Monday, September 17, 2007

Tolerance, Bigotry, Racism, Hatred: Real or Imagined

Posts on tolerance, bigotry, racism, and hatred, real or imagined:Why post this list? Up to now, I've put the list at the end of related posts, letting it grow with each new post. By now, it's gotten as long as some of the posts. Starting today I'm putting the list here.

The early 21st century isn't the most serene period in human history. Aside from the usual background of human goofiness, we all live in a world where
  • Some Muslims are killing infidels because they think Allah tells them to.
  • Other Muslims are quietly stating that Islam doesn't necessarily condone all killing of infidels.
  • The American president has repeatedly stated that Islam is a peaceful religion
  • The Islamic Republic News agency said "The (Iranian) president said Islam belongs to all generations and Muslims should get ready for global mission of Islam." (cited in another post
  • The French Foreign Minister said that France should prepare with war, if Iran gets nuclear weapons.
  • The Israeli Air Force may have destroyed a nuclear materials stockpile in Syria.
The list could go on, and on.

One of the best ways to tell what someone is made of is to put the person under stress. Some people demonstrate that they have a will of steel, others that their heads are full of loose nuts. Qualities, good or bad, come to the surface.

Western civilization is being threatened by religious fanatics whose religion is closely identified with a very identifiable part of the world: the Middle East. Inevitably, some people assume that everyone who seems to be from that part of the world are terrorists

And, given the existence of threats and bias, other people assume that any accusation against a Muslim is a case of bigotry and intolerance.

I hope that the American president is right: that Islam is a religion which can tolerate other views without violent outbursts. That is why I've written so many posts about Islam, infidels, and common sense.

No comments:

Unique, innovative candles


Visit us online:
Spiral Light CandleFind a Retailer
Spiral Light Candle Store

Blogroll

Note! Although I believe that these websites and blogs are useful resources for understanding the War on Terror, I do not necessarily agree with their opinions. 1 1 Given a recent misunderstanding of the phrase "useful resources," a clarification: I do not limit my reading to resources which support my views, or even to those which appear to be accurate. Reading opinions contrary to what I believed has been very useful at times: sometimes verifying my previous assumptions, sometimes encouraging me to change them.

Even resources which, in my opinion, are simply inaccurate are sometimes useful: these can give valuable insights into why some people or groups believe what they do.

In short, It is my opinion that some of the resources in this blogroll are neither accurate, nor unbiased. I do, however, believe that they are useful in understanding the War on Terror, the many versions of Islam, terrorism, and related topics.