My limit has been reached

[sortofbigthen]

So I've always bene tolerant of Muslims and viewed the few who called for death to the West and other catchy soundbites to be the few.

I even assumed that the Mohammm-ted issue would be over soon and common sense would prevail. But no she was jailed.

OK, slightly puzzling and annoying but I still held out that she'd get let off of the sentence and that Islam would prove itself to be controled by the supposed majority who aren't extreme in view.

Wrong.

BBC NEWS | World | Africa | Shoot UK teacher, say protesters

Fuck 'em. Religion of peace my arse.

Do I really mean that? Possibly not. Will I change my mind? Possibly.

Right now I'm pissed with an entire beleief system.

My anger willl no doubt abate but hopefully this can kick off a debate.

 

[Osiris]

So I've always bene tolerant of Muslims and viewed the few who called for death to the West and other catchy soundbites to be the few.

I even assumed that the Mohammm-ted issue would be over soon and common sense would prevail. But no she was jailed.

OK, slightly puzzling and annoying but I still held out that she'd get let off of the sentence and that Islam would prove itself to be controled by the supposed majority who aren't extreme in view.

Wrong.

BBC NEWS | World | Africa | Shoot UK teacher, say protesters

Fuck 'em. Religion of peace my arse.

Do I really mean that? Possibly not. Will I change my mind? Possibly.

Right now I'm pissed with an entire beleief system.

My anger willl no doubt abate but hopefully this can kick off a debate.

No debate here, just an amount of empathy.

I have been watching the Sudanese Ambassador to Britain on the TV and his stance makes me just see red. The government is hanging their own selves in the world stage as a result of this. I am absolutely outraged that the lesson these 7 year olds are being taught is that you can love anything and anyone, but be careful what you call them as you could be punished for it.

That said, we must also be mindful that this is one nation and not even that whole nation is like this. Afterall it was only some of the parents that complained. Perhaps rather than going to the police these people would have been better of to explain to the teacher, who I feel has not one bit of malice or mean intent in her heart, why this could come across as an insult. A few zealots have turned a little error of etiquette into an international relations nightmare.

We need to remember be mad at the few idiots, but not a whole sector of people. For every terrorist who kills in the name of Islam, there are at least 100 more who are appalled by these actions and will stand side-by-side with the the rest of the world and denounce their actions.

I think the same can be said about the teddy bear incident too.

 

[rob_just_rob]

It's fairly ridiculous to jail her for this - the only thing more ridiculous would be to jail the 8-year old kids who actually chose the name.

And of course, it's appalling to think that anyone would be shot for naming a teddy bear. Lighten up, for mosakes, is my first thought.

All that said, I'm going to try to look at this from the local perspective. This is the Sudan we're talking about, where wars have been fought off and on for years, where poverty and famine are still a major problem. In other words, life is cheap there. Killing people who insult you is probably less controversial there than it is here. To say nothing about the local resentment towards the UK/US, which has is normally unfocused and without an outlet, but now has an individual to focus on and bear the brunt of.

Of course it's appalling, but read about the "don't snitch" mentality in the Sean Taylor thread. That's pretty appalling too, and you can't tell me that the people of Sudan don't have a better reason for their attitude. They've been pretty miserable for years.

Anyway, here's hoping that she serves her remaining time peacefully and quietly gets the hell out of there.

 

[Mr. Snakey]

So I've always bene tolerant of Muslims and viewed the few who called for death to the West and other catchy soundbites to be the few.

I even assumed that the Mohammm-ted issue would be over soon and common sense would prevail. But no she was jailed.

OK, slightly puzzling and annoying but I still held out that she'd get let off of the sentence and that Islam would prove itself to be controled by the supposed majority who aren't extreme in view.

Wrong.

BBC NEWS | World | Africa | Shoot UK teacher, say protesters

Fuck 'em. Religion of peace my arse.

Do I really mean that? Possibly not. Will I change my mind? Possibly.

Right now I'm pissed with an entire beleief system.

My anger willl no doubt abate but hopefully this can kick off a debate.

Nothing to debate. You were spot on.

 

[B_tallbig]

All religions have a dark side.:biggrin1::biggrin1::biggrin1::biggrin1:

 

[tripod]

I've been wishing that we would invade the Sudan and blow that place to shreds for years now... seemed like a much better target than Iraq, THEY EVEN HAVE OIL RESERVES!!! If I remember correctly, the ethnic cleansing ramped up around the same time that we invaded Iraq.

The only excuse I've ever heard from a U.S. official is that the country is too large and it would take forever to weed out the bad guys...

A pathetic excuse...

I might even volunteer for the Army if the U.S. would invade Sudan!!!

