Why can't Muslims take a joke?

[ahimsaman72]

What amazes me is that people (in general) think the world is made of opposites: black and white, christian and muslim, rich and poor, etc. And since this is their worldview, ultimately it means everyone has a side. You are either on one side or the other. One is right while the other is wrong.

Meanwhile, neither “side” realizes the fundamental fact that we are all human, with the same desires to be happy, practice our religions, raise our children, love our families, have a stable society and the list can go on. If we could truly realize that we are all one, from the same source, peace would be possible.

As long as the viewpoint is a me versus them world, then there will always be a me-versus-them world. If the viewpoint was “we are all one” we could see progress. Many will say to me this is a lofty and unattainable prospect. I say let’s try it and see. What do we have to lose? Our lives and futures are already in peril.

Peace be upon all…
signed “the heretic”

 

[Mickey]

ahimsaman72:

If the viewpoint was “we are all one” we could see progress.

John 17:21-23
that they may all be one; even as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.
The glory which thou hast given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one,
I in them and thou in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that thou hast sent me and hast loved them even as thou hast loved me.

 

[gelsbern]

antonyrp:

CORRECTION:
extermination of Danes by the muzzies

CORRECTION:
The Danes live in Denmark, The Dutch live in Holland.

I have a very close friend from Holland, and it is an insult to call them Danes.

 

[inJESUS]

Nobody is saying that all muslims are terrorists; however, putting your hands in cold water just because not all muslims are violent is puuting yourself at risk; muslim Sheikh, leaders, zealous followers’ aim is to dominate the world first by getting more in number then by applying their rules; and “moderate” muslims, after all, are muslims, and wont be sad if islam rules the world and if sharia is applied; Islam as a religion is our Anti, coz its teachings are our Anti, and its founder is Jesus’ anti whether in behaviour or teachings. Respect and love muslims, yes, but we should not tolerate islam.

 

[ahimsaman72]

inJESUS:

Nobody is saying that all muslims are terrorists; however, putting your hands in cold water just because not all muslims are violent is puuting yourself at risk; muslim Sheikh, leaders, zealous followers’ aim is to dominate the world first by getting more in number then by applying their rules; and “moderate” muslims, after all, are muslims, and wont be sad if islam rules the world and if sharia is applied; Islam as a religion is our Anti, coz its teachings are our Anti, and its founder is Jesus’ anti whether in behaviour or teachings. Respect and love muslims, yes, but we should not tolerate islam.

All religions should respect the other religions of the world. Human rights should be fundamental across the board. I hesitate to say that there should be no Muslim countries though, can you? If Muslim peoples want Muslim countries and communities, they should do it peacefully. If Christian peoples want Christian communities and countries, they should do so and again, peacefully.

I repeat what I said earlier - if you want to draw lines and say that Christians are on this side and Muslims are on the other, then you are part of the problem, not part of the solution. And, if Muslims view themselves on one side and Christians on the other they are part of the problem and not part of the solution. Either way, it is a lose-lose proposition for both sides to want to destroy the other. They are on different sides because they choose to be that way.

Neither side should resort to violence to get what they want. It must be the peaceful will of the people to have the kind of communities and countries they want to see for themselves and their children. Violence should be condemned wherever it displays its ugly head.

Peace…

 

[Mickey]

ahimsaman72:

All religions should respect the other religions of the world. Human rights should be fundamental across the board. I hesitate to say that there should be no Muslim countries though, can you? If Muslim peoples want Muslim countries and communities, they should do it peacefully. If Christian peoples want Christian communities and countries, they should do so and again, peacefully.

I repeat what I said earlier - if you want to draw lines and say that Christians are on this side and Muslims are on the other, then you are part of the problem, not part of the solution. And, if Muslims view themselves on one side and Christians on the other they are part of the problem and not part of the solution. Either way, it is a lose-lose proposition for both sides to want to destroy the other. They are on different sides because they choose to be that way.

Neither side should resort to violence to get what they want. It must be the peaceful will of the people to have the kind of communities and countries they want to see for themselves and their children. Violence should be condemned wherever it displays its ugly head.

Peace…

You are correct my friend. Christianity and Islam both claim to be religions of peace. It’s time to live by those words!

