What is it about Islam that it inspires such hatred and violence?
The people calling for the death of Gillian Gibbons because she "insulted Islam" are the same people who for the past 5 years have been complicit in the murder of more than 300,000 of their Muslim countrymen because of the color of their skin.
The problem with organized religions is that, whether it be Islam, Catholicism, orthodox Judaism or right wing Christian fundamentalism, it is far too easy for extremists to use a selective interpretation of their religion in order to justify their political beliefs.
I do wonder what has happened to the Teddy though. Forty lashes maybe? A stoning? No wonder so many Muslims want to live in the West.
1 comment:
I've often wondered about that, too. I suppose the best explanation I can come up with for now is that we (meaning all humans) are a bunch of tribal killers. As you say, religions are handy as a way of organizing and motivating the urge to kill the Others, but I don't think the evidence indicates that it's fundamental or necessary. Consider European soccer hooligans: they can kill supposedly based on a ball entering, or not entering, a net. (I suspect it has nothing to do with futball, other than as an essentially-accidental context ... just as I suspect the religious butchery has next to nothing to do with any allegedly-sacred texts, teachings, etc.) As you also pointed out, the zealous defenders of Mohammed's good name have found skin color to be a good enough reason to kill many within their religion.
In practical terms, I think that people like you and I and the English schoolteacher would be well-advised to stay away from those parts of the world where fanaticism rules. Better to stay home, where we're intimately familiar with the traps of unreason and can avoid them without having to think about it.
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