I have to admit that I am a bigot in this way.

As a pagan, I've not experienced anything but hatred from all but ONE Muslim that I've worked with - and that has been a lot. He was an amazing man that contributed a lot to this state.

So, while I do think it is a valid religion that holds the promise of peace, I do think that in many areas there are way too many Koran literalists, and I do think that in that context that they are quite dangerous to US culture.

The Muslim religion clearly has passages that promote religious tolerance, but it also has many that do not. If I heard more tolerance and peace messages from the muslims that I do know, if I had been treated better - from those that are already here, I'm sure that my opinion would be different.

I don't have any problem with a muslim citizen being elected or an elected muslim swearing on the Koran. I mean, who'd WANT him swearing on some book that didn't matter to him anyway? I think if elected, that is fine!

I don't have to worry about what book a pagan would swear on if elected.

But for now, I guess I am a bigot.

skullaria wrote:
As a pagan, I've not experienced anything but hatred from all but ONE Muslim that I've worked with - and that has been a lot. He was an amazing man that contributed a lot to this state.

I've had the opposite experience. I've never known a "hard core" Muslim. I don't think I'd get a long with one. I have prickly relations with "hard core" Christians, particularly of the statist variety. There is perhaps nothing more repulsive to modern ideas about society and government than Sharia law. But Islam is a culture, (and a huge one) and most of its children are reasonable people. They are no different from any other major religious group.

i think it's not about the religion so much as it is about tribalism. muslims, christians, jews, hindus, buddhists, wiccans, even athiests...the trouble lies not in the faith itself but in its practice. practice can get completely infected and twisted by tribalism--the need to actively compete against other groups for resources, visibility, bandwidth, whatever. this is necessary when your human rights are at stake, but becomes petty, dirty, and lethal when, perversely, the stakes are smaller and less tangible. and the insulted can be just as abrasively tribal as the oppressors.

there are some basic rules of engagement with your fellow man, no matter who they are or what they believe. when you become so consumed by an idea that you violate those rules, you cause trouble. at best, you turn into someone who's no fun at parties. at worst, well, hopefully we've seen the worst already.

merry whatever, y'all.

Decius wrote:

skullaria wrote:
As a pagan, I've not experienced anything but hatred from all but ONE Muslim that I've worked with - and that has been a lot. He was an amazing man that contributed a lot to this state.

I've had the opposite experience. I've never known a "hard core" Muslim. I don't think I'd get a long with one. I have prickly relations with "hard core" Christians, particularly of the statist variety. There is perhaps nothing more repulsive to modern ideas about society and government than Sharia law. But Islam is a culture, (and a huge one) and most of its children are reasonable people. They are no different from any other major religious group.