Salman Rushdie Stabbed in New York

[Frustration]

Sounds like you are backtracking on your comment that stereotypes are strongly based on fact.

I have no interest in responding to the contents of your imagination.

[hammerofglass]

1) Deliberately provocative statement.
2) Get called on it.
3) Act haughty and refuse to even attempt to back it up.

Every. Damn. Thread.

[Frustration]

hammerofglass, you've been viciously aggressive - attacking 'weaknesses' that often don't even exist - ever since clearspira and I demonstrated how you were making yourself look like a fool.

Wouldn't it be a good idea to stop doing that? Maybe directing some effort at NOT making yourself look like a fool, even? A change is as good as a rest, they say.

[hammerofglass]

Frustration you are a troll and a fool who restates other people's opinions as facts, does not understand the positions you take well enough to defend them and always immediately jump to saying anyone who questions you is stupid. I strongly suspect you haven't graduated high school and don't know what half the words you use mean.

Clearspira I often disagree with, but have never had cause to question his honestly.

[McAvoy]

Sounds like you are backtracking on your comment that stereotypes are strongly based on fact.

I have no interest in responding to the contents of your imagination.

Of course you wouldn't. It would actually mean effort on your part.

You still sound like backtracking.

[Beastro]

This despicable attack will only reinforce nasty stereotypes anti-Muslim bigots push about us Muslims.

Is it a stereotype though? I mean, sure there are a lot of civil Muslims around who won't bother anyone for disagreeing with their views, but then there are a whole lot of Muslims around who do. It's like moking Christians for their kiddy-fiddling priests. It's widespread enough and often gets covered up by the religious authorities in various ways, to make it a systematic trait, rather than a stereotype...

A big issue about what is intrinsic is what is done about it, especially in this respect what has been done in the past.

The Catholic Church has a long history and many nadir periods, but they have recognized issues and worked on them (Gregorian Reforms) even if they did so reluctantly (Counter-Reformation). It is up to them to fix their issues and genuinely show that they have gotten their shit together (because they've ruined their moral authority badly due to that crap), but they've done it in the past.

Another issue especially with religions is what exemplar is set. When it comes to Christ the above doesn't hold weight and the secular can shrug and say he was a decent fellow, even if they'd assert he didn't exist or something. Neither would it with Muhammad on this topic that I can speak of, but Islam still has to wrestle with reconciling things like his role as a military commander today. In that respect it is hard to say groups like ISIS are acting un-Muslim when they are seeking to reestablish a Caliphate in the same way that Islam originally did, through naked military conquest.

[McAvoy]

This despicable attack will only reinforce nasty stereotypes anti-Muslim bigots push about us Muslims.

Is it a stereotype though? I mean, sure there are a lot of civil Muslims around who won't bother anyone for disagreeing with their views, but then there are a whole lot of Muslims around who do. It's like moking Christians for their kiddy-fiddling priests. It's widespread enough and often gets covered up by the religious authorities in various ways, to make it a systematic trait, rather than a stereotype...

A big issue about what is intrinsic is what is done about it, especially in this respect what has been done in the past.

The Catholic Church has a long history and many nadir periods, but they have recognized issues and worked on them (Gregorian Reforms) even if they did so reluctantly (Counter-Reformation). It is up to them to fix their issues and genuinely show that they have gotten their shit together (because they've ruined their moral authority badly due to that crap), but they've done it in the past.

Another issue especially with religions is what exemplar is set. When it comes to Christ the above doesn't hold weight and the secular can shrug and say he was a decent fellow, even if they'd assert he didn't exist or something. Neither would it with Muhammad on this topic that I can speak of, but Islam still has to wrestle with reconciling things like his role as a military commander today. In that respect it is hard to say groups like ISIS are acting un-Muslim when they are seeking to reestablish a Caliphate in the same way that Islam originally did, through naked military conquest.

Both Christian and Muslim religions have a long history of violence. The difference is that not that long ago many countries went away from using Christianity as a main motivator for politics.

But don't get me wrong, there is small but vocal minority in the US at least that would love if they could bring religion into the government. Religion as in their version of Christianity.

[Fuzzy Necromancer]

I wouldn't even call it a small minority. It is a distressingly large movement with lots of political power behind it.

[McAvoy]

I wouldn't even call it a small minority. It is a distressingly large movement with lots of political power behind it.

TBH I don't know why I called it small because you are very right.

Too many want their Christian values to dictate the government including laws.

[Beastro]

Both Christian and Muslim religions have a long history of violence. The difference is that not that long ago many countries went away from using Christianity as a main motivator for politics.

But don't get me wrong, there is small but vocal minority in the US at least that would love if they could bring religion into the government. Religion as in their version of Christianity.

Oh, we're going to see more religion intermixed with politics, just not of the sort you think of.

The old pre-Christian outlook on the world is coming back in ways and one can see that in how many an ersatz religion is pushed in politics. I'd argue that it's been happening for quite some time as one of the earliest and largest of the ersatz religions has been nationalism.