Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Why all the hate?

I'm getting tired of seeing people post stuff about the proposed mosque that is planned to be built near ground zero. I've seen almost nothing but negative criticism and felt I wanted to add my two cents.

Not all Muslims are terrorists. Yes, it is a fact that radical Muslims were responsible for 9/11. However, radical Muslims do not represent all Muslims. Muslims, Jews and Christians all share the teachings of the Old Testament and preach the same core beliefs. There are bad people in every group. Human beings are flawed, and prone to violence regardless of religious ideology. Religion is a powerful motivator and has been the scape goat of horrible atrocities throughout history. The Romans persecuted the Christians, Egyptians persecuted the Israelites, Christians persecuted the Jews, Christians fight Christians (Catholics & Protestants), it goes on and on. I find it shocking how many people have become biased towards Muslims since 9/11. I judged people on an individual basis before 9/11, and continue to do the same.

My Christian friends (I was raised Catholic. I'm not atheist, just currently undecided) have been the most opposed and vocal to building the mosque. Yet, no one seems to remember (or wants to point out) how many people have been killed in the name of Christianity. Do the Crusades, the explorers or the Conquistadors ring a bell? Not to mention, most of the Nazis were Christian. They killed a lot more than 3,000 people, so does that mean we should stop building churches, so as not to offend anyone?  Is it disrespectful to Native Americans or Holocaust survivors to build churches in their neighborhoods? Lots of contemporary murders are Christian, but you don't hear people calling Christians terrorists or treating them suspiciously. I really don't understand the double standard. The whole triumphalist attitude of organized religions is what pisses me off and makes it hard for me to believe in any one faith. I don't think I'll ever buy into the belief that good people will suffer eternal damnation, just because they called God by the wrong name. Every religious person thinks their belief is the right one, but that's no reason to stop others from practicing their faith. Our country was founded on religious freedom. The mosque is set to be built on private property, so the government should not have the constitutional right to oppose it. 

I think it's horrible that "Muslim" has come to mean "terrorist" to so many people. Calling all Muslims terrorists is unfair and no different than being anti-Semitic; bigotry is bigotry no matter how you slice it. It is unfair to lump good Muslim people in with extremists and radical ideology. Prejudice is ignorance, bottom line. The facts are: 1-all religions can be (and have been) perverted & miss used, 2-government & religion are separate, 3-NYC is one of the most diverse places in the world & all citizens should be free to worship without discrimination, 4-the people responsible for taking those planes down died that day, it's not right to punish an entire religious community for their crimes. The truth of the matter is, dozens of upstanding Muslim American citizens were also killed in the 9/11 attacks. Why has everyone forgotten them? The Muslim citizens in those buildings were innocent people, working and contributing to our society; they were not terrorists. The men that hijacked those planes were terrorists. Al-Qaeda are extremists and they have killed more Muslims, than any other religious group*. 

I just wish people could be more objective in their opinions and examine their own beliefs before judging others. Give people a chance to be good, instead of assuming they're evil.  Didn't someone say something like, "He who is without sin can cast the first stone"? 


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8 comments:

  1. It may be where I grew up (Allentown was fairly diverse, and walking down the halls of my High School I could hear 7 diff languages being spoken), but I defiantly agree with you. You cannot classify a culture by the extreme actions of one sub-sect. People will pervert any belief to get people to do their bidding, Al-Qaeda just happened to use Islam because that's the dominant religion in that area. Same with every other terrorist group in that part of the world.

    Since the KKK acts in the name of the Christian god, and White power, all white people are like that and burn crosses, right? Even white Muslims! They burn crosses then blow up the building, right?

    Stereotypes are silly, and people need to learn to look at people as people, unique and individual.

    Also, I like how you qualify your statement with "I'm not atheist" :-P

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  2. Heehee...thanks bro! I only mentioned not being atheist to emphasize the fact that I'm not anti-religion, per se. I think there's a God. I just hate how people use that concept to divide themselves from other people and/or consider themselves special (therefor better and/or entitled to special privileges) than other people. If there is a God, it's only logical that he/she would've created us all and would, in turn want us to be unified & respect one another. Instead, all people do is fight and hurt one another & use "God" as the scapegoat.

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  3. I was giving you crap about the atheist thing... Just because you're atheist, doesn't mean you're anti-religion. Buddhists and some Hindu are atheistic, and religious...

    Anyway, that's a topic for another day. What I always tell people that get on the high horse about religion and god is that their god made me this way, and who are they to question him.

    People have defiantly used their beliefs in god(s) for ulterior motives for thousands of years now... I don't see it ending anytime soon. :-(

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  4. You took the words right out of my mouth. Adam and I have been discussing this over the last week. It really boils my blood to see how people are treating this situation. I've never thought it made sense to put down or hate a group of people just because of their religion or lifestyle. Those who commit a crime should be accountable for their actions and them alone.

