patrick.net

Most Muslims are friendly and decent people. I've met and worked with many, traveled in Turkey and Egypt, and got to know a bit about the culture.

I've read the whole Koran. All the Koran quotes above are correct and in context.

"Do not be friends", "Kill the unbelievers", etc, are all unambiguous. Islam was founded in extreme violence, and advocates violence. Mohammed robbed caravans, took women as war prizes, and killed those who opposed him. He approved the murder of a pregnant woman who wrote a poem he didn't like.

Most Muslims are good people in spite of Islam, not because of it. Western culture was equally violent and expansionist, but Jesus did not rob, rape, or kill anyone.

I don't believe any religion is true, but I think Buddhism is at least useful.

- Genocide ( Holocaust, conquests and near total elimination of natives of North and South America)
- Slavery ( no need to mention the nation that exploited it to the hilt)
- Colonialism
-Apartheid ( yes they were South African Arab Muslims oppressing the native black population)
- Racism

I would just point out that slavery was common under the Ottoman empire (the most famous example being the Janissary Guard), and that Arabic peoples in Africa still take slaves, e.g. in the Sudan and elsewhere. This is well documented.

There was also an Armenian genocide by the Turks only last century.

However, I accept that people, first and foremost, are pretty greedy and self-serving, and the examples of genocide, colonialism, racism and slavery above cut across all cultures and their 'religions'.

Buddhism as explained by the Buddha himself is actually a secular philosophy and way of life, not a religion. It has been ritualised and religionised as 'value-adding' by later generations who were not looking for comfort in wisdom but comfort in ritual.

Buddhism is peaceful.... I would like to disagree. It is a meaningless, feel good spiritual hocus-pocus that has no relevance, meaning or benefit to a rational person or humanity a large. Better an agnostic than to be a Buddhist. The Japanese who were Buddhist indulged in some of the most depraved and barbaric behavior that would put even Hitler's hordes to shame. Look at Sri Lanka where a violent conflict between the majority Buddhists and Tamils continues with no end in sight because of discrimination against Tamils.

If the Dalai Lama who hobnobs with Hollywood stars who are utterly deprived of any morality and are horrible examples as role models to the public is regarded as one of the upright leaders today,then there is something wrong with our values or evaluation criteria for assessing leadership today. The Dalai Lama has proven to be a snake, a shameless opportunist who tried to capitalize on the opportunity to blackmail China as it readies to host the Olympics. Besides, it is not only Buddhist Tibet that suffers due to Chinese excesses, the Uighur etnic minority has been subjected to far greater repression but we do not see the Dalai Lama say anything about it. That is why I consider him to be a liar, a hypocrite and unethical person.

Truth is most important irrespective of religious background.

Not just me but 1 billion strong Muslim people worldwide and 70% of the rest of the world including millions of Christians, Hindus, Buddhists, Atheists and Sikhs have the right and positive idea about Islam and have co-existed for centuries. Western developed countries comprise less than 10% of the world's population. The remaining 90% do not care really about what goes on in the US or Europe as they struggle to make ends meet. The day the US relinquishes military superiority, other countries will prosper and become richer than the US. All this talk about democracy, human rights and freedom is claptrap and selectively applied to further the narrow and selfish interests of the West, who are not above resorting to cheap blackmail as we see in the case of China hosting the Olympics. The most important thing for a country is to have leaders that are decent, morally upright and honest human beings

Killing innocents is not justified in any religion or ciivil society. I do not need to defend Islam. Making vile charges about Islam happens to be a flavor of the day especially for those with prejudiced minds. People are free to write and think what they want about Islam including some people on this thread. This is a free society. But Muslims too have the right to clarify wrong assumptions and speak-up about defending their families and communities from hate mongering. Throwing pebbles at the sun can make the one who throws look stupid.

Again, most Muslims are good people, but that is in spite of Islam, not because of it. It is extremely difficult for them to see the truth about Islam that is so obvious to the rest of the world. Be kind to Muslims. They are fighting a hard battle within themselves.

Islam's founder murdered those who criticized him, and the murderers in Bombay are following the example of Mohammed when they kill unarmed civilians.

There should be no hate, or revenge, or suppression, or anything except loudly speaking the truth about Islam: that Islam was born in extreme violence, and it has always advocated violence to propagate itself at the expense of humanity.

Please copy the "Call to the Muslims of the World" above and distribute it in printed or electronic form. Using freedom of speech is at least one non-violent way to fight the violence of Islam.

Dear Administrator,

A lot of the statements made by you are outright false and the references dubious, to say the least. Just as you would expect realtors to say that "housing always go up", do you talk to a bunch of disgruntled former Muslims to find them say charitable things about Islam ?

You seem to be following for the very same tactics being exhibited forth in FOX news, by the NAR and by the housing cheerleaders! I would suggest you look at a few websites to find each and everyone of the libelous statement made in the links to be utterly and totally disproved. I will not mention any to you. Use google and find them out for yourself.

