I've mentioned this before in a previous thread and will say it again here for everyone's benefit. First, let me identify myself as a leftist, further left than Bernie Sanders. I consider myself a socialist, but also a "small-r republican" and a federalist. So technically speaking, I am a "left federal republican". That means that in the social and legal tradition of my country of citizenship, I believe that all people have a right to practice their religion and that government cannot interfere with that (so long as their "practice" does not infringe on the rights of others). But I'm also an atheist and heavily critical of ALL religions (not just Islam), and I also call shit the way I see it. Below, I'm going to be very critical of Islam, but there is much to be said about Christianity and Judaism and all other defunct, obsolete mythical paradigms as well. But that's for another discussion. For now, let's talk Islam:
I don't usually disagree with SpaceJunk, but...
Islam is a very ugly and dangerous religion. The whole "religion of peace" thing is utter crap. If you open the Quran and read it in it's original Arabic, the word "kill" will appear on nearly every page. I'm not making this up, I know exactly what I'm talking about.
When the Quran is translated into English, terms like "kill the infidel" are translated into "[God will] punish the sinful". This is all part of an Islamic doctrine which says that it is admissible to lie about your religion if it grants you safety (or stealth) in a country hostile to your religion. Therefore, all English language Qurans found in your home town will not mention the "kill" part, but all the ones written in Arabic do, and the Arabic readers of Arabic Qurans will read it too. And they'll take it as God's word, and may carry it out so they can have their 72 virgins when the get to "paradise". Which also brings me to another important point - look at the religion's founder, Muhammad. He was basically just a warlord who invented his own religion mostly to satisfy his sexual desires by force (he was "god's messenger, after all). His second wife, Aisha, was NINE YEARS OLD when they married and consummated their marriage (i.e. he fucked a prepubescent child). This is the man muslims look towards as a shining example of the ideal muslim human being. It's also the reason why men in their 50's are often married to teenage daughters of someone in their village or city all over the middle east.
There are exactly three kinds of muslims: 1 - the open jihadist // 2 - the closet jihadist (blends into society until his opportunity arises to do what he wants to do) // 3 - the useful idiot who actually buys the "religion of peace" nonsense because they don't actually read from the Quran in its original Arabic, or pick and choose the good stuff and ignore the bad stuff (the same way Christians do out of the Bible - it says "don't eat shrimp" and "don't blend textiles" on the same page it says "don't be gay", but I know most christians eat shrimp and wear polyester/cotton blend fabrics before, while and after they try to "save" their gay friend/family member by attempting to brainwash them into not being gay, which is not possible, because homosexuality is a natural and innate, inborn tendency among a certain % of any population, and it always has been for all of history. The third type is the type you find most commonly in western countries, but even they are not immune to being "flipped".
My family had to flee from Iran in the wake of the '79 Islamic Revolution. Tehran (Iran's capital) was once referred to as the "Paris of the Middle East". After the revolution, females who were once teachers, mayors, librarians, and government bureaucrats, who only months before could wear whatever they wanted (skirts, bikinis at the beach, etc) found themselves suddenly being forced by the religious enforcement police (known as Comitè) to wear hijabs and who would beat them in public if a strand of hair was showing through said hijabs. Now, I should state here that I do not condone monarchism, and the Shah (king) of Iran who ruled previous to the Islamic Republic government was an autocrat, but was certainly the MUCH lesser of two evils.
Just look at the middle east. Violence literally everywhere. Lack of civil infrastructure. Low industrial output (for instance, name a single vehicle manufactured in a mid-east country - there aren't any - the royal Saudi family can afford to buy the nicest luxury cars available, but not a single screw or bolt in the car is manufactured anywhere in a thousand mile radius). Now, granted, the United States played a large role in the stoking of this infernal violence. If you fuck with a bee's nest, the bees will get angry and start swarming, and you very well may get stung. We fucked with the bee's nest. It was politically advantageous for us to do so (in the eyes of the officials who carried it out), just like in Afghanistan when we funded the mujahideen to fight against the Soviets (who were not actually invading the country, but had come to assist the rightwise communist government that was trying to westernize and modernize the country at said rightwise government's request), but that came back to bite us in the ass in the form of Al-Qaeda and 9/11. We also continue to do it now to purposefully destabilize the region ("muddy the waters and the fish can't see") as a pretext to engage militarily and gain control of the vast oil wealth there, establish military bases (we have over a thousand all over the world, many in countries we were previously at war with, such as Japan and South Korea, and now in places like Iraq). Had we left them alone (Iraq and Afghanistan and perhaps all the way back to Mossadeq's government in Iran in the 50's), none of this would be happening (they would still stone women to death and hang people accused of homosexuality in public, but there would be no ISIS at the very least). So, we are in part to blame, and to be fair I must mention that.
But Islam is very certainly at its true core a violent religion. Its built in. It began with violence (Muhammad) and has been violent its entire history (refer to muslim occupation of the Iberian Peninsula for centuries).
Just look at the reaction to Charlie Hebdo depicting Muhammad in a satirical manner in one of their issues. That was enough to encourage a couple "Type I" and "Type II" muslims to murder/attempt to murder Hebdo's staff.
I am still, and always will be, an "SJW" as the fascist white nationalists like to refer to people who believe everyone deserves to be equal in the eyes of justice/the law. I will always believe in human rights, free speech, and the right to do as you please so long as you not infringe on the liberties of others.
But with my background having been born to refugee parents from a muslim theocratic country and my knowledge as an atheist about the ugly truth of ALL organized religions, I have to be honest about the truth of Islam. It is violent in its doctrines and encourages violence among its followers.
Check out MEMRI, which is an organization that operates a website that archives media from muslim countries in which their true doctrines are clearly spelled out. I know MEMRI is an Israeli propaganda operation, and I certainly am NO FRIEND to Israel. For the record, I sympathize with the Palestinians and deeply believe in a two-state solution and a cessation of hostilities between the two parties. But the videos you'll find on MEMRI are real, and the translations are accurate. Check it out, you'll have a field day.
I have no doubt that the act in the Florida nightclub was performed by a homophobe muslim in service to his god and religion.
I am not an Islamophobe, I am a realist. My commitment to atheism prevents me from viewing religion with rose-tinted glasses. It is what it is.
