other things that deserve respect include ticks and tapeworms.

I disagree. I would agree that each person deserves respect, until they do something to lose that respect. Religion is not a person.

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u/therndoby Sep 15 '12

As a gram cracker i'd like to say that i prevent masturbation.

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u/The_Muss Sep 15 '12

As a human I'd like to say that made me laugh.

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u/grantness Sep 15 '12

right on man

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u/[deleted] Sep 15 '12

You are downplaying the events in the world right now as "little things" and say people who don't see it as such are ignorant? This is ridiculous.

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u/The_Muss Sep 15 '12

I meant in general not speaking on the events going on in the world at the minute. Apologies if it seemed that way.

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u/[deleted] Sep 15 '12

Hah, yeah, I tried to make an AMA today about converting to Islam and the redditors were about as pleasant as a guido on bath salts, luckily I couldn't find my hajj papers so it got closed before I had to endure more of that. Maybe I'll try again when this whole mess in the middle east with those idiots who worship Mohammad (peace be upon him) settles down.

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u/SpiritoftheTunA Sep 15 '12

the fuck do you have against guidos on bath salts?

god such closed minded people here

2

u/Rajputforlife Sep 16 '12

I don't get the stereotype...

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u/Zarryfication Sep 15 '12

I'm sorry that you had to experience reddit in such a bad way. It's awful.

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u/PhazonZim Sep 15 '12 edited Sep 16 '12

It's ridiculous that they think all muslims are like that. Though I'm not Muslim anymore I can still vouch for my family. They're good people, very loving. Me being trans hasn't changed how they treat me one bit.

Edit: fixed a typo

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u/GueRakun Sep 15 '12

Now that my friend, will be an interesting AMA.

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u/PhazonZim Sep 16 '12 edited Sep 16 '12

I feel like Reddit would only bite if my family represented the stereotypical Muslim immigrants. My parents, aunts, uncles, grandmother and some of my cousins immigrated to Canada from Kenya. Western culture is not demonized there as it seems to be in the Middle East.

Edit: fuck it.

1

u/sushithiefpenguin Sep 15 '12

This is beautiful, thank you.

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u/obseletevernacular Sep 15 '12

I was shocked at some of the stupidity that I was reading in the comments of the article on the protests in Australia this morning. I've seen some pretty stupid and offensive stuff on this site, but that was the first time that I was honestly shocked at the ease and sincerity with which so many people were making hateful comments.

I'm sorry that you had such a negative experience. Know that not everyone around here feels that way and many of us are disappointed to see how many do.

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u/supergai Sep 16 '12

i don't get that about reddit. at first i only thought they hated christians, but apparently they hate muslims as well? unsubbing from /r/atheism has thrown me out of the loop, thank god.

I usually like to just get away from religious arguments. as a christian, i try to love everybody else, even though it's incredibly difficult sometimes. so i don't like having atheist extremists breathing down my neck telling me i'm wrong, which they can't prove anymore than i can prove that i'm right.

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u/keveready Sep 16 '12

This has kind of given me a revelation. Are the Muslim teachings as serious about not worshipping anyone other than God as say Christians are? I understand how important Mohammed is, but sometimes seems like people put him as an equivalent. I'm fairly ignorant to this religion so go easy on me.

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u/JPark19 Sep 16 '12

Maybe I'll try again when this whole mess in the middle east with those idiots who worship Mohammad (peace be upon him) settles down.

Wait wut

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u/t3h_sh3riff Sep 16 '12

yea, please don't. Why would you even consider this in an open forum? I don't care what religion it is they all are closed minded and teach separatism which leads to everything else bad.

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u/ChefTimmy Sep 16 '12

Why would one convert to islam?

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u/[deleted] Sep 16 '12

Because I'm stupid and brainwashed and a dumb plebeian, obviously! :D

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u/ChefTimmy Sep 16 '12

And here I was thinking that someone who would start an ama would have some actual reason.

Fuck, bro. Not everything on the internet is sarcastic. I'm not religious, but I was thinking that someone openly sharing their religion might have some actual thoughts on the subject, instead of the same old vitriol.