Muslims are humans and this is a scientific fact. However, this does not make them immune from crime or violent & sinful behavior. A Muslim's test in this life lasts till his last breath.

DP

Hi DP,
every one of the quotes at http://www.faithfreedom.org/Articles/sina/call_to_muslims.htm can be verified by you or anyone else with any copy of the koran. No one is making this stuff up.

The killing of entire Jewish tribes, selling people into slavery, robbing caravans, and sleeping with an 11 year old girl should be called murder, slavery, theft, and at a minimum statutory rape. The murders of Abu Afak and Asma Bint Marwan for writing poems that Mohammed didn't like are also not shining examples of tolerance. These violent acts are all part of official Islamic history, are they not?

If Muslims believe it was right and good for Mohammed to do those things, that means Muslims believe that murder, robbery, rape, and violent suppression of criticism are all OK, right?

It Muslims believe it was wrong and bad for Mohammed to do those things, why is Mohammed held up as an example for Muslims to imitate?

It must be extremely hard for Muslims to be honest about Mohammed, because to admit that he was so violent means to turn against tradition, family, and friends, lose a faith, fear loss of eternal salvation, and risk murder by other Muslims like Salman Rushdie did. I sincerely feel great sympathy for anyone who decides to take an honest look at the faith they grew up with, like I did.

We are all human, and I'm not saying non-Muslims are wonderful, but who you follow as an example makes a difference in how you act. Jesus and Buddha killed no one at all. Moses killed a few people. Mohammed killed a lot of people.

Foolish talk and foolish reasoning ! Prejudiced minds will always find fault with others!

A lot of the incidents you have described are hearsay & made up stories from people who HATE Islam, yourself included ! It is like listening to Lawrence Yun or the other paid housing shills !

You have absolutely superficial knowledge not only about Islam but also about Christianity or other religions. Every religion is beautiful. It is only the followers who are good or bad. The Agnostic human is the most dangerous being on earth. The one who sows the seeds of suspicion and hatred in other people's minds while justifying every whim and desire of their own. An atheist atleast subscribes to a set of rules. Agnostics have no principles and you seem to bea perfect example of one!

Here is an open challenge:
You lay down the 10 basic aspects of what Islam requires a person to do and about the goal and purpose in this life. Not your opinions but the gist of how a Muslim should lead his life. That will allow me to tell you clearly where you are wrong.

Reaching puberty is the stage where a boy becomes a man and the girl becomes a woman. Although mental maturity for human beings will continue to develop until they are well into their 20s, from a purely biological aspect puberty signifies that the human body is ready for sexual relations. This is the law of nature and one cannot use a legal law prevalent in one country for judging what is acceptable in more liberal or conservative societies. Talking about the right age of consent for sex is an endless debate. Within the realms of culture at that time and what was acceptable across all religions, it was acceptable for a girl to be considered a woman when the age of puberty was reached and therefore it was acceptable for her to get married. Although it is not common even in Muslim culture for a 50 year old to marry a 9 year old girl who has reached puberty, the Prophet demonstrated that it was not illegal. So that in the most extreme cases if such a marriage was the only way for society to go forth and expand, people should not shun it. The Prophet did not marry scores of 10 year olds and we all know that.

The most important thing is that Muhammad was a prophet no different than Abraham, Noah, Moses, Jesus to most Muslims except that he was the last messenger. All came with the same message: Worship the one true God and do not associate Him with partners. All the other things you argue about is as irrelevant as questioning if my great-great-grandfather preferred a black coat over a white one.

On the topic of Islamic extremism, I understand that it would absolutely infuriate non-Muslims and rightly so. However, if you analyze the reasons for an extremist's irrational behavior, you will be able to trace some disgruntlement present on some injustice ( perceived in many cases) being meted out to someone somewhere and therefore they want to fight. And usually it is the very human emotions in them that overwhelms any spiritual restraint that triggers off the violent actions. Islam is clear that taking a human life is only permissible in justice and law or war. Now don't start the topic on capital punishment being barbaric. It is a topic that is not specific to Islam.

Evolution is very hard to believe when you look at the perfection on Earth today with regard to the existence of different species of animals and plants. Subscribing to the big Bang theory is like saying that in a junk yard there was a huge explosion that ultimately ended up with the creation of a sparkling brand new car that is functional in all aspects. I can bet you that it will not be close even in one explosion out of a quadrillion trillion ones. Come on, there has to be a better way that science could explain the theory of how we all came into existence.

Robbery is an act that is punishable with amputation of arms in Islam. Enough said....
It is like Patrick being accused of being a paid housing shill.....

I see you have been reading a lot of neo-con websites on the incident concerning a certain Jewish tribe in Madinah at the time of the Prophet.

Remember the story of Saddam having the weapons of mass destruction. I think you are smart enough to take the cue...

