# Isn't Islam a wonderful religion? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 31, 2026, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-islam-a-wonderful-religion/1027240 "2026-01-31T19:36:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2026, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-islam-a-wonderful-religion/1027240/21 "2026-01-31T21:11:58Z")
What the fuck, dude. You’re swinging at things I never said. You’re swatting at the phantoms in your dingy mind. ---
**Author:** ![xtenkfarpl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c2a13f/32.png) [@xtenkfarpl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xtenkfarpl)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2026, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-islam-a-wonderful-religion/1027240/22 "2026-01-31T21:13:31Z")
> [@Cervaise](#): > > Yes, I agree it would be a much better world if ignorant dumbshits like you would shut the fuck up. What a nice friendly tolerant person you seem to be. Did you even read my post? ---
**Author:** ![Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mundane_super_hero/32/6304_2.png) [@Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mundane_Super_Hero)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2026, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-islam-a-wonderful-religion/1027240/23 "2026-01-31T21:16:05Z")
> [@xtenkfarpl](#): > > Did you even read my post? Did you go fuck yourself…? Come back after you have, with proof, and we’ll consider talking to you about the ignorance of your post. Feel free to use sand as lube. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2026, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-islam-a-wonderful-religion/1027240/24 "2026-01-31T21:16:45Z")
> [@xtenkfarpl](#): > > Actually, since this is the Pit, I am NOt going to shut the fuck up. Actually, since this is the Pit, I am also telling you to shut the fuck up. I want to thank you for reminding us that telling you to shut the fuck up is allowed in The BBQ Pit. ---
**Author:** ![xtenkfarpl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c2a13f/32.png) [@xtenkfarpl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xtenkfarpl)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2026, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-islam-a-wonderful-religion/1027240/25 "2026-01-31T21:29:00Z")
> [@Johanna](#): > > What the fuck, dude. You’re swinging at things I never said. You’re swatting at the phantoms in your dingy mind. I don’t think I am putting words in your mouth, I hope: what is it you never said? But do you really think it is a good idea to use corporal punishment to impose rigid religious primitive shibboleths? ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2026, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-islam-a-wonderful-religion/1027240/26 "2026-01-31T21:33:26Z")
It’s weird that you seem to be talking about religion in general, yet the thread title specifically says Islam. Perhaps request that a mod change the title for you. ---
**Author:** ![Ancient\_Nerd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed655f/32.png) [@Ancient\_Nerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ancient_Nerd)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2026, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-islam-a-wonderful-religion/1027240/27 "2026-01-31T21:47:05Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Next up, a general review of Christianity as a whole…featuring old interviews with Fred Phelps and Jack Chick. Should we add the Salem witch trials? Separation of church and state developed, during the 18th century, in the Christian world as a response to such abuses as the inquisitions and crusades. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2026, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-islam-a-wonderful-religion/1027240/28 "2026-01-31T21:55:25Z")
> [@xtenkfarpl](#): > > Fuck “cultural relativism and it’s their way.” Nobody here is arguing for “cultural relativism and it’s their way”. What’s disgusting about your OP is that you tried to lump together this barbarically oppressive cult of Islamist-extremist fundamentalism in Aceh, Indonesia with the entire global religion of “Islam” as a whole. Yeah, that’s just shitty bigotry. No matter how excusable your indignation on behalf of the cult’s oppressed victims may be. > [@xtenkfarpl](#): > > Religion is a mental disease. It is a bug in the human brain operating system, Maybe, maybe not; neurologists and psychologists don’t yet know anything like enough about the human brain to be able to assess whether or which major aspects of human culture can be reduced to merely “a bug in the human brain operating system”. Personally, as a lifelong atheist I’m perfectly comfortable with not believing in a deity, while at the same time not needing to make up grandiose cognitive-science-flavored “explanations” of why so many other people have beliefs about deity that IMO appear to be wrong. But if you like preaching your views on that subject, fine, you do you. You’re entitled to believe whatever vague generalizations you want about the hypothetical neuroscience of religious belief phenomena. But when it comes to using that kind of fuzzy thinking to conflate a specific regional theocratic tyranny with an entire centuries-old and historically very diverse religious tradition as a whole, though, that’s shitty bigotry, and you should cut it out. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2026, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-islam-a-wonderful-religion/1027240/29 "2026-01-31T21:56:11Z")
With somewhere between 1.5BN and 2.5BN Muslims in the world, you may be out over your skis with this generalization. Also … and in the same vein … > **[Understanding Sharia: The Intersection of Islam and the Law | Council on...](https://www.cfr.org/backgrounders/understanding-sharia-intersection-islam-and-law)** > > Sharia guides the personal religious practices of Muslims worldwide, but whether it should influence modern legal systems remains a subject of intense debate. Edgy, though. You do you, Boo. ---
