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| Witchvox Chapter: Wren's Nest News | Chapter Page Views: 54,877,746 |
 Religious Bullying Is A Problem Around The World Author: Walter Rodgers Source: Christian Science Monitor Title: RELIGIOUS BULLYING IS A PROBLEM AROUND THE WORLD A friend, a Pakistani journalist, recently came out of the troubled Swat valley in northwest Pakistan and told a chilling tale. He said, "It is now halal [religiously sanctioned] to kill journalists." The tribal Muslim clerics in Swat, he said, have declared open season on reporters whose writings they disapprove of. My friend, a brave and devout Sunni Muslim, seemed quite shaken, having spent two weeks reporting under threat in Swat, an area once called the Switzerland of Pakistan. Several journalists have already been murdered for a perceived breach of theocratic codes. Such violence is religious "correctness" in the extreme, but vigilante enforcement of theocratic codes can crop up whenever and wherever an individual or minority does not conform to the religious tenets of the majority. | |
| Community Thoughts: There are 14 comments posted | Reverse Sort |
| Extremism Sucks | May 10th. at 5:14:24 am EDT |
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Moonlight Wolf (Bradford, England) - Email Me Whether it's journalists in Pakistan, God Squads in the US or Christian Voice in the UK (they threatened a charity with demonstraions is they accepted a donation from 'Jerry Springer the Opera') extremism and fundamentalism just depress me. They want to take down all of the 'Enemies of God' but instead they take down everyone who goes under the banner of their religion. When a fundie Christian goes around showing off their misogyny, their religious intolerance and their homophobia, people who know nothing about Christianity end up thinking that all Christians are misogynistic, homophobic and religiously intolerant. Partly this is because the moderate Chriatians do not stand up to these egomaniacs. At most I've seen some say that they do not associate with X group because such group has been criticised over their 'questionable' behaviour. Likewise when a Muslim extremist says that non-Muslims should be killed or blows himself and fifty other people up, the liberal and moderate Muslims do not condemn their behaviour or speak up against it. They just 'distance' themselves. These bullies get away with it because the moderates who go under the same banner do not stand up to them. It's a bit lik school bullies, who pick on those who cannot stand up to them. They are allowed to continue doing it because nobody stands up to them and says 'This is wrong.' |
| Bullying Doesn't Need A Reason... | May 8th. at 9:13:10 pm EDT |
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bigcat (peoria, Illinois) - Email Me As any excuse will do as a cover... The truth is, bullying is bullying, no matter the reason. Kids do it with hypocrisy, words and sticks and stones, with sneers, snubs, ugly pranks and filthy tricks. Adults do it with threats, guns and bombs,and rhetoric to suit the need against any that don't fit their narrow ideals of perfection. This is not relagated to any one group or country be they religious or not. Of course, some do it worse than others, Dictatorships and Theocracies are the worst, since they have clear standards about what everyone is supposed to believe or do and laws to deal with those that choose otherwise, but in those places where the lines are blurred, one could still see bullying as one group or another tries to gain ground in order to be top dog and give their dictates to others. While I try to remain optimistic, the way things are going, I find myself believing that even if the population of the world save two, were to disappear, the last two people would still be arguing over who was right, and who was boss, even if they were to be of the same beliefs. .The "them or us" mentality seems to be that hard wired in. |
| I Have To Ask... | May 8th. at 8:36:35 pm EDT |
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Aritimi Morgana (RotterdamJct/Schdy/Scotia, New York) - Email Me so, theoretically, when all mainstream religions are nothing but ash and paganism is all that's left, which pagan traditions will be fighting over which is the proper way to worship? I've yet to hear a good answer to that. What makes our precious beliefs so much better than the mainstream beliefs, when we have some here who have such blind, unreasonable hatred for ALL Christians, regardless of whether they're tolerant of us or nutball fundies, or those pagans who believe all Muslims are terrorists? Not everyone who follows mainstream religions are bad people, folks. We, of all people, NEED to be reminded of that and stop placing ourselves on a marble pedestal so we can sneer down at everyone else. A little humility can't hurt us. |
| Ok, A Little Defence For The Religions... | May 8th. at 2:52:49 pm EDT |
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Kamrusepas (Southampton, England) - Email Me You can't just blame an entire religion for all of this stuff. Every Christian I know is tolerant of other faiths (I know I live in a place in the UK where it is quite sheltered but I think we need to remember the Christianity does not cause all the bad things that happen in the world today) Also, most of the sad, sad things you hear about in Muslim countries are CULTURAL not Islam. So far i haven't seen anybody quote the Koran so here goes.... "O mankind! We created you from a male and a female and made you into nations and tribes so that you may honour each other (not despise one another) . Indeed, the most honourable of you in the sight of God is the most righteous" and for all of you who will comment on the treatment of women (again, cultural) ... " (the man asked) 'Who is most deserving of companionship by me?' the prophet said 'your mother' the man asked 'who is next?' the prophet said 'your mother' the man asked 'who is next?' the prophet said 'your mother' the man asked 'who is next?' the prophet said 'your mother' the man asked a fourth time 'who is next?' the prophet said 'your father'" I can't remember if that is from the Koran or if it is a Hadith, nevertheless Islam should be based on the words of the Koran (terrorism comes from the misinterpretation of a few lines and by the way the best translation of Jihad is struggle) hence what i said about the stuff being culture, not so much Islam. |
| Huh? | May 8th. at 10:55:19 am EDT |
