"burn a Koran day"

[sifi]

yep. But that doesn't change them from being messed up.

Yup. The difference is, because we live in a Christian-led society, we view any Christian violence with a sympathetic eye that we don't use for Muslims.

Edited September 8, 2010 by sifimaster

[eFestivals]

how is that the same thing? surely the islam equivalent is saying that allah doesn't exist and they've got it all wrong...

publishing a cartoon of Mohammed is pretty much saying that to Muslims, which was what I was trying to get across.

so there was complaints? were there threats or acts of violence?

There were certainly complaints. And bearing in mind the number of Christian nutters in the USA, probably more too.

[eFestivals]

Depends what you mean by "we". I certainly don't. I'm equally outraged by Christians stoning gay AIDS victims as I am women being stoned to death by Muslims for cheating on their dead husbands.

You live in a Christian-led society, and because of that you're indoctrinated with Christian sympathies, whether you want to recognise that fact or not.

For example, the Crusades make modern 'Islamic' suicide bombers look like nice blokes you'd invite round for tea and cakes, yet few within our society view the Crusades with a much greater dislike than they would those suicide bombers.

It doesn't mean that specifically you regard the things you mention or the example I give the way I stated, but - at least till you put a bit of proper thought into it - there will be some things you regard that way because they're 'ours' and not 'theirs'.

[Cardboard Box City]

didn't they go mental at south park for something about mohammad. i know they're very precious about that, but with all the stuff in south park about christianity, i can't remember hearing any complaints...

[sifi]

You live in a Christian-led society, and because of that you're indoctrinated with Christian sympathies, whether you want to recognise that fact or not.

Edited September 8, 2010 by sifimaster

[eFestivals]

There's always occasional complaints but none that involve the same sort of uproar - especially not outside America.

But given that the world is not all in the same place culturally, it's hardly surprising.

1400 years into Christianity, Christians were going around carrying out far worse acts than Muslims are 1400 years into their religion.

It's also the case that whereas the western world has had a slow exposure to the advance of modern existence over centuries, for much of the Islamic world it's been thrust into their faces in the last 50 years or less - and no society adapts to fast change easily.

I see the current (but limited) Islamic uproar as a reactionary protest to modern life because of that fast change, not so much different from stuff like the Luddites. It'll pass.

[eFestivals]

Indeed, only last week I was accused on here of being exclusively anti-christian. Now you are suggesting the opposite.

No, not at all - I'm merely saying that because such stuff is presented to us in a sympathetic way by our Christian-led society, we can't help ourselves but be effected by at least some of it, no matter how hard we might try and throw off that conditioning.

[sifi]

1400 years into Christianity, Christians were going around carrying out far worse acts than Muslims are 1400 years into their religion.

[jump]

Reading more about it, I bet this church will pull out of this book burning thing at the last minute. Its clearly just a PR exercise - and a very succesful one at that - I'd say that any time you get the president's office issuing a statement on it then you've done pretty well.

[eFestivals]

What was year 0 for Christianity, by your reckoning then? Certainly not the year Christianity died ... it was at least three hundred and fifty odd years after the death of Christ that the Roman Empire picked up on it to win a civil war. Before that it was an underground cult. Islam had state support pretty much from the off - only two hundred years after Christianity was adopted by Rome.

I was working that from 0CE, but it doesn't much matter which date you use. Islamic excesses haven't yet reached the level of Christian excesses, and I very much doubt they ever will do if the world keeps going forwards in much the way it's done to date.

(In the case of major world upheaval [such as a major food crisis or the oil running out before we've adapted] then it's a whole new ball game, and predictions become impossible).

[llcoolphil]

I dont have any real problem with it to be honest. If a load of people with an imaginary friend want to burn a book that's special to a different load of people with an imaginary friend, let them get on with it.

I grow tired of sympathy for islam just as Im tired of american nutters foisting their christianity on the world with their army and navy and airforce. Anybody - and I mean anybody, be it a moderate or a fundamentalist - that is outraged by some nutters burning a few books is as mental as the people who think burning the books is making any other statement than 'I am a grown up with an imaginary friend and therefore should not be allowed metal cutlery'.

People say not all muslims are nutters just as not all christians are nutters. They are adults with an imaginary friend. If I committed a crime and tried telling dibble 'God spoke to me',. Id get sectioned.

[ampersand]

Anybody - and I mean anybody, be it a moderate or a fundamentalist - that is outraged by some nutters burning a few books is as mental as the people who think burning the books is making any other statement than 'I am a grown up with an imaginary friend and therefore should not be allowed metal cutlery'.

[Pogues Mcgogues]

I dont have any real problem with it to be honest. If a load of people with an imaginary friend want to burn a book that's special to a different load of people with an imaginary friend, let them get on with it.

I grow tired of sympathy for islam just as Im tired of american nutters foisting their christianity on the world with their army and navy and airforce. Anybody - and I mean anybody, be it a moderate or a fundamentalist - that is outraged by some nutters burning a few books is as mental as the people who think burning the books is making any other statement than 'I am a grown up with an imaginary friend and therefore should not be allowed metal cutlery'.

People say not all muslims are nutters just as not all christians are nutters. They are adults with an imaginary friend. If I committed a crime and tried telling dibble 'God spoke to me',. Id get sectioned.

[eFestivals]

You must realise this goes way beyond their actual religion. Prejudice, stereotype, skin colour, culture, immigration, etc all factor into this. It's an offshot of something much wider.

Spot on!!!

God is an American. That's the Christian god of course, none of that funny stuff.

[Cardboard Box City]

Spot on!!!

God is an American. That's the Christian god of course, none of that funny stuff.

[llcoolphil]

You must realise this goes way beyond their actual religion. Prejudice, stereotype, skin colour, culture, immigration, etc all factor into this. It's an offshot of something much wider.

[Steve P]

Religion is but one of the made up bollox we use to control people.

[eFestivals]

Becuase Christian, Jewish and Islamic ideas of 'god' are different things?

Ultimately, yes. Each says "I am the only path", which makes any of the others incompatible with that particular one.

[Pogues Mcgogues]

Did Neil and Phil just agree with me?

[brighteyes]

Reminds me of this for some reason...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVs7Sn46pS0

[llcoolphil]

Did Neil and Phil just agree with me?

[philipsteak]

Did Neil and Phil just agree with me?

[spwan-of-the-devil]

When I first saw the headline of the thread I thought it said "Bum a Korean day"

[Kowalski]

I blame the press. If the media ignored these f**kwits they might just go away!

Hardly the first time anything like this has happened either.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DFZbr5bWrI

[Pogues Mcgogues]

We're both having an impact on you and you're learning to post a bit of sense now and again