Anger Over Mohammed Cartoon

[Muslima]

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

Probably, Muslima learned English by texting. I believe the official language of Kuwait is Arabic. She has obviously an insular view of the world and doesn't comprehend what's really going on, rather than a troll like Duck Duck.

atleast i know how 2 speak english, French.what abt u??
if u opened a british dictionary u'll understand me !!
& if there were a mistake while typing, I wanna say that we aren't all perfect & complete...
if there is a mistake u can ask me 2 correct & translate it 4 u..
atlast it's simply ur problem not mine!

[Ibby]

ya if therz a mistak thn u can ask me cuz i spell reel good nd at use good english lik the dictionary.

jst look it up n a british dic. cuz dey spell lyk thiz 2. lolol!!one!!1!1!11one

[piercehawkeye45]

Originally Posted by Muslima

atleast i know how 2 speak english, French.what abt u??
if u opened a british dictionary u'll understand me !!
& if there were a mistake while typing, I wanna say that we aren't all perfect & complete...
if there is a mistake u can ask me 2 correct & translate it 4 u..
atlast it's simply ur problem not mine!

Muslima, if you want to get respect on this forum or any forum like this you will need to stop using symbols and shortcuts like those. You will start to find out that people will just start ignoring you and will just make a joke of whatever you say.

[Urbane Guerrilla]

Precisely. There is no reason at all to resort to txtmsg rebus-speak. We are, after all, using full-size computer screens here.

I'm inclined to think Muslima has that much fluency in English anyway -- note her rebus-chat is both voluble and accurate. This does not address typing skill, though...

[Muslima]

thank you Urbane Guerrilla , why did you all change the subject? what do you know about Islam, I swear that all what you think about Islam are completly false, if you search in your history you will find that we used to love eachothers, Still here in Kwt & arab countries christians & muslims love eachother & my best friend is christian too.
you can ask anyone lives here in Kwt about muslims.
am not saying that for anything am saying it just to correct your view.

[piercehawkeye45]

So it is false that Allah will allow everyone who worships a monotheist religion to go to heaven, even if that person is a Christian?

From what I have seen, Islam have been the most misunderstood major religion because of the lack of contact most people have with Islam and only stereotypical actions are exposed to the public in the United States. It is only the extremists that make TV, not moderates.

But you do have to remember cultural differences too Muslima. What is considered to be insulting in Kuwait could very well be considered normal in the west. I think the cartoon shows this very well. While I can see how the cartoon is insulting because it not only shows the prophet Mohammed (PBUH) as a terrorist but stereotypes the whole Islamic population as bloodthirsty suicide bombers which is very far from the truth as most Muslim moderates are just violent as moderate Christians. Though, I doubt the cartoon was meant to be an insult to the Muslim people, but just poking fun at the stereotype itself.

[DanaC]

Muslima, pierce raises an interesting point. The whole issue of the cartoons, demonstrated not so much the religious divide as the cultural one. In the west, cartoons and lampoonery of respected and important figures (political and religious) has a long history. It is just something we do.

what do you know about Islam, I swear that all what you think about Islam are completly false

I think you are falling into the trap of assuming everybody on this board shares a similar opinion on Islam, and has experienced similar levels of exposure to people of that faith. This isn't so.

Whilst I'd be the first to admit that there is a rising tide, amongst some elements of British society, of Islamophobia, for the most part Islam as a faith has been welcomed in Britain. There have been sticky cultural issues to get to grips with, but they have generally been, as I say, cultural, rather than religious. (e.g., the level of covering a woman is expected to use; the level of choice involved in marriage; domestic violence in the guise of 'honour').

These issues have provoked tensions amongst both the non-Islamic and the Islamic parts of our community, but there's a lot of cross cultural communication and we have a large population of British Moslems of varying cultural heritages.

[TheMercenary]

Originally Posted by piercehawkeye45

From what I have seen, Islam have been the most misunderstood major religion because of the lack of contact most people have with Islam and only stereotypical actions are exposed to the public in the United States. It is only the extremists that make TV, not moderates.

