A Simple Rule

[DeistPaladin]

But you are a bigot if you oppose Germans because some of them were/are Nazis. Being a Muslim is more akin to being a German than to Nazi ideology.

NO!
IT'S!
NOT!

Islam is a belief, not a race. Every Muslim can become an ex-Muslim. Sweet Reason, why is this such a point of controversy?

When you say you can't have that discussion without being silenced, you're being disengenuous. It seems to be some kind of code for 'I can't make over-broad generalizations without being called on them and no way am I going to be more specific'.

No, as soon as you start the conversation, people pre-emptively scream you're painting with a broad brush and being prejudiced against an entire people. The recent Affleck-Harris discussion is the perfect example. Harris did specifically open the discussion with "Islamic theocracy". This is specific to extremists and Islamists. Affleck ignored this distinction and accused him of being racist against a billion people, trying to shout him down (and thus proved Harris' point).

Islamic extremism.

Or just plain Islam, at least in its current incarnation.

The Islam in a previous incarnation, pre-Crusades, seemed to promote science and learning. Why is that? What changed? How do we change it back? I'd like to have this conversation.

That's hardly always the case. People openly criticize Islam all the time without serious consequence. Your list is infinitesimal compared to the list of people who have openly criticized Islam without having to go into hiding or receiving a single threat.

Can you cite any examples? "A single threat" and the implication that this list is exhaustive compared to those killed or threatened is quite a claim.

I wonder if the correlation between the danger you're in for not conforming to the majority ideology or religion has more to do with whether your country is an undeveloped mess than exactly which ideology or religion is on top?

An interesting question. There are plenty of poor, undeveloped countries that are non-Muslim in majority that we can compare to test this hypothesis. I'll wager the Abrahamic religions are more violent and less tolerant since ideology has everything to do with what kind of behavior I expect.

If you make their scriptures the problem, reform is impossible.

I wish I had the power to make their scriptures anything. The question is are their scriptures the problem?

It's not an excuse. It's a literal fact that the Muslims who are terrorists are radicals. You're the one who seems to have a problem with that fact.

I don't have a problem with that fact. I keep saying, "show me the radicals of a religion and I'll show you the teachings of that religion".

If any group in a religion IS the religion, it's the majority.

Not necessarily. Fred Phelps doesn't represent a majority of Christians but he does understand what scripture says. Most Christians don't. Most Christians have never actually read the Bible.

So which group represents an ideology? One man who knows it and fully embraces it or ten people who kind of believe in something like it sort of in a way?