Ben Affleck is a moron and I hope he sees this.

a reply to: johngrissom

Try experiencing the religion first hand. They hate white people because they despise Americans and think everyone is white.

No you seem to have issues with colors, not Muslims.

Muslims come in all skin colors, white being one of them.

Plus, some of them threaten to rape the military women in the bathrooms.

Oh My GOD,

Australia and it military must be an Islamic army then, hell almost any country with a military that has women serving will have cases of rape.

It happens to the men as well because they see it as an ownership thing.

Are you talking about prison life world wide?

I haven't heard of any other religions threatening to rape an Arab.

I haven't heard of any religion threatening to rape anyone,

I have heard ignorant people interpreting things as such to fulfill some sick hedonistic love of death ,destruction and pain.

ISIS has support in the Middle East and is gaining support in America because of people like Ben Azzfleck not allowing people like me to be outspoken.

So I am replying to a hallucination I am having or are actually speaking out on the net?

The morons are Bill Maher and everyone else who paints Muslims with the violent extremist brush.

Muslims are the target of the USA's never-ending Global War on Terror. In order to kill other humans it is necessary for government and their spokesmen to dehumanize the enemy. Maher and other media personalities are doing their part to ensure the population of the USA have no problems with their military dropping bombs on human beings.

originally posted by: Frith
The morons are Bill Maher and everyone else who paints Muslims with the violent extremist brush.

I am beginning to think that people either did not listen to or do not understand what Maher (who I disagree with more often than not) was saying. He is not criticizing all Muslims, he is critical of the fundamentalist portion of Islam which is intolerant of others views, suppresses the rights of women, homosexuals and other faiths and is willing to use violence against these people to further their views.

Opposing these violent fundamentalist views is neither racist, as it transcends race, or bigoted as they are the ones who are espousing a bigoted and intolerant viewpoint. I feel the same about Islamic fundamentalists as I do about other religious fundamentalists; they have no place in an a tolerant society were the free exchange of thoughts, ideas and viewpoints is acceptable.

a reply to: johngrissom

Hey, buddy, ALL religions are flawed. Don't tell anyone....

a reply to: johngrissom

I am sorry to say, but I don't see where Ben is trying to take our right to be heard away. He is simply exercising his right to be heard like others. Calling it like you see it is part of that. I don't agree with you at all here yet I am doing what he is doing. I am calling it like I see it. I don't want to take your right to be heard away either. But I will cal a bigot a bigot.

I don't think you are a bigot. I just think your view are not mine and so I disagree and will express mine as a part of the balance that is expression.

ISIS is a Terrorist regime and nothing it does truly represents Islam. It's bad for everyone.

originally posted by: Flint2011
a reply to: johngrissom
ISIS is a Terrorist regime and nothing it does truly represents Islam. It's bad for everyone.

I'm curious what the hell actually does represent islam...

a reply to: BasementWarriorKryptonite

If you want a legitimate answer to that question, ditch everything the news has taught you, go out into the neighborhood and find a Muslim. Strike up a conversation and get to know the person. Amazingly you'll discover that the differences are so minor as to be laughable.

The same exact thing could be said to a hardcore Jihadist about overcoming the propaganda they've swallowed about how all Christians and Westerners are.

a reply to: Hefficide

I don't need to - I live with one. My best friend is also muslim, though doesn't practice and I doubt believes all that much of it.

My exposure to islam is reasonably decent.

My issue is that with a billion + adherents, they need a better PR team. It shouldn't other people's job to figure them out, but theirs' to present to others.

a reply to: BasementWarriorKryptonite

I could answer from my point of view but that would not be the best course. Ask a Muslim in your are sometime. Weigh in on it with some direct experience if you have none. What does Christianity represent? There are all forms and varieties. Some bad, some good, some great and some that are just awful. This can be said for all religions. My point isn't about Islam itself but that generalizing an entire religion and most if not all of it's faithful is just wrong.

a reply to: Flint2011

I appreciate that, but we have to generalize, sometimes - for convenience. For example, all Christians - no matter what sect - share a core set of beliefs and because it is the dominant religion where I am from, I know what they are.

Now, I know many muslims and I've studied and researched the religion in formal education, but because it's not what I grew up with - what I know about it is still just assumed.

There needs to be an effort on the part of muslims as a whole, to get together and say, 'we believe this, this ,this and that'. That way, everyone will be clearer on a few more things.

All I ever see from the Islam Inc. in media conferences etc. is them attacking other people and other organisations, never accepting due blame and always wailing about what it was that other people and society is doing to islam.

It's really rude and very frustrating and it may have seemed like a joke when I said in a post above this one that they need a better PR team - I was not.

a reply to: BasementWarriorKryptonite

Well this would be true about any religion, I mentioned in another thread you were in one of my best friends is Iranian and i'm a Jew and how culturally there was in daily life and personality virtually no difference between him and Israelis I know.

