Sunday, June 17, 2018

A problem with discussing Islam

There have been so much extreme anti-Muslim expression that it is difficult to discuss criticism of Islam without fear of being branded a hater. I believe that there are legitimate issues with Islam as I believe that there are issues with all supernatural beliefs, especially those which have been codified.

There are a wide range of people who call themselves Muslim. I have met people who were more general Muslims in that they did not believe in literal interpretation and adherence. I've known some who adhere to the core rituals but have modern interpretations regarding a number of subjects. Yet I have also encountered extremist Muslims. But the same range occur with Christians and followers of Judaism. The religions and their influence on people's actions are quite similar. So a lot of my criticism is toward religion and supernatural beliefs in general. But each religion does have their particular issues.

But some progressive folks who want to discuss issues specific to Islam are branded as Islamophobes and lumped in with the right-wingers. But there really are differences between critics of the religion and the people who believe.  When I discuss issues which I believe to exist with particular belief systems, I am not expressing hate for the believers. How I feel about the people is dependent on the specifics of what attitudes and actions result from their beliefs. Unfortunately, there have been so much irrational and ugly anti-Muslim expressions that the rest of the discussion gets muzzled.

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