Atheist on Minority Religions
Dec. 6th, 2009 12:59 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
skull_bearerI don't make any secret of being a fairly vocal atheist, I don't believe in god, I think believing in the three major religions are morally bankrupt (Christianity becuase of the notion of hell, Judaism because the old testament is all kinds of fucked up, Islam because... yeah). However, though I have the deepest respect for Richard Dawkins, the front man for atheism I identify the most with would probably Christopher Hitchins. Partly it's the deliviery, I don't do nice. I don't do patient. If you are speaking bullshit I will not wait for you to finish. And since religion is by its very definition bullshit you won't be getting a word in edgeways ;-)
One of the things that interests me about Hitchins is his view on minority religions. He reacts to them as virulently if not more so than he does to Xianity. One of my favourite videos on Youtube is of him ripping a Rabbi a new arsehole over male circumcision, which if you sit down and think about it for five, is totally fucked up. It's a bit awkward for me to talk about Judaism, seeing as I get a headache if I critisise it with one side (three guesses) cheering, and the other side booing, and then a massive fight. And then there's the fact that as they're not a prolyising (sp) religion it removes one thing I consider a big turn off. On the other hand, they're as screwed up as the rest of the religious folk, more so really, so it mostly come across as just plain weird but not my problem.
Israel is another matter. Israel is fucked up.
However, Hitchins seems to reserve his real bile for Islam, to the point where I'm nearly feeling uncomfortable because I've been ingrained to view Islamic people are a race rather than a bunch of people holding the same belief. He isn't racist, that much I'm pretty much certain of. He just really hates the religion. Now, I don't know much about the religion myself, I haven't had the same exposure to it as I have to Xianity. But what I've seen... well.
The problem is, as I think I've said in another post, is not the majority, but the fundementalists. Now, Xian fundies will shout at me. Jewish fundies will ignore me. Islamic fundies are - Holy Shit! Trying to kill me!
Yeah.
Now, I'm in the UK, and there's a lot of stuggle with the Islamic immigrant population, and unfortunately a lot of good points are being lost under the banner of Daily Fail racist ranting. Now, take Sharia courts. I know we have Jewish courts (and frankly I think we shouldn't, but that's another rant), and I'm not usually a believer in the 'slippery slope' argument. Often it's nothing of a the sort and giving a religious minorty the rigth the own courts shouldn't mean that they'll try and push their laws on the rest of us.
Except for the fact that, y'know that's exactly what they'll SAID they'll do. It's not a slippery slope argument when the subject is gung-ho to race straight down that slippery slope.
Now, this could be because of the policy in Iraq and Afganistan, and here is where I disagee with Mr Hitchins, he thinks the invasion of Iraq was justified. Well maybe it was if you believe the goal was freeing the Iraqi people from a admitted vile dictator. My problems with it is that a) Bush lied to his own people and b) bombing people to liberate them is a fucking shitty way of going about it and is making things worse. And there's, well, I wouldn't call it patriotism, but there's a reason I don't want to go anywhere near somewhere like Iran. Yes, I do think my country is better than theirs. I get away with more here. I have more fun here than I would there. I don't have to wear a fucking tent when I go out here. I have more rights. So when I hear those sick fucks talking about exporting Sharia law here I want to do everything in my power to stop that happening. Shit there's a reason why I had nightmares of dying and being reincarnated as a Muslim.
Okay, a little disclaimer here. I don't consider Muslims as a race, I consider them as I do Christians; a group of ethnically diverse people who subscribe to a system of belief I find abhorrent. If they kept that system of belief to themselves, like Jews do, then I'll have a bit more time for them. As it is, I wish they'd fuck right off.
I'm also not opposed to immigration, how could I be? I'm an immigrant myself! If the BNP got in I'd be out on my ear (if they got in I'd been already packed up and moving to the continent). It's a fairly cool country. Not as cool as Denmark or Finland of course, but then they're the Chuck Norris of cool countries, but if people want to come here and turn into Iran with shittier weather, they can go back to where they came from.
