veganfan21 wrote:
SteveSarley wrote:
leashyourkids wrote:
SteveSarley wrote:
I just pointed the Jesus thing out as an interesting point. So you are saying that there is no threat to him over here? And I guess that means there is no threat to us, either? Any acts of terrorism in the USA that have occurred are figments of the man's imagination, I am to believe? I'd really like to hear someone who believes in the Muslim religion, who is not a member of this peaceful sect, explain to me exactly what I should believe.
All I ever seem to hear and read is people of Anglo Saxon Christian lineage telling me about how gentle and peaceful the Muslim religion truly is.
The guy who just explained it to you is a peaceful Muslim.
That is true, and Veganfan told me that he is out of his mind and should be on meds.
Didn't mean to come off as flippant. What I mean as insofar as your friend is suggesting that only his community/sect is peaceful, then yes that's an absurd statement. Again I will confirm his point that his sect faces persecution overseas, including violent persecution. That is definitely true. His sect, along with other Muslims, face the same national security threats that all of us do, particularly ISIS. ISIS is a threat to everyone everywhere, including Muslims. Based on my profession and my own rejection of ISIS, if I were to fall into their hands overseas or something, my fate would probably be something like what the Jordanian pilot, a Muslim, suffered a couple years back (immolation). That is because if you're not with ISIS as a Muslim, you're against them, so you're an enemy as well. Muslims have taken up arms against ISIS, including Muslims in our own army, and have died fighting to eradicate that threat. Along with other private citizens over here who've joined the fight against ISIS outside of the military, they and others are right behind you, along with your friend, in being concerned about that and other radical threats.
What you're saying speaks to the fact that there is no central authority in Islam. Unlike the Catholic church with its pope and religious hierarchy, for example. There are Muslims with all types of different beliefs. We see enough argument among Muslims themselves over what "true Islam" is.
Obviously, there must be common beliefs shared by members of any religion or it wouldn't be a religion at all. But it's clear that there is the possibility for a non-political form of Islam. Unfortunately, in many places right now that just does not exist. The fact that what these theocracies replaced in certain cases were brutal U.S./British puppets doesn't really help the cause.
As has been illustrated by U.S. adventures in regime change, I've come to believe that freedom and democracy are incompatible. Many people will vote against their own freedom. Some women will even defend living inside a bag.
As far as the immigration issue is concerned, here's a story that seems to be forgotten. The Iranian Revolution may have gotten its legs right here in Chicago.
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1999 ... -ray-meyer