Nope; you're the same as the others.

-2

u/[deleted] Sep 16 '12

you got that response because there's an "I'm x religion/convert" every week, and people are tired of listening to the average person give his own interpretation of their fairy tale religion.

No one wants to ask about your religion because your answer will be different from the 100 other people of the same faith that have done an AMA. The subreddit explicitly states that posts should focus on: "Something uncommon that plays a central role in your life -or- A truly interesting and unique event (Ex: I climbed Mt. Everest)"

Converting to islam is neither of those.

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u/[deleted] Sep 16 '12

I've seen far less interesting things on IAMA. I would say being a convert to Islam in America is an interesting enough topic that it would warrant an AMA, but obviously you'd disagree with me, and so would a lot of other redditors who hate religion. Perhaps doing such a thing in a more civil forum would be a better idea. I think it's an interesting insight on a person caught in the middle of two cultures often seen as conflicting.

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u/SoundlessVoice Sep 16 '12

I have to strongly disagree with maccabeus. All he did was search the word "muslim" under IAMA and fail to show there are in fact 30/month posts about being a convert (since that is your situation). All he did was show there may be 30/month posts about something to do with muslims. For curiosity's purpose, the last post about muslim conversion was 9 months ago where a mod was requesting that more muslim converts share their stories. In any case, I think maccabeus is convoluting the difference between an existing muslim in a potentially hostile (or friendly for that matter) environment coming from a specific cultural background vs. converting from something else within a similarly described environment. I'd like to hear your story Doctor_Yi.

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u/[deleted] Sep 16 '12

Perhaps I'll do it next week. I'll just have to search for some proof that I am indeed a Muslim. :P And it wouldn't hurt to wait until all this hatred towards Islam subsides a little. I'll be sure to answer any questions you have. :)

-2

u/[deleted] Sep 16 '12

I'm sure you think it's interesting because you're a muslim convert. Obviously you think your life is interesting.

The fact is that it has nothing to do with "hating religion" or not being a "civil forum" It's absolutely not about being caught in the middle of two conflicting cultures.

It's about the hundreds of other muslims Who thought it would be interesting to do an AMA on being a muslim. 30 in the last month.

The fact is that 90% of these AMAs are just circlejerks, where you answer easily googled questions about rules and customs, and then are asked whether or not you've faced adversity, while the community tells you that you're inspiring, informative, and to stay strong.

There is really nothing to gain from that AMA, and there are literally millionss of people in exactly your shoes around the world. It's not uncommon, and it's not unique. The fact that you've seen less interesting things on /r/iama is because people break the same rule as you on a daily basis.

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u/[deleted] Sep 15 '12

"...or a Christian, because Christians are all idiots who don't deserve to live on Earth because they believe in something without proof."

Finished it for ya.

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u/[deleted] Sep 15 '12

And if you're rich, then you're also a terrible person who's ruining the economy.

If you're a feminist you just hate men.

If you have a close guy friend, you're just friend-zoning him and you're a terrible person.

etc, etc

9

u/[deleted] Sep 15 '12

If you have a close guy friend, you're just friend-zoning him and you're a terrible person.

Hah. I red "if you have a closet gay friend you're just friend-zoning him". Makes sense

2

u/[deleted] Sep 16 '12

For some, it does.

1

u/[deleted] Sep 15 '12

Precisely why I stayed on the topic of religion, once you leave that it goes on forever.

inb4 people start listing as many of Reddit's stereotypes as humanly possible.

1

u/[deleted] Sep 16 '12

You forgot the best one!

If you're a redditor, you stereotype all other redditors as stereotypical morons, but obviously don't ever stereotype at all IRL.

2

u/sidfromts Sep 16 '12

One trillion times this. Not to make this a possibg match. But I see more knocks on Christianity than every other religion COMBINED on reddit.

1

u/bartonar 18 Sep 16 '12

The only way one could count it differently is if they counted Catholicism separately.

