closeupready (24,281 posts) http://www.democraticunderground.com/10026321874
So, bigots, if Islam is so horrible, why aren't you walking or biking to work?
Cuz every time you fill up your gas tank, the Saudis thank you.
We have more oil reserves in the US than we need. We could only use US oil and be fine...but you ****ers won't let us drill for it.
riderinthestorm (17,475 posts)
2. America only gets @ 8% of its oil from KSA but do carry on...
PeaceNikki (22,984 posts)
4. I try to limit my fuel consumption because I like the planet, not because I dislike theocracies, Islam/Saudis.
Such a totally weird OP.
We prop up the Saudi government because in a shitload of evil bastards they are slightly less evl than the rest.
slightly.
dissentient (674 posts)
7. Saudi Arabia is one of the worst countries in the world for gay rights even worse than Putin's Russia. Yet, we are close allies with them. I smell hypocrisy.
Yes, so do I. Saudi is evil because they are our Allies but Islam is fine.
Throd (5,589 posts)
9. Every time you drive your car you show tacit support for beheadings.
BlueCaliDem (8,659 posts)
16. No one around here is claiming Islam is horrible. I'm hoping your post is directed at lurking
Republicans rather than any Democrats and Liberals on DU.
Yup, Islam is fine.
BlueCaliDem (8,659 posts)
33. I didn't think that poster meant Islam but rather the terrorists posing as followers of the faith.
Then I read her other posts just beneath it. I guess all faith is horrible to her. *sigh*
So I stand corrected.
Renew Deal (60,389 posts)
76. I ask the same question of people that use illegal drugs.
Bluenorthwest (34,813 posts)
103. How do you think Shiites view your assertion that 'Islam' is a word meaning 'Sunni Saudi Arab'?
Isn't it actually sort of bigoted to claim that criticism of a government is the same as criticism of Islam? Last time I looked there were millions and millions of Muslims who are not Saudi nor even Arabic.
What a puzzling post. Are you one of those folks who thinks a person can be a raging homophobe and yet remain a liberal? I just don't get your whole assertion here.
Sunnis are Saudi Arabs. Saudi Arabs are Sunnis. Wahabbi-ists are Sunni Saudi Arabs... See how that works?
Marr (17,166 posts)
118. I don't understand how liberals can defend Islam today.
In much of the world, the culture is dominated by very conservative, religious ideals and people who would be kept far from any levers of power in more liberal, western nations. Gays, women, ethnic and religious minorities they are not well treated. The Islamic world makes our most bigoted areas look like San Francisco by comparison. Defending Islam generally today is, imho, like looking at the reddest of red states and saying Christianity has nothing to do with it, and hey, that bigoted preacher is just expressing his faith.
As a liberal US citizen, I feel like the only people I can conscientiously side with here are the gays, women, ethnic/religious minorities, etc. of the Islamic world.
I know, right? BUT they do it every single day.
cpwm17 (2,631 posts)
138. You're conflating Muslim with Islam
Last edited Sat Mar 7, 2015, 08:25 AM - Edit history (1)
A Muslim is a human being. Islam is a religion. Muslims generally are decent people, like most everybody else in this world. I see no reason to like Islam. It's a religion and it holds humanity back – the same with Judaism and Christianity. All religions are based on myths.
Usually it's the bigots that make this mistake and use their excessive hatred of Islam as an excuse to hate Muslims. Now that's bigotry, and usually it's cover for racism. Often these same people have a difficult time understanding why our aggressive wars against Muslims are evil and wrong, but they then blame Muslims for allegedly being so violent. These bigots aren't self-aware.
A Muslim, sometimes spelled Moslem, relates to a person who follows the religion of Islam. Muslims are not one race. They are followers of one religion. DUmbass.
Donald Ian Rankin (12,145 posts)
125. "Islam is horrible" is not the same thing as "I want Muslims to suffer".
As a fan of gay rights, women's rights, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, etc, I think that Islam as interpreted by a large majority (by no means all) of its followers is pretty horrible.
That absolutely doesn't mean that I want them to suffer.
If I thought that not buying petrol would make life better for the Saudis in some way, I'd probably still do it, but it would at least be a moral dilemma.
But "I think that the religious/political/philosophical/moral views of these people are appalling" and "I want these people to be poorer and have worse lives" are absolutely not the same thing, and neither implies the other.
MellowDem (4,301 posts)
133. Islam is explicitly bigoted...
right in its texts. Calling it horrible isn't bigotry, Islam is an idea.
The amount of religious privilege on DU is depressing to behold.
Shoulders of Giants (248 posts)
142. Read the Koran, it is terrible.
It is full of every antigay, women, human, etc thing you can imagine. But then again so is the Bible. Ultimately secularism is what promotes human rights, not religiosity. Most western secular democracies are good because they stopped following the Bible (and only claimed to without actually knowing the terrible stuff that's inside of it). In the Christian world, areas that most follow the Bible (such as the American south) tend to be the most regressive. If Islamic countries become more secular, they will improve as well. There are actually examples of this in some Muslim Majority countries like Turkey, Jordan, and Kuwait, but these countries still aren't secular enough.
I've never liked being called a bigot for calling out the evils in religion. That's because I don't pick a side (I'm an atheist) and call them all out. However, if the Koran is to be followed word for word (in the way the Bible used to be in what we call "the dark ages"), then it would be an enemy of liberalism. It's just a simple fact. Before you defend Islam, I suggest you read the Koran cover to cover, and you will see that as an idea, it's not worth defending.
Also I'd like to point out if the weather is nice enough, I sometimes bike or walk to work or nearby stores. But I live in the midwest, and things are too spread out and the public transportation is awful. However, I have a car with great MPG (at least for the price I paid, I can't afford the ones that get 40+ MPG), and I don't have kids largely for environmental reason (and selfish reasons I do admit as well). So I hope I'm doing my part.