You refer to some incidents as though it happened yesterday to your best friend and there were another bunch of folks who could vouch safe for what happened..... Any group of rotten minds could have conjured up something as far back as the Crusades and then propagated that story over the centuries. Don't assume what you are reading is right.

steady market watcher says

Don’t assume what you are reading is right.

Do not to make friendship with Muslims (5:51), kill the Muslims wherever you find them (2:191), murder them and treat them harshly (9:123), fight and slay the Muslims, seize them, beleaguer them, and lie in wait for them in every stratagem (9:5).

Oh wait, did I say "Muslim"? Actually those are all quotes from the Koran with chapter and verse about how Muslims should treat non-Muslims. I just swapped out Jews, Christian, etc, and put in Muslim instead. So do you mean to say don't assume the Koran is right?

Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan was simply following the teaching of the Koran.

Much more at http://www.faithfreedom.org/ a site which desperately needs to be translated into Arabic.

I am muslim, this is not how I treat non-muslims.

For the believers, it all depends on the people they were before they became a believer and how strong their principles are. We can find many examples of stupidity in the books of religion because they were written by men and not the mystery god that many worship. My people were enslaved for 400 years while the mystery god watched, stood by while we hung from the trees as onlookers wondered what the strange fruit was that was hanging from the trees. Christians shout "The only way to god is through Jesus Christ", which, in a sense disqualifies 3/4 of the world from salvation simply because they were not born into the Christian culture. The same goes for Islam, Buddism, etc. If you go in believing in something with blind faith, then you should expect to be treated as cattle.

I say this only to bring light to the discussion, in fact, to end discussions as if there is a mystery god that sent these individuals to write these scriptures. The Bible, Koran are filled with what should be called allegory but many worship in blind faith.

Look up who Clarence 13X is and you will understand my points.

85% of the people are blind to the knowledge of themselves and God, while 10% of the people know the truth but teach a lie for their personal gain; seen as part of this 10% are the preachers, politicians and government officials that teach that God is an incorporeal being (hence the term "mystery God"). The remaining 5% are the poor righteous teachers—those who do not subscribe to the teachings of the 10%

Bap33 says

steady market watcher says

The most important thing is that Muhammad was a prophet no different than Abraham, Noah, Moses, Jesus to most Muslims except that he was the last messenger.

lmao …. so full of poop. The baby raper camel herdsman named mohamad was just a drugged up Arab that hated Hebrews for being God’s chosen. Putting him with Arbaham or Moses or Jesus is absurd. But him with Joe Smith, as they both just wated a “me too” religion.

Maybe we should cool all the bashing of each others religions. All of these persons were just men, whom had a following that worshipped them blindly. There is no such thing as a mystery god and all religions are simply cultures for people that worship. All religions can be debunked in some form, but the existence of god cannot because their is no way we can deny our very own existence or put our finger on lifes origins. We 5% teach our people the Original Blackman is God, the Original Blackwoman is the planet Earth, and through the inner esoteric powers of the Gods and Earths, people can transform and possess their true potential.

...but does this mean that we actually believe that Black people have mystical superpowers? No, this is simply allegory used to motivate and help inspire others to uplift their lives and to believe in themselves....something that was needed as we transitioned into society.

These comments were fairly divisive in nature, but I can understand how emotional these topics can get at times.

the term "prophet" was used. It means something. And, God uses prophets. But, prophets of God must be 100% correct or they are false-prophets. Men, yes the prophets mentioned are men ... except Jesus, who was God as a man - not just a man.

mohamad is not 100% correct in prophetic work, and is even doing worse than Nostradomus - percentage wise, so he has been proven to not be a prophet of God.

I follow no religion. I believe in God the father of all. And he demands blood for sin. And he sent his Son Jesus to die for all sins. I believe this based on The Bible's ability to explain the nature of God and it's perfect prophetic work. Knowing there is a God is not religion. Understanding The Bible is not a religion. Kneeling each day and aiming towards a paticular compass direction - as a direct order from clergy- is religous, and silly.

Bap33 says

the term “prophet” was used. It means something. And, God uses prophets. But, prophets of God must be 100% correct or they are false-prophets. Men, yes the prophets mentioned are men … except Jesus, who was God as a man - not just a man.
mohamad is not 100% correct in prophetic work, and is even doing worse than Nostradomus - percentage wise, so he has been proven to not be a prophet of God.
I follow no religion. I believe in God the father of all. And he demands blood for sin. And he sent his Son Jesus to die for all sins. I believe this based on The Bible’s ability to explain the nature of God and it’s perfect prophetic work. Knowing there is a God is not religion. Understanding The Bible is not a religion. Kneeling each day and aiming towards a paticular compass direction - as a direct order from clergy- is religous, and silly.

