Posted by panch (63.195.35.251) on February 07, 2002 at 08:21:19:
In a post of his on aina, the Black Eye of Assyria, Peter articulates, for him, the kernal of "truth" these guys hold against Islam. I'd heard this mentioned once before by two otherwise intelligent Assyrians. This is what comes of being handed over to priests at an early age, who not only fondle your privates, but screw your mind as well.
He claims, and others do too, that in Christianity the creed is near perfect and calls on righteous behavior and all of that, so that any abberations come about becuse "bad" people don't obey a "good" religion. In Islam, on that famous other hand, you have a bad religion being adhered to by I presume what would have to be "good" people, in that they are at least being faithful and true. In other words Islam enjoins rotten behavior, whereas Christianity demands decent and kind stuff.
You can jest see a priest laboring hard to come up with that...with one hand.
Aside from being the usual nonsense it presents an interesting picture of Christians. Now you have to remember that it was Christians in the form of the Byzantines who went attacking the territory where the Muslims and heretic Christians lived in the first place and got what they deserved. It was another passle of Christians in the Crusades who came marrauding and killing, even sacking Constantinople and murdering Jews all across Europe to the point that even a Pope or two complained that this was not really the Crusading spirit. In other words they were being too obvious about what was basically a theiving expedition with religious window dressing.
As far as I can tell in the last 500 years it has not been Muslim armies who have ranged across the face of the Globe killing and looting in the name of their Lord...but the Christians, who up till today are still at the same game. The picture Peter would present to us is that these are rogue Christians, including the Pope and several clergy as well as leaders who do things because "In God We Trust". He says these guys are all untrue Christians who didn't get the teachings right. Now what is it about Christians that allows for them to get such a "good" and "simple" message all wrong? How come they can't adhere to the simple precepts annunciated by their Prince of Peace? If the religion is so good and honorable and righteous, how come they don't get it...or want to "get it"?
Now given human nature...which is how Peter would excuse all these bloodthirsty Christians...what does it signify that Muslims who don't adhere to their own religious creed, which Peter will tell you "demands" bad behavior...turn out to be "better" human beans than Christians who adamantly refuse to listen to their "good" religion?
The instances he cites in the Koran which PROVE that Islam demands its followers to do bad things are ridiculously few and obscure to boot. There are none of the calls for bloodshed as in them Old Testicles and neither does the Koran begin and end with the spectacle of a "heavenly" father hunting down his unoffending son...god of love indeed, and with a final feast in which devoted followers drink the blood and eat the body of their Lord...
Since most humans aren't too faithful anyway, the Muslims act more decently when not following their "bad" religion. Their failure turns out to be a good thing and if you look around you will see hardly any Muslim extremism in the world today. But when Christians behave like normal people and don't adhere to THEIR religion...hide you children and get out of the way because here they come.
Muslim extremism has been carefully engineered for decades now. As we saw when the Trade Center was attacked and the rest of it...Americans had no trouble in feeling murderous rage and frustration, so much so that innocent people were killed in the mad rush for revenge. And Americans felt perfectly comfortable with it, downright self congratulatory...as if it was a virtue to seek revenge. How much more reson then do Muslims around the world, even Christians, as in Palestine, have to seek revenge against the United States for all the wanton killing by the Israelis...so bad that it has even come to their own army officers refusing to participate in the deliberate degradation of an innocent people...not to mention the killing of thousands of Iraqi children through the most inhumane ways devised since them other "bad" Christians, the Nazis, had their turn.
Peter uses these arguments and "proofs" to justify his hatred of Muslims and what he calls Arabs...as any racist in America could give you all sorts of "facts" as to why Blacks just had to be treated the way they were...or why women MUST be treated as they are. It is an excersize in justifying a deep seated hatred he feels for Muslims for some other reason...and he bends his meagre wits towards coming up with proofs and facts, as that other scholar from hell, Aprim does.
Conservative extremists in all three religions come to the fore in times of stress and change. All three religions have gone apeshit over the emancipation of women...the idea that a woman can control her body, choose whom to have or refuse...even a husband...that she can get abortions on demand, that she demands the right to CHOOSE what to do with her own body.
Marriage was nothing more than the lawful transfer of proerty to a legitimate heair...had nothing to do with Love or Romance. Women were chattle and as chattle they produced the next in line. No man wanted his three cows and a stick to go to the 'wrong" kid...offspring of a woman's equal right to screw whomever she wanted.
Just as much as the acceptance and liberation of Queers, the liberation of Women has set all the old farts in all three religions to waging their heads and warning of the collapse of civilization as they know it...and they are right and thank GOD. This is where Fundamentalism gets its drive and push and popularity. It is nothing more than an attaempt by the Boys to keep their status...as the West is afraid it will be overrun by impure forces. The White Fundamentalist drives this nation and He has learned how to co-opt certain minorities and women...holding out them goodies if they join the fight...as Judaisim has its reactionaries coming to the fore, matched by the scared guys in Islam.
Great Balls afire...that's what all of this is about.