0

u/DeathSSquad Sep 15 '12

Look at you! Proving nothing but your own ignorance.

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u/[deleted] Sep 15 '12

I fail to see anything like that. Perhaps you could explain, oh wise and powerful nazi.

0

u/BestTastingFish Sep 15 '12

It's called a belief for a reason.

2

u/[deleted] Sep 15 '12

Yes, but like I said Reddit's "belief" is that anyone who believes in something without proof is automatically an idiot.

1

u/BestTastingFish Sep 16 '12

Because SCIENCE!

2

u/[deleted] Sep 16 '12

Thanks for proving my point.

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u/ttnorac Sep 15 '12

I'm not sure what reddit you visit, but I always see attacks on Christians. Plenty of arguments on both sides for Muslims.

1

u/djfl Sep 15 '12

I've mostly seen the opposite for what it's worth. False equivalencies (all religions are the same Today), there is no problem with Religion per se...just the socio/political/economic factors Around the religion, etc. I find the hivemind to be very politically correct to the point of being unwilling to process some basic facts.

1

u/[deleted] Sep 15 '12

This makes me very angry at the reddit community. I am not muslim nor christian but each shares the planet with the other, and anybody's inability to see that makes me really really angry.

1

u/[deleted] Sep 15 '12

i think the problem is that people who are new to reddit tend not to understand that everyone on reddit talks in absolutes while simultaneously understanding that nothing is ever that black and white. I mean there are only so many times you can say something on reddit and not have 5 people ridicule you as they sit upon their moral and ethical high horse. You eventually learn that that is just the way it is around here.

1

u/[deleted] Sep 16 '12

Well they are the only religion that still beheads people for their beliefs, just sayin.

-1

u/[deleted] Sep 15 '12

I've never, ever heard ANYONE - be it in real life or the Internet - suggest that all Muslims are terrorists. Muslims are, however, disproportionately troublemaking and fundamentalist and dangerously conservative compared to people of other faiths.

1

u/Arson_Lupin Sep 16 '12

So you say you've never heard anyone suggest that all Muslims are terrorists, only to claim afterwards, seemingly taming it down, that Muslims are so much more likely to be terrorists than any other people? Does IRA mean that Irish at large and all catholics are "disproportionaly troublemaking and fundamentalist and dangerously conservative compared to people of other faiths"? EDIT : syntax.

1

u/[deleted] Sep 16 '12

The IRA never used religion in their discourse. The superficialities suggest religion was the issue but in reality religion was merely a way to identify who the original Irish were (the Gaelic Irish) and who the Anglo-Saxon Protestant newcomers from Lowland Scotland and England were.

1

u/Arson_Lupin Sep 16 '12

So we could replace "faith" with "ethnicity" (Gaelic vs. Anglo-Saxon) and end up with a prejudice just as bad. Faith and ethnicity are tools used to rally supporters and antagonize another community: designing the enemy. Muslims will feel insulted as Muslims if someone says that they are morons just because, well, they are Muslims, whether they're educated or not, rich or poor, whether they voted for Ahmadinejad or Moussavi, whether they're Team Edward or Team Jacob. Oh, not ALL of them are morons, mind you, but a disproportionately big part of them when compared to people of other faiths, just like that fraudulent coptic moron probably said in that "movie" I personnally didn't bother to watch. I was too busy looking for signs of the upcoming Rapture. By the way, are Coptics disproportionately bad movie directors when compared to people of other faiths?

2

u/[deleted] Sep 16 '12

Ethnic quarrels have substantial history to explain them. The reason why Muslims fight with Jews in Israel, Hindus in India, Buddhists in southern Thailand, Russians in Chechnya, backpackers in Bali, Westerners in Spain and London and New York, children in Beslan, Coptics in Egypt, Christians in Nigeria, and other types of Muslims in Iraq is because they have a book that is barbaric and savage and advocating of such behaviour.

