Ignorance mostly. When people already started out knowing nothing about the faith, and then turn to the news to get their information (rarely does the news ever post positive images of Islam, since only showing negative things gets them better ratings), they start to build on the belief that Islam is violent and that all Muslims are terrorists.

A person isn't a expert in the medical field by watching medical news reports, so why are people considering themselves experts on Islam by watching the news on the Middle East?

If they actually went to the library and did their own research, or asked a Muslim, then they wouldn't have to live in fear for their entire lives.

Originally posted by Dracula23
Also please answer why do you think most Muslim countries in the Middle East have the lowest freedom of speech and civil rights laws in the entire world. And why they are all considered third world countries controlled by extreme religious governments?

Middle East has the lowest in the entire world? That would be a stereotype, but why some countries do is simple - invasions. You will see the ones with the least rights to freedom of speech and so on are the ones that have been invaded the most.

When Europeans have tried countless times to invade and control those Middle Eastern countries, the countries went into defense mode, where all of its citizens are protected from outside influences and propoganda. What one country will view as a "lack of freedom" the other will see as a "increase in civilian security."

[edit on Sat Jan 10th 2009 by DJMessiah]

Originally posted by Dracula23
im sure people under saddam or iran would sing another tune. maybe go talk to the woman there im sure you could give you an answer...

Are you posting this as fact?

I've been to Iran and Iraq before...

In the Western world, there are two main reasons for hostility towards Muslems :

-- Large scale immigration of Muslems (mostly North-Africans and Turks) into Western-Europe that lead to large ghettoes in cities like Berlin, Paris or Brussels in a matter of decades. Considering these immigrants were usually the underclass of whatever country they come from, they are often under-educated and prone to criminality. This is the most common reason for hostility towards Muslems in Europe.

-- An anti-Islamic propaganda campaign by Israel and the United States as part of the "War on Terror" in an attempt to destabilise the Middle-East and increase US/Israeli influence in this territory. This is the most common reason for hostility towards Muslems in North-America.

OP has been banned....

Interesting!

I looked at the qaur'an and though "oh dear.."
Muslims want every other person to convert, it would be easier if everyone believed in the same god but ALLAH does not exist.

Allah akbah
Allah Loser more like

Originally posted by GW8UK
I looked at the qaur'an and though "oh dear.."
Muslims want every other person to convert, it would be easier if everyone believed in the same god but ALLAH does not exist.

Why singly out Islam? Until a few decades ago, Christians were only little different in these regards and Jews don't care about converting others because they feel superior to gentiles.

Originally posted by mattpryor
OP has been banned....

Interesting!

Matt,

This thread started almost a year ago.

OP came in for Operation Cast Lead, made the usual implements regarding Muslim maltreatment, then split.

This is not the right forum to discuss the attitude many people have towards Muslims.

But the collective insecurity of many Muslims contributes to the problems seen. Fear of being criticized is a common shortcoming.

Westerners know that whatever you do someone will find fault with it. The poor hate the rich, and vice versa. Criticism can be constructive making you aware of how others see you.

Are many fine Muslim people in the world. They have much to offer. But seen as a culture of group of national entities, the Muslim world has largely failed to progress into the 20th Century. Technologically, economically, socially. The Middle East is stagnant despite the gift of most of the oil reserves in the world.

Criminally bad leadership plagues the region. Few solid attempt to catch up with the modern world in terms of universal education, human rights, functional self-sufficent economies, etc.

While Asian countries like Korea, India, Japan, had troubled histories, they rapidly adapted progressive models to lift them out of the mire of undevelopment.

The Muslim world largely carries on with a feudal tribalistic model of society. So the vast majority still live uneducated, unenlightened, hand-to-mouth.

Communication and media have shown people once in isolation, that their countries and societies are essentially moving backwards as most of the world moves forward. A low standard of living, comparable to previous centuries in amenities, few work and career opportunities, lack of opportunities - backwardness.

Israel fans the flame of this collective low self-esteem. Arab countries were defeated in their attempt to destroy the Jewish Stste. In a short 60 years there has been more economic and technological development coming from Israel than from the entire region in the last millenium.

Tragic all this. Retrogressive leaders, usually religious, have kept the Middle East from fulfilling it's full potential. The average Muslim is used to paternal leadership, and so the notion of revolution and seeking more democratic systems of governance are not part of the mindset.

All in all, a frustrated Muslim world overreacts to criticism and resists change. Anger overrides reason. Terrible acts of retribution are enacted. A culture of revenge and destruction dominates.

This is the ugly face that people hate when they think of Muslims.


(I know - overlong. Batted out. Didn't check spelling and coherence. Hope it's readable)


Mike

I wouldn't say people hate Muslims. I would not generalize all Muslims in that way.

I would say people fear extremism.

In actuality the Koran speaks more of feeding the poor and adopting the orphans than anything else.

Also their Prophet Mohammed's favorite wife was a successful business woman.

However, people twist religion for their own purposes. They control their woman by keeping them from going to school when the religion does not have such rules.

As often as the Koran speaks of feeding the poor and adopting the orphans you would think they would have huge humanitarian organizations and the Muslim followers would be donating money like crazy. However, they give more money to people that want to kill others than those who want to buy people food.

This is because they are manipulated into thinking the religion is at stake and it is more important to fight Jihad than it is to feed people.

This also helps answer your question about the Muslim countries.

See when the faithful believe in the religion so strongly they are willing to die for it you have people that take advantage of that. We call them TV Evangelists in the States.

The Imams manipulate their followers for their own theology, or power, or whatever they want.

Fear is the best word to use here I think. You have a group of people who claim to be so religious, yet they will kill their own family member for honor. What honor is there in killing your own family? This scares people as you never know what these people are capable of.

In addition, you have a huge religious group that will march in the streets over a cartoon, but they say nothing about people blowing themselves up in the name of their religion. What if Allah's favorite Muslim was on the bus you blew up? How can you give yourself the power to kill God's creation?

This will be the downfall of the Muslim faith if they do not step up and condemn the violence. I am surprised there are not protests in front of the thousands of mosques in the U.S. about their silence.

The real Jihad should be fighting the real threat to Islam, which is extremism and Murder. They need to step up and fight against those who defame their religion and resort to violence in the name of God.

Just my two cents. Peace!!!

Originally posted by whattheh
I would say people fear extremism.

There is no such thing as "extremism". Viewpoints labeled "extremist" are just viewpoints not watered down by multi-culti "democratic" hogwash of the politically correct "leadership". Being called an "extremist" just means you reject Western capitalist indoctrination.