# The religion of peace and toleration continues to amaze **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 26, 2007, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-religion-of-peace-and-toleration-continues-to-amaze/427786 "2007-11-26T12:38:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 12
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2007, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-religion-of-peace-and-toleration-continues-to-amaze/427786/221 "2007-11-29T18:41:23Z")
CNN is reporting now that the Evil Teddy Bear Muslim Hayting Western Whore of Babylon (or words to that effect…) has been sentenced to “prison and deportation.” Given how stupid the Sharia leaders seem to be, maybe they’ll reverse the order of enforcement, and everything will work out… ---
**Author:** ![One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/838e76/32.png) [@One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/One_And_Only_Wanderers)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2007, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-religion-of-peace-and-toleration-continues-to-amaze/427786/222 "2007-11-29T18:55:45Z")
15 days imprisoned. i don’t think they will have to deport her, i think she’ll be quite keen to get out. ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2007, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-religion-of-peace-and-toleration-continues-to-amaze/427786/223 "2007-11-29T21:05:54Z")
[QUOTE=One And Only Wanderers] 15 days imprisoned. i don’t think they will have to deport her, i think she’ll be quite keen to get out. [/QUOTE] Maybe not. Charity workers like that see the scale of the poverty and illness confronting the poor folks in the area, and want to help. These aid workers will try to work around whatever warlord or beauracracy they need to in order to do the good work that needs to be done. In other words, she might not “abandon” the poor kids, who need the education, just because of the narrow-mindedness of whatever government happens to be in charge there. ---
**Author:** ![Fuji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a9a28c/32.png) [@Fuji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuji)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2007, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-religion-of-peace-and-toleration-continues-to-amaze/427786/224 "2007-11-29T21:24:33Z")
[QUOTE=acsenray] A completely arbitrary and specious standard. Might as well take the Battle of Kurukshetra as the standard for judging Hinduism and ask how many times Mongols engaged in a battle that lasted 18 days and resulted in the slaughter of 4 million people. [/QUOTE] Look. The only reason I posted in this thread in the first place was because of many posters (like **Der Trihs** ) asserting that all religions are equally “evil”. My original point: [QUOTE=Fuji] since we’re making comparisons between various religio-political systems, I think it’s fair to point out the paucity of Crusades, Inquisitions, and assorted Holy Wars conducted in the name of Vishnu or Shiva [/QUOTE] I never said anything like “Hindus are #1!” or “India is teh r0xx0r11!!”. My statement was meant to stand on its own. I hadn’t anticipated that a disingenuous, nit-picking jackass such as yourself would challenge what was essentially a historical _fact_ that is evident to anyone with even a rudimentary knowledge of world history. By the way, my mounds of human skulls (emblematic of other widepsread atrocities committed by Temujin, et al.) are a helluva lot better referenced in the historical record than your cite from the Mahabharata, which I’m sure most academics would not take as a verifiable historical source. > [@](#): > > Well good for you, my open-to-all-enlightenment new-age friend. Who’s the cultural relativist now? Speaking as a Hindu and an Indian, let me say that whatever enlightenment you have gleaned from the Bhagavad Gita gives you zero insight into actual Indians and whether or not they are on a real-life, human basis more or less prone to violence or aggression than any other “race” of people. Hmm… how about the fact that my father was a Bengali? Does that give me any “insight into actual Indians”, you sanctimonious prick? I said I wasn’t a Hindu - I didn’t say I wasn’t of Indian blood, assface. I know this is a stretch for you, but how about arguing on the basis of what others have actually said, rather than what you assume about them? Probably too much to ask. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2007, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-religion-of-peace-and-toleration-continues-to-amaze/427786/225 "2007-11-29T21:53:16Z")
[QUOTE=One And Only Wanderers] 15 days imprisoned. i don’t think they will have to deport her, i think she’ll be quite keen to get out. [/QUOTE] According to the MSN article, Sudanese police not only kept media and school representatives out of the courtroom, they tried (though unsuccessfully) to keep her lawyer out too. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![zzing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/f1d935/32.png) [@zzing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zzing)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2007, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-religion-of-peace-and-toleration-continues-to-amaze/427786/226 "2007-11-30T13:42:36Z")
