insulting religion

[Henia 11]

Esalaam (Peace) to all!

O snaps! And we had been accident (insult) free for how long now? I have been back for awhile now and I was happy to see the air was neutral and clear! O well!

My opinions:

• This is website based in the USA, where people have right to be 'free speech' even if that means hurting or insulting others.
• Since, no one was directly insulted so I "think" the TOS was not violated. But that is for Cap'tn to say!
• But even with this freedom, we should still as a general whole respect one another as human beings.
• I have never seen TamaralovesAdam insult anyone directly in regards to any matter, including religion. But that is my only my observation.
• Saddenly, how the religions of the Book clash so much. Cousins and neighbours of each ... hating/hurting so much!
• This site is obviously set by someone formerly hurt in some way by Islam or Muslims.
• Many agruements in the site, could go either way ... just a twisting of words.
• On the MENA forum here, most SO are Muslims ... the Christians and Jews are in the minority. So of course, they will backlash if there is any insulting remarks or acts.
• Christians and Jews are and have been 'attacked' in the same way all over the world. We donnot see this, since obviously in the USA Christians are in the majority. Muslims in the US (other places) are seen as 'different and strange' and Muslim wearing the labels of Islam are seen as "not intergrating". But in many countries you can see the same being done to non-Muslims. Recent stories just here in Algeria, where a women who converted to Christianity was enprisoned for 3 years.
• With everything in the media, or many actions of so-called Muslims, ooooooooof course Islam and Muslims will be attacked.
• Also many of the beatings, maiming, hanging shown in the site ... well are being done by peoples, whom I believe are just saying it is being done in the name of Islam ... but more to the false, sickening personal gains of little men in those oppressed countries. I myself, would not associate these acts to Islam but to misled Muslims.
• Everything is in the eye's of the beholder. What is good to you, may not be good to me. What is insulting to you, may not be to me!

And finally as many have said before ... You have always the option to not click on that button and just move on to another thread! The rest I leave to God ... I read the PM, read the thread and tried to make my peaceful comment. Let's just get along people! Fighting is not worth. We could be using all this energy for more productive matters.

[Nasturtium 500]

first of all i know that you Tamara have all rights to post whatever links you want to post .

but give me one reason why you post that kinda link which insult Islam???!!!!!!!

as you just saying ''isn't there alot of other things in this world to get mad about ?'' so why you did not post any links about one of those things. why just about Islam ?????

and let me tell you something here in Egypt we will not put anyone in prison cause of his religion . thats a lie we will not put anyone in prison cause he convert to Islam and we will not put anyone in prison cause he convert to Christianity.

most of people in USA or in the western countries say '' hey i live in free country,i pay my own bills ,i pay taxes so I'm free to say anything about anything''

i really am unsure if they know what the freedom is ?

you guys have to know that your freedom end when the freedom of other people start . which mean there are limits for your freedom .cause you are free it does not mean you can hurt other people feelings .

now let me tell you very basic thing

why Muslims respects other religions and at the same time some of non-Muslims say bad words about Islam and about the prophet MUHAMMED (PBUH)

we respect and love all of GOD's messengers we respect and love MOSES,JESUS,ABRAHAM,MUHAMMED......and we can't say any bad words about them . but sometimes you can see non-Muslims say bad words about the prophet MUHAMMED and say we are free to say what we want to say

one more thing WHY ISLAM?????????

why you did not post any links which insult Christianity Tamara ? why you did not post any links which insult judaism????????

ok all i want to say is Islam is not that bad as you think .Muslims are not that bad as you think

people in USA and in the western countries convert to Islam every single day do you think they convert to Islam cause its bad religion ? or do you think they convert to Islam cause the prophet MUHAMMED was bad ???????

as you just said Tamra maybe no one ask you about your opinion or about what you think ?

maybe thats bad cause they did not ask you. but i think you showed them your opinion by posted those links . cause i know you are adult and you know what you do .

i wish if you ask Muslims about anything that you don't understand in Islam so they might expline it to you instead of posting those bad links

She's probably not going to insult Christianity because she's Christian. She's also probably not going to insult Judaism because Christianity comes out of it.

Seriously you don't believe Egypt imprisions those who convert to another religion from Islam (such as the Bahais last year)? Do they also not imprision bloggers or political dissidents, etc?

[Nagishkaw 510]

After reading this entire thread, I think we should all thank many in advance for their contributions to love and hate and wish them a sloppy release from any blame merchants, even as we see them falling prey to their one size fit's all cliches. I think homage should be payed to every siggy while chilling out with the blow torch imitations.

