Watch an expert explode the myths about Islam! - Essential viewing for many on here.

[Notters]

I'm a little uneasy about all religions generally to be honest, whether "extreme" or not. Any supernatural belief seems hard to grasp but if someone could appease me I would be grateful.

 

[One Love]

I'm a little uneasy about all religions generally to be honest, whether "extreme" or not. Any supernatural belief seems hard to grasp but if someone could appease me I would be grateful.

I assume by supernatural you mean something beyond the range of our senses. Our senses only detect part of the spectrum of light or sound etc. Science has advanced to fill in some of the blanks beyond this but still has an enormous way to go until we know everything.

For me, some people are open to religion and some are not. If you are not, I very much doubt someone is going to be able to explain their experience to you.

For a time I couldn't understand why everyone couldn't see the world in a similar way to how I do.

Now I just accept that everyone is different.

 

[Questions]

I must admit that I have never come to terms with how ourselves and the U.S. fawn over Saudi Arabia. I know why they do it, to curry favour with them because of the trade we do with them and to have an ally in that part of the world - I mean where else would we have launched our illegal war to topple Sadamn Hussein if not from there - but how we can keep so silent knowing of the abuses of human rights, the torture and the beheadings of internal Saudi dissidents is quite honestly beyond me.

 

[Buzzer]

He is a religious scholar who has a fair few useful facts at his fingertips. Someone who comes across as balanced and knowledgeable about his subject matter and a far cry from most of the hysteria that is currently surrounding the Muslim debate at present.

"Hysteria". Some people are really willing there to be problems. Something like 2 or 3 million muslims in this country. I sincerely doubt there's more than 10,000 who hold views deemed extremist (that's 0.3%). The rest just get on with their British lives like the rest of us Brits. I don't think they need patronising or rescuing by well meaning hand-wringing.

Edit - I do wonder if threads like this are just as bad for relations between muslims and non-muslims. Most muslims aren't terrorists, don't want to be associated with terrorists, just want to get on with their lives and it's only a very small minority of muslims who are giving them a bad name. Likewise, non-muslims don't have extreme views on muslims, are happy to live in harmony with muslims and it's only a very small minority shit-stirring and trying to cause unrest. Threads like this just keep talking up problems. And that's why you get posters like Mustafa thinking that huge swathes of young muslims are just one hate speech by a right-wing extremist away from becoming suicide bombers.

 

[BadFish]

"Hysteria". Some people are really willing there to be problems. Something like 2 or 3 million muslims in this country. I sincerely doubt there's more than 10,000 who hold views deemed extremist (that's 0.3%). The rest just get on with their British lives like the rest of us Brits. I don't think they need patronising or rescuing by well meaning hand-wringing.

Edit - I do wonder if threads like this are just as bad for relations between muslims and non-muslims. Most muslims aren't terrorists, don't want to be associated with terrorists, just want to get on with their lives and it's only a very small minority of muslims who are giving them a bad name. Likewise, non-muslims don't have extreme views on muslims, are happy to live in harmony with muslims and it's only a very small minority shit-stirring and trying to cause unrest. Threads like this just keep talking up problems. And that's why you get posters like Mustafa thinking that huge swathes of young muslims are just one hate speech by a right-wing extremist away from becoming suicide bombers.

just as bad for relations between muslims and non muslims as what?

 

[Questions]

"Hysteria". Some people are really willing there to be problems. Something like 2 or 3 million muslims in this country. I sincerely doubt there's more than 10,000 who hold views deemed extremist (that's 0.3%). The rest just get on with their British lives like the rest of us Brits. I don't think they need patronising or rescuing by well meaning hand-wringing.

Edit - I do wonder if threads like this are just as bad for relations between muslims and non-muslims. Most muslims aren't terrorists, don't want to be associated with terrorists, just want to get on with their lives and it's only a very small minority of muslims who are giving them a bad name. Likewise, non-muslims don't have extreme views on muslims, are happy to live in harmony with muslims and it's only a very small minority shit-stirring and trying to cause unrest. Threads like this just keep talking up problems. And that's why you get posters like Mustafa thinking that huge swathes of young muslims are just one hate speech by a right-wing extremist away from becoming suicide bombers.

If we leave it alone Buzzer we just hear the ' The Muslims are coming, the Muslims are coming ' tirades from not necessarily just NSC (like we make a difference) but from 2 thirds of our national press and worse from the politicians who can't wait to get back to war. Most people know what's what but some don't.

 

[BadFish]

If we leave it alone Buzzer we just hear the ' The Muslims are coming, the Muslims are coming ' tirades from not necessarily just NSC (like we make a difference) but from 2 thirds of our national press and worse from the politicians who can't wait to get back to war. Most people know what's what but some don't.

I found it refreshing to hear someone challenge and disprove many of the myths that we hear both on here and in the majority of the media.

 

[soistes]

I'm a little uneasy about all religions generally to be honest, whether "extreme" or not. Any supernatural belief seems hard to grasp but if someone could appease me I would be grateful.

I'm with you on this. The issue is less about whether one bunch of people interpret a set of religious texts in an 'extremist' way, and another bunch interpret them in a benevolent, tolerant way (although obviously I'm pleased to hear that some are in the latter camp rather than the former).

