When I was a Muslim, some non-Muslim friends of mine not only showed me satiric pictures of Prophet Muhammad S.A.W., but also showed me videos and pictures of burning and desecration of the Holy Qur'an, and some videos staring porn-actress Valery Vita desecrating The Holy Qur'an. I laughed out loud [literally] at the pictures of Prophet Muhammad S.A.W., wasn't even slightly bothered by the videos and pictures of what they did with the Qur'an, and erm ... got off to Valery Vita's antics and became a big fan of her, all thanks to them.
I never heard of Valery Vita before.
Personally, I can't see myself drawing pictures of Muhammad or burning the Quran. I wouldn't even burn a flag.
I don't know why non-Muslims thinks that just because you hold Islamic beliefs, you'd prone to violence towards such things. There are over a billion of Muslims, and how many of them committing terrorism? A very few percentage.
I agree, although there have been enough acts of violence to get people's attention. Sometimes that's all it takes. But I also try to put it into perspective whenever I hear Muslims or others say things like "Death to America." There are over 300 million Americans, and only a small percentage are in the military or government or any position to formulate policy. Less than 20% of the actual U.S. population voted for Trump. But there are those who see that as license to hate the whole lot of us. It seems patently unfair and bigoted, but I recognize that that's how a lot of people think.
Like I said before, it's not the original teachings of the Qur'an that is at fault. Muslims and their ignorance and arrogance are at fault. I don't think many realize just how illiterate the Muslim world is and just how self-conceited they are, especially about their opinions regarding spirituality.
A few decades ago, I recall there was a local Muslim cleric here in my city. He and his family emigrated from Egypt to the U.S. in the 1960s or 70s, I believe. He was a scientist, and he was also a translator working at the U.N. He wrote his own translation of the Quran into English, and he also put forth his own interpretations which were not in keeping with what is regarded as the "correct" interpretation and translation. He was getting constant death threats from other Muslims. Someone finally made good on that threat, as he was found stabbed to death in the kitchen of the local mosque he was running. (Incidentally, his son was the first Arab-American to play in major league baseball.) (For reference:
Rashad Khalifa - Wikipedia)
He had a TV show on the local public access channel, and at the time, I had developed an interest in Islam. A friend of mine even attended his mosque a few times and purchased his translation of the Quran, which he was quite fascinated by. One thing he said that struck me was that he claimed the vast majority of the world's Muslims were "in Satan's camp." I guess that would be enough to anger a good many Muslims.
Of course, I don't say that this to impugn all Muslims. I realize it was just a couple of people, but to go to such enormous lengths to eliminate someone over a reason like that. That's pretty obsessed.
Let me give you an example: I hate to bring my personal life but due to the necessity of making my point clear and for the sake of emphasis, I have to. Anyway, these days I am doing some courses on certain skill development to start a new career [which, btw, is why I am not able to reply to TagliatelliMonster, Shadow Wolf and others during discussion and not able to take part in the forum discussion in general (I busy as hell nowadays)]. So, my instructor believes that there is no Coronavirus, and this pandemic is just a massive conspiracy by the Jews [for God knows what reason]. I was staring at him with shock. Just how bigot can you get? Are you trying to tell me that millions of who died due to the disease and millions who suffered because of it, and the economic armageddon which resulted because of Coronavirus ... is just a lie and deception? Just how the hell can Jews pull off a conspiracy THIS big? And how did they managed to get enemies like Iran to play part in this conspiracy [who also suffered severe damage]? Why would Israel cause so much harm to ITSELF in order to pull it off? That is the most ignorant thing to believe.
Now, Muslims around the world thinks the same about 9/11 [Jews did it], and most of the wars and other problems in the world [Jews did it]. Hell, some even deny Holocaust! And they are so self-conceited that any opposing evidence is positively discarded and/or twisted to fit their faulty narrative. I have been even labeled a Zionist when I spoke out against their believes about Jews, 9/11 etc!
This is the level of ignorance and arrogance that is rampant in the Muslim world. You have to realize, it's not the Islam and Qur'an at the fault here, but rather their own ignorance.
Yes, I've heard that kind of rhetoric before. It's not particularly common in my neck of the woods, but there are always a few here and there. Trump says that the Chinese started the coronavirus, and he and other right-wingers call it the "China virus." It gets irritating after a while.
As for 9/11, I've heard various conspiracy theories about that one, too. It seems to lead to a lot of arguments. Ignorance is pretty widespread, among all nations and religions.
I wouldn't underestimate nationalism as a peripheral cause either.
Their beliefs are mostly the result of their own ignorance [about the Qur'an and Islam], their arrogance, and to further add fuel to fire, the Western barbarity that has torn the Muslim world apart. Their bitterness over what has happened to them and Muslims in general is fueling their faulty belief system. I personally feel like that terrorism would have happened even if the Qur'an and it's instruction never existed in the first place. When you are under influence of negative emotions like anger and vengeance and bitterness etc., and devoid of knowledge of what the truth is and what is the right thing to do, and have a massive superior complex --- You are bound to cause harm.
Like I always say --- Ignorance and arrogance breeds destruction [not Qur'an etc.]
I can understand some of it, particularly when it comes from parts of the world which are/were victims of Western colonialism and imperialism. Anger and resentment are natural human reactions to the kind of treatment they received, whether it happened in Africa, East Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, North America, Latin America, or even on the islands of the Pacific. One might find extremists and terrorists in all of these places, but their religion isn't necessarily a part of it - although that seems to vary from culture to culture.
