Islamic anger

[Ubon]

I have debated Christians, hindus, sikhs etc

However i have found muslims are quick to anger in what should be a normal conversation if you disagree or express an opinion contrary to there belief.

They will happily explain why Buddha came from the devil, but if you give your opinion on Muhammad you can see they would kill you if given half a chance.

 

[Evangelicalhumanist]

I have debated Christians, hindus, sikhs etc

However i have found muslims are quick to anger in what should be a normal conversation if you disagree or express an opinion contrary to there belief.

They will happily explain why Buddha came from the devil, but if you give your opinion on Muhammad you can see they would kill you if given half a chance.

I think you are tarring too many individual Muslims with that one brush.

 

[Jeremiahcp]

Maybe they are quick to anger because of how you stereotype them.

 

[Vinayaka]

I've seen anger in all faiths. Perhaps the likelihood varies faith by faith though. Do you think its fair to say really angry people wouldn't be on this forum, or get themselves banned?

 

[Quintessence]

Issues of stereotyping aside, let's consider something for a moment here.

Of the religions that are a topic of conversation in English speaking cultures, which are demonized more than any other? Which is the subject of more misinformation, scorn, and ire? Now consider for a moment that you're a member of these religions that are so ill-spoken of. How would that make you feel? Might you *gasp* be a little bit angry about it and sick of hearing that crap? Perish the thought...

Were I a Muslim, I'd be ticked off too. Hell, I'm ticked off for them. It wouldn't take much for the bullseye to swerve to a religious minority like myself. And being the rear end of every criticism is awful.

 

[YmirGF]

I have debated Christians, hindus, sikhs etc

However i have found muslims are quick to anger in what should be a normal conversation if you disagree or express an opinion contrary to there belief.

They will happily explain why Buddha came from the devil, but if you give your opinion on Muhammad you can see they would kill you if given half a chance.

I have had discussions with hundreds of Muslims and rarely found that they get angry more often than anyone else. Many are lovely and gentle souls and genuinely believe in what they say. As a strong atheist I'm not threatened by such equally strong beliefs. I find their thinking challenging, and often enjoy their subtle use of humor @Godobeyer @FearGod @Smart_Guy

That is not to say that some cannot be, shall we say, memorable... LOL.... yes, that is a rather kind way of putting it.

My advice? Change your tactics and you may find they react less violently to your comments.

 

[Ubon]

I think you are tarring too many individual Muslims with that one brush.

Yes my mistake it may sound like that so i apologize, i have just not yet found one that i can talk to reasonably and agree to disagree.

 

[Onyx]

However i have found muslims are quick to anger in what should be a normal conversation if you disagree or express an opinion contrary to there belief.

Oh come on. Everyone is entitled to their opinions, however strong they may be. Lighten up, it's not a big deal.

 

[Jeremiahcp]

Yes my mistake it may sound like that so i apologize, i have just not yet found one that i can talk to reasonably and agree to disagree.

No matter where you go there you are, which is a problem if you are the problem.

 

[YmirGF]

Yes my mistake it may sound like that so i apologize, i have just not yet found one that i can talk to reasonably and agree to disagree.

Try @Smart_Guy He is a real sweet guy. Honest. He doesn't bite too hard either...

 

[LuisDantas]

In my experience, Islaam is remarkable, far more than it appears at first glance. It has a very direct attitude and both appeals to and encourages uncomplicated judgements which tend to attract and nurture people who wear their emotions on their sleeves by their turn. It is a faith for people who avoid unnecessary complications and dissimulations and who like simple, direct answers and references.

Dealing with Muslims without having a previous personal history can be quite overwhelming at first, and it leads to a genuine communication challenge, since usually much of the necessary referentials is left unclarified by both sides. Islaam is a lot less similar to Christianity than even most of the muslims I met seem to realize at first - and far more often than not it has only a vague notion of how non-Muslims think and practice.

Come to think of it, that is probably a fair bit of the cause of their anger. Many of what we say tends to sound like avoidance and subterfuge to them, as if we were afraid of the "relevant matters". As if we did not want to take them seriously, even when we truly do.

I have had the best results by being persistent and sincere, while keeping myself ready to notice signs of surprise and sincerity of their own.

That said, a measure of hurt feelings may well be unavoidable, at least occasionally. Unless you make a point of keeping to a very superficial level of interaction, but then what would the point be?

 

[Milton Platt]

I have debated Christians, hindus, sikhs etc

However i have found muslims are quick to anger in what should be a normal conversation if you disagree or express an opinion contrary to there belief.

They will happily explain why Buddha came from the devil, but if you give your opinion on Muhammad you can see they would kill you if given half a chance.

I have experienced that....but i would not generalize it to all or even a majority. I do not know anyone who has a theistic belief of any kind that does not get their panties bunched up to some degree about their own version of god when they feel feel their beliefs about the god are being attacked. As an atheist, I wonder why an omnipotent being would need their defense.

 

[Evangelicalhumanist]

Yes my mistake it may sound like that so i apologize, i have just not yet found one that i can talk to reasonably and agree to disagree.

Discussions about religion or other very personal beliefs can be very difficult. Sometimes, probably, it would be better not to have them at all. That is my rule when I am dealing with people who I know and interact with personally. Religious discussions are simply never held.

