My real point, stevenimeyer, is that one can argue about fundamentalist religious hatred and show that it serves both the US (& its puppy, Australia) & Islamic terrorists as fuel to defend the real stake holders in the current conflicts. If you believe it is a "religious conflict" then stop reading & go back to praying & hating. I would say then that you have not only fallen for the propaganda but have become an eager camp follower & a propadandist yourself. A worry I would say.

It is a sad fact that race is a social construct. Look it up on wikipedia. At base we are all people, with the same DNA. Religion can be a private matter but can be also just a tool to manipulate people like you. So far as I can make out, the basic message of all religions is humanistic, but many people take delight in scrutinising the particular bits of very ancient texts to suit their purposes. We can find justification in the Old Testament for practically any atrocity. It gives me permission to sell my daughters as slaves and to buy slaves from neighbouring countries for instance. If you are worried by the propaganda issuing from one small child's lips & use it to try incite fear & hatred of Islam then you are no better than her exploiters. I accuse you of writing in bad faith.

achenne1 wrote:

>>It is a sad fact that race is a social construct.>>

What has race to do with this?

There is no such thing as a race of Muslims.

Do some people attack Islam as a cover for their racism?

Yes.

Do some people attack Israel as a cover for their Jew hatred?

Yes.

But Islam and Zionism are both belief systems. They are legitimate targets for attack. Attacking Islam no more "racist" than attacking Zionism is antisemitic.

>>So far as I can make out, the basic message of all religions is humanistic >>

To me, an atheist, religions are what their adherents do. Right now what Muslims do is propagate a message of hatred for Jews. Not all Muslims, but most. What it says in their so-called "holy book" is irrelevant to me.

Please spare me the glib, politically correct rebuttals:

--It's only a small minority.

--It's only because of Israel.

--Once upon a time Jews and Muslims lived in harmony.

None of these stand up to scrutiny.

>>..it serves both the US (& its puppy, Australia) & Islamic terrorists as fuel to defend the real stake holders in the current conflicts. >>

Do some interest groups try to use Muslim cannon fodder to their own advantage?

Obviously.

But that does not alter the fact that the teaching of Imams across the world create that cannon fodder. If not an actually majority of Imams, certainly more than a tiny minority. I invite you to walk into the Finsbury Mosque in London and see on sale the very books the Nazis used to demonise Jews. I have seen similar books on sale here in Melbourne.

Even serious Muslim scholars no longer contest the fact that Jew hatred pervades much of the Muslim world. Surveys such as those by Pew global confirm it.

Telling it like it is does not make me a propagandist. Denying what is plain to see makes you a propagandist.

But I am still interested in what has become of the now 8 year old Basmallah

why just Basmallah
why just this specific child
im just a little confused
when there is so much that can be done with your energy if you are finding no relief with your efforts
have you been worrying for five years
or is this a sudden re-awakening/good cause thing?
yes i did view the video
and yes i think its a terrible modern version of red riding hood_social control stuff
we havent changed much in thousands of years, lucky we get to SEE all the mess we are making now, that cant be worse worse_mabye it will all sort out in the next 90 years....(its taken us thousands to get to here) that will give us humans 10 years to get it together down in the South Pole and save ourselves, ha

Steven,

I am not sure where to start but I have many Jewish friends. I didn't grow to hate anyone or anything and only taught my chidlren to understand and tolerate others. I still believe that I am a muslim and many others who follow my faith do the same.

And last, teaching children hate is child abuse. I searched the internet and seems Israelis also are doing their version:
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull&cid=1153291980307

Every human regardless of their religious convictions, should act responsibly,

Peace,

Achenne1
Your diatribe against Steven and religion, and your highlighting of the possible value of a 'war on terror' for certain political interests, suggests strongly that you have an alternative.
Mind sharing with us what that 'alternative' belief system or political system 'is'?

Pericles.. ur a difficult one. Are you saying "A little bit of anti Nazi criticism is ok, but a lot is not"? because it sure sounds like it.

I assert that Islam is worse than National Socialism because:
a) When hitler died, so did National Socialism as a significant force.

b) When Mohammad died, Islam remained and grew, and connected the idea of the State to Allah, and the exclusive rule of Muslims of the world, with an outright threat against non Muslims.

Don't believe me?

http://www.faithfreedom.org/Testimonials/YarkiiSvet.htm is worth a read, but if you consider this might be 'fabricated'..try this.

http://www.faithfreedom.org/Articles/peacefulreligion.htm
read the whole compilation of material straight from the Islamic sources. Notice what is said SPECIFICALLY about Jews and Christians over and over and over.

The problem here between us is this. I realize what drives the radical/serious Muslim mind, and you simply don't.

You cannot see the relevance of scanning through 'ancient documents' as a basis of understanding peoples current day motivation, which is like saying "I don't care about what kind of foundation it has, I like the look of the house so I'm buying it" -that is about the standard of your approach.

You have to make a choice "Islam is good" or.. "Islam is bad"

In order to make this choice, you should thoroughly research it, and test it for these qualities. The quotes above may assist you.

No, no, a thousand times no!

>>You have to make a choice "Islam is good" or.. "Islam is bad"<<

That is exactly what I will not do. It is entirely irrelevant.

Terrorism is not irrelevant. But the religion of those terrorists is definitely irrelevant.

Let's go back to Northern Ireland for a moment. One one side you had at various times the Official and Provisional IRA plus breakaway groups, on the other you had the UDF, the B Specials and sundry other minor factions. Both sides committed atrocities - kidnapping, torture, murder.

They were highly motivated by their concept of "religion", but you were not forced to decide that "Protestantism is good" or "Protestantism is bad", or even "Catholicism is good" or "Catholicism is bad".

All you needed to know was that "terrorism is bad".

The complaints of economic deprivation among Sri Lankan Tamils have many similarities to Catholics in Northern Ireland, but you don't have to decide "Hinduism is good" or "Hinduism is bad" to condemn the Tamil terrorists for the atrocities they commit.

>>The problem here between us is this. I realize what drives the radical/serious Muslim mind, and you simply don't<<

That's pretty arrogant. But it still does not give you licence to stir up hatred in the way that you do. Terrorism is a legitimate target for your fear, but Islam itself is not.