Wednesday, September 08, 2010

Islamophobia

Lately we've seen an exceptionally large amount of Muslim bashing going around, both in the real world and in the media. The entire religion is apparently being held responsible for the actions of a very small minority of extremists.

A taxi driver in Manhattan was recently savagely attacked merely because the assailant believed him to be Muslim. A crazed minister in Florida who has about 50 possibly deranged followers is making headlines by threatening to burn copies of the Quran. A proposed mosque located a couple blocks away from the WTC site is causing volcanic levels of hysteria in the right-wing media and blogosphere.

The mosque thing really gets me. Who cares where they put a mosque as long as it's built according to legal code? According to the Faux News nutjobs, we're supposed to somehow obstruct a religious institution from building a place of worship on the ridiculous grounds that some extreme adherents were responsible for a terrorist attack?

Gee, I guess that means we shouldn't allow any Christian churches to go up in Oklahoma City, because the Federal Building there was attacked by extremists who were upset over the Waco incident involving the Branch Davidians. I obviously don't need to make a list of abominations that were committed by extremists who claimed to be working in Christ's name. We all know Christianity is a religion of peace, but that doesn't stop some nutjobs from bombing the occasional women's health center, does it?

Those who say it's insensitive to build something like a mosque so near to sacred ground should take a look at Mount Rushmore, which has a likeness of the four whitest men in American history scraped into the very rock that is sacred to Native American tribes.

I guess the winners get to decide which ground is sacred-er.

The very fact that we're reacting with such vehemence will only play into the hands of those very extremists who are responsible for the terrorist attacks. Pictures of Americans burning Qurans will be the most effective insurgent recruitment tool since photos of the Abu Ghraib degradations circulated in the Muslim world. Actions like that will only damage attempts to bring peace to the troubled regions and will likely cost more American lives.

From the AP:
Gen. David Petraeus took the rare step of a military leader taking a position on a domestic matter when he warned in an e-mail to The Associated Press that "images of the burning of a Quran would undoubtedly be used by extremists in Afghanistan — and around the world — to inflame public opinion and incite violence."
That's just what we need; another reason for crazed religious extremists to hate the USA. Great job, idiots.

6 comments:

oldswede said...

I have to wonder if stirring up anger among Moslems in the Near East and elsewhere is his kook's goal. Some xianists believe in an imminent Armageddon leading to the second coming, etc.
oldswede

CT Bob said...

Yeah, it's like those wacky Christians who contribute money to try to get the Temple of Solomon rebuilt, because the biblical prophecies say that will bring about Armageddon.

The only reason we don't see as many Christians who are willing to kill themselves along with others is that the bible teaches that suicide is an unforgivable sin. Otherwise, we'd probably see nutty Christians walking in with bombs strapped to them, blowing up schools, bars, women's clinics, and churches of slightly differing beliefs on a near-daily basis!

Nopartisan said...

Actually Bob the Bible teaches us to love those who hate us, that's why we don't go around blowing people up.

Most Christians denounce violence done by others claiming to be Christians.

Of far more concern to me than the nutjob preacher who wants to burn the koran, is the fact that muslims are willing to kill or riot over it.

Our politicians and others should be ashamed that they cower everytime anything negative towards islam occurs. The fact that they murder and riot over pictures, movies etc. is no reason to deny the nutjob pastor his first amendment rights.

By the way on CNN.com there has been a story on since tuesday about the fact the U.S. Army burned afghan language bibles, because of a fear of violence. Where are the columns calling that an act of religous bigotry and cries of outrage by the same people upset over this?

When hamas murdered the Israeli's last week where was the outrage by the same cowards who are terrified by a book burning?

imam rauf said last night that if he moved the GZ mosque there will be violence, what the hell is wrong with these people and why are so many giving them a pass?

oldswede said...

Three young children were injured in a bombing last month. In Lurgan. That's in northern Ireland. You know, Catholics vs. Protestants.
Why do we tolerate all these Irish in America?
oldswede

Authentic Connecticut Republican said...

Too many flakes want to second guess the nation's Founders.

Authentic Connecticut Republican said...

>>is that the bible teaches that suicide is an unforgivable sin...

Actually you can't find anything to support the above statement in the Bible at all.
Yes I'm sure.

We looked for it after my step-son's premature and self-inflicted demise earlier this year.

Real Christians (not the Santa Claus & show up in church for Easter variety) tend to at least *try* to treat others as they should; like Christians.

Our belief has nothing to do with the beliefs, if any, of others but instead guides our actions towards others.

The lunatic pseudo minister that was so hell-bent to burn Korans (and generally make trouble for our military serving overseas) was getting close enough to treason in my opinion to warrant simply knocking him off as opposed to endangering our forces.
(It would have been a pretty small funeral I suspect.)

That wouldn't have been too Christian I suspose; but sometimes I'm an American-Christian, and others I'm a Christian-American.

Either way he needed to get stopped one way or the other; the last thing we need is more PO'd radicals.