:dubious: I’d hazard that more on the left object to religion than those on the right.
And the previous post is my cite. 
Islam is the worst religion, except for all the other ones.
West Wing Season Three Episode One said it best.
Islamic Fundamentalism is to Islam, as _____ is to Christianity.
KKK
It is wrong to trample people for their religious beliefs. I will defend the right of people to practice their beliefs just as I would defend the KimJongUn’s right not to have any.
KimJongUn, make no mistake. Many who want to discriminate against Islam would just love the chance to discriminate against you.
Instead of attacking the OP’s assumed bases, wouldn’t you refute him more completely by merely listing those things you think Islam is great at ?
Why? It’s not my job to make the OP coherent.
Why? That’s not relevant when he’s calling for the* persecution of* Islam; not conversion* to* it.
This person doesn’t know how to do analogies.
“Islamic fundamentalism is to Islam as Christian fundamentalism is to Christianity”.
Ah. I understand. Well, it’s like this: we’re not bigots.
Well, the very title asked a question. Simply shut him down by listing the ways Islam has improved the world.
One can do the same with other religions like christianity, jainism or marxism: but he wants to know about this particular creed. Nitpicking will not answer his doubts.
Like its peer religions, Islamic scripture exhorts its followers to display virtuous behavior; it has rules to organize society by, and rules > no rules; and a set of rituals to bind people together and give them purpose or inspiration or what have you. Again, the same features other religions have; they were created by humans to serve human needs, and human needs are pretty similar all over.
And, the last NBA center to average 29+ points per game for a full season was a Muslim.
Muslims preserved and translated vast amounts of ancient Greek texts that form the basis of our science and mathematics while Christians were sitting in the rain forgetting that it’s a bad idea to dig the well next to the outhouse. Hope that answers the OP’s question.
Finally, a person who can read.
His doubts are based on bigotry, by his posts, not based on some curiosity about the benefits of Islam.
Hi dumb new poster! Welcome to the board. You’ve got a nice username. Does it mean anything that isn’t dumb? (Not rhetorical- I’ll wait.)
Did you assume all the people criticizing your OP didn’t read it? Did YOU read your OP? I’m assuming not.
:smack:
You basically said in your OP that you would not read any responses, because anything “good” someone says about Islam is “unfounded”.
Why the fuck should someone respond in good faith to a poisoned well like that?
I’d say you have a mistaken idea on what liberals generally think.
Most liberals feel that Islam should be granted the same respect and legal protections that other religions are granted.
*<ring>
<drool>*
The thing is, he’s not really just talking about the religion. He’s talking about the people who practice it. So, the answer is lengthy but also seemingly a non sequitur. It gave us the number 0. The advancements brought about by the Islamic empires up to and including the Ottoman Empire are huge. The storytelling and folkloric traditions changed western storytelling in ways that are almost impossible to measure. How much of this comes from the religion itself and how much would have sprung up in those societies anyway is hard to say. Culture and religion are too intertwined.
As an ideology? Like others there is good and bad. I’ve been diving into my Jewish roots recently and there is a shocking amount of horrible stuff in the Torah, and a ton od other stuff that says to ignore the horrible stuff and simply be good to others.
As someone with a shallow understanding of many religions, I find Islam to be fairly boring. Buddhism and Hinduism have interesting philosophy, notes on human existence, and cosmology. The ancient Egyptians, Greeks, Aztecs, Gnostics, Norse, and various tribal African religions have fun cosmologies or stories. The Australian native Rainbow Serpent religion is pretty interesting, seemingly one of the few religions to hold menstruation as holy and creative. What does Islam bring to the table? I like this verse I guess.
All is vanity, man, I dig it.
The concept of Iblis refusing to bow before Adam is neat too, though apparently handed down from The Life of Adam and Eve. Jinn are a fun concept. Supposedly the Quran has beautiful poetry in the original language. I haven’t seen a lot of Quran quotes I feel compelled to save though, whereas the Bible has all sorts of wisdom, metal verses, or outrageous scenarios. Probably biased due to being an English speaker.
None of these things are in the New Testament.
There is a very large difference between supporting Islam (giving money to or recruiting for, or espousing their beliefs) and defending Islam (its right to exist and the right of its adherents to practice it without persecution). Most liberals are defenders, not supporters. Your beef should more properly be directed at Islamism (the political movement), rather than at Islam (the religion). Just as most Christians do not practice the more draconian aspects of the Bible, so likewise most Muslims do not practice the more horrifying aspects of the Koran.