Imprisonment and deportation is clearly not enough. Thousands of protestors have descended on Khartoum demanding that she be shot: > [@](#): > > The protesters gathered in Martyrs Square, outside the presidential palace in the capital, many of them carrying knives and sticks. > > Marchers chanted “Shame, shame on the UK”, “No tolerance - execution” and “Kill her, kill her by firing squad”. > **[BBC NEWS | Africa | Sudan demo over jailed UK teacher](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7121025.stm)** > > Crowds march in Sudan to call for a tougher sentence for a UK teacher convicted of insulting religion. Personally, I think shooting her would not be sufficient. They should also shoot all the children and their families and hang the teddy. This may be the only way to stop the evil spreading. Honestly, don’t these fools have anything more important to worry about. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2007, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-religion-of-peace-and-toleration-continues-to-amaze/427786/227 "2007-11-30T14:40:03Z")
[QUOTE=zzing] Imprisonment and deportation is clearly not enough. Thousands of protestors have descended on Khartoum demanding that she be shot: > **[BBC NEWS | Africa | Sudan demo over jailed UK teacher](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7121025.stm)** > > Crowds march in Sudan to call for a tougher sentence for a UK teacher convicted of insulting religion. Personally, I think shooting her would not be sufficient. They should also shoot all the children and their families and hang the teddy. This may be the only way to stop the evil spreading. Honestly, don’t these fools have anything more important to worry about. [/QUOTE] Well as long as they have something to hate and protest about, they won’t worry as much about poverty and lack of human rights. Its is a tried and true method. ---
**Author:** ![tagos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@tagos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tagos)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2007, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-religion-of-peace-and-toleration-continues-to-amaze/427786/228 "2007-11-30T14:41:42Z")
[QUOTE=zzing] Imprisonment and deportation is clearly not enough. Thousands of protestors have descended on Khartoum demanding that she be shot: > **[BBC NEWS | Africa | Sudan demo over jailed UK teacher](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7121025.stm)** > > Crowds march in Sudan to call for a tougher sentence for a UK teacher convicted of insulting religion. Personally, I think shooting her would not be sufficient. They should also shoot all the children and their families and hang the teddy. This may be the only way to stop the evil spreading. Honestly, don’t these fools have anything more important to worry about. [/QUOTE] Unfortunately Muslims still take religion seriously and so nothing is more important. Particularly in the parts of the world that still linger in the Dark Ages and want to blame the West for everything that is wrong in their country. Note though - Muslims in the UK have been vocal in their support for the poor woman. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2007, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-religion-of-peace-and-toleration-continues-to-amaze/427786/229 "2007-11-30T14:45:39Z")
I can’t help wondering if the world’s (or the Dope’s) sensible Muslims have collectivelly done this: :smack: on seeing this news. It can’t be helping the cause that the world is seeing this farce. If it wasn’t so serious these people would be a laughing stock. This is Monty Python stuff. In fact you can’t write this stuff. Stop the world, I want to get off. ---
**Author:** ![tagos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@tagos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tagos)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2007, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-religion-of-peace-and-toleration-continues-to-amaze/427786/230 "2007-11-30T14:52:29Z")
[QUOTE=Lobsang] I can’t help wondering if the world’s (or the Dope’s) sensible Muslims have collectivelly done this: :smack: on seeing this news. It can’t be helping the cause that the world is seeing this farce. If it wasn’t so serious these people would be a laughing stock. This is Monty Python stuff. In fact you can’t write this stuff. Stop the world, I want to get off. [/QUOTE] That was the reaction of the leader of the Muslim Council or some such in the UK. And just when I start to feel that maybe I’m not sharing a planet with a whole bunch of people driven collectively insane by their ridiculous religion I read an interview with the raped Saudi woman sentenced to a whipping and find her brother attempted to kill her. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2007, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-religion-of-peace-and-toleration-continues-to-amaze/427786/231 "2007-11-30T15:28:28Z")
[QUOTE=Fuji] My original point: [/quote] And it’s still a specious point. (1) Crusades, inquisitions, etc., don’t happen _solely_ because of religion. Social, economic, political, environmental, and other factors are just as important, if not more so. In my view, religion serves far more often as a retroactive justification for what people already wanted to do. (2) Maybe there hasn’t been a single “headline-breaking!” event-style circumstance (in commonly known recorded history, that is) like the crusades, but _plenty_ of killing has gone on in the name of Indra, Shib, Kali, and other Hindu deities. Hindus are just as capable of justifying bloody deeds with religious reasons as anyone else – Kshatriyas slaughtering Brahmins, Brahmins slaughtering Kshatriyas, Thakurs slaughtering Dalits, Rajputs rioting for the right to burn their widows. (3) Are you aware of the current sectarian tensions in India? Have you been keeping an eye on recent events in places like Bombay and Gujarat? Do you have any idea of what happened to the Sikhs after Indira Gandhi’s assassination? What happened during Partition? There are hundreds of thousands of Hindus, mostly in urban slums, armed and ready to begin slaughtering their fellow Indians whenever sectarian tensions boil over. And it is now coming out that in Gujarat, the recent attacks on Muslims were not only meticulously planned well in advance but facilitated by government officials. So, no, it’s not fair to point that out. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2007, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-religion-of-peace-and-toleration-continues-to-amaze/427786/232 "2007-11-30T15:43:06Z")