 

[inJESUS]

in islam, there is no separation between state and religion; when muslims come to a Christian country, they will try to live the same way they did in their country, and later they will try to apply islamic rule coz the quran says muslims should NOT take non-moslems as rulers…go figure…Christianity is not a threat; Islam is coz it lives on others’ ruin… i’m not saying Islam should be banished; am saying : let the muslims apply their teachings on their own people, in their OWN countries; they should noot come to Eurepean or American countries and try to destroy their heritage and belief…

 

[ahimsaman72]

inJESUS:

in islam, there is no separation between state and religion; when muslims come to a Christian country, they will try to live the same way they did in their country, and later they will try to apply islamic rule coz the quran says muslims should NOT take non-moslems as rulers…go figure…Christianity is not a threat; Islam is coz it lives on others’ ruin… i’m not saying Islam should be banished; am saying : let the muslims apply their teachings on their own people, in their OWN countries; they should noot come to Eurepean or American countries and try to destroy their heritage and belief…

Listen to what you are saying though.

What about Asians who come to America and bring their Buddhism? What about Indians who come to America and bring their Hinduism? (sorry I don’t mean to stereotype here)

Do you want to say to these “foreigners” that they have to give up their religion as Buddhists, Hindus or whatever when they become an American? Is that what America is all about?

Last I knew, we had our ancestors come from Europe and Asia and Africa who brought their faiths and practices with them and helped build America in this century what it is today. They didn’t come to subjugate the people who were already here.

These “foreigners” are what helped build the railroads going west. Those “foreigners” were typically Asian descendents trying to make a living. They brought their Buddhism with them and built temples all over California as an expression of their peaceful faith from their ancestors’ country.

Those Muslims, Christians, Hindus and Buddhists have a right to live in this land and practice their religions without somebody telling them to stop. Muslims, Christians, Hindus and Buddhists ARE American people. This IS their own country - not yours alone just because you are Christian.

Okay, off my soapbox now. How rude of you to think this is YOUR country only and not those of other faiths.

I wish you peace…

 

[ahimsaman72]

Mickey:

You are correct my friend. Christianity and Islam both claim to be religions of peace. It’s time to live by those words!

Thank you my friend. You are indeed my brother though you are Christian and I am a Buddhist (whatever those labels mean). You and I are a tiny sample of the unity that can exist among faiths and pledge non-violence as our creed. After all, it really does start with you and me as individuals. This is what is needed in today’s volatile world - understanding and non-violence.

Blessings and peace be upon you…

 

[inJESUS]

What about Asians who come to America and bring their Buddhism? What about Indians who come to America and bring their Hinduism? (sorry I don’t mean to stereotype here)

absolutly no prob as long as they dont OBLIGE people to live under THEIR rules .

Do you want to say to these “foreigners” that they have to give up their religion as Buddhists, Hindus or whatever when they become an American? Is that what America is all about?

absolutly not…

Last I knew, we had our ancestors come from Europe and Asia and Africa who brought their faiths and practices with them and helped build America in this century what it is today. They didn’t come to subjugate the people who were already here.

These “foreigners” are what helped build the railroads going west. Those “foreigners” were typically Asian descendents trying to make a living. They brought their Buddhism with them and built temples all over California as an expression of their peaceful faith from their ancestors’ country.

Those Muslims, Christians, Hindus and Buddhists have a right to live in this land and practice their religions without somebody telling them to stop. Muslims, Christians, Hindus and Buddhists ARE American people. This IS their own country - not yours alone just because you are Christian.

read my first reply…does Jesus, Buddha , Krishna or whatever tell you that you should not take others as rulers??? do u understand that this is a muslim commandmant??

Okay, off my soapbox now. How rude of you to think this is YOUR country only and not those of other faiths.

am neither European nor American; i’m a middle Eastener and live in ME; thats why i know perfectly what am talking about.

 

[ahimsaman72]

inJESUS:

absolutly no prob as long as they dont OBLIGE people to live under THEIR rules .

absolutly not…





read my first reply…does Jesus, Buddha , Krishna or whatever tell you that you should not take others as rulers??? do u understand that this is a muslim commandmant??

am neither European nor American; i’m a middle Eastener and live in ME; thats why i know perfectly what am talking about.

But the “they” you are referring to are the very people who live here. They can’t violate Constitutional Law. They can’t violate local, state and federal laws. That would not be acceptable.

