They're the homophobes who somehow tie every evil / tragic thing that happens back to homosexuality. Flood hits NYC, tornadoes hit OK, earthquake hits the west coast....it's God's way of getting back at us.
But when the Westboro Baptist Church announces they are going to protest the funeral of a soldier, for example, thousands of people (Christians?) turn out to protest the WBC protesters. We denounce people of our own faith (?) who preach hate and violence. We don't celebrate them.
Here Texas A&M students form a shoulder-to-shoulder human shield to keep Westboro Baptist Church protesters from disrupting the funeral of a soldier KIA.
But when Islamic extremists commit a heinous attack such as the one yesterday in London when several Muslims hacked to death a British soldier outside his barracks, I don't see rank-and-file Muslims lining up to disavow the actions of their fellow Muslims. Why is that?
"Gaza Arabs celebrate Boston Marathon attack with dance, candies"
You'll see a few individuals holding up little hand-lettered signs that say, "This isn't Islam", but they are totally overshadowed by the throngs jumping up and down in jubilation. The majority just sit on their hands.
Why don't they cleanse their ranks of those who scheme and plot to do harm to innocents? Instead, they seem to applaud them. If you knew someone was building a bomb or building a war arsenal, for example, wouldn't you call the police? Why do they allow their places of faith to be polluted by haters? Why don't they police themselves? Is this just a matter of the press reporting one side but not the other?
Yet after every atrocity committed by Muslim extremists in the name of Allah, the rest of us are cautioned (rightly) to not rush to judgement and take out revenge against all Muslims. We preach peace and fairness....we "talk the talk" and we "walk the walk".
Mainstream Muslims say they ARE a religion of peace. OK, fine. Then I'd like to see them do a little walking, too.
(Move over Salman Rushdie. I'm probably now on someone's hit list.)
S
*And please don't start your comment with, "Yeah, well, back in the dark ages Christians....". I'm interested in the here and now.
Bingo...nail head!!!
ReplyDeleteVery simple valid questions. Why aren't more people asking them. Why are we so afraid of these fanatics? People do not speak up because they are afraid of having their heads cut off.
When are we all going to rise up along with Muslims and say STOP IT!! WE ARE NOT AFRAID OF YOU. AND WHY BE AFRAID BECAUSE YOU JUST KILL US ANYWAY!!!!!
YOU ARE SICK BACKWARD EXTREEMLY STUPID PEOPLE!!
YOU WANT YOUR WOMEN TO NOT BE WESTERNIZED!! YOU DO NOT WANT ANY CHANGE AND YOU TWIST THE WORDS OF YOUR KORAN!!
AND IF YOU ARE MUSLIM AND DO NOT WANT TO BE INCLUDED IN THIS CHARACTURIZATION, THEN STAND UP AND SAY SO AND SAY SO VERY LOUDLY!!!
Thx Scott,
Well done and well said and about time someone said it!!
But when Islamic extremists commit a heinous attack such as the one yesterday in London … but they are totally overshadowed by the throngs jumping up and down in jubilation.
ReplyDeleteIf you mean that quite literally – that local Muslims in Woolwich should make some sort of demonstration to show their opposition to the murder – then you’re not making a reasonable comparison. Westboro Baptist Church is, as you say, a Christian sect, and when they plan a protest they announce it, and other Christians of opposing views get plenty of opportunity to plan a counter-protest. More to the point, since Christians are in the majority in the US (apparently about 70% of the population describe themselves as being Christians), it’s easy for them to do so. And while the Westboro Baptist Church may be unpopular, they are using scripture to support their case: it’s pretty clear from the Bible that God hates fags, as they would put it. At least he finds them abominable, and requires them to be stoned to death, which doesn’t seem very tolerant to me.
In the Woolwich case, the killers obviously did not publish their planned attack, so there could be no planned counter-protest. All they could do was to denounce it, which the Muslim Council of Britain did, along with various other Muslim groups, most obviously those in the area. There were no throngs jumping up and down in jubilation. And Muslims form less than 5% of the UK population. Also, they are perfectly aware that appearing on the streets at this time might be ill-judged.
Some people did appear on the streets in Woolwich to express their views however: members of extreme right-wing groups such as the English Defence League fought with police last night. So there was a protest of sorts, but not exactly what anyone is very proud of.
NOTE: As an atheist I am not supporting Muslim ideals any more than I would Christian ones.
"they are perfectly aware that appearing on the streets at this time might be ill-judged." Really? I would think it a definite support of sympathy if rank-and-file Muslims there were to march peacefully in condemnation of the attackers.
DeleteMy understanding is that yesterday's London attackers were British citizens who learned their hate in mosques there. Why aren't local peaceful Muslims protesting at every opportunity the existence of these hate schools? And I hardly think a press release qualifies as an expression of outrage by good subjects of a peaceful Allah.
I meant that it would be unwise for any Muslim group to appear on the streets at the same time as the right-wing rioters.
DeleteIt doesn’t seem to be clear where they got their ideas. Only one of them has been officially named so far; he is apparently British-born, of Nigerian descent, and was a Christian initially, who became a Muslim convert. Where he got his fanatical ideas isn’t clear at the moment. There are certainly extremist Muslim groups which promote terror attacks, yes, and, as can be imagined, any such group would be illegal, just as Protestant and Catholic Irish terrorist groups were during the Troubles.
Please don’t misunderstand: I am not condoning anyone’s behaviour. As an atheist I’m not taking anyone’s side. The world would be a happier place without religious extremists of any kind. I just wanted to point out that no one had been expressing jubilation, but rather condemnation of the attackers.
"I just wanted to point out that no one had been expressing jubilation, but rather condemnation of the attackers."
DeleteGood to know, Simon. Thanks.
Well said! as a Christian I am always trying to love everyone but there is a time to stand up and say enough is enough. I do not support Christian "zealots" and I do not think Muslims should support their extremists either.
ReplyDeleteWell, you'll never be on MY hit list. I've recently visited several Islamic countries and while I have a deep respect for Islam your question is one I've repeatedly asked myself: since Islam isn't a religion of violence, why don't Islamic leaders speak out more loudly about all of this violence?
ReplyDeleteI'll ask the same thing as Stephen does. I'll also ask the question why Christian leaders don't speak out more loudly about all the sexual abuse by Church leaders. I consider myself a Christian, but I have never, ever taken part in a march or a protest against sexual abuse by, let's say Catholic priests.
ReplyDeleteGood point Betina. But I think there is more pressure on the clergy than you realize. I think it was one reason Pope Benedict (?) stepped down early. There could always be more, though.
ReplyDelete