[Mommy2ZaidnSalma 11]

I think its sad that in spite of the tragic week we had losing a dear sister, you all seem to STILL find the stupidest reasons to fight...Not everyone is a muslim, Not everyone is a Christian...WHO CARES!?!?!?! Tamara has never pointed fingers or directly insulted a member on this board (as far as i can remember) Now and Forever there will be religous disputes, accept it, get over it. I hold my deepest respect to Islam, as it is the religion of my husband and son, But I am not a muslim....just as everyone said, If i started a thread about Jesus, and bible versus, and how the only way to heaven is thru Jesus Christ himself, MANY people would be offended...Its old, this happens, oh, once every couple months here on VJ where someone gets sore over things like this....TO EACH THEIR OWN..if u dont like what Tamara said, BLOCK HER...

THERE WAS NO NEED TO START A 6 PAGE THREAD ON WHY SHE WAS WRONG, SHE HAS EVERY RIGHT TO POST WHAT SHE DID..EVERYONE IS ENTITLED TO THEIR OWN OPINIONS...

[crazyinEgypt 0]

Religious bashing is not something that will go away. As far as siggies go, I've seen it all on here as well as anti-christian. I seen numerous Islam related threads and very few Christianity threads and the Christian threads I have seen, got bashed so hard they eventually were closed and the members left the board. Why is that? Quite frankly I don't care what religion a person represents, but if you say your a Muslim and carry on poorly, what example are you? It is a peaceful religion, right? That goes for christians and any other religion you may represent. Tossing out verses for the Bible or Quran on threads is meaningless when I see the same persons representing their religion rip other members apart in other threads. It's not a contest on whose religion is the best here on an immigration forum.

Tamara, does your husbands family and friends in Egypt know he converted? Do you plan on visiting Egypt in the future? Won't this cause problems? We've had this discussion before and I was told that anyone that converts in another country may be put in prision, forced to convert back it Islam and even killed when they return back to Egypt. Ahhhhhh yes, Islam, the peaceful religion.

[mybackpages 0]

Tamara,

I understand totally how upset you are from the experiences you have. No one should accept the condition of inequity and injustice that we see in the Muslim world. But in trying to educate people about it or bring awareness to the situation, why select a website designed to promote hate rather than dialogue? The corruption in the Muslim world has nothing to do with the teachings of Islam anymore than the corruption in the US has anything to do with Christianity.

For the rest of the board- you really do not have as much freedom of speech as you think. And the speech that is protected by the first amendment is only protected from government action. You boss, your landlord, this website or any other non-government body can restrict your speech all they want without violating the law.

[Nagishkaw 510]

I conclude this all stemmed from a neurotic busy-body who chose to make it it's business, yet failing to master the intricacies of true poo flinging, expressing personal outrage in a PM to Tamara over a link in her siggy. Duh! When will it realize that shock therapy never works? Too sad. Too bad.

[~PalmTreeGurl~ 154]

Won't this cause problems?[/b] We've had this discussion before and I was told that anyone that converts in another country may be put in prision, forced to convert back it Islam and even killed when they return back to Egypt. Ahhhhhh yes, Islam, the peaceful religion.

hello dear, and yes Im sure it will cause problems. We have no intention on going back for a long time . His mother and now deceased father knows he converted and they were happy with him bcz his life changed and became a completely different person. Its the police in Egypt that harrassed him, spyed on him, and was going to put him in prision, they knew he was coming here to me in the US and the withheld the government paperwork that he needed to get here. The only day they left him alone was on our wedding day. So to the one who said people dont go to prision for converting, you said the wrong thing... you never walked a mile in Adams shoes in Egypt.

[Ban Hammer 13,283]

I do wonder though if someone posted a link such as this about <insert another religion> would it be tolerated by the TOS?

People trash Christians and Christianity all the time on VJ and it is not a violation of TOS-- or if it is, it is not enforced.

bashing christianity is quite common in ot.

I have noticed that it is like a fashion in America to bash on Islam. Me being the only muslim in my family I recieve a lot of problems from my Christian family members. I don't take it personally. In fact I feel sorry for them that they chose to remain ignorant and not at least broaden their horizens to understand other faiths and beliefs. This isn't just Islam, but any religion. It never hurts to be open minded and except others regardless of their beliefs.

As for the people that trash on Christianity on VJ. It may not be against the rules, but that doesn't mean people don't get offended or not say anything about it.

People in America trash every religion. Did you ever see the billboard of Jesus drinking the beer of his choice? Had that happened in Islam all hell would have broke loose. Christians have been bashed on forever but I guess most have a thicker skin to it now. Bashing on Islam is a fairly recent thing.

bash either one equally and i'd bet that the islam bashing gets mod/ewok action first.

[~Jackie~ 30]

Just when I invite 100 outsiders to our forum to see how much we support and love each other, they will walk into this. Great.