However - if it was the will of the people - the populace, the elected officials and everyone else for these laws to be changed, then how is that wrong?

Laws change over time - or they should. Life is not static. People, places and things change. That’s their nature to change. So, laws have to change with them or else those laws on the books don’t mean anything.

It’s almost like you imagine that today America is Christian and tomorrow it will be invaded by Muslims overnight and will automatically change our way of life. That’s not logical nor realistic. Make no mistake about it - America will change and continue to change - whether you or I like it or not, but it will be gradual.

This country is built on the foundation of the right of its people to have life, liberty and pursue happiness. That includes everybody, you, me the Jewish man, the Muslim woman, the Christian child - no exceptions. The present laws cannot be subjugated. Our present laws would have to change to envision what you are presenting.

No, those religions do not demand to have their own rulers as far as I know. Even if Islam does is a moot point. It won’t happen statically like you seem to be presenting. If Muslims want to change the laws, then a) they have to be the majority of the populace and b)elect their own leaders and c) re-write the law. This is not realistic.

Peace…

 

[Guar_Fan]

MichelleTherese:

The entire religion of Islam is one of world-domination and death to the infadels. READ THE KORAN AND YOU’LL SEE FOR YOURSELF! And while you’re at it, take a good hard look at the history of Islam.

You might consider the history of Christianity and of Christian nations. The Spanish and Portuguese conquest of the New World was justified as a means of extending Christianity. The Age of Colonization was justified as the “White Man’s Burden”, which included the civilizing effects of Christianity. The United States policies of Indian Removal were justified as making the territories safe for Christians. There has been an awful lot of blood spilled by Christians for the sake of Christianity.

World-domination? Yes, I would say that Christian nations dominate the world today because of their past actions.

But lets not point fingers. It achieves nothing. Dialogue is what we need and we can’t learn from one another if we demonize the other.

Cartoons which are drawn so that they might offend is wrong. Burning buildings and threatening lives is an even greater wrong.

Muslim leaders need reach out to those they can influence and put a stop to the violence. We should be supporting them in that effort.

 

[MichelleTherese]

**“I repeat what I said earlier - if you want to draw lines and say that Christians are on this side and Muslims are on the other, then you are part of the problem, not part of the solution.” **

---

Go tell that to the Christians who are being murdered by Muslims RIGHT NOW because they are Christians. There IS a divide and if we keep trying to pretend there isn’t, we are going to get ourselves into very serious hot water.

 

[melbourne_guy]

I like how they have managed to blame an entire country for the work of a newspaper company. I’m surprised they havent dragged the jews into it, oh wait i spoke to soon, they have

 

[ahimsaman72]

**“I repeat what I said earlier - if you want to draw lines and say that Christians are on this side and Muslims are on the other, then you are part of the problem, not part of the solution.” **

Go tell that to the Christians who are being murdered by Muslims RIGHT NOW because they are Christians. There IS a divide and if we keep trying to pretend there isn’t, we are going to get ourselves into very serious hot water.

We’re getting a little off subject here, but let’s continue your train of thought. So, what about the men who beat their wives to death and the gangs that kill innocent people. Killing happens all the time by many people, mostly within people’s own families. That doesn’t mean families are the problem (per se). It means there needs to be better education and understanding between people.

It’s the same old thing - revenge, revenge, revenge. They killed my ancestor 200 years ago and now I continue that fight by killing their descendants - hatfields and mccoy’s all over. This you can see from the Palestinians and Israelis. There’s an attack and then there’s revenge. There’s another attack and more revenge.

What you fail to understand is that you, me and everyone else is the problem. WE have drawn those lines between good and evil, Christian and Muslim, black and white, etc. I don’t deny the lines are there - I’m stating the fact that WE collectively have drawn them and that WE collectively can erase them. Unless we as individuals begin to change our own hearts (me, you and the Muslim down the street) then war will continue to be waged and people will continue to get killed.

Causes have effects - it’s a universal given. It is by my own distrubed thoughts - evil thoughts and speech and actions that the world is the way it is. The same applies to everyone else in the world. Our thoughts, speech and actions betray us. It’s time we look in the mirror and ask if we are part of the problem.

Peace…

 

[Booklover]

ahimsaman72:

Listen to what you are saying though.

