Theres a fair bit of comment in the press about Islam being synonymous with violent extremism. Theres no doubt that the people who did the shootings in France were muslims so if you think of muslims as a set and draw a Venn diagram then these people were a subset of the larger set called Muslims. Therefore Muslims have a problem. Makes sense. And its nice and comfortable for those of us who arent Muslims. Not so great for most Muslims though. What if we widened the Venn diagram to religious people. Muslims are certainly a subset of the larger religious people set. You could then make the same argument about religion. All of these people are claiming to do these acts of violence in the name of God - true. Religion has a problem. - sorted! What are we going to do about the problem of religion? Should we ban it? Kick all the religious people out of the country? Doesnt bother me - Im an atheist! I havent heard the Archbishop of Canterbury or the Pope, as religious people, appologising for all these terrorists attacks done in the name of God. Are they part of the problem? Why arent they accepting their responsibility? Clearly theres something inherently violent in religion. Its been used to justify untold wars and violence over the centuries. Sound a bit (completely) unfair? Ridiculous even? Thats because it is. And its completely unfair to lump all Muslims together and expect them to be more proactive than any other people who have nothing to do with terrorism. Imagine how youd feel if you, as a religious person of the Christian or Buddist persuasion, were being held partially responsible for terrorism. Thats probably how a lot of Muslims feel about being lumped in with terrorists and constantly asked to appologise etc. It must be frustrating and isolating over time.
Posted on: Tue, 13 Jan 2015 09:40:06 +0000
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