Saudi is the home of Islam, it is also the home of head chopping, hand amputation, stoning to death “adulterous” women buried up to the waist in sand, slave labour and xtra territorial executions. I think disagreeing with that is not a “phobia”.
Of course, to be balanced, Israel led by a war criminal, supported by genocidal fascists ,has murdered tens of thousands of women and children.
What do these two rogue states have in common? They are both supported by the US.
Of course it’s all to do with money and votes, especially in an election year. My good lady wife thinks it is a disgusting and disgraceful aspect of the US Gov’t, and yes, she is an American.
A phobia is an irrational fear.
Fearing an ideology that’s completely inimical to Western democracy and values is the sign of a working brain.
You should not be Islamophobic because the Islamic religion is just as much about “love thy neighbour” as the Christian religion (or Judaism) is.
Being phobic about authoritarian states and false preachers that twist religion in order to control people is perfectly fine.
US support for Israel and Saudi Arabia is all about oil and geopolitics.
Yes, but I would say that’s not a lot🤔
I have listened to the arguments about keeping open relations with the Taliban v declaiming their appalling attitude to women and girls.
They deserve to be made an example of, emasculation comes to mind.
Apart from the followers who think getting all explodey and stabby. Their Sky Pixie Handbook actually says it’s fine to lie to me, tax me or flat out murder me due to my being an infidel.
Since the IRA stopped planting bombs in my city, no Christians have been trying to kill me because of my nationality and I can’t remember a single Jew trying to do me harm.
All religions have cultural accretions. It’s these that are offensive. For example, the Taliban propound ‘rules’ that are nowhere to be found in the teachings of Islam.
I’ll give you a very bizarre example. When I mentioned that someone had ‘let one go’ in the confines of the darkroom while I was demoing B & W film dev routines, my 3 Afghan collegues disappeared at a run.
Later, one of them approached me and told me that what I had said was deeply offensive and ‘not part of our culture’.
Later still, the ‘culprit’ whose large painting of a muj, complete with AK47, hung over the front door of our offices, told me that in their culture what I had said was nigh unforgiveable and that “If you are not my teacher and my friend I must kill you”.
This is part of the culture and mores of ‘puhktoonwali’ and has nothing to do with the teachings of Islam. This, and other similar mores, are additions that add power and control to the ‘guardians’ of the faith.
I remember hearing an Egyptian woman bravely saying, on BBC R4, that Islam was badly in need of its own Reformation.
^ this. In a nutshell.
Nowhere in the Bible (and especially not in the New Testament) does it say that having an Inquisition to root out heretics would be a good idea. Nor that burning them at the stake would be a suitable punishment.
Context is the key!
Some helpful explanations here
To echo the words of one contributor in that forum
“Since there is ambiguity in all religious scriptures, the best religion to follow is Humanity.“
I suspect the meaning of humanity they intended was to be kind and compassionate to each other. My observation of humanity is that it’s naturally cruel, oppressive and unkind unless given a reason to be different. But also that humanity is very diverse, with some always wanting others to do well balancing those who wish harm. Society tends to try to shape and guide this, and religion often underpins that, but may also be a tool to power.
In the end, people are always the problem.
These are the extreme examples in Christianity. The one that sticks in my craw, further down the scale of absurdity, is the Catholic Church making Galileo recant his assertion that the earth was not the centre of the universe.
A better word to use might have been ‘Humanitarian’.
We do tend to think of the definition of humanity as being human but humanity is from the Latin humanitas for human nature and kindness . I would however, agree with you that these two things are by no means mutually inclusive.
I am reminded of “love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”
It can seem so hard to do these things to others, when we know they must be applied by others to us.
I fully expect the ultimate and final cost of humanity not being able to work together nicely will be the uncontrollable rise of autonomous machine intelligence that may well decide humans are not worth retaining in this unique world.
Some quite feasible scenarios outlined in a new book may be enjoyable reading for pessimists, or ‘realists’
I haven’t read the book but sincerely hope the author posits some strategies to put in place in order to avoid extinction.
A religion bears no resemblance to the way people misuse it and its teachings , Here is one )follower of Islam .
Why wouldn’t a sensible person
be * ophobic?
*insert any religion.
You could add the Bull of Papal Infallibility to that.
Both know defunct as is purgatory.
Well Antony, I think that for me Saudi speaks for Islam in the way that the Vatican speaks for Catholicism. Head chopping, hand amputation and stoning is par for the course there, so that shows me the values of the religion.
Note that policeman mentioned he “reverted” not “converted” to Islam. Is that from the teaching that that everyone is considered to have been born Muslim, and those of us who are no longer deserve to be punished?
What is the fault of children born in a kaafir environment? - Islam Question & Answer.