What about Asians who come to America and bring their Buddhism? What about Indians who come to America and bring their Hinduism? (sorry I don’t mean to stereotype here)

Do you want to say to these “foreigners” that they have to give up their religion as Buddhists, Hindus or whatever when they become an American? Is that what America is all about?

Last I knew, we had our ancestors come from Europe and Asia and Africa who brought their faiths and practices with them and helped build America in this century what it is today. They didn’t come to subjugate the people who were already here.

These “foreigners” are what helped build the railroads going west. Those “foreigners” were typically Asian descendents trying to make a living. They brought their Buddhism with them and built temples all over California as an expression of their peaceful faith from their ancestors’ country.

Those Muslims, Christians, Hindus and Buddhists have a right to live in this land and practice their religions without somebody telling them to stop. Muslims, Christians, Hindus and Buddhists ARE American people. This IS their own country - not yours alone just because you are Christian.

Okay, off my soapbox now. How rude of you to think this is YOUR country only and not those of other faiths.

I wish you peace…

Oh, give us a break! She never meant any of those things. Stop being so darned “politically correct”! She meant that whatever foreign country Muslims move to, they hope eventually to take over and undermine that country’s laws, destroy all other religions, and set Islam up as government/religion with its cruel and inhuman sharia laws!

Shouldn’t you apply those same things you’re saying to Saudi Arabia where Islam is the only religion allowed, simply because it was the birthplace of Mohammed!

Vickie

 

[ahimsaman72]

Booklover:

Oh, give us a break! She never meant any of those things. Stop being so darned “politically correct”! She meant that whatever foreign country Muslims move to, they hope eventually to take over and undermine that country’s laws, destroy all other religions, and set Islam up as government/religion with its cruel and inhuman sharia laws!

Shouldn’t you apply those same things you’re saying to Saudi Arabia where Islam is the only religion allowed, simply because it was the birthplace of Mohammed!

Vickie

Politically correct? I thought I was being diplomatic and honest about this fiasco. The title of this thread is “Why can’t Muslims take a joke?” which is a definitive statement among many people who think that freedom of speech and press equals the freedom to be irresponsible and be a catapult for hatred and violence.

And again, Muslims coming to America and setting up Sharia law is unrealistic and foolish. Local, state and federal laws have been in place and established for a long time. If this is their aim, why haven’t the governments of Spain, France and Britain been turned into Islamic states and set up Sharia law? They have large populations of Muslims - many more than here in America.

This is a strawman argument that both she and you are proposing. And, it furthers the animosity, lack of understanding and mistrust that already exists between Christianity and Islam.

Peace…

 

[wjohnson]

ahimsaman72:

Politically correct? I thought I was being diplomatic and honest about this fiasco. The title of this thread is “Why can’t Muslims take a joke?” which is a definitive statement among many people who think that freedom of speech and press equals the freedom to be irresponsible and be a catapult for hatred and violence.

Thats the thing. In America at least, freedom of speech allows all speech, even what you might find offensive. Thats why we have nazi’s marching in Indiana, gays picketing boston area churches, and abortion protesters outside clinics. Everybody gets to express his opinion no matter how you feel about it.

The haters are responsible for their own hate, it comes from inside.

 

[Pjs2ejs]

wjohnson, before you interpret the constitution for all of us, remember that Freedom of Speech does not mean you can say or do anything. There are laws pertaining to libel, discrimination, racism, and vulgarity.

It’s like when one of my high school students, after getting punished for using vulgarity, says, “I can say whatever I want, this is America”. They usually end up spending some time at home for a few days because of their “freedom of speech”.

 

[wjohnson]

Pjs2ejs:

wjohnson, before you interpret the constitution for all of us, remember that Freedom of Speech does not mean you can say or do anything. There are laws pertaining to libel, discrimination, racism, and vulgarity.

It’s like when one of my high school students, after getting punished for using vulgarity, says, “I can say whatever I want, this is America”. They usually end up spending some time at home for a few days because of their “freedom of speech”.

No, I meant excatly like the examples I gave. There is a reason Nazi’s win court cases to allow them to march. There a reason they allow gay rights groups to protest in front of Catholic churches. This is what the Supreme court says about the First Ammendment, not me. Political Speech is compleatly different that your student using vulgarity in class, as a teacher you should be able to see the differance.