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  5. Dear Christina - Got on your blog -"Why the Hate?" Wrote my comment but it may not be posted as I have no Google or any other account listed.
    BUT - no one is expressing any hate - simply a request to move the mosque site to another location. A little sensitivity please! When a Polish order of nuns (in their own country) placed a convent next to Auschwitz and they had nothing to do with the horrors that went on there, they were forced to move at the request of Pope John Paul who caved in to the Jewish people who were terribly upset. A New York rabbi even flew to Poland and harassed the nuns by climbing on to the roof of the convent.
    Hate for the Muslims does not enter into this at all. It's simply a matter of consideration. Build your mosque anyplace you want but not at the site of 9/11.
    And in case you don't read my comment on your blog - Jesus was the one who said -"Let him who is without sin cast the first stone."
    AND - God forbid - we should ever have Sharia law in America. Stoning to death for illicit affairs and chopping off hands for stealing. We're not back in the dark ages.
    Bashar - calmly informed me years ago that in his country they chop off hands for stealing. I hardly wanted to hear more of what was done in his country. We're not living in the dark ages. Hope you don't mind hearing me out. It's what makes this country so great. We can have an opinion. Love , Grandma<3<3<3

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  6. I'm going to post your comment for you.
    Yeah. I think the nuns should've been able to build their convent, if it wasn't on the same property. I mean whoever owned Auschwitz has the right to do whatever they want, even tear it down. I'm not saying that would be right, in terms of sensitivity, but it would be their legal right. I just don't see why Muslims that had nothing to do (and have been living and worshiping in that area both before 9/11 and now) should be treated as if they are terrorist or have any connection to the atrocities of that attack. The only relation is that the terrorists happened to be radical extremist Muslims, but that's not representative of the whole of Islam. It just kills me that hate groups like the KKK are respected and given certain freedoms of speech, and yet normal law abiding Muslims get treated worst in some cases. How about the thousands of "good Christian folk" that openly fly the confederate flag, and no one bats an eyelash. There seems to be a big double standard at times. I feel discrimination, of any kind is wrong and when you are judging people you don't know, based on their religion, that's clearly discrimination. Not to mention the simple fact that church and state are separate and they have the right to build on private property. Whether people think it's in bad taste or not is their problem. I would consider building a strip joint in bad taste, and yet you see them in plenty of decent neighborhoods. Frankly, it'd be nice to see anything being built at ground zero. We're approaching the ten year anniversary and most of the area is still just a humungous hole. Half of Dubai was built in that amount of time. The 3,000 or so victims that were killed there came from every race and many religions (Muslim included- terrorists aside) and nothing will ever get built trying to please everyone. Life moves on and it'd be a positive thing for the people living in NYC to bring that area back to life as a functioning part of the city. I totally agree with a Memorial site to commemorate the victims. The focus now should be on the living. Muslim Americans are a part of that community.
    Oh, by the way, I was being sarcastic, I know it's Jesus that said that. I just think it's ironic how quickly Christians forget Jesus's message of love, when it comes to dealing with anyone or anything non-Christian. While you might not be saying anything hateful personally, I've read and heard many bigoted remarks about Muslims and this mosque issue has just added fuel to the fire. I think it's very sad.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I'm going to post your comment for you.
    Yeah. I think the nuns should've been able to build their convent, if it wasn't on the same property. I mean whoever owned Auschwitz has the right to do whatever they want, even tear it down. I'm not saying that would be right, in terms of sensitivity, but it would be their legal right. I just don't see why Muslims that had nothing to do (and have been living and worshiping in that area both before 9/11 and now) should be treated as if they are terrorist or have any connection to the atrocities of that attack. The only relation is that the terrorists happened to be radical extremist Muslims, but that's not representative of the whole of Islam. It just kills me that hate groups like the KKK are respected and given certain freedoms of speech, and yet normal law abiding Muslims get treated worst in some cases. How about the thousands of "good Christian folk" that openly fly the confederate flag, and no one bats an eyelash. There seems to be a big double standard at times. I feel discrimination, of any kind is wrong and when you are judging people you don't know, based on their religion, that's clearly discrimination. Not to mention the simple fact that church and state are separate and they have the right to build on private property. Whether people think it's in bad taste or not is their problem.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I would consider building a strip joint in bad taste, and yet you see them in plenty of decent neighborhoods. Frankly, it'd be nice to see anything being built at ground zero. We're approaching the ten year anniversary and most of the area is still just a humungous hole. Half of Dubai was built in that amount of time. The 3,000 or so victims that were killed there came from every race and many religions (Muslim included- terrorists aside) and nothing will ever get built trying to please everyone. Life moves on and it'd be a positive thing for the people living in NYC to bring that area back to life as a functioning part of the city. I totally agree with a Memorial site to commemorate the victims. The focus now should be on the living. Muslim Americans are a part of that community.
    Oh, by the way, I was being sarcastic, I know it's Jesus that said that. I just think it's ironic how quickly Christians forget Jesus's message of love, when it comes to dealing with anyone or anything non-Christian. While you might not be saying anything hateful personally, I've read and heard many bigoted remarks about Muslims and this mosque issue has just added fuel to the fire. I think it's very sad.

    ReplyDelete