The Issue of Islamic Conservatism

[Leonardo17]

Alan V:
 
1) I don’t believe that being an atheist you will lose your soul or anything like that. I don’t see God as a cosmic persona either. I like to define it as The Ultimate Reality that is the creative force behind the universe that is described (in most mystical traditions including Sufism) as being accessible by all men equally because it is an inner phenomenon more than some Superior creature living in some inaccessible place like Mount Olympus in the ancient Greek tradition
 
2) I gave a kudo to this one. A decade or so ago I would simply disengage from the type of “believers” both of us have mentioned in this thread. But in my case, there was a point in which I decided to break my silence. And that’s because of this:
 
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/fiI3FDH3l...ture=share
 
You have probably heard about the Sumud Flotilla that left Spain to carry humanitarian aid to Gaza. Most of the activists in that flotilla have a “welcome them all” policy for any would be participants. Yet if you click on the link provided above you will see that the Turkish “activists” are all political Islamist. In the video they are shouting anti-Israeli and pro-Hamas slogans. These are the guys who want to overthrow the secular Republic in Turkey. And actually they are the guys Israelis are fighting. If you go to Gazza with this type of people on board Israel will intensify its strikes instead of decreasing them. That’s their arch-nemesis if you like. They are like fire and gunpowder. So the whole effort is failing because of them. That’s the type of people who want no Israel at all.
 
Anyway. So seeing the negative aspects of religion is a good thing. Being scientific minded and looking for observation and verifiable facts instead of believing the word of this or that wise person or divine scripture is even better.
 
But there is no harm in trying to understand some aspects of religion (any religion) is also important in our time. You can be an atheist and still ask to the perpetrators of 9/11 “What part of the scripture saying ‘Thou Shalt not kill’ did you somehow manage to miss?”
 
And again, you cannot count on these guys to bring us peace in the Middle-East. With today’s mass media + Internet + education levels I need to see better approaches on this and other issues. And I will keep criticizing anyone who fails to do so.
 
  How is it possible that Gandhi who lived 77 years ago in India understood all I am saying but today’s grown-ups are meeting the activists of the Sumud Flotilla and all that they have is “Death to Israel” and “Long live Hamas”?
 
And that’s just me: I do get frustrated when I see things like that. I do expect 21st century people to be more like 21st century people. That’s all