Islamaphobia, Mohammad and the criticism of Islam

The killings in France have reignited the hate for Islam, and the bombing of a German news paper didn’t help, but add fuel to the fire. Now, like gun legislation, people are picking sides, and out screaming each other, without even the thought of common sense coming from their mouths. So let me set you straight on a few things.

Phobia: the rational/or irrational fear of something.

Is it rational to fear Islam? It is rational to fear anything that calls for the death and stoning of people. It is rational to fear people with ideologies of hate, and that doesn’t mean just Islam. Though, you should take note, there exists not nuance for fear of Christianity, like Christianaphobia.

Does that mean you should hate Muslims? Only if you are content to throw a blanket over one people and hate them all based on the fact that some of them might take their religion seriously, in which case, might I suggest you do the same for all Abrahamic religions, Hinduism, Buddhism, and any other religion that is sexist, and bigoted, and calls for the lesser treatment of one people. You may not have many friends after that, but at least you will be consistent.

So what about all the panic, and retaliatory behavior by those in Europe and around the world? Well, the issue isn’t that all Muslims are bad, we know they aren’t. Some Muslims have gathered and stood up for the right of free speech. So it is not a matter of them all being bad people, it’s quite the opposite.

You can’t tell a muslim just by their color. You can’t determine religion just by looking at someone. There are cultural Jews who are atheists but maintain their culture, there are Christians in the middle east who look identical to the Muslims they live around. There are Hindu’s who look exactly like the Muslims they live around, and unless you are dressed entirely in religious garb, it’s not that easy to pick you out in a crowd of suits, and ties. So this notion that all Muslims are this or that needs to go. Muslims come from all over, they practice their religion in many countries, and there are different sects of Muslims.

The problem that Europe is facing, and it is serious, is that you don’t know. You don’t know who are the good Muslim people and the bad muslim people. The panic is that you have a culture used to dealing with issues in a secular manner. With debate, and ridicule, and the freedom of expression. Unfortunately, Islam doesn’t allow for such things. Many of the immigrants are brought up in countries where Islam is taught in such a manner that they believe insulting the prophet is a crime punishable by death, and though many of them would never practice it, they sympathise with those who do.

Whit the idea that you don’t know where the next attack is coming from. You can’t predict based on where a Muslim came from, what they look like and which part of Islamic religion they practice, and the same can be said for Christians. The problem though, is that we know there are factions of Muslims being trained to be terrorists, and to do as much damage to freedom and the right to express yourself.

The right to ridicule any and all religions based on the principles they express should not be inhibited, and one thing religion that is up to no good can’t stand is ridicule. So it is dangerous to ridicule not only Islam but, all religions that have captive control of the laws, and the governing body. The reason that Islam is so dangerous is that in the areas where some of the Muslims are coming from there is a disparity in education, and wealth, those raised in poverty are more likely to be taught to be less accepting of other ideas and criticisms of their particular ideology, just like Christians.

It is not racist in any form to criticize Islam, it is a religion, not a race, not a person, not a living body, just like criticizing Christianity is not racist, but people assume they know what muslims look like, and even the ones crying racist are making the assumption that they know what muslims look like, but you can’t tell an apostate, from a Muslim, or a Christian from the middle east. You have to make sweeping generalizations, like, all white people are racist, or all black people are criminals, and to do this, you have to have racist. .

To criticize Islam is not to criticize the people unless they are the particular ones promoting the hate, and teaching people to kill others, to prevent ridicule. Any religion that  demands harm to others should be ridiculed, especially when it commands the stoning of infidels, and apostates, commands women to be second class, and carries out those actions.

Moderate muslims don’t follow those parts of the religion, but they often sympathise with those who do, and believe that there should be death for apostacy, and homosexuality. If that deserves silent consent then so does every other religion that has come before it causing death and destruction, and we can go back to the dark ages of thinking, and witch burnings. Because secular society and ridicule are the only things that have prevented Christianity from modern horrors being acted out on those who don’t believe the same.

We have to ridicule Islam, as a religion, and its tenants, and we have to stop the teaching of Muslims who would live a secular and happy life to sympathize with those who would bomb news papers, and gun down cartoonists. It is time for religion to be a personal and private affair, not a state of law, crushing free thought, and expression of ones very convictions of morality which shine above that of religion and dogma.

Religion is the bully on the playground.

