Originally posted by hotpinkurinalmint
First, those who criticize radical Islam may come off as criticizing mainstream Islam. These people may not be taking care to distinguish between radical and mainstream Islam. They may also not take care to distinguish themselves from biggots who are against all Islam.

A star for you because you can read English. My original thread emphatically states radical Islam but people keep thinking I'm talking about all Islam.

Originally posted by greeneyedleo
I think she is talking about (as an example) those who blow themselves up, along with innocent people all in the name of Islam. RADICALS. Come on, you really cant be defending that radicalism, can you?

Another fellow English speaker. A star for you, too.

WhiteWash,

So hey. I heard that rampant military action agaisnt Hamas, the PLO, Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad, and all those others made Israel a palce of peace and understanding decades ago.

Oh wait.

I must have been thinking of Chechnya, where decades of Russian struggle against separatists have finally been resolved by use of military force, and hte people now live as a harmonious and accepted part fo the Russian Federation.

Oh wait.

No, I was thinking about Iraq, where five years of military action has turned a despotic regime into a gleaming, terror-free beacon of peace and democracy to the rest of the Arab world.

Oh wait.

Maybe I was thinking about Colombia, where the standing regime's fight against FARC has resulted in clear and decisive victories, and now Colombia is the pinnacle of peace in South America.

Oh wait.

Dude, I know that like any red-blooded Christian American, nothing in the world brings you greater joy than the idea of causing mass murder and mayhem across an entire region for the crime of belonging to the wrong religion or having the wrong neighbors. I know you salivate over the concept of bringing the fear of god into the hearts of every man, woman, and child from Morocco to Indonesia. I know that if it doesn't leave a pile of brown-skinned bodies in its wake, you don't think it's a good idea.

But military action doesn't beat terrorism. Mass killings don't stop terrorism. Politics stop terrorism (see the IRA). Police action catches and halts terrorists.

Originally posted by AshleyD
And you can say all of those things without being called intolerant. See? This is the point. No one is going to run in here and call you a bigot for pointing out those atrocities.

I'm simply pointing out that military action to curb terrorism has not worked, and never will work. All it results in is dead people in both sides, a strengthened ideology, and less room to cut to the root cause. WhiteWash's extremism aside, all sides in a conflict invariably have at least some legitimate claim for the fighting. Nobody is willing to die for make-believe, regardless of what their critics may claim.

Trust me, if Hamas had no reason for blowing themselves up besides pretty girls in heaven, they would not be blowing themselves up.

Not pointed at anyone in particular but it seems many posters keep pointing the finger saying, "What about those guys!" This thread isn't about the atrocities but the inability to speak out about such things.

Because of the hypocrisy of you and the others here who turn a blind, and ultimately accepting eye to your own extremists in order to focus on someone else's.

As G.E. Leo stated, what is going on here? You know those debates that always come up where an atheist brings up Christian atrocities and Christians in turn bring up communistic atheist atrocities? Those are about the atrocities. Not about the accusation of simply mentioning such a thing would be called intolerant.

You must not pay much attention to those threads, I suppose...

People at their core are violent animals. You create a cause and people will come up with a way to enforce it with violence. This is not the point of this thread. We all know there are atrocities being committed by certain factions all over the world.

THE QUESTION/CONSPIRACY IS: Why does one seem to receive special 'walking on eggshells' treatment?

Because you live in a fantasy world where Christians are downtrodden lionbait, bashed and crushed underfoot at every turn, while the evil, evil, evil Muslims get away with everything and anything, with nary a peep from anyone, ever.

I am still waiting for you to stop sniveling and drumming your fists about people slipping off topic, and provide some damn evidence that Muslims (Muslims, of all people!) get "Walking on eggshell" treatment. I've asked you three times, you have failed on all of them. I know you're full of it, YOU know you're full of it. Try anyway.

[edit on 24-2-2008 by TheWalkingFox]

I am going to remind certain individuals of this thread to refrain from ad hominum(s)....thank you.

As for the social taboo regarding the criticism of radical Islam.....social taboo is just that. Taboo. It;s going to be different for everyone. Some view it as uncouth to automatically assume negative attributions, while others feel that it is their duty and obligation to be 'safe, rather than sorry.'

What are you going to do?....

Originally posted by greeneyedleo
This thread isnt even about taking action against Muslims - radical or not.

I'm aware. Doesn't stop me from responding to someone who thinks otherwise. The topic of this thread is not about keeping on-topic on the thread.

It is about speaking out against RADICALS and how it seems to be taboo...and how there is MUCH HYPOCRACRY in doing so.
[edit on 24-2-2008 by greeneyedleo]

Except it's not. Never has been, and certainly not in recent years. I have yet to see any supporting evidence for this claim, from anyone making it on this thread.

[edit on 24-2-2008 by TheWalkingFox]

Originally posted by TheWalkingFox
I'm simply pointing out that military action to curb terrorism has not worked, and never will work.

I agree. It is my personal belief these days that the 'war on terror' is a red herring but some might think that is me being a conspiracy nut.

Because of the hypocrisy of you and the others here who turn a blind, and ultimately accepting eye to your own extremists in order to focus on someone else's.

I know you've seen my comments and opinions on atrocities committed by Christians. They're nuts and they give me the heebie geebies. So is the same with radical Islamic extremists. A moderate Muslim will also agree (and I already know you are knowledgeable on the subject based on your previous comments in other threads) that such actions are not always condoned in the Koran but are taken from the unreliable Hadith. Even moderate Muslims can see what is going on is wrong but get killed for speaking out against it in the strictest Middle East countries.

I am still waiting for you to stop sniveling and drumming your fists about people slipping off topic, and provide some damn evidence that Muslims (Muslims, of all people!) get "Walking on eggshell" treatment. I've asked you three times, you have failed on all of them. I know you're full of it, YOU know you're full of it. Try anyway.

You and your 'snarkiness.' Just to let you know I use that word almost daily now thanks to you! And to answer your question, this thread seems to be a lovely example. Now go watch CNN for some more.

*Edited for spelling*

[edit on 2/24/2008 by AshleyD]

I love these stupid social taboos. I can walk down the street screaming about how evil, narrow minded, hateful, and corrupt Christianity is... and I'll get some dirty looks. If I do the same for Islam, I'm suddenly a very bad person who's intolerant and a religious bigot. Reminds me of that issue when southpark was going to show an image of Mohammad and Comedy Central wouldn't allow it... so they made the censoring part of the story and at the end of the episode... Jesus and George Bush were crapping on each other...