Right, except Jesus the mystery god who died for everyones sins. Continue worshipping blindly, hopefully you will find what you seek without all the hatred of other religions....as hinted in your responses. Whether we kneel, close our eyes when we pray religion is nothing more than the culture that we identify with and assume for our methods of worship. This brings me back to my point of Christianity claims of supremacy through statements such as "All Things through Christ" and "No man shall enter gods kingdom except through Christ". This would mean that billions of people would be left out of the mystical heaven simply because they were born muslim or hindu...if this mysteryt god you call Jesus doesnt have room for different views then he is as close minded as you are. I will never state that no other prophets existed and are lesser than Mohammed, yet Christians use superiority complexes handed down from the crusades to proclaim Jesus the one and only true prophet, thereby damning the rest of the world to hell. I encourage you to stop denouncing other religions because you will miss out on a lot that other religious cultures have to offer....I am not waiting on Mohammed, Jesus or any other mystery man written about in scriptures to save my soul when I can do what is right now in the world that we live in.

This debate is older than our ages combined, dating back to the crusades when the hatred of other religious cultures began in a struggle over the areas many consider a holy land. Why engage ourselves in that kind of stupidity when Jesus or Mohammed would denounce any kind of violence brought about in a game of religious superiority.

In my old age, I have come to learn that it is quite silly to denounce other religions and proclaim Islam as the only one and true path to enlightenment...Just as silly as proclaiming my 5% beliefs of the black man being the one and only true and living GOD.

The bible and Koran are filled with fables written by men, designed to strike fear in our hearts in attempt to gain a following..obviously it is working. I would encourage you to try and think independently of any teachings of a mystery god as you are being misled by Jesus who was merely a man....no matter how much you proclaim him a god.

He still sat by and watche 5 million Africans die while crossing the seas and another 5 million Jews die at the hands of Hitler...Where was this mystery god Jesus then? Should we punish him for not using his mystical powers the same way you spoke of in your previous posts?

Salaam Alaikem

I dont want you to gather any deep feelings, it is simply a forum for us to dialogue and I dont think you are a bad person for your views....but many years of life have gone by for me and I have learned to accept both religions for what they are...a culture of people brought together to worship.

Islam, a tyranny based on religion, is to our generation what Nazism, tyranny based on racial hatred, and Communism, tyranny based on class hatred, was to our parents’ and grandparents’ generations. Our parents and grandparents dispatched both Nazism and Communism in short order because they had no doubt that America was the greatest country in the history of the world. Both tyrannies had their supporters and apologists around the world and in our country during their reigns. Of course the human emotions that led to their formations are as old as humankind itself and will never cease, just remain in check. As bad as Communists and Nazis were, they were not sufficiently enamored of their beliefs that they would blow themselves up as Muslims do.

Islam, ignoring the finer points of theology, has the intention of ultimately conquering the world and destroying the adherents of the other two major monotheistic faiths, Judaism and Christianity, along with all the secularists who don’t follow any faith or have abandoned their faiths. Islam is a far older tyranny than either Nazism or Communism and its followers have a built-in tolerance for biding their time, even over centuries, to accomplish their goals.

Virtually every major terrorist attack of the last 45 years was made by Muslims against civilization, right up to and including the one at Ft. Hood last week. Just as during the reign of Communism, there has been a notion that somehow these things must be tolerated and lived with because to respond to them would only make them madder.

Just as Patrick said, during the last 70 years, the rank and file populations of Germany or Japan probably had no quarrel at all with our citizens, just wanting to live their lives and pursue their dreams unmolested. It’s not the rank and file we have to fear, but the leaders and their armies—and in the case of Islam rabid individuals ready to blow themselves and everyone else to pieces. The individual Muslims I’ve worked with in the past were perfectly reasonable, likable people—except for their food. On one occasion on a “Diversity” day, they prepared some of their native dishes and I couldn’t abide them—I only like normal food and wasn’t able to take more than one bite before I had to excuse myself.

Muslims have none of the self-doubt and self-loathing that is so prevalent in the West today—they’re true believers in the ultimate victory of Islam over the infidel, plus they have infinite patience.

Much of Europe has abandoned Judeo/Christianity and the cities of Paris and London have large enclaves of self-segregated Muslims who marinate in resentment and hostility towards Westerners—they’d love to do the Charleston and Black Bottom and wear short skirts, but know Mohammed wouldn’t approve. Laws have been passed in many of these places that forbid any kind of criticism or satire directed against Muslims because they are so tetchy and can be set off by the least little thing that might offend them. A great palliative to Islam would be for the Firehouse Five Plus Two to set up in a mosque and blast the thing with a rousing version of Tiger Rag.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rljRIEMDSo&feature=related

Many of your comments are based on Eastern Islamic philosophy, since I live in America I cannot hate America. I agree with what Patrick states but I dont engage in that stupidity nor do I deny it exists.

None of these fools were prophets, including Jesus. They were all men spewing a bunch of dreams from their internal desires and fears.

I dont follow anything blindly and without introspection.

