# If radical Islam is violent due to culture and not religion **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [September 11, 2015, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-radical-islam-is-violent-due-to-culture-and-not-religion/730741 "2015-09-11T23:24:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 25
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 9:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-radical-islam-is-violent-due-to-culture-and-not-religion/730741/481 "2015-09-16T09:46:29Z")
> [@canned\_mayhem](#): > > I’d say more than enough to create a worldwide concern amongst sane individuals. > > Hmmmm… And you would be wrong. Being concerned that radical, fundamentalist, Wahhabist Muslims are engaged in violence is rational. Transferring that concern, (along with fear, hatred, discriminatory acts, etc.), to Islam is not only irrational, it is counterproductive. By setting up every Muslim as “the enemy,” you force them into alliance with those who are a genuine threat. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 10:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-radical-islam-is-violent-due-to-culture-and-not-religion/730741/482 "2015-09-16T10:13:20Z")
> [@canned\_mayhem](#): > > Oh don’t worry, we will 🙂 > > Will it benefit the training of our troops to continue being the best the world has ever seen? Yup… > > Will it benefit us showing every other country on this earth that we can easily take them out? Yup… > > Will it put absolute fear into every group who naively thinks they can shake us to the core? Yup… > > Who’s the biggest bully on the block again??? > > Oops… The bully is clearly the U.S. It is interesting that you are acting as though being a bully is a good thing. It was that sort of thinking (at the highest levels of the U.S. government) that nearly guaranteed the creation of ISIS. Of course, you really have nothing but fear and ignorance on which to rely for your odd opinions. Anyone who fails to realize that many Muslims are engaged in fighting the extremists or that the bully tactics you champion had so much to do with creating the conditions you fear is displaying massive amounts of ignorance. (Of course, displaying ignorance appears to be what you do best, such as your nonsense claim that the U.S. has ever stomped Britain. We have only fought them twice. In the first instance, we enlisted the aid of France, Spain, and the Netherlands to help us fight them to a draw for our independence, (when a lot of them had been willing to let us have that independence, to begin with). In the second instance, we picked a fight with them while they were already engaged in a struggle with Napolean, and again fought them to a draw, (after they burned our capitol). This is what passes for knowledge in your odd world view and it pretty well explains the sort of mindset that engages in the ignorance based hatred that you have been waving around.) ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 10:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-radical-islam-is-violent-due-to-culture-and-not-religion/730741/483 "2015-09-16T10:59:51Z")
> [@Robert163](#): > > When is the last time you heard of a Christian beheading someone or stoning someone to death??? Well, [this guy](http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-north-east-wales-34218184)was in the news this week and he certainly tried. > [@](#): > > A neo-Nazi has been jailed for life for attempting to behead a Tesco shopper in a racially-motivated revenge attack for the murder of Fusilier Lee Rigby. > > […] > > “He attacked me from behind and tried to behead me,” Dr Bhambra said. “By the grace of God I remained conscious and was able to defend myself.” > [@Robert163](#): > > No, I’m saying the Taliban, and groups like that, are the only ones still killing and terrorizing people and I’m getting really really really tired of defending myself to people like you for having the “audacity” to point that out. Really tired. You’ve been given many, many examples of other groups also “killing and terrorizing people”. Please stop ignoring them. > [@Ibn\_Warraq](#): > > America is an extremely religious country. Russia is overwhelmingly non-believer. Really? Lots of Russian Orthodox folk there. I gave you an example from Georgia (which I know is not Russia, to be fair) above where a mob of 20,000 Russian Orthodox homophobes **led by priests** attacked an anti-homophobia march. Doesn’t sound like an “overwhelmingly non-believer” place. You may be thinking of the Soviet Union. > [@Tamerlane](#): > > This charge comes up a lot in a lot of contexts, but particularly on this board with debates about Islam. Make an argument against over-broad assertions and suddenly you are an apologist. Either of the religious variety or some bleeding-heart-liberal-kumbaya-type who believes in a morality so relativistic as to be nonsense. It’s a caricature and a weak argument. Not to say apologists of various stripes don’t exist. But I haven’t seen a lot of naked apologia in this thread IMO. It does come up disturbingly often amongst the more frothing of our right-wing colleagues. > [@](#): > > The