Over-generalisation
We shouldn’t blame Islam for ISIS, or Hamas, or Al’Qaeda, or even the countries: Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Iran. It’s easy to, when the media place emphasis on the fact that these countries are ‘Muslim’ countries.
However, we talk about Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Iran as though they’re the only three Muslim countries on the planet. We talk about groups like ISIS as though they’re extremists, but the countries aren’t, ‘that’s just how they are in that country, it’s not extremism, it’s their religion that females should be treated unequally’.
This is incorrect.
We should place ISIS and the above three countries into the same category of ‘extreme’. Stoning, beheading, FGM and general mistreating of women is extreme, it’s bad, and it doesn’t belong in the 21st century. But just because these groups and these three countries do this, we can’t just say: ‘That’s how Muslims are’, because it’s not, that’s just how ISIS are, just how Saudi Arabia etc. are.
Also, it’s strange how Saudi Arabia, an ally to Britain, have beheaded 19 people during the time ISIS have beheaded 4, and we don’t hear about it on the news. This is because Saudi Arabia are a TRADE INTEREST. What they are doing is just as extreme, if not more so, than ISIS.
There are 49 Muslim countries. 3/49 is 6.1%. Therefore, what is being done when we blame Islam for what these three countries are doing, we are blaming 1.5 billion people for acts that around 289 million are doing. This is 19.3% of the Muslims that inhabit the world that we blame 100% of the Muslims for.
It is therefore clear that Islam isn’t the problem, it’s these countries and their government.
Does Religion Promote Violence?
Religion doesn’t necessarily promote violence OR peace. It helps you along your path in life, so if you’re a violent person, you’ll still be violent, but you’ll feel you may be able to justify it, (but a violent person would surely still be violent whether he has justification or not, the justification just makes him feel better about himself). If you’re a peaceful person, then religion will guide you through your peaceful life.
There are Buddhists in Myanmar slaughtering women and children at the moment.
There are countries in Africa, which are Christian countries, that perform FGM - Eritrea has almost a 90% FGM rate, Ethiopia has a 75% FGM rate.
Is Buddhism an ideology that stereotypically promotes violence? Is Christianity a religion that stereotypically promotes violence? So we know that it’s people who can be violent, or governments which can be violent. Religion shouldn’t even come into it.
Even if they try justifying their acts because of their religion, that isn’t relevant. As an atheist, let’s say I killed someone and said: ‘I’m allowed to, because I don’t believe in God and therefore don’t need to feel compassionate’. For one, this would be a problem of law, not religion. Two, would you therefore say all atheists are bad because I justified my murder with my atheism, therefore every atheist can justify murder? And three, would atheists agree that we don’t need to feel compassionate just because of the absence of our belief in a God?
Religion isn’t a cause for good or bad, it’s a guide for whatever you want to be. Whether you have religion or not, you can be a good person, or you can be a bad person. I don’t blame the American government’s religion/religions for their murderous acts of bombing civilians and lying to its citizens, and countless other things, I blame the American government. I don’t blame ISIS or Saudi Arabia’s religion for their murderous acts and backward ways, I blame ISIS and Saudi Arabia.
Stop painting the majorities with the same brush you paint the minorities with, that’s bigotry, and not compassionate, which is counterproductive when we’re aiming for a strong and beautiful society.
Take care,
ARK Walton
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