Yesterday we buried a very loved member of this forum. If trifiling ,,and i did mean trifiling is what ya'll wanna do then feel free. But give me one minute to share what I saw yesterday and if ya want to keep this going,,,then keep on til its locked.

Yesterday I went to a funeral for a Christian woman married to a Muslim man. We greived together, we held hands and cried together, Christian and Muslim. There was no differences in religion yesterday. There was common sense people coming together. After the service, I sat in a restaurant with the 2 families. A church of latter day saint minister sitting next to Ali the cab driver. We broke bread and talked about country differences, food differences.

Seeing this explosive thread saddens me all over again. I had REALLY hoped, REALLY HOPED that when Dawns mother, brother Scott and sister Shannon came here they would see a kinder, gentler MENA. Come on, a signature link? Don't get your panties ruffled over a link. Live is wayyyyyyyyyyyyy to short for that. It doesn't matter does it? Not really.

Jackie

[Ban Hammer 13,283]

My opinions:

his is website based in the USA, where people have right to be 'free speech' even if that means hurting or insulting others.

it's not based in the usa, it's hosted in singapore.

Edited June 22, 2008 by charlesandnessa

[mybackpages 0]

Won't this cause problems?[/b] We've had this discussion before and I was told that anyone that converts in another country may be put in prision, forced to convert back it Islam and even killed when they return back to Egypt. Ahhhhhh yes, Islam, the peaceful religion.

It's called hypocrisy. Muslims are not immuned to it, but it has nothing to do with the religion. Islam does not cause nor promote this behavior.

[Zee Bee 61]

I am one of those that was made aware of the link in question by PM. I went to it, read a little, cringed and then exited. It doesn't bother me because:

1. I normally do not look at links in signatures anyway. The only links I click on are the ones to Myspace or personal websites

2. Its not the first time I have heard/been told these things.

3. I follow my own advice "You don't have to read everything that is put in front of your face".

4. Everyone is entitled to their opinion.

While I don't think the link is something that should be promoted in the least, it is up to whoever is posting it to decide what they want. Far be it from me to dictate what someone should and should not spread on the internet. Surely it is not the only website out there insulting Islam. So what? I have more important things to do than to worry about some website in a siggie.

Edited June 22, 2008 by ZeeNusah

[sara..... 371]

You know the 4th of July is fast coming........our independence day is what made it possiable for my mom to adopt any nationality of child with out fear of reprisals........and the other that touches our daily life's is the right to practice what ever religion that we make the choice of ..........it also is suppose to give us freedom of speech......."as long as it is not insulting or derogatory"

I see some speak of how other religions are treated in other countries.......i have lived in some of those countries........sure some of the countries treat non Muslims badly........ but the general human rights issues are just as bad as the treatment of the non Muslims for all the people not just the non Muslims.........

now let me tell u of our treatment in the usa that has an independence day to give us freedom

Adoption of different nationalities with out fear of reprisal:......two of my sisters are full black we have been insulted from the black community and the white.....for giving a loving home to children that would have spent their life in foster care in Alabama........the right to religion.......every time we land in the USA we are treated like second class citizens........last 4th of July we went to watch the fireworks.......a group of men decided it was their duty to spit on us and demand that we leave the celebration because after all we are not true Americans thanks to God there was some very nice people that came to our aid and after a very embarrassing time they where made to leave......they also felt their right to free speech had been violated.........are u starting to get the point im trying to make here????

Everyone has their own horror story for what ever religion they practice or what ever country they live in.......but u should never decide that one group of people is worse than the other or one religion is worse than the other based on a few people.........there is good and bad in all....... and HATE should NEVER be spread no matter what justification u feel u have

ok thats it im ready for the fall out

sara

[KarenCee 3]

I know most of you (if not all of you) do not know who I am...I read this forum a lot lately and I certainly don't mean to intrude. I'm at the point in my life that I do not know what I believe. I've seen EVERY religion/belief bashed...not just on VJ. You have the independent fundies...they bash EVERYONE. You have Catholics, Southern Baptists, Hindu, Buddhists (sp?), athiests, agnostics, Muslims, polygamists (FLDS)....oh I could go on and on...all these religions/beliefs bash everyone else, claiming to be the ONLY path to follow. For me...and please keep in mind this is only MY OPINION...this is why I have such a hard time finding the right path to follow. I'm Native American by virtue of my parents, although I am not full blooded. I can't even find one of my own ancestry to guide me! I'm floundering...and all I can see is everyone being judgmental of everyone else. Yet I crave something to believe in...

*sigh* Why would anyone want to follow ANYTHING or ANYONE if this is all there is?