Also, I don't belief in the birthrate myth the Islamic fundies are crowing about, that one's been trumpeted by racists so much it's impossible to take seriously (although it's a bit of a shock to find a group using it against themselves, WTF?). It's like Christians saying that they are having more babies than atheists and thus we'll be bred out. LOL. Religion isn't genetic, no matter what Hitler said.
One of the things that interests me about Hitchins is his view on minority religions. He reacts to them as virulently if not more so than he does to Xianity. One of my favourite videos on Youtube is of him ripping a Rabbi a new arsehole over male circumcision, which if you sit down and think about it for five, is totally fucked up. It's a bit awkward for me to talk about Judaism, seeing as I get a headache if I critisise it with one side (three guesses) cheering, and the other side booing, and then a massive fight. And then there's the fact that as they're not a prolyising (sp) religion it removes one thing I consider a big turn off. On the other hand, they're as screwed up as the rest of the religious folk, more so really, so it mostly come across as just plain weird but not my problem.
Israel is another matter. Israel is fucked up.
However, Hitchins seems to reserve his real bile for Islam, to the point where I'm nearly feeling uncomfortable because I've been ingrained to view Islamic people are a race rather than a bunch of people holding the same belief. He isn't racist, that much I'm pretty much certain of. He just really hates the religion. Now, I don't know much about the religion myself, I haven't had the same exposure to it as I have to Xianity. But what I've seen... well.
The problem is, as I think I've said in another post, is not the majority, but the fundementalists. Now, Xian fundies will shout at me. Jewish fundies will ignore me. Islamic fundies are - Holy Shit! Trying to kill me!
Yeah.
Now, I'm in the UK, and there's a lot of stuggle with the Islamic immigrant population, and unfortunately a lot of good points are being lost under the banner of Daily Fail racist ranting. Now, take Sharia courts. I know we have Jewish courts (and frankly I think we shouldn't, but that's another rant), and I'm not usually a believer in the 'slippery slope' argument. Often it's nothing of a the sort and giving a religious minorty the rigth the own courts shouldn't mean that they'll try and push their laws on the rest of us.
Except for the fact that, y'know that's exactly what they'll SAID they'll do. It's not a slippery slope argument when the subject is gung-ho to race straight down that slippery slope.
Now, this could be because of the policy in Iraq and Afganistan, and here is where I disagee with Mr Hitchins, he thinks the invasion of Iraq was justified. Well maybe it was if you believe the goal was freeing the Iraqi people from a admitted vile dictator. My problems with it is that a) Bush lied to his own people and b) bombing people to liberate them is a fucking shitty way of going about it and is making things worse. And there's, well, I wouldn't call it patriotism, but there's a reason I don't want to go anywhere near somewhere like Iran. Yes, I do think my country is better than theirs. I get away with more here. I have more fun here than I would there. I don't have to wear a fucking tent when I go out here. I have more rights. So when I hear those sick fucks talking about exporting Sharia law here I want to do everything in my power to stop that happening. Shit there's a reason why I had nightmares of dying and being reincarnated as a Muslim.
Okay, a little disclaimer here. I don't consider Muslims as a race, I consider them as I do Christians; a group of ethnically diverse people who subscribe to a system of belief I find abhorrent. If they kept that system of belief to themselves, like Jews do, then I'll have a bit more time for them. As it is, I wish they'd fuck right off.
I'm also not opposed to immigration, how could I be? I'm an immigrant myself! If the BNP got in I'd be out on my ear (if they got in I'd been already packed up and moving to the continent). It's a fairly cool country. Not as cool as Denmark or Finland of course, but then they're the Chuck Norris of cool countries, but if people want to come here and turn into Iran with shittier weather, they can go back to where they came from.
Also, I don't belief in the birthrate myth the Islamic fundies are crowing about, that one's been trumpeted by racists so much it's impossible to take seriously (although it's a bit of a shock to find a group using it against themselves, WTF?). It's like Christians saying that they are having more babies than atheists and thus we'll be bred out. LOL. Religion isn't genetic, no matter what Hitler said.
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Date: 2009-12-06 08:10 pm (UTC)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quiverfull
Dude, no LOL. That shit's scary. o_0