thing is I for one am perfectly willing to concede ( and have made the point more than once before in the longish history of this board ) that Islam is in fact an explicitly militant faith that arose in conflict and in light of this is almost certainly more easily twisted towards violent extremism than many others. Where I part ways with someone like you, whether you are willing to recognize it or not, is the degree to which I think that informs and taints the religion as a whole. To me it’s merely a matter of degree and not a large one. I’m no historian in a professional sense, but I was a student of history and if you really think other Abrahamic faiths are vastly different, IMHO you are deluding yourself. If you think _Buddhism_ is vastly different, you are deluding yourself. If you think “good Muslims” are just those who conveniently reject the Qur’an, you are deluding yourself. If there is one takeaway from humanity and general and religion in particular, it is that we and it are endlessly malleable. I concur. > [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > No, Christians [hang them for being witches.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salem_witch_trials) > [@Magiver](#): > > Wow. The only tiny flaw in any point you might have made is that it’s the year 2015. > > Other than that, great post. Really timely and informative comparison of the 20 people murdered by Christians in 1693 compared to the 20,000+ people killed this year in the name of Islam. Would you accept [a cite from last year](http://mgafrica.com/article/2014-08-21-child-witches-in-africa-far-from-being-a-traditional-belief-it-is-a-modern-invention)about Christians killing and persecuting “witches”? > [@](#): > > Child “witches” are an urban phenomenon, with Save the Children calling it a “modern invention” and children accused of witchcraft being subject to psychological and physical violence; first by family members and their circle of friends, then by church pastors or traditional healers during the “exorcisms”. > > Sometimes they can even be killed, but they are more often abandoned—numbers are hard to come by, but it has been estimated that anything between **23,000 and 50,000** street children in Kinshasa were abandoned or chased away from home because they were accused of being witches. > > […] > > **The allegations are also more likely to happen in Christian societies** , or more precisely, churches with an evangelical, revivalist, Pentecostal outlook, with accusations of child witchcraft far less likely among Muslims. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-radical-islam-is-violent-due-to-culture-and-not-religion/730741/484 "2015-09-16T12:26:46Z")
> [@canned\_mayhem](#): > > Strange > > I’m trying to discuss how Islam is violent just like the OP asked and yet I’m getting attacked for my opinions. > > There’s a certain religion that does this exact same thing… No, you’re not ‘discussing’ anything. You’re ranting about the bad, bad, muslims in as offensive a manner as you think you can get away with in this forum and pre-emptively sneering at anyone who dares not to embrace your bigotry, all the while with your fingers stuck in your ears (metaphorically speaking). That isn’t ‘discussion’, dude. ---
**Author:** ![A\_isha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@A\_isha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A_isha)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-radical-islam-is-violent-due-to-culture-and-not-religion/730741/485 "2015-09-16T13:08:17Z")
> [@canned\_mayhem](#): > > Thanks for clearing that up 🙂 > > I wonder how many Christians are gonna get slaughtered by Buddhists this week… Not nearly as many Muslims as they’re [slaughtering](https://www.google.com/search?q=rohingya+genocide). ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-radical-islam-is-violent-due-to-culture-and-not-religion/730741/486 "2015-09-16T16:29:01Z")
If we are going to just kill them all, could we start with the guy who invented algebra? ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-radical-islam-is-violent-due-to-culture-and-not-religion/730741/487 "2015-09-16T16:36:25Z")
The perpetrators of the 9/11 hijackings were apparently Muslim. Therefore, Islam is evil. Seems legit. ---
**Author:** ![Stoneburg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@Stoneburg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoneburg)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-radical-islam-is-violent-due-to-culture-and-not-religion/730741/488 "2015-09-16T16:54:49Z")
A group of **Saudi** muslims operating out of **Afghanistan** has the idea that the US is an evil super power that is meddling in the middle east and killing muslisms. So they fly two airplanes into US buildings killing less than 3.000 people. As retaliation the US attacks **Iraq** , one of the most secular countries in the region, killing hundreds of thousands. This leads to a radicalization of thousands of previously moderate muslims who now join the radicals. Well played indeed. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-radical-islam-is-violent-due-to-culture-and-not-religion/730741/489 "2015-09-16T17:44:48Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > Would you accept [a cite from last year](http://mgafrica.com/article/2014-08-21-child-witches-in-africa-far-from-being-a-traditional-belief-it-is-a-modern-invention)about Christians killing and persecuting “witches”? Sure, if you can come up something relevant an any scale to what we’re talking about. Go for it. I have no horse in any religious race. FYI, You might actually read the article you cite next time. It doesn’t say what you claim is says. ---
