When will the Middle East become majority Atheist?

[abentwookie]

And in PNG women are often still burned alive because Christians there think "witches" are real.

Actually that's an ancient practice rooted in the tribal beliefs of Melanesians.

Yes. However, it is also been a practice shared by Christians in the past. When missionaries go to places like PNG and teach people about the bible, it just confirms what they already believe. Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live? Remember that verse? We should, considering that it was used as an excuse to kill many women, men and even children. This is what happens when you go to a country in which a large percentage of people who lack basic educations and start teaching them about witches, demons, devils, etc...

Here is an incident that happened this year. http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/ja...te-village

Scroll down to toward the bottom of the article. Notice where it says there was no history of this in the province (Enga, which is nearly all Christian) where it happened? Also notice the part where the Bishop is threatening excommunication for those who engage in this behavior. Now why would he be threatening them unless they were Christians?

Here is another interesting article.

http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/p...men-25108/

The past is irrelevant to me, what matters is the present. The amount of terrorism committed in the name of Islam is not comparable with any other religion. It is not our goal, obligation or preoccupation to educate Muslims or any other theists - It is the person's duty to learn how to live with secular law.

I think you are missing my point. One thing that bothers me about a lot of atheists right now is this narrow, laser-like focus on Islam, while dismissing what Christians and other religions do. I don't think it is wise to ignore the most powerful group (Christians) of people on the planet and focus entirely on a group that mostly inhabits third-world types of areas. As someone who lives in the U.S. it isn't the Muslim fundamentalists that I am worried about in my own country. They don't really have any power outside of the middle-east and I suspect that the clock is ticking as far as their power in certain parts of that area is concerned.

Anyway, as I said earlier, this basically comes down to a fallacy of relative privation. It isn't a good idea to ignore problems in your own back yard, just because they may be worse on your neighbor's property. That is exactly how problems grow.

I do agree with your last point but most of the countries with majorities of Christian and Muslim fundamentalist populations do not really have secular governments to begin with so I don't see how that applies. Educating people has always been the best weapon against any kind of extremism. Just telling people that they have to learn to do something a certain way isn't going to accomplish much. You actually have to help them understand WHY.

Also, your belief of poor people is disproved by the amount of Muslim men who hold bigoted views and got rich because of oil, etc. We already have immigrants in Europe, we have no need for more since it's difficult to simply employ our own people.

Actually, no, it does not. Also, I am referring to the majority of religious fundamentalism being caused by a lack of education and economic disparity. This is going to require a lengthy post so I will address it sometime tomorrow.

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Such as? And if you're willing to equate protesting for human rights as "violence" then be my guest. It's really not helping your argument because right now you're reaching for straws.

How about the protests in Egypt back in 2011? In Asyut a few thousand Copts attacked and destroyed the property of Muslim shop-owners.

Speaking of Egypt. Yes, the people of Egypt were in the streets rallying for their rights as well but many of those protesters also sexually assaulted multiple women. Should we ignore the bad things they do just because they also may be doing something good as well? I don't think so. You don't get a free pass to commit violent acts against other people just because you are fighting for your own rights.

The Copts in Egypt aren't denying religious freedom or trying to establish a Coptic Egyptian State. The Islamists are, however (with an Islamist Egypt of course). They even succeeded with the MB.

[quote]
Understand that even the Stonewall riots containted a lot of violence at the hands of gays, lesbians and drag queens. The rioting was triggered by constant police harassment and discrimination, among other things. I guess you will also condemn this landmark event in LGBT history.

I condemn acts of violence by anyone, for any reason. With the exception of self-defense or defending someone else of course. I hope you aren't suggesting that I should accept violent behavior even if I support the cause in question. I find that morally questionable to say the least.

If not, you're not consistent with your views and quite frankly a hypocrite.

There is no need for hostility or name-calling here.

Also, by comparing the Coptic Egyptian strive for equal human rights to Uganda's treatment of the LGBT community you're doing yourself a huge intellectual disfavor.

How so? Actually, I was comparing behavior. Trying to dismiss violent behavior just because the people are fighting for their rights is, as I said, morally questionable. However, my biggest issue is that you seem to be trying to cover up the violence as part of their fight for human rights.

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None of this, obviously, is meant to justify Muslim atrocities, but simply to point out that blind faith of any stripe has inherent dangers that can and do result in mass horror.

I agree. I definitely want to point out that I am not defending Muslim fundamentalism, which is something that some Atheists frequently accuse others of doing. I am just trying to get people to understand that Islam isn't the only religion that is a problem. If the situation were reversed and someone said that Christianity was worse than Islam, I would be arguing against that statement as well. Dismissing the horrible acts committed by one group of people just because another group may or may not do things that are worse, is a very dangerous game to play. While you're watching the second group, the first one could become just as bad right under your nose. As an Atheist in the United States, I definitely see Christianity as a far bigger threat than Islam. I do realize that the person who brought us to this conversation was specifically talking about the middle-east, but still....