[wretched34]

Originally Posted by Textcritic

There is lots of inflammatory stuff in this thread.


You are wrong here on several counts.
In the first place, we don't yet know what the connection is between the perpetrator's religious beliefs and his condemnable actions.

It is this sort of statement that is the cause of much of the radical actions we see all over the world. "Because I don't know that you are right, you are obviously wrong" is all an unstable person needs to justify their actions.

Originally Posted by Textcritic

It may very well be a coincidence, and I would urge everyone to exercise some restraint in where they choose to direct the blame for this specific incident.

Yes, it may very well be a coincidence, and at no time did I say the accused's actions were because of his religion, because I don't for a second believe he committed these heinous crimes simply because he is muslim. My point was that religion (any religion) can be a powerful weapon in the wrong hands. All religions have radical followers, who can take scripture out of context in order to empower themselves to feel they are within their moral and religious rights to commit a crime. As was also pointed out, it is not only religion that has this effect.

Originally Posted by Textcritic

Second, you have made a statement about "what the religion (in this case, Islam) preaches," that I suspect originates from a straw man of Islam that you have constructed from your impressions of what the religion is about from watching the news and from horribly prejudicial stereotypes that are disseminated in popular western culture. If I am wrong, then please feel free to correct me. If I am right, then I further recommend that you abstain from making declarations about the intricacies of Islamic doctrine and theology.

Again, I do not blame Islam, or the muslim faith for the actions. I am familiar with the religion, and don't for a second believe it is what the media portrays it to be. Like most religions, it is built around faith and peace. It is the radical side, like all religions, that feel there is only one truth, and if you are a disbeliever you are wrong, and so will be punished. In the case of the Quran, Verse 8:12: Believers will be strengthened to cast terror into the hearts of disbelievers, by striking upon the necks, and every fingertip. It is scripture like this that radicals of all faiths feed off of, and cast a dark shadow over the vast majority of peaceful followers. However, you must admit, in recent years, it is the radical muslims that have taken center stage, and many of their actions have not helped the cause.

Originally Posted by Textcritic

Third, why do you believe that the assailant was performing "within his religious right"? Please enlighten us about the right that he was invoking in this instance to legitimise this heinous act.

I don't believe he was performing "within his religious right" I believe he is incredibly unstable, and justifying his own actions within himself based on his religious belief. So to himself, he felt he was within his moral and religious right, to do what he did.

Originally Posted by Textcritic

Fourth, you have also impugned Catholicism by suggesting that an appropriate Catholic response in this same incident would have been for him "to crucif[y] his victim(s) instead." What an outrageous assertion. What religious motivation would a Catholic have to murder his co-workers, and furthermore, why would it be sensible for a Catholic to crucify anyone?

I was simply stating, again, that any religion can be used as justification to commit a heinous act in the mind of an unstable individual. It gives them the ability to feel as though they are in the right, if they are following their god's order. Crucifixion was merely a lewd comparison. I don't believe religion is the motivation for the actions, merely a justification of the actions, in their own mind.

Originally Posted by Textcritic

I understand that people's feelings about religion are strong. And I understand that many people who have been harmed either directly or indirectly by their own religious experiences have absolutely valid reasons to be highly critical about what they perceive to be "religion." But these types of incredulous misrepresentations and fallacious projections about what religion is or is not, or how culpable it is or is not don't do anyone any good, and only end up further alienating a whole multitude of deeply sincere and commendable people who qualify as religious.

I really think you misunderstood my initial comments, at no time did I mean to blame a religion for the crime. Nor did I mean to misrepresent the muslim faith. However, the radicals of all religions can be blamed for doing so. They are the black mark on their beliefs. I have no issue with religion as a whole, and accept all peaceful followers, as friends, family, co-workers, whomever.