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A few prefaces: first of all, I understand that not everyone on the left is sympathetic towards Islam. Second, this thread isn't an attempt to troll; it is an honest question I have wondered for years. Third, this thread is not intended to be a place to debate the merits of various religions. My purpose is to solicit the opinion of people self-identified to the left of center as to how and why they have developed their positions regarding Islam.
Why is it that the political left is often so sympathetic to Islam? From the research I have done about Islam (several college courses including three semesters of Arabic, numerous books, documentaries and being a news junky) the political left and Islam have virtually nothing in common. In fact, many of the tenets of Islam are diametrically opposed to the values held by the left (homosexuality, women's rights, pacifism vs. violence, the role of religion in government, etc.). When there is an issue in the news that pits Islam against Christianity or Judaism, the left sides with Islam the vast majority of the time.
The left has condemned the Paris tragedy, but these condemnations usually include qualifiers about how not all Muslims are bad (which we already know) or how not all terrorists are Muslims (even though the VAST majority of modern terrorists are Muslims). Instead of talking constructively about ways to reduce Islamic fanaticism, liberal media outlets seem to spend more time sympathizing with a group that perpetrates violence in response the the values the left holds most dear.
All insight is appreciated. As someone that is not left-wing, this is something that completely baffles me.
I have a better question:
Why are childish straw man arguments so common amongst the right wingers on this forum?
Religion has caused a lot of wars, but atheism has also killed a lot of people. Between the Soviets, Chinese, North Koreans, etc., atheistic Marxist regimes have killed tens of millions, either directly though executions and gulags or indirectly through economic policies that resulted in mass starvation and disease.
I tend to agree that if we didn't have religion, we would still find reasons to kill each other. Most likely its a survival instinct from the ancient reptilian part of our brain that tells us that the "other" is dangerous. However, I'll grant you that religion is a particularly strong catalyst for warfare since it tends to be black/white, because it feeds into our sense of morality and our hope for something beyond death, and also because it can easily be manipulated by the politically minded.
Stop making that tired old argument that everybody makes. You should be smarter than that. You are after all, well read. Atheism has no rules that tell people to be violent.
You should have thought about this before but because you didn't I'll explain it to you now: What you saying is essentially, if we didn't get chicken pox, people would still get sick. Therefore it makes no sense to cure chicken pox.
Also...the North Koreans worship their leader. He's their pseudo-god. He is said to have had a miraculous birth, and various godlike/extraordinary properties.
We need to get rid of this idea that atheism can cause people to do things. It can't. It is about as close to nothing as anything can be without being nothing.
We need to focus on religion. Religion can cause people to do things. The question is, does its benefits outweigh its negatives?
This thread has amazed me. Never before have I seen a level of this stupidity or trolling on the internet. Well done C-D conservatives, you have truly outdone yourselves this time.
If they were in Arizona, we would not be in the ME right now. And they would have a new homeland. Yes, I do think it was wrong to give them land where other people were living for thousands of years. It ensured we would be captured by the hatred and intolerance of a region that had embodied hatred and intolerance for Millennia. The Mojave Desert is pretty similar geographically, and I am sure they would have been able to live in peace here. No one would "boat" anyone. We would have offered it just like the homestead act. They could take it or leave it.
I am not against compassion, but would prefer that it come with lower geopolitical consequences.
You know there were Jews in common day Israel for thousands of years right?
That area had gone through so many ownership and ruling changes, it is ridiculous to act as if the "Palestinians" were the sole owners up until 1948 untill the mean jews "stole" their land.
All insight is appreciated. As someone that is not left-wing, this is something that completely baffles me.
Islam remains a minor, politically marginal religion in the U.S., so liberals can easily dismiss the horrible teachings of that religion and focus on Christianity. By using absurd moral equivalencies --- the Westboro Baptist Church, Tim McVeigh, Mike Huckabee are the same as Islamic fundamentalists --- and historical irrelevancies --- the Crusades, Inquisition, witch burnings --- they can attack fundamentalist Christians who oppose liberal domestic policies. imo.
A few prefaces: first of all, I understand that not everyone on the left is sympathetic towards Islam. Second, this thread isn't an attempt to troll; it is an honest question I have wondered for years. Third, this thread is not intended to be a place to debate the merits of various religions. My purpose is to solicit the opinion of people self-identified to the left of center as to how and why they have developed their positions regarding Islam.
Why is it that the political left is often so sympathetic to Islam? From the research I have done about Islam (several college courses including three semesters of Arabic, numerous books, documentaries and being a news junky) the political left and Islam have virtually nothing in common. In fact, many of the tenets of Islam are diametrically opposed to the values held by the left (homosexuality, women's rights, pacifism vs. violence, the role of religion in government, etc.). When there is an issue in the news that pits Islam against Christianity or Judaism, the left sides with Islam the vast majority of the time.
The left has condemned the Paris tragedy, but these condemnations usually include qualifiers about how not all Muslims are bad (which we already know) or how not all terrorists are Muslims (even though the VAST majority of modern terrorists are Muslims). Instead of talking constructively about ways to reduce Islamic fanaticism, liberal media outlets seem to spend more time sympathizing with a group that perpetrates violence in response the the values the left holds most dear.
All insight is appreciated. As someone that is not left-wing, this is something that completely baffles me.
A few prefaces: first of all, I understand that not everyone on the left is sympathetic towards Islam. Second, this thread isn't an attempt to troll; it is an honest question I have wondered for years. Third, this thread is not intended to be a place to debate the merits of various religions. My purpose is to solicit the opinion of people self-identified to the left of center as to how and why they have developed their positions regarding Islam.
Why is it that the political left is often so sympathetic to Islam? From the research I have done about Islam (several college courses including three semesters of Arabic, numerous books, documentaries and being a news junky) the political left and Islam have virtually nothing in common. In fact, many of the tenets of Islam are diametrically opposed to the values held by the left (homosexuality, women's rights, pacifism vs. violence, the role of religion in government, etc.). When there is an issue in the news that pits Islam against Christianity or Judaism, the left sides with Islam the vast majority of the time.
The left has condemned the Paris tragedy, but these condemnations usually include qualifiers about how not all Muslims are bad (which we already know) or how not all terrorists are Muslims (even though the VAST majority of modern terrorists are Muslims). Instead of talking constructively about ways to reduce Islamic fanaticism, liberal media outlets seem to spend more time sympathizing with a group that perpetrates violence in response the the values the left holds most dear.
All insight is appreciated. As someone that is not left-wing, this is something that completely baffles me.
Because they hate Christians and Israel(and by extention jews) more than they dislike muslims. It's kind of like the twisted notion that the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Which is ironic sense if muslims were to eve take over they would be coming to kill liberals first.
Yes, just read through this forum. Anytime muslims terrorist acts are brought up, libreals start attacking Christians and bringing up stuff that have 1,000 years ago. Also look at the way liberals turned on one of their own in Bill Maur when called out Islam.
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