**Author:** ![Human\_Action](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@Human\_Action](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Human_Action)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-radical-islam-is-violent-due-to-culture-and-not-religion/730741/490 "2015-09-16T17:52:49Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > I have no horse in any religious race. I’m afraid you do. Even if, like **Robert163** , you are an atheist, you were still brought up in a majority Christian country. Christianity is normal to you. You know thousands of Christians, the vast majority of whom have never seriously hurt anyone. By contrast, Muslims are a tiny minority in the United States. Even if you’ve met and interacted with a few, it’s dwarfed by your Christian-normative experiences. I say this as an American atheist. Like it or not, growing up in a Christian culture biases your perception of Christianity, even if you aren’t one. ---
**Author:** ![Stoneburg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@Stoneburg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoneburg)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-radical-islam-is-violent-due-to-culture-and-not-religion/730741/491 "2015-09-16T19:51:35Z")
> [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > But that’s still not evidence that the Gospel of Thomas is any more the accurate record of Jesus’s thinking than the Gospel of John, or the Gospel of Truth, or the Gospel of the Ebionites. Since the earliest Christian writings we have are Paul’s letters, and he was writing after Jesus’s death, we simply cannot know for certain what Jesus said, thought, or did. Well the most important thing to me is not the author of a text, but the veracity of it. You may or may not be convinced that the Gospel of Thomas is an accurate depiction of what Jesus said, but that’s not the most important to me. > [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > Well, again, all this is your interpretation of reality. It’s great that it gives you a basis for your worldview, and presumably adds meaning to your life, but … it’s _your_ truth. It’s subjective. You brought up the theory of relativity as an example of a “hidden”, in the sense of not understood by most people, truth, and it’s a good example. Except that there is a fundamental difference between relativity and Gnosticism (or any theology): Relativity is measurable, falsifiable, and objective. You don’t have to accept it _before_ you understand it, and it works the same way no matter who’s measuring. > > Gnostic Christianity is worth exploring, but I don’t want to hijack this thread any further. Shall we start another thread? It’s not my truth really, I don’t have any truth. I believe there is a truth and that there are ways to get to it, but I don’t believe anyone can own it or ultimately express it in words. If you want to start a thread I will most likely join in, but I’m not really interested in arguments about historical veracity or competing belief systems, I’m into the esoteric stuff as you may have figured. 😉 > [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > Well, yes, given that it’s a historic hypothetical, it _is_ just an opinion. But I think you missed my point: Gnostics, being humans, are just a good as dividing people into “us” and “them”, and turning that dichotomy into “us” _versus_ “them”, as any other group of humans. I don’t think it’s an unreasonable idea that Gnostics, had they become the majority of Christians, would have cherry-picked, twisted, edited and rationalized their scriptures to support their mores in just the same manner that modern Christians, Muslims, and Jews do. There’s a close relationship between religion, tribalism, and warfare in the naked plains ape; always has been. > > And as to whether the teachings of the Gnostics could have supported bloodshed, slavery, and all the suffering orthodox Christians have inflicted over the last two thousand years, well, there’s this from the Gospel of Thomas: > > _(16) Jesus said, "Men think, perhaps, that it is peace which I have come to cast upon the world. They do not know that it is dissension which I have come to cast upon the earth: fire, sword, and war. For there will be five in a house: three will be against two, and two against three, the father against the son, and the son against the father. And they will stand solitary_. The quote you provide is not about killing people, it is about the inner conflict that arises as you go through the process of liberating yourself from the ego. That’s the difference between the Gnostic texts and the Bible. The Bible is exoteric, providing codes of behaviors, worship etc, whereas the Gospel of Thomas is esoteric and contains parables mainly about the process of enlightenment. There is of course some esoteric stuff in the Bible as well, but since most people don’t know what it is about, they are liable to misinterpret it. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2015, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-radical-islam-is-violent-due-to-culture-and-not-religion/730741/492 "2015-09-17T01:42:23Z")