Islam and Judaism is a culture, a religion, and a way of life enmeshed together with a legal system and world-domination as an end-goal. Some forms of Christianity share these characteristics. These religions desire(d) to create a nation-state. For Jews: they must make a distinction between Zionism and Judaism. Not all Jews support the nation-state of Israel or the creation of a Zionist state. Many are against it. The same goes for Muslims and Christians creating states of their own.

Ultimately, we must examine our religious texts from an historical critical approach. You can't rely only on the text! You have to read the history with the text and examine the text critically for contradictions, not just devotionally! Stop the hate and the violence brothers and sisters! Have some respect for personal conviction!

Me: I was baptized a Christian. My religion was used to exploit people and keep them from thinking for themselves. Our texts were changed. You can read Bart D. Ehrman's research. Research the historical period from 0-300ce you'll see this clearly. The original followers of Yeshua were Torah following, Koesher Jews who believed that Yeshua fulfilled some manner of prophecy. There is one thing I like about the religion I came from. It shows that there is more to the law: the spirit behind the law and matters of the heart are just as important. And if you love your neighbor as yourself and love G-d, then you fulfill most of the law (some of the mitzvot and all Ten Commandments) Ultimately, Christianity is Greek platonism/mysticism fastened to Judaism with elements of Zorastrianism (First four chapters of Matthew, some of Luke, and Revelation). Unfortunately, Christianity is often used by corrupt politicians, clergy and popes to exploit people who are ignorant.

One thing we can agree on: Principles are important. They do exist. And unless we have some, civilization descends into chaos as history too easily makes clear. You all may not believe in religion, but I believe in the principles taught by my religion. Read Matthew chapter 5 and James 1-5. Ultimately my personal convictions lie closest to Ebionite. Yes, I am a heretic. I am sure the Christians and the Jews will both hate me now. Here: I don't believe Mohammed was a prophet and I think his life is very unspiritual. Now everyone hates me. Wait: Atheists, I believe in the idea of God even if God is only a theoretical construct. Why: I believe principles have a divine source.

Whenever you point your finger at someone you have three pointing back at you.

We can only lead by example. Only 15% of the US believe in naturalistic evolution; 30% or so desire public law to reflect Old Testament writings. We have our own row to hoe.

The problem isn't any particular religion so much as it's religion itself.
Used to promulgate mythology of whatever stripe, it's also used to justify and then start wars.
I've come to believe through observation that many humans seem to need some sort of belief in something other than our own abilities, and it doesn't increase our chances of survival as a species.

But even the most fanatical Christian is a not a threat to public safety.

Disgruntled young men who find Jesus just try to convert you and 300 other people. Disgruntled young men who find Mohammed try to kill you and 300 other innocent passengers on a plane.

Draw a cartoon of Jesus, and Christians will just pity you. Draw a cartoon of Mohammed, and a Muslim with an ax shows up at your door.

Fundamentalism is a christian word.

Buddism is peaceful? Heard of JVC in srilanka, cambodia etc...War of the Worlds - Niall Ferguson is a good read. Kind of explains why Christaians had to kill 6 million Jews and 50 million inferior christians in War 1 & 2. Just dont mention crusades. So much for harmless Christian myth.

Humans don't need a rational reason to kill each other, if not for religion we will kill each other for association, e.g. soccer teams, or even food.

It is in fashion now to show muslims as the new jews so that killing them is easier on the soul. 1 Million "terrorists" were killed in Iraq for unobtainium.

Don't spread the evil muslim myth. All humans are animals. Just because suicide bombers dont have precision guided bombs that kills neatly, dont make them much different from you slaughtering vietcongs, iranians, panamians, guatamaleans, chileans, afghanis, iraqis.......for your evangelists.

People who have not been colonized before will not get the connection between Christianity and bloody coloniolists like the French and British and neo-colonialists like USA. Read more about pathetic humans.

"But even the most fanatical Christian is a not a threat to public safety.

Patrick, you forget about George W. Bush.

I am from 3rd world, but now live in the US. Outwordly people are good and treat others nice. I am impressed.

Recently a missionary knocked on my door and told me I need to be f@@@$E "saved". I felt offended and am thinking about leaving US if this is how the mind of the citizens really work!

He tried to tell me how a jesus was born, was god , was human, had no followers, was killed, was alive again, he had to die for our sins, blah , blahs.....

I was happy I was not fed this crap at birth. I wanted to ask him if he realized all the absoulutely convoluted nonsense coming out of him??? but did not want to disappoint that idiot, I will leave it to Bill Maher

But even the most fanatical Christian is a not a threat to public safety.
Disgruntled young men who find Jesus just try to convert you and 300 other people. Disgruntled young men who find Mohammed try to kill you and 300 other innocent passengers on a plane.
Draw a cartoon of Jesus, and Christians will just pity you. Draw a cartoon of Mohammed, and a Muslim with an ax shows up at your door.

