Are all religions equally harmful? (Islam)
February 15, 2015 at 11:14 pm
(This post was last modified: February 15, 2015 at 11:17 pm by Dystopia.)
Sometimes this question bugs my mind. Atheists criticize religion, but we don't criticize all religion equally. If you asked me which is the most criticized religion by atheists I would answer (without a fucking doubt) Islam. For American atheists criticizing Christianity seems like a civil rights necessity and I completely understand the cause. But let's get the facts straight:
- If we simply look at the wikipedia page about terrorist groups and organizations we will see that the majority of them are Islamic based (there are also separatist, communist and white supremacist ones). Islam is undoubtedly the most harmful religion in the world nowadays. You don't need to be a genius to realize this, if someone decided to claim today that Mohammed spoke to him that person would be labelled as clinically insane
Answer to my own question:
- I don't think all religions are equally harmful - I recognize some cause more harm and need larger criticism or counter-attacks. My priority is to criticize Islam since in my country the number of Catholics is progressively decreasing and I don't have to deal with many religious nuts in positions of power.
I think atheists can and should criticize all religions, and every individual person can set up his/her own priorities. But make no mistake, some religions are way worse. Islam, at least Islamic terrorism, is our higher priority right now.
The west's failure to acknowledge the fact Islamic terrorism is due to religion and not exceptional mentally handicapped incorrect and twisted ideologies perpetuated by crazy people has to end. If you interview a Jihadist or a guy from Al-Qaeda you'll see that religion is what motivates them, it's all about religion, it's not about excessively violent people - Muslim terrorists rationalize their behaviour and think they are 100% right, and their ideology is based on Islamic holy books (Quran, Sharia and others).
Don't bring the argument that Christianity was bad with the crusades and the inquisition - I don't care about the past right now, we have managed to domesticate Christianity (Catholicism at least, and Anglicanism, Lutheranism and Calvinism) and even if we compared the Christian theocracies with the average Muslim country, the latter still wins the contest of Who's more harmful?. I know that in the US there are problems with Christianity that should be actively fought, and it's a pressing concern. But do you want to compare the Westboro Baptist Church with Islamic terrorists? Shit, even the KKK and the European Hammerskins/Aryan Brotherhood seem weak. This isn't meant to imply you can't solve problems in the US related to a lack of secularism but Islam is still the world's most harmful religion and it's something that can be objectively measured.
What do you think? Is my reasoning correct? If you answered no (Like I'm doing), then what are your priorities? Which religion is worse and which is more harmful to you?
Final thoughts - I think all religions are equally false and I can't stress this one enough, but there are so many false claims in the world to fight against that we ought to worry about harmful false viewpoints. Islam is one example, but I don't allow Christianity to get a pass. Buddhism also gets the occasional criticism when shit happens. Judaism goes unnoticed and should get a bit more of criticism, particularly in Israel. (I'm not talking about Jewish culture and ethnicities, only about Judaism as a religion regardless of the practitioner's race)
- If we simply look at the wikipedia page about terrorist groups and organizations we will see that the majority of them are Islamic based (there are also separatist, communist and white supremacist ones). Islam is undoubtedly the most harmful religion in the world nowadays. You don't need to be a genius to realize this, if someone decided to claim today that Mohammed spoke to him that person would be labelled as clinically insane
Answer to my own question:
- I don't think all religions are equally harmful - I recognize some cause more harm and need larger criticism or counter-attacks. My priority is to criticize Islam since in my country the number of Catholics is progressively decreasing and I don't have to deal with many religious nuts in positions of power.
I think atheists can and should criticize all religions, and every individual person can set up his/her own priorities. But make no mistake, some religions are way worse. Islam, at least Islamic terrorism, is our higher priority right now.
The west's failure to acknowledge the fact Islamic terrorism is due to religion and not exceptional mentally handicapped incorrect and twisted ideologies perpetuated by crazy people has to end. If you interview a Jihadist or a guy from Al-Qaeda you'll see that religion is what motivates them, it's all about religion, it's not about excessively violent people - Muslim terrorists rationalize their behaviour and think they are 100% right, and their ideology is based on Islamic holy books (Quran, Sharia and others).
Don't bring the argument that Christianity was bad with the crusades and the inquisition - I don't care about the past right now, we have managed to domesticate Christianity (Catholicism at least, and Anglicanism, Lutheranism and Calvinism) and even if we compared the Christian theocracies with the average Muslim country, the latter still wins the contest of Who's more harmful?. I know that in the US there are problems with Christianity that should be actively fought, and it's a pressing concern. But do you want to compare the Westboro Baptist Church with Islamic terrorists? Shit, even the KKK and the European Hammerskins/Aryan Brotherhood seem weak. This isn't meant to imply you can't solve problems in the US related to a lack of secularism but Islam is still the world's most harmful religion and it's something that can be objectively measured.
What do you think? Is my reasoning correct? If you answered no (Like I'm doing), then what are your priorities? Which religion is worse and which is more harmful to you?
Final thoughts - I think all religions are equally false and I can't stress this one enough, but there are so many false claims in the world to fight against that we ought to worry about harmful false viewpoints. Islam is one example, but I don't allow Christianity to get a pass. Buddhism also gets the occasional criticism when shit happens. Judaism goes unnoticed and should get a bit more of criticism, particularly in Israel. (I'm not talking about Jewish culture and ethnicities, only about Judaism as a religion regardless of the practitioner's race)
Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you