The disregarding notion that if you play nice with a bully, they will play nice with you, to me, seems not only absurd but derelict of common sense and rationality. Religion is a bully, and every religion a different kind of bully. They range from the bully who convinces you to do their dirty work and be their slave, to the bully who beats you repeatedly and then blames you for not being able to defend yourself. The problem is, these bullies have had full reign for thousands of years, and when secular people try and shut them down, inevitably someone cries foul, and not always from the other side. This is where I protest, and detest those who have this apathetic stance of get along for the sake of getting along. Like if you just walk further around the bully they won’t make time to come beat you up. After all, they are only bullying because you are in their direct line of fire. Wrong, and preposterous. They bully because they get a thrill out of the power, and ability to control others.

It is time to stop blaming the victims, and make no mistake, secular people are the victims. Religion is a bunch of bullies, and they are ruining it for everyone. Take Christianity, for example, as our first bully. When they are caught in some miserable act of bullying others, and trying to proclaim their domination by numbers, they often cry foul and wail until their fellow members come to their side, and aid in bullying others. It is a job for them to go out and tell people how they are discriminated against, and how they are victims of other religions encroaching upon their society. If you listened to the most popular of the Christian leaders long enough, you would think America was nothing more than a huge Nazi camp, and parts of it are Auschwitz. Meanwhile, Christians are gathering money and resources to pay to politicians, so they can legislate everything from what marriage is, to what non Christian women can do with their bodies. They are the bully who likes to trip the other kids on the playground, mock and ridicule them, and blame them for their suffering.

Islam is one of the worst bullies. Though not as highly prevalent here in the United states. They are the bullies that don’t just trip you, they pound you into the dirt while telling you that it is what is best for you, since you are a worthless, non conforming piece of trash. Their leaders are content to let the masses do harm to others and bully because ultimately this religion feeds on fear. They are the bully, who does it just because they can, and no one dares to stop them. Especially since they do the minority cry, and then blow some stuff up, or kill people in their massive outbursts of rage. Sane and normal people fear them, fear being killed by them, and try to evade them, and being targeted by them.

There are many small religions out there that can’t bully near as well as the first two. They just try and convince you to join them, offering protection, and care taking, or some crackpots thinking.The reality of it is that you still join the bullies. One of the groups running around trying to collect people, make them think and behave the same for the better good of the bully system, and then grow masses so they can gain control.

The problem here is this. Secular people tend to be of many minds, they don’t want to conform. They are the happy content kids on the playground that run around and enjoy the time swinging and climbing the bars, and just living. Sure they will get together to hear about what is going on, but then they go back to their play. The bullies on the other hand, don’t want to see anyone enjoying life and all it has to offer. So they try and pick off the weakest, and easiest kids.  They pinpoint weaknesses and attack. Then when the happy little secular kids get together and try to fight the bully back, inevitably one of them is offended that we would dare to rise to their tactics.

The problem is, when you do nothing about something horrible going on around you, it does not stop, it becomes exacerbated to the point someone is really harmed. Like during the Salem Witch trials, or the Crusades. Those were times when the bullies had full control of the playground, and used it to annihilate the competition by horrible uses of force and torture. That can’t be the case ever again. When we fight court battles, and win or lose, when we come out and say we won’t be bullied, when we stand up for our place in the world, we are fighting back. It is justified, because one more life lost to the bullies is a life lost. One more death because of bullying religions is a death because of bullies.

Why should we ever feel guilty about trying to save people, make points, and stand up for our right to exist, be free and enjoy our world? The answer is, we shouldn’t. The time has come for the bullies to go, for them to understand this world and all of its beauty belongs to all of us. That we have the right to enjoy them not trampling on our sovereignty and humanity. We are just as valuable, worthy, and equal to any and all of them. The difference is we are not actively trying to force what we don’t believe down their throats, but trying to reclaim our right to our humanity. So what if people on our own side disagree. Apparently they don’t know what it has already cost us in untold millions of deaths, beatings, stonings, and horrors beyond compare.

This is justified, and bullies don’t ever just stop bullying. Instead they become more aggressive and abusive. We deserve better than to be abused in our own nation. We deserve to stand along side any of our fellow Americans, or humans and say we have just as much value, rights, and equalities as them. It is not that we want to be a bully, and we feel left out. It is that we want to bring the bully back down to our size so that we can just move on and enjoy what we have.

Sometimes the only option left, after you have tried everything is to sock it to the bully. I am not one for violence, but when words and examples, and please for rationality fail, you ball up your fist, roll up your sleeves and do what needs to be done. Religion should not get the right to do everything they want, hurt everyone they want, and misuse power to steal all of the joy from others lives. So if you don’t like what the secular community is doing to take the playground back, perhaps you would like to be the one to take on the bullies alone, if not, then don’t tell us how to fight against them when it comes time to not be bullied any longer.