Any religion that focuses upon the 'Old Jerusalem' is in bondage under their mother Hagar. This includes Islam, Judaism, and 99% of Christianity. Paul explains this in Galatians 4:24-31.

Paul begins Galatians with the threat he faced with Judaized Christianity creeping into the Church. Today, this is the most radical religious element in existence - Judeo-Christianity or Christian Zionism.

In post #3, steady market watcher said:

"The Dalai Lama has proven to be a snake, a shameless opportunist who tried to capitalize on the opportunity to blackmail China as it readies to host the Olympics. "

Communism China has forced Dalai Lama, the Tibet leader (in sense of both religion and politics), to exile his homeland for more than half a century. A lot of his follwers who could not escape 50+ years ago had been either killed or tortured to death in jail. As the whole watching, Dalai is still being "rejected" to go back to his own country by the Communism China, which has occupied Tibet for 50+ years.

If you don't know this fact, Mr. steady market watch, just google it. An ignorant person never makes a good watch-er --- no matter what issue he intends to watch.

If you know that part of history, then, Mr. steady market watch, you certainly have very unique observation incline to see that Dalai is a snake just because Dalai made some soft and gentle complaint to the China government after he has been exiled for 50+ years and is still being deprived the right to go back to where he was born by invading foreign power.

Islam and Judaism is a culture, a religion, and a way of life enmeshed together with a legal system and world-domination as an end-goal. Some forms of Christianity share these characteristics. These religions desire(d) to create a nation-state. For Jews: they must make a distinction between Zionism and Judaism. Not all Jews support the nation-state of Israel or the creation of a Zionist state. Many are against it. The same goes for Muslims and Christians creating states of their own.

Ultimately, we must examine our religious texts from an historical critical approach. You can't rely only on the text! You have to read the history with the text and examine the text critically for contradictions, not just devotionally! Stop the hate and the violence brothers and sisters! Have some respect for personal conviction!

Me: I was baptized a Christian. My religion was used to exploit people and keep them from thinking for themselves. Our texts were changed. You can read Bart D. Ehrman's research. Research the historical period from 0-300ce you'll see this clearly. The original followers of Yeshua were Torah following, Koesher Jews who believed that Yeshua fulfilled some manner of prophecy. There is one thing I like about the religion I came from. It shows that there is more to the law: the spirit behind the law and matters of the heart are just as important. And if you love your neighbor as yourself and love G-d, then you fulfill most of the law (some of the mitzvot and all Ten Commandments) Ultimately, Christianity is Greek platonism/mysticism fastened to Judaism with elements of Zorastrianism (First four chapters of Matthew, some of Luke, and Revelation). Unfortunately, Christianity is often used by corrupt politicians, clergy and popes to exploit people who are ignorant.

One thing we can agree on: Principles are important. They do exist. And unless we have some, civilization descends into chaos as history too easily makes clear. You all may not believe in religion, but I believe in the principles taught by my religion. Read Matthew chapter 5 and James 1-5. Ultimately my personal convictions lie closest to Ebionite. Yes, I am a heretic. I am sure the Christians and the Jews will both hate me now. Here: I don't believe Mohammed was a prophet and I think his life is very unspiritual. Now everyone hates me. Wait: Atheists, I believe in the idea of God even if God is a theoretical construct. Why: I believe principles have a divine source.

The assumptions of the behavior of Jesus are not based in historical data.
There is less historical information about Jesus than there is about Nicholas of Myra (Santa Claus).
The assumptions about Christianity being harmless are not based in fact. That would required forgetting the Inquisition, The Crusades, and the creation and support of modern Israel by Christians in part to help fulfill Revelations prophecy.
I think all religions go through cycles of violence, reform, and corruption.
I am a former born-again Christian. I now believe in no religion or superstition of any kind. I try to be aware of how much logic and science is behind my beliefs. I describe myself as a Scientist, as other labels are relative to religion.
The assumptions by some about non-religious people being immoral can not based in fact or experience. Superstitious beliefs are not required for humans to be moral or establish moral guidelines.
I know many kind Muslims. I think focusing on Muslim texts is a bit unfair. There are many violent and immoral texts included in the Christian Bible as well.
Any religious text should be viewed in context only. What human(s) wrote it? Why did they write it? How historically and scientifically reliable is the text? Only then can one see the relevance of such texts in the current world.

But even the most fanatical Christian is a not a threat to public safety.

Tell that to the doctors who have been shot and bombed by them. Nutbags are nutbags, no matter what religion they do or do not ascribe to.

Yes! Most Muslims are kind people, and quite reasonable, but that is in spite of Islam, not because of it. Islam teaches them to imitate the violence and intolerance of Mohammed. See the Koran quotes above. But humanity defeats Islamic teaching in most Muslims, most of the time.

Yes, there are violent and intolerant Christians, but that is in spite of Christianity, not because of it. Christianity teaches them to imitate the NON-violence and tolerance of Jesus. See the New Testament. But in some people, hate defeats Christian teaching.

