RE: I feel like the Left have failed to address Islam
April 4, 2015 at 6:10 pm
(This post was last modified: April 4, 2015 at 6:14 pm by Pyrrho.)
(April 4, 2015 at 5:55 pm)TheMessiah Wrote: Racism by definition is discrimination on the basis of race/colour of skin. Criticism of Islam has never been racist and it never will. Me saying that Islam, like Christianity is a barbaric, savage and intolerant death cult is not racist. It's my opinion on an ideology.
Is there bigotry towards Muslims as people? Yes. That exists. It's not racist, but it's vile. For example, if I said to ''you dirty Muslims'' --- that would be insulting, rude and vile. It could for example, offend Pakistani Muslims, but it would not directly be offending Pakistani Christians. What would be racist is saying ''you Pakistanki's are stupid and inferior'' --- this is a vile attack on Pakistani's regardless of religion.
It is racist when the moron who is bigoted against all Muslims imagines that all Muslims are brown-skinned and form a racial group.
Bigots are often not the brightest people, and so they tend to mix things together in ways that do not reflect reality (which, of course, explains their bigotry).
But you are right that someone who understands that Islam is a religion and not a race would not be racist for hating Islam. But why you use Pakistani as an example is very unclear. Pakistani isn't a race, either. It is a nationality. So your example of being bigoted toward Pakistanis is not an example of racism, unless the bigot is confused and imagines it is. Then the bigot's attitude would be racist, but bigotry against Pakistanis is not essentially racist. It can only reasonably be thought of as racism if the bigot is confused about the matter.
"A wise man ... proportions his belief to the evidence."
— David Hume, An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, Section X, Part I.