**Author:** ![xtenkfarpl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c2a13f/32.png) [@xtenkfarpl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xtenkfarpl)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2026, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-islam-a-wonderful-religion/1027240/30 "2026-01-31T21:57:19Z")
Sorry, the OP title was a bit inflammatory. It was just a news item. But I do not like any form of fundementalist theocracy. I would like to regard all humans in the world as distant relatives and their customs as traditions. But those traditions should not, in my view, be coercive and restrictive. I am just a little surprised and rather unhappy that some posters who I thought were fairly flexible in their ideas seem so incenced? Peace to all and goodnight. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2026, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-islam-a-wonderful-religion/1027240/31 "2026-01-31T21:59:28Z")
> [@xtenkfarpl](#): > > So what world do you want to live in? Wouldn;t you rather live in a tolerant world where there aren’t people who want to impose their personal predudices on everyone else? My irony meter just konked out. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2026, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-islam-a-wonderful-religion/1027240/32 "2026-01-31T21:59:39Z")
> [@xtenkfarpl](#): > > Sorry, the OP title was a bit inflammatory. It was just a news item. No. The article was about the beliefs of a small sect. The broad brush and misleading title was _yours._ ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2026, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-islam-a-wonderful-religion/1027240/33 "2026-01-31T22:02:17Z")
> [@xtenkfarpl](#): > > But I do not like any form of fundementalist theocracy. Fine. I’d venture to assert that nobody else here likes it either. > [@xtenkfarpl](#): > > I am just a little surprised and rather unhappy that some posters who I thought were fairly flexible in their ideas seem so incenced? You should not expect decent and rational people to be “flexibly” accommodating towards Islamophobic bigotry. You can denounce fundamentalist theocracy all you want, including Muslim fundamentalist theocracy, without deploying Islamophobic bigotry. If you’d sarcastically titled this thread something like _“Isn’t fundamentalist theocracy wonderful?”_, nobody would have given you any pushback on your OP at all. ---
**Author:** ![xtenkfarpl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c2a13f/32.png) [@xtenkfarpl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xtenkfarpl)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2026, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-islam-a-wonderful-religion/1027240/34 "2026-01-31T22:05:05Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > No. The article was about the beliefs of a small sect. The broad brush and misleading title was _yours._ Accepted, It’s a bit of a Hot Button for me (there is no god and Dawkins is his prophet) The OP title was a rather unfortunate immediate reaction. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2026, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-islam-a-wonderful-religion/1027240/35 "2026-01-31T22:05:26Z")
> [@xtenkfarpl](#): > > I am just a little surprised and rather unhappy that some posters who I thought were fairly flexible in their ideas seem so incenced? You _could_ blame the venerable, intolerant, woke SDMB “hivemind.” Another option, though, is to recognize the unanimity and intensity of the reaction you received, and then think deeply about why you received it. And – obviously – if the path isn’t clear, you can always flip a coin. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2026, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-islam-a-wonderful-religion/1027240/36 "2026-01-31T22:06:13Z")
> [@xtenkfarpl](#): > > The OP title was a rather unfortunate immediate reaction. Well, we’ve all got those sometimes, and not all of us are willing to cop to them when we have them, so props for that. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2026, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-islam-a-wonderful-religion/1027240/37 "2026-01-31T22:16:43Z")
> [@xtenkfarpl](#): > > The OP title was a rather unfortunate immediate reaction. > [@xtenkfarpl](#): > > At least I guess you know where you are with it. “It’” being “Islam”. It wasn’t just the title. It was lumping all Islam in with a horrific splinter-sect. Look. I’m not crazy about religion either. I’m not religious, and I think the world would probably be better if folks acknowledged that we’re all we have, and that any meaning or good we want to have in this world we have to put there ourselves. But there’s a huge distance between that, and declaring that Islam is, broad-brush, a religion that countenances torturing those who don’t follow its strictures. I have dear friends who are Muslim, and whose religion manifests in their work on behalf of public education, in their kind and loving parenting, in their warmth and generosity to their community. Your attack on Islam is an attack on them. ---
**Author:** ![Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mundane_super_hero/32/6304_2.png) [@Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mundane_Super_Hero)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2026, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-islam-a-wonderful-religion/1027240/38 "2026-01-31T22:22:03Z")
> [@xtenkfarpl](#): > > Sorry, the OP title was a bit inflammatory. So are your hemorrhoids. ( Have you tried salt-acid? I hear it works wonders at clearing them up. Let us know how it works out for you. ) ---
**Author:** ![xtenkfarpl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c2a13f/32.png) [@xtenkfarpl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xtenkfarpl)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2026, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-islam-a-wonderful-religion/1027240/39 "2026-01-31T22:24:12Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Your attack on Islam is an attack on them. An interesting though by now irrelevent counterfactual. Suppose I had just linked the original article with a neutral title such as “what do you all think about this”? How would you have reacted then? ---
**Author:** ![Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mundane_super_hero/32/6304_2.png) [@Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mundane_Super_Hero)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2026, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-islam-a-wonderful-religion/1027240/40 "2026-01-31T22:29:59Z")
> [@xtenkfarpl](#): > > How would you have reacted then? We would have given you a [Golden Crown](https://www.youtube.com/shorts/xRN7XRav2fU) to wear… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-islam-a-wonderful-religion/1027240.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-islam-a-wonderful-religion/1027240.md?page=3)