What I'm talking here is about what people are taught is the right behavior, by the example of their founder. Jesus didn't hurt anyone, and stopped his followers from using violence. Mohammed killed lots of people, and did not stop his followers from using violence.

What do the two religions teach people to do?

The Muslim who showed up with an ax at the door of a cartoonist was PRAISED by Islamic leaders. That's just not right.

I found it to be Opposite in Malaysia a Muslim country, than that our media has ingrained in our psyche. I wasn't even aware at the time it was illegal for me to say "Allah" as a non Muslim, until just last week, after it was over turned. I found the Muslims I met, kind and soft spoken. One silently protested me wearing shorts, but he wasn't like "Off with his head!" about it.

We need to start treating terrorist thugs as such and quit dragging religion into it.

Until the Muslim community start trying to impose Shiria(sp) law here, they are O.K. with me for the most part.

Anyone who believes in religions and profhets and that only the one chosen by birth is loved by god is a nut case.

Try reading "Evolution of God"; Jesus was no popular man if he existed. Most of jesus' and christian teachings are Paulanity and others writings. It is nice to imagine a peaceful man. Then sing and fall in love with the songs. The above book makes clear that the Roman power was too absolute to allow Christians to be violent. Too bad suicide bombing was not invented by LTTE yet. Christians brought out violence when balance of power shifted. Sounds familair these days with all the invasions in 'sthans.

Same kind of MYTHOLOGY repeats in other places too. God Rama of hindus was not as popular in ancient times as he is now all thanks to some good poets and songers who created love in the heart of desciples. Reminds me of a good Hindu who adviced me on moving to Texas "Never discuss religion or politics at work, you think muslims fundamentalists are dangerous, wait till u see these guys, plus they have guns and think bush is a prophet"

Only Christians could use nukes on fellow humans as the yellow ones were not 'shaved'. No other religion has tried that yet. My bet is Jews will be next to try that. Muslims will have a tough time as the prophet also says something like "killing one person is like killing humanity..." and "Do not exceed in retribution, one eye for an eye is enough, nothing more, if possible forgive, god loves the forgiving and the patient...."

Before I begin - I will agree with your analysis that many Muslims are uneducated about their religion which is leading to the confusion today - education in the Muslim world needs to be addressed as this is the best solution for ignorance.

A couple of problems with your analysis...

1) Yusuf Ali himself was of Pakistan origin - he did not speak Arabic nor could he understand the arabic of the Quran - in fact, it takes a studied person to understand the Arabic of the Qur'an which is referred to as Fus'ha Arabic.
2) The above verses are not only taken out of context but as I mentioned in #1 they are mis translated and misunderstood. These quotes, by in large are in response to an occurance - for instance where it states to "kill the disbelievers where you find them" - read a few verses before this and after and you will see it refers to retaliation against those who attack first.
3) The Prophet Mohammad did not lead us to doom. In fact, we were being led to doom before Allah chose him to bring humanity out of darkness into light - as He did with all of his Prophets. Only an ignorant person with no knowledge of Islam or the Prophet Mohammad would think otherwise.
4) This war that is being waged is not a war against Prophet of Islam or Islam itself - now follow my reasoning - the Qur'an states that Allah is the protector of his Prophet and of this Religion. The job of every Muslim is only to convey the message. The war that is being waged is between Allah and those opposing his will.
...I end with a quote from the Qur'an

18:28 And keep thy soul content with those who call on their Lord morning and evening, seeking His Face; and let not thine eyes pass beyond them, seeking the pomp and glitter of this Life; nor obey any whose heart We have permitted to neglect the remembrance of Us, one who follows his own desires, whose case has gone beyond all bounds (i.e., whose case has been abandoned).
18:29 Say, "The truth is from your Lord": Let him who will believe, and let him who will, reject (it): for the wrong-doers We have prepared a Fire whose (smoke and flames), like the walls and roof of a tent, will hem them in: if they implore relief they will be granted water like melted brass, that will scald their faces, how dreadful the drink! How uncomfortable a couch to recline on!

This has been a good discussion. I've enjoyed it.

In response to Pacman: "The assumptions of the behavior of Jesus are not based in historical data. There is less historical information about Jesus than there is about Nicholas Klass (Santa Claus)."

True, sort of. We have many accounts of written by other people, but it is odd that Yeshua wrote none of his own. Regardless, there is a lot of data surrounding the Jerusalem church overseen by Yeshua's brother James "the Just." Many historians also confirm this fact. Historians also confirm that the original text used by Christians was called the gospel of the Hebrews, which was quite similar to the Gospel of St. Matthew used today by Christians, without the first four chapters. In others words, the Virgin birth of Christ, the story of the Three-wise-men, these narratives were added and come from Zorastrianism (Mithraism*). The gospel of Matthew is about as close as we'll get to what the original Christians read before Christianity was hi-jacked for political purposes.

