Responsibility Free Society
When the populace witnesses politician(s) running a state into the ground and wasting millions if not billions and then walking away with a golden handshake they're are going to feel entitled to the same.
It's the same law for all or no law for any, so say 'hello' to the responsibility free society, where an excuse can be found for any anti social conduct.
There was a time when people were named and shamed when their conduct was unacceptable to society in general...but were more civilized now
There was a time when punishment was meted out to fit the crime....but we're more understanding now...
There was a time when people voted for governments to keep the community safe....but we're smarter now.
There was a time when Australians voted for a politician they would willingly follow into battle...now they vote for a freebie and the right to have their wish granted.
Then we have those bleating about Christian values...just what are these Christian values that we need to hold so dear?....to be respectful?, considerate?, charitable?, honest?, sharing? because anyone thinking that Christianity gave rise to these civilized social values, think again because they existed long before Judaism and Christianity

Oh that's right....we have Father Christmas....what a feeble minded shallow society we have become.
Lotsa talking.... but no walking

I don't understand how anyone can generalise and
claim that ALL Muslims practice their religion in
exactly the same way.
And, these opinions are based on the
actions or words of people who may call themselves
Muslims but actually have very little real
knowledge about their religion.

I believe in sound knowledge and research.
Logically thinking, do all Catholics represent
Catholicism? All Jews Judaism? all Hindus,
Hinduism? Do all Germans represent Germany?
All Indonesians Indonesia?

So while one religion or one country is not generally
maligned by the action of a few people this has not
been the case for Islam especially post 9/11.

It is a fact that many crimes have been perpetrated
by individual groups and countries in the name of Islam.
When these atrocities occur, it has been the norm to
blame the religion of Islam instead of the perpetrators
themselves. Therefore if a person commits a crime and
then declares himself/herself a Muslim or shouts
"Allahu Akbar" then they are not judged but their
religion is.

Of course this is not an excuse for bad behaviour or the
perpetration of atrocities on the innocent. There are no
excuses for crimes like this. Background information
does however serve to help us understand why some people
commit crimes and atrocities against humanity against
themselves and ultimately against their religion.

When we read about or see on TV a person who calls him/herself
a Muslim perpetrating a crime too horrible to contemplate it
is important to understand that this person does not
represent Islam. The same can be said of all religions.
Throughout history humankind has used the name of God
to justify unspeakable acts.

One of the problems facing the world today in general and
facing Muslims specifically is that unqualified people
think it is possible to read a book, badly translated into a
language other than Arabic and instantly become able to
give religious rulings and interpretations on subjects
they really have no knowledge about. People with very
little real Islamic knowledge suddenly become experts
while the real experts are unable to have their opinions
heard.

Dear Foxy,

You're right, not all Muslims practice their religion in the same way: with the massacre of 250 or more Sufi Muslims in the Sinai while at Friday prayers, by Sunni Muslims, clearly they must have diverged views on what it means to be a Muslim.

But as you suggest, just as all of Christianity, or all of Catholicism, can't be blamed for the transgressions of a few pedophiles, since all manner of institutions, secular and religious, seem to attract vile people who use their powers, not all Muslims - perhaps not all Sufi, or Sunni, or Shi'a, or Ahmaddiyah - may believe in the same way. Maybe no two people on Earth believe in exactly the same way. Not even us atheists :)

But ..... if one does believe that, by carrying out some act, even if it means killing other people, that one will thereby somehow go to Paradise or Heaven, that does break all the rules of humanity. I don't understand, in those cases, what people imagine their god to represent. I would much rather believe in the depiction of a god who is merciful to all, to people who go astray, a god who recognises human failings and - perhaps because he or she is made, or makes us, in the image of humans, i.e. in his or her own image, and is prepared to forgive those failings, if there is genuine regret or repentance.

Islam does have problems, surely you would have to agree: its tribal and desert-culture roots pervade the sense of right and wrong which so many Muslims seem to espouse. The ancient attitudes to women and to strangers, typical of tribal cultures, really don't fit at all in modern society. So many Muslims have a long, long way to go to catch up with more progressive ideas.

[TBC]

[continued]

But being atheist also means a constant search, through one's own experience, and constant learning from others, for what is right and wrong, good and bad - it unfortunately also means that there is no rest, no end-point to that learning: one is constantly examining and analysing and dissecting, searching for truths. Atheism is a lifelong project, with - we are all too aware - nothing after the end of it :)

Love always,

Joe

Foxy,

"One of the problems facing the world today in general and
facing Muslims specifically is that unqualified people
think it is possible to read a book, badly translated into a
language other than Arabic"

My copy of the Qua'rn was translated into English at the behest of no other than the then current King and given me by the Saudi Embassy in Canberra.

It is bound in green leather with gold embossed lettering and design on both covers, it is in Arabic with the facing pages in English.
The page edges are also in gold.

I don't think that such a book would be badly translated, to do so wouldn't be worth the translator's neck.
How would one be qualified to read a book?
Would majoring in Religious Studies and specializing in Islam be qualification enough?

Dear Joe (Loudmouth),

Unfortunately many Muslims throughout the world
are marginalised and are struggling to overcome
colonial and imperial backgrounds. The military
conquest, economic exploitation and cultural
mutation imbedded in the colonisation of the
15th to 20th centuries has left generation after
generation of disaffected poverty stricken and
marginalised Muslims struggling to come to terms
with a globalised world.

This however as I stated earlier is not an excuse for
bad behaviour or the perpetration of atrocities on
the innocent. There are no excuses for crimes like
this. But again as stated earlier background information
does however serve to help us understand why some people
commit crimes and atrocities against humanity against
themselves and ultimately against their religion.

In 1987 when Sikh gunmen opened fire on Hindu bus
passengers in India's Punjab state, killing hundreds of
people, the media did not declare the Sikh religion to
be bloodthirsty and automatically condemn all Sikhs.

In Spain the Basque Separatist Movement has claimed
responsibility for over 800 unlawful deaths since 1968.
Even though Spain is 94% Catholic. These atrocities were
not attributed to the Catholic Church.

I've stated so many times in the past - I don't have
the answers to the big questions in life. I'm still on
my own road to discovery. And yes, I have been incredibly
lucky. But everything is relative, everything has its
story, and everyone has obstacles to overcome. They are
our greatest teachers. Each of us goes through transitions
and transformations. The important thing is that we
acknowledge them and learn from them.

I am no pundit. I have only my own life experiences to go
on. And some of the obstacles that I have overcome in life
have been difficult. But every relationship is a gift.
And I have learned so much from the people I have encountered
on my journey through life. They have helped shape me into
the person I have become and still hope to be.