Why I think Islam is dangerous.
Islam is a religion with over a billion followers who are in general peace loving people who follow a belief system that they hold dear. So how is it dangerous?
Firstly, to whom is it not dangerous? It is not dangerous to the vast majority of Muslims who profess their faith in Allah and submit to his will. It is not dangerous to people in non-Islamic states who do not conform to the teachings of Allah and who have secular law to protect them, so long as those laws remain in place.
But It is highly dangerous to those living in Islamic states who do not submit to the will of Allah. People who reject Islam and either change religion or become atheists (apostates). People who were brought up in other religions. People whose sexual identity is different to the standard male/female identity. Women in particular who are Muslim but do not accept the suppression that they must live under, whether it relates to choice of husband, divorce law, manner of dress etc.
The issue with stating that "Islam is a dangerous religion" is in the conflating of extreme elements of Islam and terrorist groups with a religion lived by 1.2 billion people.
I have never defended the rise of extreme Islamic sects. There are a danger to the world and a real menace to the moderate Islamic countries they are trying to undermine. But equating these elements with with the the beliefs of millions of people who completely disown them is wrong in every way.
We don't attempt to define the Jewish faith or Christianity by the extreme views of sects that use the cover of these religions to justify hate and vengeance. And there are enough of them to cause concern.
There is a good analysis of what extremist Islam groups look like and in particular the clear differentiation to Islamic teaching in Wikipedia.
You are deliberately ignoring what I wrote. I specifically excluded terrorist groups and concentrated on states that operate either fully or predominantly under Islamic law. This is what I wrote:
These are all Islamic states whose laws are based on Islam. We are not talking about ISIS, but nation states whose laws are barbaric in every sense of the world.
On a practical level I ask what sort of society would we have if Islam and it's believers were all treated as dangerous people ? Were the people who were murdered in Christchurch extremists ? Should our neighbors and friends, workmates and students , be seen as "dangerous " and treated as such ? What does such a society look like ?
You again ignore what I wrote in relation to its believers. This is what I wrote:
I am talking Islam the religion, not Muslims the people.
Australia has rules of behaviour around tolerance, respect , freedom of religion and abiding by the laws of our country. So we don't and shouldn't accept the discrimination that Bellenuit points out is a hallmark of countries governed by extreme Islamic groups. And these views are unacceptable in Australia because they attack the hallmarks of tolerance and respect we offer every citizen.
But this is where you completely miss the point. Most of the countries that I listed are not governed by extreme Islamic groups, but are nation states. These, apart from moderate Indonesia, are where the vast majority of Muslims live, and most of these states, if not all, are UN members, are represented in various UN bodies and are nations that we trade with on a regular basis. Unlike Australia, these Islamic states do not have rules of behaviour around tolerance, respect and freedom of religion that we have here in Australia.
That is why it is dangerous for those groups I have identified (as well as many others) to live there. It is secular law that protects us in the West from the extremes of any religious intolerance. But what we regard as secular law is extremely limited or non-existent in these countries. Islamic Law takes precedence mostly.
When the Christian woman who brought water to her fellow Muslim workmates was charged with blasphemy and sentenced to death for doing so, it was the limited secular law in Pakistan that freed her. But there were still shouts from the Mullahs for her to be put to death - on the basis that Islamic Law demands it.
If you think somehow that the Islamic states, which make up the majority of countries in which Muslims live, are misinterpreting Islam and most Muslims disagree with those strict laws, you might want to read some thorough research done by the very respected Pew Research. A snapshot of figures from 2 relatively moderate predominantly Muslim countries; Turkey and Indonesia; and one more extreme; Pakistan.
This survey relates to Muslims only living in those countries. In relation to Sharia Law (which according to certain Hadith texts prescribes the death penalty for Atheism, Homosexuality and Apostacy):
That Sharia Law is the revealed word of God; Turkey 49%, Indonesia 54% and Pakistan 81%.
That Sharia should be the law of the land; Turkey 12%, Indonesia 72% and Pakistan 84%
% among those who believe it should be the law of the land, that Sharia Law should apply to non-Muslims as well as Muslims; Turkey 43%, Indonesia 50% and Pakistan 34%
% among those who believe that Sharia should be the law of the land, that favour stoning as a punishment for Adultery; Turkey 29%, Indonesia 48% and Pakistan 89%
% among those who believe that Sharia should be the law of the land, that favour the death penalty as a punishment for Apostasy; Turkey 17%, Indonesia 18% and Pakistan 76%
So taking Indonesia as an example, we see that 72% of Muslims think Sharia should be the law of the land and of those 48% think adulterers should be stoned to death. That is 34% of Indonesian Muslims.
For Pakistan, 84% believe Sharia should be the law of the land and of those 76% believe apostates should be put to death. That means 64% of all Pakistan muslims believe apostates should be put to death.
You can see the full research here:
http://www.pewforum.org/2013/04/30/...ligion-politics-society-beliefs-about-sharia/
So not only are we talking about mainstream Islamic states and not the extremists, but the laws that are such a danger to those who do not conform have substantial support among the Muslims living there.
I think it will for ever be a shame of the righteous Left in the West that they ignored the plight of those living under Islam that either by choice or by accident of birth do not conform to the rules prescribed by Islam. Ex-Muslims who understand full well what is happening in Islamic states are being shouted down when the try to talk or show support for those being oppressed. The word Islamaphobia is used as a weapon to silence those with influence who have taken the time to understand Islam and speak out against its shameful oppression of certain groups. Their blind identity politics can only see white males as oppressors and anyone else by definition couldn't be so, so they gladly align with some of the most oppressive regimes in the world.