For me, the issue is why on earth should anyone be inclined to live their lives according to dogmatic rules laid down centuries ago in a pre-scientific phase of history, especially when those rules involve beliefs in supernatural beings or deities. Given that these rules and texts are so impervious to scientific or empirical evidence, I guess it's not that surprising that they can be interpreted so flexibly and that two groups of people apparently adhering to the same religion can come up with such radically different interpretations (and one group can say that the other are not "true" Muslims, Christians, Jews, Buddhists or whatever, and the other group can use their beliefs to justify violence against non-believers).

I would respect them all as individual human beings, but I cannot find any way to respect the belief systems of any of them, whether 'radical' or not. Rather, if I know that someone is a religious believer I simply find it difficult to trust their judgement on any issue at all.

 

[Gregory2Smith1]

the great irony is that tony blair created this mess and I bet most of you on here voted him in!

 

[um bongo molongo]

I assume by supernatural you mean something beyond the range of our senses. Our senses only detect part of the spectrum of light or sound etc. Science has advanced to fill in some of the blanks beyond this but still has an enormous way to go until we know everything.

For me, some people are open to religion and some are not. If you are not, I very much doubt someone is going to be able to explain their experience to you.

For a time I couldn't understand why everyone couldn't see the world in a similar way to how I do.

Now I just accept that everyone is different.

I'd put myself in the agnostic camp - open to the idea of something beyond what we know but I certainly don't buy any of the theories/doctrines of the main religions. But I'd also be happy to accept people can believe what they want. My issue though is that a lot of religions breed attitudes that are intolerant of others. "Christian" attitudes to homosexuals (although this seems to be changing slowly in the UK it certainly isn't in Africa), most religions' suppression of women, all religions attitudes to people of other faiths (Protestants-Catholics, Sunnis-shi-ites and so on. And unfortunately Islam seems to breed the most intolerant/medieval attitudes, even amongst "good" Muslims. Take religion out of it and the idea that women have to be completely covered in public, walk behind their man etc is surely ridiculous - and you can see that walking down edgware road.

 

[um bongo molongo]

the great irony is that tony blair created this mess and I bet most of you on here voted him in!

So without Blair there'd be no militant Islam? I'm no great apologist for our actions in Iraq but the problems run a lot deeper than that. Essentially there are a large number of people in the world who detest us and our way of life and want to impose a form of puritanical Islam on the rest of the world through jihad. That exists with or without Blair, bush, Obama, oil or any of the reasons that people use to apologise for these idiots.

 

[GoldWithFalmer]

I'm a little uneasy about all religions generally to be honest, whether "extreme" or not. Any supernatural belief seems hard to grasp but if someone could appease me I would be grateful.

Yes i will try,take religion out of it,it is all nonsense and control,to which it has had it's day,we are however not alone and we are all one,we have a creator and they wish you and i and all to grow and see the biggest picture of all,the wonders of the universe,in this life and the next.....as you were..

 

[GoldWithFalmer]

One of my very best and closest friends since school, of 28 years is Iranian... This[expert] guy speaks an awful lot of truth,that said a system vs a system is the problem,be thankful we you and i are where we are in life.

 

[Dick Swiveller]

The strange thing is, those intolerant bigots who want to paint all Muslims as extremists would probably be the extremists themselves if their circumstances were different.

That's the nub for me. Quite literally "There but for the grace of God ..." How many people on here go atomic because someone says something about their football club? People actually appear to hate people who support Palace. Not dislike. Not banter with. Hate. Imagine these people with something they really believe in. If they believe/are brainwashed into thinking that what they most believe in is under threat from a group of people seen as the enemy. However misguided these people are, they believe passionately in what they are doing.

I have literally no idea what the solution is. But what I do know is that the naivety of some people is breathtaking. Leaving ISIS, ISIL, IS or whatever be is not an option because they want to take over the world and will have to be stopped somehow by someone. Whether that involves us or not is an open topic but not getting involved won't absolve us from retribution - we are already the "enemy". On the other hand, blanket bombing will create more converts for their cause and will not convert anyone away from extremist views. One hell of a mess that I hope someone knows how to sort out. But blaming Islam specifically is not the answer. It is like blaming all Christianity for the Irish murders on both sides. I don't think religion causes most wars but interpretation of religion does. And intolerance of other's belief values doesn't help either.

 

[BadFish]

One of my very best and closest friends since school, of 28 years is Iranian... This[expert] guy speaks an awful lot of truth,that said a system vs a system is the problem,be thankful we you and i are where we are in life.

There but for the grace of Allah.....

 

[Acker79]

Anyone else getting this ad on this thread?

 

[Soulman]

Anyone else getting this ad on this thread?

View attachment 59175

Yep.....can you pick more than one.

 

[beorhthelm]

Anyone else getting this ad on this thread?

View attachment 59175

adverts are based on the viewers other browsing. i've been getting Southern (been to their website this week) and Solar panel vendors (been looking up solar panels).

 

[jakarta]

Anyone else getting this ad on this thread?

View attachment 59175

With respect to North Stand Polls...... N Y M

 

[fat old seagull]

My GF is an Uzbek muslim. She and her female relations, and friends are so far away from the chador cloaked image thats presented, its unreal. On the other side of the coin, Bin Ladens personal protection unit were all Uzbeks. The difference between militant Islamists and Islam is enormous, but theres people out there, and on NSC that would prefer to present them as the same. No idea why.

Well if ever the day comes that I need protecting, will someone please remind me not to employ Uzbekians !