> [@Human\_Action](#): > > I’m afraid you do. Even if, like **Robert163** , you are an atheist, you were still brought up in a majority Christian country. Christianity is normal to you. You know thousands of Christians, the vast majority of whom have never seriously hurt anyone. > > By contrast, Muslims are a tiny minority in the United States. Even if you’ve met and interacted with a few, it’s dwarfed by your Christian-normative experiences. > > I say this as an American atheist. Like it or not, growing up in a Christian culture biases your perception of Christianity, even if you aren’t one. That’s a Clydesdale parade full of horseshit. It’s stupid on a level that begs a measuring stick. I live in a country where making fun of Christianity is a well groomed sport. You want to dance naked around a 50ft high bonfire of bibles, great. knock yourself out. Want to go to a gay bar dressed as a nun and fuck someone dressed as the Pope, knock yourself out. Make a painting out of a collage of vaginas and call it the Holy Virgin Mary and someone will give you a couple a million for it. If I could get a dollar for every time Christianity was made fun of I’d be typing this from my yacht. 20,000 people weren’t slaughtered this year because someone felt butt hurt about being a minority. ---
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2015, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-radical-islam-is-violent-due-to-culture-and-not-religion/730741/493 "2015-09-17T01:58:49Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > That’s a Clydesdale parade full of horseshit. It’s stupid on a level that begs a measuring stick. > > I live in a country where making fun of Christianity is a well groomed sport. You want to dance naked around a 50ft high bonfire of bibles, great. knock yourself out. Want to go to a gay bar dressed as a nun and fuck someone dressed as the Pope, knock yourself out. Make a painting out of a collage of vaginas and call it the Holy Virgin Mary and someone will give you a couple a million for it. If I could get a dollar for every time Christianity was made fun of I’d be typing this from my yacht. I thought you lived in the U.S.? Making nasty comments about Jesus won’t get you murdered in the U.S., but the picture you’re painting is ridiculous. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2015, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-radical-islam-is-violent-due-to-culture-and-not-religion/730741/494 "2015-09-17T02:32:16Z")
Agreed. If you put a bumper sticker on your car saying “Jesus Sucks” you won’t get killed for it…but your car is very likely to be vandalized. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2015, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-radical-islam-is-violent-due-to-culture-and-not-religion/730741/495 "2015-09-17T02:48:09Z")
> [@Ibn\_Warraq](#): > > I thought you lived in the U.S.? > > Making nasty comments about Jesus won’t get you murdered in the U.S., but the picture you’re painting is ridiculous. Again, you’re completely clueless about how christianity is treated in the US. It’s routinely made fun of in broadcast cartoons such as Southpark, the Simpsons and Family Guy. On Southpark Jesus has a talk show called “[Jesus and pals](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2eXRkBxWnk)”. [Gay men dressed as nuns.](https://www.google.com/search?q=gay+men+dressed+as+nuns&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0CAgQ_AUoAmoVChMItc3Pm4H9xwIVhhk-Ch0BJQoI&biw=1138&bih=508). Warning not for office viewing. It’s a regular costume during Halloween at any adult event. [The Holy Virgin Mary](https://ralrey9.files.wordpress.com/2008/04/r154646_556754.jpg) a montage of vaginas that sold for $4.6 million [Piss Christ](http://www.sothebys.com/content/dam/stb/lots/N09/N09142/1143N09142_7BFJ9.jpg) - a picture of a crucifix in a jar of urine. Sold for $15,000. The artist got another $5,000 from the taxpayer-funded National Endowment for the Arts. [Pirate Jesus](http://www.motifake.com/image/demotivational-poster/0811/pirate-jesus-pirate-jesus-christian-xtian-christ-demotivational-poster-1227068142.jpg) [Jesus Loves you](https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/52/129815397_02db84c09f.jpg) I could literally post images non-stop. It’s an American pass time. