Dear Pelly,

Thank You so much for your well reasoned
and valid arguments.

It is unfortunate that the mere mention
of the word Muslim will bring out an
irate reaction from certain people.

What strikes me the most is the enormous
ratio of words to substance. How they can
post heaps and leave behind almost nothing
except the impression of great vehemence.

Thanks Foxy. It really is just commonsense and rational from my POV.

Muslims like many other groups have contributed to Australia in terms of economic participation, education and charitable works.

I wish more Muslims would contribute to this site, to comment from their own personal experiences and to expand on some of the myths.

What is irksome is the irrational prejudice. Deal with the individual first eg. if there is a radical Imam spreading terrorist ideology, then deal with that person, rather than condemn the whole.

If we don't we become what we most despise.

Sorry the thread got a bit derailed Foxy

<<These are facts that need to be remembered.
Just as we don't make assumptions about all
Italians having mafia connections. Or all
Columbians being drug-lords, and so forth.>>

More inept analogies.

If there was a Mafia code of criminal ethics and an Italian claimed
allegiance to that code, then one could rightly condemn that person,
not for being an Italian, but for their allegiance to Mafia ideals.

By definition, Muslims claim allegiance to Islamic ideals.
By studying Islam (if you lot could be bothered) one discovers that
it is a supremacist, misogynist, violent "religion" that advocates
child marriage, slavery of non-Mohammedans, rape of slaves,
death to apostates and to all those who refuse to submit to it.
Terrorists Can Find Justification In The Koran For Their Every Act.
This is because Mohammed was the prototypical terrorist.

I am flabbergasted at the mental gymnastics that are required to
overlook Islam's virulent nature.

If I publicly advocated that:
-anybody who didn't believe in what I believed should be put to death,
-50 year old men should be allowed to have sex with their 9 year old brides,
-people who criticised my god should be killed
-etc, etc.
I would be rightly locked up.

You people astound me with your blase acceptance of Islamic peccadilloes.
You are blinded by your ideology.

Dear Pelly,

It's Thanks to posters such as yourself
that I'm still a part of this Forum.

I've been appalled many times by the
amount of prejudice frequently displayed
against an entire religious group on the
basis of the actions of a few extremists,
who hide behind religion to justify their
misguided cause.

For example, some of the Christian
religious groups
in the US - people like Randall Terry - who
preach hatred and advocate violence against
doctors who perform
abortions in the US - people would not condemn -
Christianity for the actions of a few fanatics.
And yet some people blame Islam -
for the actions of the few extremists.

As for the derailment of this thread.
My husband warned me that this will happen
in the light of the topic.

Hopefully, some Muslims will contribute as well
to this thread and give us a much broader picture
of their contribution.

I would love to hear from them.

Foxy, this is a brave thread to throw out there :)

You have to expect the anti-Islam comments from the regular site trolls though, even though the thread is about Muslims, not the religion of Islam as such.

Anyway, I would just like to comment on the many Muslim homes I have visited as a community nurse over the years.

The main thing that struck me was the incredible food they made, especially during Ramadan.

I don't really know what I was eating, but it all tasted great, and the sheer volume of different recipes the women made to celebrate the end of their fast was simply amazing.

The different foods and tastes brought to this country by all the different cultures make Australia the great culinary destination that it has become, because of multiculturalism.

The Muslim culture is no exception. Vive la difference!

[Deleted.]