Hi,
Ron belongs to that one minority that uniquely everyone is free to abuse and insult.
Old white men. (Sorry about the "old", Ron).
Also, not having politically correct liberal/left-wing views makes him fair game for a few more dismissive insults. (Racist, bigot, etc, etc).
His only "crime" was to indicate that he has no time for Islamists and does not want to see the spread and acceptance of that ideology as an "alternative" lifestyle. When he dares to express this view, he is lambasted with lecturing responses informing him of how evil Christianity is/has been. He is even accused of being likely to plant burning crosses in the gardens of those he disagrees with! This is so ironic. Reading the opposing points of view who regard themselves as tolerant, understanding and obviously of an intellectual superiority, you can almost sense them fighting to suppress their desire to gather a lynch mob to deal with this heretic.
As an atheist, I have no interest in defending any religion but to compare the two in today’s political climate is absurd.
I have a few Muslim acquaintances and most have expressed their distaste, in general, for the decadent West.
Most also felt that 9/11 was something America had coming to them as payback. I have tried pointing out to them the contradiction of their choice to live and work in the West whilst holding these views. That’s another story!
Whatever the rights and wrongs of the past, the fact remains that there is an on-going struggle for how we want the world to be. Islamists have a very clear view of how they want it to be. It is not a world I want.
To finish, it was also suggested that these people are only a tiny minority and that the vast majority simply want a normal life, like the rest of us. Those who express this view do not seem to understand that this is not some sort of life choice. This is a political and religious ideology that insists that the infidel be converted or killed. Ask any Hindu or Sikh as to whether they have been allowed to live side by side in peace.
Also, that tiny minority is not quite that tiny:
@unknownuser said:
A BBC World Service poll about attitudes to al-Qaeda has found that a majority of Egyptians have a positive or mixed view of the Islamist militant network. When asked "overall would you say your feelings about al-Qaeda are positive, negative or mixed", some 60 per cent of Egyptians said they had either a positive or mixed view. Osama Bin Laden's organisation has a number of Egyptians in its top ranks, analysts said.
Meanwhile in Pakistan, where much of the battle against al-Qaeda is being fought, just 19 per cent said they had a negative view of al-Qaeda.
Regards
Mr S
