symyjym
Banned
For 1500 years Muslims and Islam have been in Europe, 45 million or whatever of them now, living mostly happily, integrated throughout our society, from MPs to Doctors, teachers, police. The politics of their homelands, the brutal regimes, the wars we've seen for decades have created a faction of the Muslim world that you simply cannot taint an entire religion with. Anders Breviek killed 77 people, mainly teenagers, he is rightly considered a psychopath radicalised by the far right. Had he been a Muslim we would have seen that tragedy completely differently. But, crucially there is no difference between Breviek and the driver of this lorry. Both easily radicalised by a doctrine of hate, both able to commit mass murder in the name of a belief. The murderer of Jo Cox no different.
Every religion can be driven to extremism, and almost everyone has at one time or another. The language of hate is an easy tool to radicalise if you can present it as the word of God. For some, like Breviek, you don't even need the word of God.
What do you want to happen, 1.6 Billion Muslims all to say, yes our religion encourages us to be violent, when the vast majority are not violent at all? 5 out of the last 12 Nobel Peace Prize winners have been Muslims. It would be like getting 1.2 Billion Catholics to admit that their religion encourages paedophilia.
The denial and excuses are that we expect some kind of convenient answer, that we can just say, oh its this bit from their book, or its migrants, or whatever else to ease our need for an explanation - it would make us feel safer. However it isn't simple is it. Europe lives with 45 million Muslims, and the continent has seen far more violence from separatists, civil or political factions, or just random acts. Of 1000 terrorist attacks recorded in Europe over the past 5 years, less than 2% were connected to religion.
In our lifetimes we've seen what ordinary Christians can be driven to under the stress of violence. I cannot get my head around how we never blamed Christianity for Northern Ireland and yet need to blame Islam for these atrocities? What is the difference? One was more political, but what do you think the middle east is? The paramilitaries found it easy enough to radicalise plenty of willing people to blow up kids and families out shopping on British streets, and it follows another religion finds it just as easy enough to do the same.
If Islam really was a religion of hate, do you not think we'd be seeing wide spread attacks in every city in the world from a population of 1.6 Billion Muslims? Doesn't stack up that conclusion.
It isn't everyone else's fault, because you are never going to find a convenient 'fault' to blame it on. That is a hurdle we need to get our heads around.
The difference between Christianity and Islam is that when we trace the origins back to the men they represent, we all know that Jesus never killed or hurt anyone and was never a paedophile to influence the Catholic Church in that way. Even as an atheist I grew up knowing that Jesus was a peaceful man and a good example. Islam on the other hand doesn’t have that luxury of a peaceful and kind role model.
All I have said is that all Muslims have a responsibility to identify and understand the route of the problem in their religion. If you are saying that Muslims don’t have this duty I would strongly disagree.
Do you know much about Muhammad?