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2015, 10:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-radical-islam-is-violent-due-to-culture-and-not-religion/730741/496 "2015-09-17T10:09:23Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > Sure, if you can come up something relevant an any scale to what we’re talking about. Go for it. I have no horse in any religious race. > > FYI, You might actually read the article you cite next time. It doesn’t say what you claim is says. I did read it. And it does. Note my use of the word persecuted. [Here’s another article from 2010](http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-10671790): > [@](#): > > Most of those accused of witchcraft are boys aged between eight to 14 - who often end up being attacked, tortured and sometimes killed. > > Also, children have had petrol poured into their eyes or ears as a way of trying to exorcise “evil spirits” that healers believe have possessed them. [Here’s one from this week](http://mg.co.za/article/2015-09-10-bad-children-condemned-as-witches). > [@](#): > > “[One] boy was burnt with hot water and suffered first and second degree burns as a result, because he was thought to be a witch. He was then dumped on the streets,” he said. > > “[A] girl had a nail driven into her head because she was believed to be a witch. This left her with a permanent mental disability. She was found living on the streets. > > “[Another] girl was accused of witchcraft by a pastor. Her father then imprisoned her in a shed for several weeks with her legs tied to a stake.” > > Madoerin said children who are particularly vulnerable to these accusations were those with disabilities, twins, “geniuses”, and those who are “naughty”, rude or are involved in delinquent activity. At _best_, tens of thousands of children have been kicked out of their homes at a young age; at worst they’re imprisoned and tortured at length, and sometimes die. And this is happening at the direction of Christian churches, in the name of God and the Bible. ---
**Author:** ![Human\_Action](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@Human\_Action](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Human_Action)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2015, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-radical-islam-is-violent-due-to-culture-and-not-religion/730741/497 "2015-09-17T12:21:27Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > That’s a Clydesdale parade full of horseshit. It’s stupid on a level that begs a measuring stick. > > I live in a country where making fun of Christianity is a well groomed sport. You want to dance naked around a 50ft high bonfire of bibles, great. knock yourself out. Want to go to a gay bar dressed as a nun and fuck someone dressed as the Pope, knock yourself out. Make a painting out of a collage of vaginas and call it the Holy Virgin Mary and someone will give you a couple a million for it. If I could get a dollar for every time Christianity was made fun of I’d be typing this from my yacht. > > 20,000 people weren’t slaughtered this year because someone felt butt hurt about being a minority. Um, exactly: Christianity is mainstream and ubiquitous in our culture, and this affects Christians and non-Christians alike. It’s not alien or exotic like, say, Islam. Perhaps you simply missed my point, but the above is just you making my point for me. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2015, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-radical-islam-is-violent-due-to-culture-and-not-religion/730741/498 "2015-09-17T13:23:33Z")
To sum up again: 1. Islam is a bad religion, and when Muslims do good things it’s despite the bad religion and because of the good culture they’re in. 2. Christianity is a good religion, and when Christians do bad things it’s despite the good religion and because of the bad culture they’re in. 3. 1. and 2) are proved by evidence derived using criteria that have IN NO WAY been carefully cherry-picked to specifically support those assumptions. Guess we can close the thread now. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2015, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-radical-islam-is-violent-due-to-culture-and-not-religion/730741/499 "2015-09-17T16:27:24Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > Guess we can close the thread now. Co-signed. These things are always endless and tedious beyond belief. ---
**Author:** ![Stringbean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Stringbean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stringbean)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2015, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-radical-islam-is-violent-due-to-culture-and-not-religion/730741/500 "2015-09-18T00:30:26Z")
> [@Human\_Action](#): > > Um, exactly: Christianity is mainstream and ubiquitous in our culture, and this affects Christians and non-Christians alike. It’s not alien or exotic like, say, Islam. Perhaps you simply missed my point, but the above is just you making my point for me. If your point is that Christian societies are tolerant of criticism and even shameless mockery, then you proved Magiver’s point… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-radical-islam-is-violent-due-to-culture-and-not-religion/730741.md?page=24) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-radical-islam-is-violent-due-to-culture-and-not-religion/730741.md?page=26)