And whose fault is that? Not the TV's... As I have recently posted in other threads, the broadcast media is making an attempt to expose the deafining silence that the Moderate Muslims continue to maintain in the face of their otherwise beautiful religion as it becomes co-opted by extremists.

[Rexmons]

Originally Posted by Muslima

what do you know about Islam, I swear that all what you think about Islam are completly false

Muslima, first and foremost Selam Aleykum. I just want you to know that you are not the only Muslim on this board and I am sure if you hang around you will find this forum to be unlike most internet forums, mainly in part to the quality of people you will find here.

[BrianR]

I would also like to chime in and say that I am one of the few here who can rightly claim to have visited several predominantly Muslim countries in the Middle East (twice).

I found that most people there welcomed me freely, didn't care about my religion and tolerated my attempts to speak Arabic, even correcting me if I butchered the language too badly.

That said, I was also shot at more than once. So, not ALL people there were happy at my presence. I tend to doubt that it was because I drank Coke (owned by a Jew) publicly, as was suggested by a fellow traveler. I think it was more the fact that I am an American, traveling under the Stars and Stripes. They were more interested in my nationality and striking at The Great Satan (their term, not mine).

I do not fault all Muslims for this, only the extremists who encourage this violence in the name of God. To be fair, I also fault extremists of ANY religion who attempt to force their views on others.

If the violence would stop, I would be happy to visit that area again someday. Until the locals step up and stop hiding these thugs, the violence will continue. Do Arabs have shunning like our Mennonites do? Perhaps that will help.

We cannot force people to stop killing each other over there. It is not our job or business. Only THEY can stop it. When the leaders of the affected countries stand up to these radicals and say "NO MORE!"; when they say that Allah is a merciful God and does not condone the murder of innocents in His name, THEN maybe everyone can breathe easier.

How many more bombings of public areas will the citizens there tolerate? Seventeen were killed last night alone. Is a civil war what it takes to end violence? Does violence beget violence? Can't we all just get along? Guess not.

I have no answers, only questions and more questions.

Welcome to the Cellar, stay and enjoy the company...I do. There is lively debate here and many different opinions. Feel free to disagree or agree as suits you but be warned, intolerance is not tolerated.

Also, please use proper English as found in either Oxford's or Webster's dictionaries. Text-speak is annoying and hard on the eyes. It is unfortunate that few here can speak Arabic to you and thus there are difficulties in translation from one to the other. We will strive to understand this but you must also understand that words mean things here and some are quick to jump to the wrong conclusions based on what you have said, even if it is not what you meant.

Now it's time for me to get back to work and stop goofing off.

Brian

[piercehawkeye45]

Originally Posted by TheMercenary

And whose fault is that? Not the TV's... As I have recently posted in other threads, the broadcast media is making an attempt to expose the deafining silence that the Moderate Muslims continue to maintain in the face of their otherwise beautiful religion as it becomes co-opted by extremists.

Must have missed that unless you are talking about the five or so articles that you gave me on the Bush thread. But I didn't see anything about mainstream media on there.

[Ibby]

Islam is exactly like christianity unless you are part of one or the other.

Same great message, same thought, same god... same fundamentalist assholes ruining it for everyone.

[TheMercenary]

Originally Posted by piercehawkeye45

Must have missed that unless you are talking about the five or so articles that you gave me on the Bush thread. But I didn't see anything about mainstream media on there.

http://cellar.org/showthread.php?t=14770 first two posts.

[tw]

Originally Posted by Ibram

Same great message, same thought, same god... same fundamentalist assholes ruining it for everyone.

Nooooobody expects the Spanish Inquisition. Cardinal Fang. The cushy pillow.

The stupidity of actions justified by religion is that funny. Black humor in red robes.

[TheMercenary]

Originally Posted by Ibram

Islam is exactly like christianity unless you are part of one or the other.

Really? When did the Christian's rise up, riot, and kill people in the last 20 years because the NY Times ran a cartoon of Jesus in the paper? How about a Jew joke? When did they rise up and chop off someones head because someone made fun of their God? Hmmmmmm....