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Fuil Fitheach Sian (Missoula, Montana) - Email Me "Civilizing barbarians was an original aim of Islam." ...by having other barbarians with a more monotheistic religious complex murder them, enslave their wives and children and steal their lands? Exqueeze me? |
| I Found One More.... | May 8th. at 9:11:54 am EDT |
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Sea Raven (New Haven, Connecticut) - Email Me "If we were to wake up some morning and find that everyone was the same race, creed and color, we would find some other cause for prejudice by noon." George Aiken |
| To Put It Simply. . . . . | May 8th. at 6:38:30 am EDT |
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Emerald Tiger (Jamestown, North Dakota) - Email Me "The last time we mixed religion and politics, people were burned at the stake." The next best one is "What is RIGHT is not always POPULAR. What is POPULAR is not always RIGHT." |
| MY 2 CENTS | May 8th. at 5:08:49 am EDT |
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Whitewolf (Schenectady, New York) - Email Me Maybe that's why there is SO much alarm by the RR that people are LEAVING in droves, especially women.... I know a lot of people who have left xtianity behind, but they don't speak of it openly because of religious bullying. In a way it's sad and wrong, for how are the people doing the bullying going to know they are doing something wrong IF NOBODY TELLS THEM? I'm NOT afraid to say that I'm Pagan, and never will be. I say that xtianity has had it's proverbial "15 minutes of fame." Hell, it's had more than that! We in the Pagan community need to set the standard of NOT being the bully. But as another poster said, we need to be able to make critical judgements when we see them doing something wrong. Get up and take a stand. In the end, everyone will benefit from it. Love to all |
| In This Country... | May 8th. at 12:58:23 am EDT |
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kenneth (Des Plaines, Illinois) - Email Me We're headed in the right direction, but it might well get worse before it gets better. The good news is, the majority of people are starting to dissociate themselves from extremist religious agenda. The bad news is that those hard-core followers left behind sense the power shift, and they're terrified and angry beyond reason. They've grown very used to setting the national agenda for decades and getting almost unquestioned deference as the spokespeople for all people "of faith." The progress on gay marriage and a government that actually accepts plural values in their minds plays as oppression and end times. Even "mainstream" outfits like the RCC has grown crazier and angrier by the week. If you read the stuff about all the hysteria surrounding Obama's Notre Dame appearance, the statements of dozens of bishops sounds like the rhetoric you'd here in the Swat valley these days. Talk of holy war (supposedly metaphorical) , characterizing anyone who disagrees with them as "enemies of God" or "anti-life." Language that shows a raging contempt for democracy and civil society and a thinly veiled call for true believers to do "something" about it. They know they can't win, but they mean to fight a very ugly war of attrition on the way out. |
| The Worst Type Of Tyranny: Religious | May 7th. at 9:59:06 pm EDT |
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Karl (Detroit Metro, Michigan) - Email Me - Web As we know, the Taliban were recognized as the “legitimate” “government” of Afghanistan by Saudi Arabia, UAE and Pakistan. The sordid history of intimidation, atrocities, abominations, brutality, violence and murder perpetrated in the name of the “Abraham”ic god is well documented. There is of course, no greater dementia in existence anywhere, than that which is demonstrated by these types of extremist lunatics. Interestingly enough, a large portion of the myriad “Abraham”ic sects each claim to have the ”only true” dogma. The Taliban have murdered school teachers for teaching girls, executed people on mere suspicion of “adultery”, forbidden people to watch TV or listen to or even play the music of their own Cultural Heritage, and are guilty of some of the most egregious Human Rights abuses that we have ever witnessed. Freedom and Liberty of course, are non-existent under the abysmal bondage of their self-dictated “commandments”. THE RAWA PHOTO GALLERY: ( [Web LINK] ) TROP: ( [Web LINK] ) JIHADWATCH: ( [Web LINK] ) RELIGIOUS FUNDAMENTALISM, FEAR AND TERROR: ( [Web LINK] ) THEOCRACYWATCH ~ MONITORING THE AMERICAN TALIBAN: ( [Web LINK] ) Thomas Paine certainly nailed it with: “Of all the tyrannies that affect mankind, tyranny in religion is the worst; every other species of tyranny is limited to the world we live in; but this attempts to stride beyond the grave, and seeks to pursue us into eternity.” Freedom and Liberty must and WILL be preserved at any and ALL costs…. …..it won’t be cheap….. ~K |
| The Most Important Sentences... | May 7th. at 8:24:11 pm EDT |
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Dana Corby (Anderson Island, Washington) - Email Me for those who read WitchVox are these: "Young people today are taught not to be "judgmental," but without making critical judgments, how can we curtail threats to individual liberty? And amid such intellectual tapioca learning itself becomes irrelevant." |
| ... | May 7th. at 8:07:40 pm EDT |
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Draken (Bronx, New York) - Email Me - Web I've posted this before and I'll post it again: The sooner the human race realizes that every synagogue, church, and mosque on the planet are nothing more than crumbling façades, the better. |
| Justifying Evil..... | May 7th. at 6:23:30 pm EDT |
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bigcat (peoria, Illinois) - Email Me The greatest threat and the worst of mankind is often revealed in the name of something either religious or political. It can be found even in the bullying at school and permeates almost every aspect of every country. If you are not "us" you're "them" and not worthy of being considered human. We have had both religious and political witch hunts in this country when people were hounded for being Gay, another race, or of differing thoughts and beliefs either religious, scientific or political. It is heinous, when this evil is sanctioned by the government because then there is little if any protection against being a target and no justice to be had for wrongs committed. Religion or Politics in themselves may not be evil, but the greatest and most untenible crimes are often committed under their aegis in order to justify them. |
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