The teddy bear is a MacGuffin. The _real_ offense was the time she got a salmon helmet from Muhammad while wearing a toga. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2007, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-religion-of-peace-and-toleration-continues-to-amaze/427786/233 "2007-11-30T16:23:38Z")
[QUOTE=Fuji] Hmm… how about the fact that my father was a Bengali? [/QUOTE] Well, then, it’s no damn wonder. Bengalis never get along with each other. ---
**Author:** ![Nancarrow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c37758/32.png) [@Nancarrow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nancarrow)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2007, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-religion-of-peace-and-toleration-continues-to-amaze/427786/234 "2007-11-30T18:04:02Z")
[QUOTE=Vinyl Turnip] The teddy bear is a MacGuffin. The _real_ offense was the time she got a **salmon helmet** from Muhammad while wearing a toga. [/QUOTE] Do I want to Google this? I mean, I’m going to anyway, but will I regret it later? ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2007, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-religion-of-peace-and-toleration-continues-to-amaze/427786/235 "2007-11-30T18:10:58Z")
[QUOTE=Nancarrow] Do I want to Google this? I mean, I’m going to anyway, but will I regret it later? [/QUOTE] _Family Guy_ reference, I believe. ---
**Author:** ![DanBlather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f4b2a3/32.png) [@DanBlather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DanBlather)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2007, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-religion-of-peace-and-toleration-continues-to-amaze/427786/236 "2007-11-30T18:16:10Z")
[QUOTE=tagos] Islam is pretty down on idols and as any sane and balanced person has to concede, naming a teddy bear thus is a clear and calculated attempt to insult Muslims and Islam. [/QUOTE] So I guess my idea for a new TV show _Muslim Idol_ is out. ---
**Author:** ![Fuji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a9a28c/32.png) [@Fuji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuji)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2007, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-religion-of-peace-and-toleration-continues-to-amaze/427786/237 "2007-11-30T20:10:36Z")
[QUOTE=acsenray] Well, then, it’s no damn wonder. Bengalis never get along with each other. [/QUOTE] You bastard! Just when I had a whole ball of righteous anger wound up, you have to make me laugh. 😛 No hard feelings on my part - I’ll see you around the boards… ---
**Author:** ![Ghanima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Ghanima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ghanima)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2007, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-religion-of-peace-and-toleration-continues-to-amaze/427786/238 "2007-11-30T22:19:09Z")
I look at the pictures of the bloodthirsty mobs screaming for this teacher to die and I just think what a bunch of ANIMALS. Islam is the poster child for everything that is fucked up about religion. Christianity is no picnic either but you’d never see a crowd of raving christians screaming for the blood of a teacher - even one who’d actively tried to convert their children to atheism, let alone made an innocent mistake that insulted their religion. They might be pissed and want her fired and never to teach again, but she’d at least be safe from lynching for fuck’s sake. ANIMALS. The lot of them. ---
**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:** [November 30, 2007, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-religion-of-peace-and-toleration-continues-to-amaze/427786/239 "2007-11-30T23:22:13Z")
[QUOTE=Ghanima] I look at the pictures of the bloodthirsty mobs screaming for this teacher to die and I just think what a bunch of ANIMALS. [/QUOTE] Yeah, no argument. But I would say that it is not readily apparent just how much the Sudanese public is all that riled up about this - at the very least it is worth taking these reportings with a grain of salt. Insta-crowds are just not that difficult to drum up for poilitical purposes in these sort of authoritarian countries. An interesting ( I think ), fairly brief blog commentary from someone familiar with the school in question: [http://www.aqoul.com/archives/2007/11/flogging\_a\_dead.php](http://www.aqoul.com/archives/2007/11/flogging_a_dead.php) ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2007, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-religion-of-peace-and-toleration-continues-to-amaze/427786/240 "2007-11-30T23:25:47Z")
Has CAIR made a statement yet, or are they too busy going after Michael Savage? And I haven’t read the whole thread, so maybe with was addressed…it’s okay to name a person Mohammed (as in Atta) but not an inanimate object? Yeesh. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-religion-of-peace-and-toleration-continues-to-amaze/427786.md?page=11) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-religion-of-peace-and-toleration-continues-to-amaze/427786.md?page=13)