Responding to Pacman once again:

"The assumptions about Christianity being harmless are not based in fact."

Christianity, Islam, and Judaism, and Satanism are all harmless. They're just ideas. People make them harmful. There is no way to quantify a religion scientifically and say that one is harmful. You could statistically quantify the religion's followers who are violent, but they'd be marginalized: less than 5%. People, as in the crusades, only do what they're told because they're too stupid to think for themselves. They don't learn to make distinctions between political goals and religion.

Pacman: "now [I] believe in no religion or superstitious of any kind. I try to be aware of how much logic and science is behind my beliefs. I try to be aware of how much logic and science is behind my beliefs. I describe myself as a Scientist, as other labels are relative to religion. The assumptions by some about non-religious people being immoral can not based in fact or experience. Superstitious beliefs are not required for humans to be moral or establish moral guidelines."

Too bad. Scientism is a religion in itself--in that it is a systematic worldview. Science doesn't give us much of an ought. Science only tells us how the world is. Read Scottish philosopher David Hume's Essay on the is/ought problem. Once we find out the truth statements, we still have to decide to do with the data. Only philosophy, ethics, religion and CONVICTIONS can tell us this.

A religion is just a system of beliefs. If the beliefs are pro-social, they can do society great good. Logic and science only test for truth statements. If that's all we have, then looking at German and Russian History, they were nations which were very scientific--the pinnacle of scientific. Germany pre-WWII had more scientist P.h.D's than any nation at that time. Science didn't serve them well--it failed them miserably. The scientists committed mass genocide on a scale never before seen in the modern world. Certainly, their education failed them.

Next statement:
"I know many kind Muslims. I think focusing on Muslim texts is a bit unfair. There are many violent and immoral texts included in the Christian Bible as well."

All of the violent texts are found in the old testament. The only new testament texts that you could claim a problem with were written by Paul of Tarsus. Paul was an anti-semite, and wrote against homosexuality and had what we would call a masculinist view of women.

In response to scholayil: "Try reading “Evolution of God”; Jesus was no popular man if he existed. Most of jesus’ and christian teachings are Paulanity and others writings. It is nice to imagine a peaceful man. Then sing and fall in love with the songs. The above book makes clear that the Roman power was too absolute to allow Christians to be violent. Too bad suicide bombing was not invented by LTTE yet. Christians brought out violence when balance of power shifted. Sounds familair these days with all the invasions in ’sthans."

Most of Jesus' teachings are not Paulinty. I question the author's scholarship. I recommend that you read the works of renowned scholars such as Bart D. Ehrman (University of North Carolina Chapel Hill) or Bruce Metzger. The information presented above is inaccurate and juvenile. You have to understand church history to make these claims. I question "Evolution of God" as a credible text. Paul turned Jesus into a god-man. There were a handful of Christian groups at the outset: The Ebionites, the Marcionites, gnostics and proto-orthodox (those who adopted the Pauline interpretation of Christianity and later wiped the other groups out). Pauline Christianity is what became Roman-Catholicism and Protestantism.

I'll close with my previous statement: The original followers of Yeshua were Torah following, Koesher Jews who believed that Yeshua fulfilled some manner of prophecy. There is one thing I like about the religion I came from. It shows that there is more to the law: the spirit behind the law and matters of the heart are just as important. And if you love your neighbor as yourself and love G-d, then you fulfill most of the law (some of the mitzvot and all Ten Commandments) Ultimately, Christianity is Greek platonism/mysticism fastened to Judaism with elements of Zorastrianism (First four chapters of Matthew, some of Luke, and Revelation). Unfortunately, Christianity is often used by corrupt politicians, clergy and popes to exploit people who are ignorant.

But even the most fanatical Christian is a not a threat to public safety.
Disgruntled young men who find Jesus just try to convert you and 300 other people. Disgruntled young men who find Mohammed try to kill you and 300 other innocent passengers on a plane.
Draw a cartoon of Jesus, and Christians will just pity you. Draw a cartoon of Mohammed, and a Muslim with an ax shows up at your door.

I don't dispute that. But we need to approach this situation with intelligence and not stupidity, since stupidity is going to get a lot people killed, likely including a lot of us.

The muslim extremists that pop up are like cornered animals seeking ways to push back. With 9/11, the London attacks and this latest loser there can be a thread of causality identified. I'm not justifying the shit they pull but the reality is what it is.

We can fight fire with fire and blow their shit up in response, like we did in Afghanistan and Iraq. Well, that seems not to work so well unless you're a stockholder in LMT.

I'm a liberal because liberalism works in the long run. We don't need to shove Westernism down their throats and we don't need to tell them how to run their lives. They'll figure it out eventually. Not this decade or maybe not this century but eventually.

Defense of our way of life doesn't really require much. We've got our own home-grown Taliban to deal with, what with Proposition 8 and the the fucktard fundie contingent.