Original post by swiss_cheeseYou don't understand what I am trying to put forward then.
I am trying to tell people to stop incriminating Islam as the singular, binary factor which causes Muslims to commit terrorist atrocities. Instead, there is a web of complex factors leading up to radicalisation and then to them committing attacks. Islam's only place in this web is the veil behind which these murderers hide to justify their actions. Its neither the source, nor the supporting element in causing them to do this.
Once you realise the actual reason why these hateful people do what they do, then we can stop making Muslims feel alienated, and then we can stop more of them from doing these things out of spite towards ignorant westerners. Then we can fight ISIS for what they really are - murderers who are warping Islam to justify brutality, instead of this damaging war on Islamic culture and Muslims.
None of these Muslims matter to me, none of the people they kill matter to me, the only thing which I care about is preventing society from destroying itself from within just like it did in Germany last century. We are on track for a surge in far-right politics. Brexit was the first stage, Donald Trump, Le Pen, etc... they will all have their turn - and if they win, racism and xenophobia will be legitimised, and we will destroy the progress we've made - while the real things we need to sort out exist right in front of us. Global warming, economic crises, global terrorism. Instead, we're bitterly attacking each other because it apparently feels good to blame others for our problems.
Islam is a very disturbing thing, alongside almost all religions. It's disgusting that some people should live thinking that they get a better life after death if they pray to a God or do a specific set of things. But when it comes to terrorism and morality, Muslims aren't bad people - they've just got into this mess following 9/11, the Iraq War, Syrian Civil War, ISIS, etc.. where the west collectively blames all forms of Islamic extremism on an ancient scripture - an ancient scripture written to govern a desperate, isolated Middle Eastern society 1500 years ago. Criticising it nowadays is like criticising the British Empire and assuming that radical Muslims are similar to far-right pro-Britain supporters such as people in Britain First.
The world would be a better place with no religions whatsoever. But that's not going to happen in my lifetime, it cannot be forced without angering people - therefore its unrealistic to go around criticising Muslims, encouraging them to see Islam as dangerous. Because these people in the Middle East have generally been brought up in society where Islamic government and their forms of Sharia Law is all they know to be true. To go around saying vile things about it, true or not, isn't going to make them want to quit, its going to antagonise them - and it will contribute to them becoming segregated and subsequently radicalised.
You've got to ask yourself if your constant attacks on an ancient scripture and thereby almost all of its followers are warranted. Islam, 1500 years ago, can be justified - because the world was circumstantially different, there are governments in the Middle East, Africa and Asia which need to be exposed for their cruelty because of Islam, but yelling 'religion of peace' every time ISIS attack, or going around discriminating against western Muslims is doing ****all to help the situation.