When you discover the anonymity of the internet, though, suddenly you can say what you like and who will find you out and kill you? So people here tend to say much, much more than they would in face-to-face conversations.

For the most part, if you've spent any time on forums such as this, you should know that you have a miniscule hope of convincing a true believer about anything that they are wrong. True belief is not about evidence, and never was. People are not reasoned into their religious beliefs, so you should not expect to be able to reason them out of them.

So why participate? In my case, maybe I just like hearing myself talk. Maybe I'm hopeful that some good might come of it, like those people think you might convince bullies to stop beating up kids by make making them understand what it might be like if they were on the receiving end.

Mostly, it's hopeless. And only we insane posters continue to try.

 

[The Kilted Heathen]

consider for a moment that you're a member of these religions that are so ill-spoken of. How would that make you feel? Might you *gasp* be a little bit angry about it and sick of hearing that crap? Perish the thought...

Were I a Muslim, I'd be ticked off too. Hell, I'm ticked off for them. It wouldn't take much for the bullseye to swerve to a religious minority like myself. And being the rear end of every criticism is awful.

Honestly, I can't agree. For years I've gone to bat for various minority groups - and even some majority groups - with this same sentiment. With Islam especially, I no longer can with the repeated realization that they will not go to bat for me. When I've pressed Muslim friends and acquaintances with this, the answer I always get is along the lines of "Well, those are their beliefs." Even when those beliefs entail suppressing and persecuting others.

I've been on the end of being ill-spoken of. I've been in discussions about it. My particular religion has dealt with everything from hellfire condemnation to assumptions that we're all just Marvel fanboys - even accusations of racism and white supremacy thanks to our usual demographic and Neo-Nazi groups that use (or even share) our beliefs. Despite near a decade of combatting this, it never diminishes. Sometimes, I think it will never resolve in my lifetime.

And yet, I'm not quick to anger. Most times I chuckle at misconceptions before correcting - or attempting to correct. To the topic of racism, granted that's a little more frustrating and emotionally charged, yet I still do not resort to threats, name calling, or making an *** of myself in general.

Far less than this is repeatedly seen as setting off Muslims. Often violently or with the intent of violence. Frigg's sake, my God has been made into a comic book character, a cartoon - yet there's no outcry for Stan Lee's head. A cartoonist draws a caricature of Mohammed - not even the Muslim god - and he's killed. Killed. That is an unprecedented reply.

And it's not at all as though Islam is free of faults. They deserve a good portion of the criticism that they get. No one is free from criticism, not even they.

 

[psychoslice]

It maybe because their religion came from a warmonger, a tribe of angry people that have been suppressed for many years because of their beliefs.

 

[Sunstone]

While just about every religion numbers among its adherents some who use it as an excuse for violence, Islam seems to have a few more than its share. More over, many of them seem to be triggered by things that would not normally trigger the adherents of other religions. This anger has been directed at non-Muslims, but even more frequently it seems at Muslims themselves.

I do not regard this fact as condemning Islam, however. There was a time, for instance, when Christianity was just as prone to violence as Islam seems to be today. Reforms within Christianity mostly changed that. I expect that Islam too can reform, albeit not over night. But surely there are enough peaceful Muslims in this world to effect such reforms, just as there were enough peaceful Christians to end the persecution of heretics, etc.

 

[Ubon]

I have found that even in respecting what they say, and i always say they may be right about everything as i will not truly know until i die.
They will still press forward angrily to try to get me to agree and still say what i worship is evil when im telling them i do in fact respect their right to worship.

 

[The Kilted Heathen]

There was a time, for instance, when Christianity was just as prone to violence as Islam seems to be today. Reforms within Christianity mostly changed that.

Honestly, despite reforms they're no better. I mean, they don't engage in terrorist attacks - though even that's debatable - but many Christians are still violent; albeit to a lesser degree. I've had "sweet" old ladies go from thanking me for helping them to literally spitting on me when they find out that I'm not Christian. Our laws don't allow for honor killings or the like, but many Christians the nation over view non-Christians with a degree of violence that should be unacceptable.

 

[Sunstone]

Honestly, despite reforms they're no better. I mean, they don't engage in terrorist attacks - though even that's debatable - but many Christians are still violent; albeit to a lesser degree. I've had "sweet" old ladies go from thanking me for helping them to literally spitting on me when they find out that I'm not Christian. Our laws don't allow for honor killings or the like, but many Christians the nation over view non-Christians with a degree of violence that should be unacceptable.

I'd say the process of reform was still underway. With religions, you've got to think in terms of centuries.

 

[The Kilted Heathen]

Personally, I think it's tied to control. I've noticed over the last decade or so that whenever "the balance" of Christian majority in America is challenged, the media ramps up the propaganda. We get movies like "God's Not Dead" and it's sequel. Books and movies like "Heaven is Real." Cartoons and kids books making Christianity out to be "cool" for the younger generation. When the assumed dominance is challenged, a reply of varying degree is made. It's not that reformation is underway, it's that the grip is being pried loose.

I honestly think it's the same with Islam, only there's a stronger assumption of dominance and less tolerance for deviance or challenge.