[quote]conorh wrote:
rubberbubba wrote:
I’m reading this crap about how the muslim world is boycotting the Danish because they printed a caricature of Mohammed. It is, of course, their right to do that. But, it sort of points out the whole problem with the Islamic religion and Muslims in general. Ready?
They have no tolerance. Evidently the Q’uran forbids them from having a sense of humor about themselves as well.
So, herewith, I’d like to make an announcement to all Muslims worldwide.
I am not a Muslim. Therefore, I am not bound by the conventions of your faith. If I want to print a picture of Mohammed, fine. That’s my right. If I want to eat a hamburger, fine, that’s my right. I even own a Q’uran. That probably sends them into convulsions. Rest assured, my version is in English, so a.) it’s probably not an accurate translation and b.) you probably don’t even recognize it officially as a Q’uran because it isn’t in written in it’s native tongue.
Now, also get this. I’m a nice guy and I am, therefore, tolerant of the little quirks and weird things you do becase your religion dictates it. That means I won’t make fun of you. That also means I won’t pick up a rifle and chase your weird butt out of the country. Instead, my Christian religion teaches me that I should welcome you with open arms into my country and that I should respect you and your family for who you are without judging you.
I will do that. Why can’t you?
RB
People have a short memory. There was a time when Christians were accusing their neighbors of being witches and torturing people for not being Christians, or their kind of Christians. During the Inquisition, in fact, Jews would flee to Muslim controlled countries where they could practice their religion away from the persecution of their xenophobic Christian neighbors. There are still Christians who blow up abortion clinics and physically assault homosexuals.
Now, clearly not all modern Christians perform the last two acts, nor did all Christians participate in any of the above mentioned acts. There’s always going to be a slim few, who may or may not wield political power, who do crazy shit like that.
The Muslim community is no different. Most Muslims are decent folk who you never hear about or see on TV. I’ve heard people ask, “Why don’t they eject the terorists? Why don’t they come out and say that these extremists don’t represent them?” Why? Would you enjoy it more if you had moderate Muslims going door to door like Jehova’s witnesses? I wouldn’t. I don’t need Christians coming to my door either after some Christians does something wierd and terrible either, because I know that religious groups are not homogeneous blocks.
Now, I haven’t seen the little cartoons, nor am I particularly interested in seeing them. THey may or may not be something that I could understand people getting upset over. I believe that alot of Muslims in Europe will be upset about this because the Europeans seem to have gone out of their way to persecute their growing Muslim communities in the same way many American locales seem to persecute their Mexican immigrants. To make matters worse, I’m sure some of them are unable to read the writing that may accompany these drawings, adding to the misunderstanding and/or anger.
Now, you may be a truly tolerant human being who lives by the peaceful precepts you see in your faith. Many Christians (or Jews or Muslims or any other faith group you pick) are not. Many conservative Christians in this country are not particularly understanding or compassionate, and I would guess a slim few of them own or have even seen a Koran. (You are correct by the way that a Koran in english is not the Koran, as a “real” Koran must be transcribed in arabic with all the same words in the same places. Kind of neat…sure eliminates differences in translation.) I just get sick of the “anti-Muslim” vibe I get from some people that reflects a lack of understanding and compassion.
So, my opinion on Muslims, is the same as my opinion of Christians, Jews, lawyers, pizza delivery boys and sailors. Some are good, some are bad, but I will not categorize them by what arbitrary group they are associated with.
I hope we can have some good, intelligent social discourse.
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Wow, you just saved me 10 minutes 
To the OP,
As a muslim, I honestly don’t care what cartoons you print. However, if someone found it offensive, it is not your place to berrate or belittle them. It is their perrogative to boycott whatever they want. I’m pretty sure southern baptists do it all the time.