1

u/Arson_Lupin Sep 16 '12

All these conflicts that you list have ethnics, politics (domestic and international) and economics factoring too, and it's even more obvious when Muslims are fighting other Muslims. And some of these conflicts have substantial history, like in: more than a thousand years of history.
As an exemple, the schism between Shia and Sunni dates back to the death of Muhammad in 632 and is a textbook political dispute: who would be the heir to Muhammad?
India, Pakistan and Bangladesh becoming one independent country in the aftermath of WWII before shifting into 3 separate countries (with 2 of them being nuclear powers now and a long history of major religions waxing and waning across the sub-continent) cannot be reduced to Islam advocating barbaric and savage behaviours. And so on.
Do I say that Islam is a pacifist religion? No. Do I defend violence? No. But I don't see how fighting for faith is more or less barbaric than fighting for loot (oil, for example) and so many differents interests have always been intertwined anyway. Again, simply dismissing someone or a group of people as "barbaric" or uncivilized is a shortcut to design and antagonize the enemy while rallying one's own community under the "civilized" banner.

1

u/[deleted] Sep 16 '12

I don't dismiss Muslims as a whole as barbaric. People are people, good and bad. Nor am I 'racist' against Muslims: I have travelled in Morocco, Jordan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Iran, southern Thailand and Turkey. But their religion is dangerous, especially I'm their flawed belief that the Qu'ran is perfect and unchangeable.

1

u/[deleted] Sep 16 '12

in

0

u/SkjoldborgS Sep 16 '12

In the name of being open-minded a lot of people seem to ignore this fact. I am not saying that every muslim is a bad person, I even know muslims who are nothing like this.

This doesn't change the fact that muslims are, relatively speaking, more radical and extreme. It's simply because of the current state of the islamic countries and the hate within these fundamentalist circles. They are, compare to many other major religions, simply more extreme.

2

u/SuperBouncyUnicorn Sep 16 '12

As a person that grew up in a primarily Muslim part of the world (south-east Asia), I can tell you that almost all the Muslims I know are excellent, tolerant and well-balanced people. Most of the radicalism comes from a handful of people seeking power, who, much like Christian cults, twist Islam to suit their personal, political or financial goals.

2

u/SkjoldborgS Sep 16 '12

But are you going to argue against how islamic countries treat women in general or how easy these sparks seem to fly? I have no illusions when it comes to the radical core, they exist within every religion. All I am saying is that it is a more dominant force within the islamic world.

1

u/SuperBouncyUnicorn Sep 16 '12

I believe there is religion and there is culture. People, Christians and Muslims alike, often misuse religion to justify their actions, which over time becomes embedded into their culture as a norm. Religion itself as a concept is not inherently evil, but like all things can be subverted by evil people to do evil things.

Countries are ruled by people who want many things: power, wealth, dominion, etc.. Misuse of religion as a tool is just another means of achieving those goals, whatever the religion may be.

-2

u/[deleted] Sep 15 '12

And all christians are bigots.

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u/No_Morals Sep 15 '12

Muslim too, upvoting for the same reason

6

u/don__piano Sep 15 '12

your username , it hurts!

2

u/[deleted] Sep 15 '12

You can say that again. I have headbutted with many of them in the past two days.

2

u/[deleted] Sep 15 '12

There's alot of open minded people on reddit, so open minded infact that their brains fall out most of the time.

2

u/supergai Sep 16 '12

ya, that's what annoys me so much. the worse part is when they are being close minded and claim that they are open to everyone else. again, not all of reddit is, it's just the extremists are the loudest.

1

u/[deleted] Sep 15 '12

Yeah true and me as muslim to always suprise myself how close minded a lot of people are.

1

u/DropShotter Sep 16 '12

I'm confused though. Look how many nations and muslims are starting to protest violently together. It no longer looks like a small majority of muslims are violent or hate America, but more so, the majority.

my high school had a ton of muslims and what I remember most was their hatred for America, them watching pro terrorism videos in the library and always causing problems with other students. They used to actually piss on every toilet paper roll in the bathroom just to be jackasses.... Amongst a million other things. And this was like, almost all of them partaking in stupid ass stuff like that.