Supporting Muslims as members of our communities

[sooda]

Is Robert Spencer creating mischief in the land and should he be punished accordingly?

That whole bunch Bridgitte Gabriel, Horowitz and Spencer are truly evil and they are making money hand over fist.

A better plan would be to ignore them. We have freedom of speech in America.

 

[Notanumber]

That whole bunch Bridgitte Gabriel, Horowitz and Spencer are truly evil and they are making money hand over fist.

A better plan would be to ignore them. We have freedom of speech in America.

I have no problem with anyone wishing to ignore them while maintaining freedom of speech.

The alternative would be indoctrination.

Is Islam capable of ignoring them?

 

[sooda]

I have no problem with anyone wishing to ignore them while maintaining freedom of speech.

The alternative would be indoctrination.

Is Islam capable of ignoring them?

Yes. I think so.

 

[dybmh]

Thread created to discuss Qur'an:

The Qur'an: Intentions vs. Effects

 

[Notanumber]

Yes. I think so.

It was not capable of ignoring Sir Ahmed Salman Rushdie.

 

[The Emperor of Mankind]

I am not a member of the morality police, but I do think it is good to talk providing nothing hateful is said about any person.

So asking people to display common decency equates to being a member of the morality police now. Huh.

Let me put this another way. Putting up anti-Islam posts right after a terrorist attack on a mosque isn't much different to the Westboro Baptists picketing peoples' funerals.

Please, please, please stop taking advantage of a time of significant fear & sorrow as an opportunity to twist the dagger into some very open wounds. We can make anti-Islam posts whenever we want. I sincerely hoped that right now would not be when you or @icehorse wanted to do it.

 

[loverofhumanity]

Yes I know all that. But they have to be celibate (or liars) to do it. From my POV, that's discrimination against a natural facet of mankind's diversity From your POV, it's God's rule. It's common to many Abrahamic groups (most certainly not all) to think it's a sin. Not for Hindus. I could change my POV, as could you.

I still believe it’s one of those ‘the world is flat’ issues which in time humanity will come to see differently in the future.

 

[sooda]

It was not capable of ignoring Sir Ahmed Salman Rushdie.

He's still alive and kicking isn't he?

 

[Vinayaka]

I still believe it’s one of those ‘the world is flat’ issues which in time humanity will come to see differently in the future.

I have no idea what you're trying to illustrate with this analogy. 'The world is flat' is not an issue, it's a crazy deluded belief a few people have.

 

[Aupmanyav]

So how do you stop extremists that resort to killing people? In this case I absolutely support you and other Baha'is... stop racial and religious prejudice. If a religion divides people, get rid of it. Even if that attitude is supported by their Scriptures, then time to update those Scriptures. So go for it Baha'is, bring the different religious people together.

All religions divide people, even Bahais; no exception. Bahais try to appropriate/gobble up other religions. They are the 'smarties'.

 

[loverofhumanity]

I have no idea what you're trying to illustrate with this analogy. 'The world is flat' is not an issue, it's a crazy deluded belief a few people have.

It was once a popular belief that later was discarded when it was proven wrong. I believe future knowledge will reveal that current views about many things are incorrect.

 

[loverofhumanity]

All religions divide people, even Bahais; no exception. Bahais try to appropriate/gobble up other religions. They are the 'smarties'.

So far 175 years and no wars and we haven’t killed anyone to try and convert them.. We are a peaceful community not interested in violence or wars. I hope all humanity can become peaceful.

 

[Aupmanyav]

Moses killed, Zoroaster killed (or asked his people to kill). Jesus did not kill any one. He did not have the power. Mohammad did, he had the power. Bahais do not have power. When Christians had power, they killed. Those who do not have power, curse. Jesus did that, Bahaullh does that. In monotheistic religions, it is only the question of whether one has power or not.

 

[Notanumber]

He's still alive and kicking isn't he?

How long would he survive if he went to an Arab country?

 

[Dawnofhope]

I don't know that much about white supremacy groups, but I wonder how different they are then a street gang? I work in construction and what is sad some of the young people that have worked with me tell me stories of drugs, human trafficking and other gang related stuff. One guy was so funny and always joking around, so I thought the things he was saying were just jokes. But he was in a gang and he and 23 others ended up in prison. Heck, when I was a teenager, that's when the Hippie movement had just started. We all tried pot and LSD. And protested the Vietnam War. We were demonized. Ronald Reagan supposedly had seen a hippie with a sign that said, "Make Love Not War" and said that "by the looks of them, they could do neither." Lots of Hippies ended up in jail for draft evasion and drug charges. We were the enemy. But most hippies hated the "man" the "establishment" the "pigs". So, to us, they were the evil ones. And some hippies became extreme (Manson and his gang) and killed people and some blew up a lab that I think was making napalm.

So how do you stop extremists that resort to killing people? In this case I absolutely support you and other Baha'is... stop racial and religious prejudice. If a religion divides people, get rid of it. Even if that attitude is supported by their Scriptures, then time to update those Scriptures. So go for it Baha'is, bring the different religious people together.

Crazy times through the 60s and 70s. I caught the tail end of the hippie movement, can not mention any illegal drug use as its against the forum rules, but dropped out of medical school to search for Nirvana that I had learnt about through my studies of Buddhism and Hinduism. The Beatles learnt transcendental meditation which isn't too hard to learn. I learnt meditation too and so through this practice and living a good life hoped to achieve a realm of consciousness where I could break the cycle of life and death (Samsara) and move onto the next stage. After a couple of years, failed miserably to achieve the enlightenment I earnestly desired. I experienced my first ever depressive episode. In my despair I turned in anguish towards God and soon my spirits were soon lifted. I reconnected with the Christian Church (Baptists) but was soon going to Buddhist and Baha'i meetings too. The Baha'i Faith 'resonated' and made much more sense than anything I'd come across within religion before. I'd never had any interest in Islam and I'd initially thought of the Baha'i faith as a continuation of Christianity while acknowledging the Divine origins of Buddhism and Hinduism. It all echoed my hippie days nicely. Its only been in the last few years that I've become much more interested in Islam.

It is the role of the police and intelligence community to be vigilant for potential terrorists. However, unless we want to live in a police state we need to foster excellent relationships and good will between peoples of diverse faiths and cultures. Those relationships where we experience first hand people who are different from ourselves as well as better education are key ingredients to fostering genuine harmony and unity between people. Its about promoting a culture that is ever enlarging and leaves no room for estrangement. This is the best remedy where we can work towards preventing and overcoming extremism. The responsibility is for each one of us. Most of the champions of promoting unity in diversity are not Baha'is.

 

[Vinayaka]

It was once a popular belief that later was discarded when it was proven wrong. I believe future knowledge will reveal that current views about many things are incorrect.

That makes total sense. In fact this one (that gays are sinful) is slowly being discarded already. Society is just waiting for a few regressive faiths to catch up.

 

[loverofhumanity]

That makes total sense. In fact this one (that gays are sinful) is slowly being discarded already. Society is just waiting for a few regressive faiths to catch up.

I believe in the goodness of all people including you.

 

[Shad]

No he doesn't .. He's a former catholic school teacher and he's never been in an Arab country.. He's a hater with a big family to support and Jihad Watch makes him a lot of money pumping out lies.

The money maker for Spencer are his books and "lectures" or "speeches".... whatever you want to call his babble.

 

[The Emperor of Mankind]

He's still alive and kicking isn't he?

That's certainly not for a lack of trying.

 

[sooda]

That's certainly not for a lack of trying.

If they had set out to kill him, he'd be dead.