 

[Mem]

Some of the protesters think that the teacher should be put to death, I think the world would be a better place if all the protesters were killed.

 

[ruperty]

it's a fair point sortofbig. osiris is also right that there are lots of muslims who are appalled by this. however, how can a religion be SO unstable? why are most muslim countries full of nutcases running around the streets screaming 'death to america' and 'we will destroy the west', do they hate the west that much? the muslim clerics in sudan even believe that she is part of a western plan against islam - by naming a teddybear (widely recognised as an object of love and affection) after muhammed.

i feel that the majority of these people in the streets are all idiotic men who don't give two shits about their religion at all, they just want a cheap shot at the west at any given opportunity. they seem to love rallying down the street waiving their flip flops in the air screaming pointless and horrific BOLLOCKS!

 

[Big en]

I don't get it. You can name a person Muhammed but nothing else?

 

[Osiris]

I don't get it. You can name a person Muhammed but nothing else?

This is a misunderstanding of two clashing cultures. To name a son Mohammed is a great honor partially because of the love that brought the child into the world.

Now IF the people who are upset truly understood that in Western culture a teddy bear is probably one of the biggest signs of love amongst children, this whole thing might not have played out like this, but now the Sudanese government are trying to force the world to accept their incorrect rightness.

It's a shame.

 

[DC_DEEP]

This is a misunderstanding of two clashing cultures. To name a son Mohammed is a great honor partially because of the love that brought the child into the world.

Now IF the people who are upset truly understood that in Western culture a teddy bear is probably one of the biggest signs of love amongst children, this whole thing might not have played out like this, but now the Sudanese government are trying to force the world to accept their incorrect rightness.

It's a shame.

I'm sure it also has something to do with the super-strict interpretation, in islam, of the prohibition against "graven images." In the minds of many, naming a living child after Mo represents a great honor for the child and homage to the god. Naming an inanimate, man-made object after Mo is exactly equal to idolatry.

Many followers of judaism and christianity have similar views, but there are far fewer who take it to deadly extreme.

 

[thedrainman]

Perhaps the time has come to stop sending aid to the Sudan from the UK - they need us more than we need them. If all the UK professionals in the Sudan pulled out now, there would be serious problems in education and healthcare.

 

[odd_fish_9]

and that Islam would prove itself to be controled by the supposed majority who aren't extreme in view.

What an optimist. And you probably think we should leave the landing lights on for Amelia Earhart, "just in case."

 

[B_tallbig]

All religions have fundamentalists or extreme believers. This guys dont represent all the believers.

 

[D_golden parachute]

Oh for fucks sake

I hate Islam

and I don't care how 'judgemental' or whatever that makes me sound, it's a fucking disgrace of a religion

 

[B_tallbig]

Oh for fucks sake

I hate Islam

and I don't care how 'judgemental' or whatever that makes me sound, it's a fucking disgrace of a religion

The same could be said about christianity . George w Bush is a practicing christian , he really believe that god told him to invade Irak.

 

[vince]

Religion isn't the problem. Fundamentalist interpretation and application of the faiths is the problem. It seems that anytime fundamentalists get power, they abuse it. I agree that this situation and the other one about the rape case in Saudi Arabia are an abuse of human rights. But I don't think it is reasonable to condemn a faith based on the actions of politicians. We don't have to look very far back in history to find horrible abuses by any religion, ethic group, nation or what have you.

 

[B_tallbig]

Religion isn't the problem. Fundamentalist interpretation and application of the faiths is the problem. It seems that anytime fundamentalists get power, they abuse it. I agree that this situation and the other one about the rape case in Saudi Arabia are an abuse of human rights. But I don't think it is reasonable to condemn a faith based on the actions of politicians. We don't have to look very far back in history to find horrible abuses by any religion, ethic group, nation or what have you.

I agree .

 

[HazelGod]

Oh for fucks sake

I hate Islam

and I don't care how 'judgemental' or whatever that makes me sound, it's a fucking disgrace of a religion

By your reasoning, everyone who despises Fred Phelps could similarly claim to hate Christianity.

Your statement doesn't make you sound judgemental so much as ignorantly short-sighted.

 

[nicenycdick]

Although I try to remain calm, collected and willing to believe the best of all people, what truly disturbs me is the latest news on this thing. It seems that after the courts came down with their verdict requiring jail time (which is certainly absurd enough from our perspective), thousands of protestors streamed out of mosques demanded the teacher be put to death! What is the most difficult is that we are being forced to consider being intolerant to those who are so intolerant. When is it right to lower ourselves to their level? Now?

I say this as someone who takes all the history of the region into account...how we have abused our relationships in that part of the world and how our own culture undermines theirs. Even with that open-hearted understanding...it is getting extremely difficult to remain open-minded. And I hate that!