Originally Posted by Sidd Finch
I don't disagree with you. Islam is an old religion and subject to a huge range of interpretations, as any other.
Here, in sum, is my view, or part of it. You and GGG and Wonk anyone else can feel free to call me racist, or tell me that I obviously hate all Muslims, or any other shit you feel like spewing. Forgive me in advance for not responding.
Today, and in recent years, violent extremists that find their inspiration and justification in religion are largely Muslim. (That does not mean "exclusively" Muslim, nor "all Muslims are bad," nor that there are not violent extremists finding their justification in something other than religion, such as national identity or race.)
These violent extremists get a level of support and sympathy among Muslims that I view as far too high -- higher than I would expect if, say, Catholic militias were blowing up Protestant churches and vice versa. (This does not mean that there has never been horrifying sectarian violence among Christians that many Christians supported or did not protest.)
Part of that support is seen in the phenomenon of Muslims from Western countries joining overseas extremist groups in a way that I believe is extraordinary in history.
Islam -- not inherently, but the way in which it is being taught to people -- has something to do with the above. I don't know why. I don't know why a Sunni cares so much about who Muhammad designated as his successor that he would kill a Shiite. In some instances, "has something to do with" means "is a primary factor," in others it means "contributes to, along with many other factors."
Islamic countries -- countries that are not just predominantly Muslim, but in which Islam is a dominant cultural fact and influence (for example, countries in which you can be jailed for defaming Islam) -- have certain cultural norms that I find disgusting, particularly relating to the treatment of women. (This does not mean that no non-Muslim nations treat women poorly.) That treatment is not limited to government policy but permeates down to a man-on-the-street level, and is often worse at that level, and in my personal experience also carries over, to a thankfully lesser extent, to Muslims who do not live in Islamic countries.
I believe that the way Islam is taught has a great deal to do with the last item, too.
All of the above does NOT lead me to believe that Islam is evil, or Muslims are evil. It does lead me to believe that there is a problem within Islam, generally, that needs to be fixed within Islam. In a similar vein to how I believe that there is a problem of racism within American society, that needs to be fixed within American society.
All of the above renders me a bile-spouting Muslim hater, I realize.
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