Ground Zero Mosque
I've been hearing and seeing a lot of ranting and raving about the mosque at ground zero. My question is this.. How can a religion as a whole be blamed for the actions of a extremist faction?
This country was founded on, in part, the principles of freedom of religion. The right to worship whatever backwards assed bible thumping, snake handling, speaking in tongues, sacrificing chickens religion you want. This has enabled a substantial portion of my friends to worship their backwards assed bible non-thumping, wicca spouting, voodoo dancing, tattooing their forehead with the symbol of their goddess religions. (don't worry, thats the last time i'm gonna do that) We have the right to honor our god or gods however we see fit, but it appears that its not so ok if you worship islam.
This is all because of the actions of a group of religious extremists. A faction of the islamic faith that follows hard line rules set about in their religious texts did something horrible. Something that until that day was virtually unimaginable (or is it? more on this later). I'll grant that without reservations. But it was not done by the islamic faith as a whole. The al-qaeda is a terrorist organization that deserves the animosity it receives. It should never be allowed in any rational, sane, compassionate arena. The islamic faith is a bit odd I'll grant you. Some of its tenants and laws are...medieval in my opinion. But I have yet to meet an islamic individual that wished me harm. The islamic extremists on the other hand? They would probably lynch me in a hurry due to my long hair and fondness for beer and naked women.
All religions have their extremist factions. Some aren't so bad. I don't see much chance of a haredi jew bringing a pipe bomb to the mall, yet in many eyes their viewed as extremist. The opus dei is viewed as a bit extreme by many, but I highly doubt they'll hijack a plane. These factions are controversial but we don't blame the entire jewish faith or catholic church for their actions. The al-qaeda is a militant extreme faction of the islamic faith, but islam as a whole shouldn't be held responsible for their actions. I think I heard it stated best when I heard "Islamic extremism is to Islam what the KKK is to Christianity".
While I'm on the subject of christianity, think on this. No one knows how many thousands were killed and tortured during the various catholic inquisitions. Or how many died during the crusades. Or how many were burned at the stake during the witch trials. Or how much blood has been shed in the name of God. The horrors committed by the church in its many forms give us, as a predominantly christian nation, no right to bitch about where someone builds one of their churches.
But this is a nation built on religious freedom. Do I like the christian faith? No. Do I like the islamic faith? No. Do I like that they want to build a mosque at ground zero? No. Do I like the fact that...wait, wait. You're asking the wrong questions. Try this one instead... Do I like the fact that I can dislike christianity and islam and judiasm? That I can be free to be accepting of others religious views and beliefs?
Yes.
Its only when we truly accept others that we can truly be free. When the extremists share that belief, when EVERYONE accepts that belief, this will truly be a beautiful world. Until then I'll keep enjoying my beer and naked women and keep giving the finger to the al-qaeda.
This country was founded on, in part, the principles of freedom of religion. The right to worship whatever backwards assed bible thumping, snake handling, speaking in tongues, sacrificing chickens religion you want. This has enabled a substantial portion of my friends to worship their backwards assed bible non-thumping, wicca spouting, voodoo dancing, tattooing their forehead with the symbol of their goddess religions. (don't worry, thats the last time i'm gonna do that) We have the right to honor our god or gods however we see fit, but it appears that its not so ok if you worship islam.
This is all because of the actions of a group of religious extremists. A faction of the islamic faith that follows hard line rules set about in their religious texts did something horrible. Something that until that day was virtually unimaginable (or is it? more on this later). I'll grant that without reservations. But it was not done by the islamic faith as a whole. The al-qaeda is a terrorist organization that deserves the animosity it receives. It should never be allowed in any rational, sane, compassionate arena. The islamic faith is a bit odd I'll grant you. Some of its tenants and laws are...medieval in my opinion. But I have yet to meet an islamic individual that wished me harm. The islamic extremists on the other hand? They would probably lynch me in a hurry due to my long hair and fondness for beer and naked women.
All religions have their extremist factions. Some aren't so bad. I don't see much chance of a haredi jew bringing a pipe bomb to the mall, yet in many eyes their viewed as extremist. The opus dei is viewed as a bit extreme by many, but I highly doubt they'll hijack a plane. These factions are controversial but we don't blame the entire jewish faith or catholic church for their actions. The al-qaeda is a militant extreme faction of the islamic faith, but islam as a whole shouldn't be held responsible for their actions. I think I heard it stated best when I heard "Islamic extremism is to Islam what the KKK is to Christianity".
While I'm on the subject of christianity, think on this. No one knows how many thousands were killed and tortured during the various catholic inquisitions. Or how many died during the crusades. Or how many were burned at the stake during the witch trials. Or how much blood has been shed in the name of God. The horrors committed by the church in its many forms give us, as a predominantly christian nation, no right to bitch about where someone builds one of their churches.
But this is a nation built on religious freedom. Do I like the christian faith? No. Do I like the islamic faith? No. Do I like that they want to build a mosque at ground zero? No. Do I like the fact that...wait, wait. You're asking the wrong questions. Try this one instead... Do I like the fact that I can dislike christianity and islam and judiasm? That I can be free to be accepting of others religious views and beliefs?
Yes.
Its only when we truly accept others that we can truly be free. When the extremists share that belief, when EVERYONE accepts that belief, this will truly be a beautiful world. Until then I'll keep enjoying my beer and naked women and keep giving the finger to the al-qaeda.