Realistically we are very similar creatures, 2 individuals who have a back ground in faith but for all intents and purposes left the fold retaining only a few basic principals which in theory are the same for all the monos.... this leaves us, 2 people with a heritage or family from the same geographic and ethnic/genetic region of the world. The Same, Strip away the hard Dogma you find that Jews, Islamics and Christian at a core are all very similar and DO absolutely on a daily basis behave as fairly like-able decent people.

I've lived in or next to an Islamic neighborhood as a Jew, Currently in day to day life I live in a Mormon/Christian environment.... face to face in both scenarios Both groups are A: Polite B: Caring for their neighbors C: reasonably tolerant for the fact that my personal beliefs, largely non religious in any way are different... The Yahoo extremists in both groups are at best 1 in 10

But then there is THIS:

The law, the rules.... certainly none of my Mormon neighbors would never bother me, certainly some love me, but when they vote they put into practice their ideas (some good some bad) and that YOU ARE subjected to, So... Not far north of me no drinking, no night clubs, no fashion industry, honestly not much art, not a location that is technologically proficient and i'm in Northern AZ and computers are... not a business here, that brings you even deeper into things like "where are you in regards to the global economy" "what about basic rights for women" and things that DO affect others ranging from making life more difficult to assuring your society and yourself and children don't live and get the benefits of the modern world...

So what i'm saying is... The conflict between the West and Islam has absolutely nothing to do with "every Islamic person is a terrorist" or if Jews Christians and Islamics are good or bad people, all three groups are mainly nice people, in fact i'd offer that no society could exist if "most of the people weren't decent" The Germans in WW2 were virtually all "Nice people"

What your really dealing with is the "beliefs of the people and affect on the body politic" these are in the end like all conflicts political and law making issues, we aren't at war with Islam because the people are bad, we are at war with Islam because the body politic by belief would take society as a whole in a negative direction as perceived by our culture and vice versa....

One world view the West revolves around Global Govt via laws made by men, Science, Freedom of expression, social liberties are relied upon for the extra effort to motivate people including sexual freedoms and control over ones body, it requires extra effort and school etc, so money and the material is important, mandates separation of church and state and is highly technological and education based

The Other, sort of revolves around the after and without doing another paragraph requires strict control of behaviors and many things and doesn't come with Stem Cells and free sexuality and all that

And these 2 societies competing on a Global scale can not in anyway truly coexist, your learning the Koran or the Torah or what have you by faith after school or your being tutored in Math and Physics or playing on a computer, your Islamic, the Internet will bring you porn and other media, you want a modern work force, women have to work.... etc, etc et al...

So to me, any debate and demon calling on either side is pointless, the conflict doesn't arise because the bulk of the people in any culture are rotten people, I don't need proof that most Islamic people are "nice" I know they are... The fight is over if the world as we globalize will be run by Sharia or the Free will of man, If we extend our life span through science or die younger by "the will of Allah" If the Material and Science will matter and we try to leave the planet or if we delve the spiritual and suffer on Earth because we are here only as a prequel to a "better life"

Personally, I don't believe that I am a prequel, I do believe in all seriousness that we have a 4th dimensional form a spirit or soul for lack of a better word, I believe physics proves that to me, but for all we know when we die we are the the 4th dimensional equivalent of a baby sea turtle running to the sea with all sorts of higher dimensional predators racing for us... After all, why does "god" want my soul, I watch critters fly into the light everyday and that light is my bug zapper...

Being, imaginative there, but I honestly figure whatever higher dimensional form we have, it may dissipate, simply be energy without form, whatever... I rather have faith in what is real to better understand then follow the kind of rules which regard this concept as "72 virgins waiting for me" so life should be very difficult and punishing to assure I get somewhere which by the definition of believers can;t possibly be real in that way....

Very simply, we are fighting in regards to, if Science or Spirituality will rule us as a Globe, not if Islamist's and Americans are the Terrorists

a reply to: criticalhit

Well said. I want to say more than just that, but when a thing is put well there's little left to say other than well said!

a reply to: criticalhit

Nuff said. More articulate than I could have put it but it drove home what I meant and then some.

Wow, talk about see-though post, OP. We get it. You don't like any Muslims out there. We get it real clearly.

I'm more than a little insulted, and I'm neither religious, nor Muslim. I do my fair share of ripping religion a new one, but don't stoop to painting everyone with the same broad brush. Many of ATS' more well-known & beloved posters are Muslim, and you'd never know it unless it came up. The posters I'm aware of as being Muslim are some of the most upstanding people I've come across yet. Not all Muslims butcher Islam to the point of extremism, much like not all Christians think & act like arse-backwards morons like WBC. Nice to know you're ok with lumping them in with every other "undesirable" you've splattered the paint on, though

a reply to: johngrissom

You gotta love the elbow grease that goes into making sure ISIS is in full swing and completing their end of the bargain!