These threads are the reasons why I stick up for Muslims and Islam cause you make a generalization of an entire religion
The people threatening to destroy this statue are Muslims. Their motivations are anti-Chinese sentiment and Islamic iconoclasm (other statues and temples which are un-Islamic have been vandalised or even destroyed outright - this is the latest in a long line). It is not "a generalisation" to point out the guilty parties and the beliefs that are motivating them.
based on the ignorance of a mob mentality.
Ah yes, these people must be the 000000.1% of 1.5 billion Muslims who are willing to kill for the sake of their beliefs. Wait, they're not actually trying to kill people; that means they can't be called Islamic terrorists or extremists. But the only reasonable option left is... they're just regular Muslims.
your religion is what? Pagan - Greek polytheism with hints of Daoist & Zoroastrian philosophies sounds like your beliefs are confused to me but hey, it wouldn't be cool to antagonize your confused beliefs right because they make sense to you.
Go for it. I have thicker skin than people who cry 'Islamophobia' or 'bigotry' because I join the dots between an action and a belief that motivates that action.
So go for it; slander my beliefs all you want. That's not what I'm doing with Islam but if you want to feel self-righteous enough to see a connection where none exists, you go right ahead. We'll see who's laughing when the other Islamophiles on this forum finally become consistent in their standards and ride to my rescue decrying you for your Paganophobia.
Besides I don't know you so why would I, in my right mind make pre-conceived notions of what you believe and why that would make sense to you?
Bad analogy because the only reliable source for what I believe is me. There are no reliable external sources for my beliefs. With Islam, though, that's a different story. We have the Quran, we have the Sunnah, we have the ahadith (when they actually
are trustworthy, of course
) and we have the speeches & actions of Muslims themselves (like in this particular case in Indonesia). Thanks to the Quran we know that Islam frowns on religious imagery; thanks to the actions of Muslims and interpretations of Islamic scripture, we know this disapproval has blossomed into full-blown iconoclasm. Thanks to the Quran we know that
"'Indeed, they who disbelieved among the People of the Scripture and the polytheists will be in the fire of Hell, abiding eternally therein. Those are the worst of creatures." - Surah 98:6.
Point is we don't know the socio-political climate in that region,
From the link we know anti-Chinese sentiment is present in Indonesia; we know that Indonesia is the largest Muslim-majority nation in the world and we know that there's a rising sentiment among Indonesian Muslims to see Islamic law replace the (more) civilised secular laws that currently govern them.
nor do we know the education level of the people that inhabit that region, because after all Indonesians in that region do not believe in secular education so you factor in religious fervor with a lack of worldly understanding and socio-political strife you have situations like this.
So, in other words, Indonesians will prefer Islamic law if they're not well-educated.
Hey you said it, not me.
Perhaps you may want to factor all that in instead of your own bigotry.
Pointing out that Muslims are being intolerant of other religions is not bigotry. Pointing out that Islam's tendency to promote religious intolerance in its adherents is at least a partial factor is not bigotry. This is simply observing the situation on the ground.
But please continue defending Islam & Muslim behaviours like this from all forms of criticism.
