Like most of us, I abhor Islamophobia.

[11 Bravo]

But I have a hard time accepting or condoning this.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/christian-woman-caned-in-indonesia_us_570ea448e4b0ffa5937e0482

[riderinthestorm]

1. Awful

the new bylaws were passed late last year, many voiced concerns about how non-Muslims would be affected. Islamic leaders sought to allay their fears.

“The fact is that Muslims in Aceh do tolerate religious freedom and we can coexist without any problems,” Teungku Faisal Ali, head of the provincial chapter of the influential Muslim organization Nahdlatul Ulama, told BenarNews at the time. “We don’t want to raise the impression that Islamic law in Aceh infringes on the rights of non-Muslims… It doesn’t [force] sharia law on non-Muslims because they are free to observe their own faiths and beliefs.”

And a lie...

[clarice]

2. Yup...terrible... but don't expect too many replies condemning this.nt

[cwydro]

3. Nah, it's ok on DU to condemn Christians, but leave Islam alone.

There's a handbook somewhere lol.

[whatthehey]

6. Christ, secular DUers can never win

If we criticize Islam-motivated lunacy we're bigots, but we still get accused of being soft on them and mean to the poor widdle Xian US supermajority.


For the Zeus-knows how manyeth time both religions are equally superstitious nonsense peddled to the gullible masses, and both sets of their extreme wings of fundy followers are dangerous frothing wackjobs. That the Muslim wackjob wing are causing more bloodshed and horror globally at this particular historical juncture is denied only by either idiots or enablers, but it's also undeniable that the political and social damage caused by the Christian wackjob wing in the US is far more egregious, as is the personal risk of religious intolerance and attacks faced by the 99.9% of American nonbelievers unaffected by the handful of jihadi events sprinkled around the country.

[Iggo]

8. "For the Zeus-knows how manyeth time..."

And not for the last time, either.

[cwydro]

11. Lol! That is one of the longest sentences I've ever read!

And I agree with at least part of it.

I have no religious beliefs, but I cannot express support for any religion that subjugates women.

Period.

[whatthehey]

14. You need to read more Victorian literature then

But your angst then should pretty much be directed to all major religions. Can't think of one that doesn't subjugate women (which by the way is not germane to this particular outrage, as the punishment is driven by religious difference, not gender).

[leftynyc]

4. Barbarians

And people watch - just like they used to watch people get lynched right here in the US decades ago - like it's entertainment:

In the same nation where beachgoers in Bali throw back beers and frolic in bikinis, the woman was whipped nearly 30 times with a rattan cane before a crowd of hundreds, for the crime of selling alcohol. The canings are performed in public with shaming in mind. While many onlookers find the punishments hard to watch, some shout insults at the victims and hold up their cameraphones to record and share the macabre spectacle.

60 years old and for the crime of selling alcohol. These are the laws on the books. Sickening.

[Democat]

5. But the tea party is worse and Christian did the same 1000 years ago

Someone on DU will say.

[ProfessorGAC]

10. An Argument I've Found Quite Lacking

I get where you're coming from, cat.

But, if xtians stopped doing it in the 1400's, it's time for the religions that still condone to catch up already.

[cwydro]

13. Exactly.

Christianity has evolved. (Though some Christians have not)

Islam is still in the middle ages.

[whatthehey]

21. But that blanket statement is also false

What bits of the Enlightenment are still holding on in the US keep us, and Europe far more securely as they retain far more of those bits, slightly protected from theocratic excess, societies that skipped it altogether are still prone to dogmatic idiocy. Most of them by confluence of geography and history fell under Muslim domination, but by no means all. It's not Muslims who passed the former "kill the gays" act in Uganda for a start.

[Bonx]

7. Sorry, I've got general case of religiphobia

They're all equally useless to me.

[TipTok]

16. Correct...

Quite a few folks on the Jesus side of the house who would gather at the stocks if it was still allowed.

[EL34x4]

19. But it's not allowed. That's the difference.

It's easy to say "Christians would if they could" when they can't.

Islam, on the other hand, has codified this punishment into law.

[TipTok]

20. Same principle of good behavior as codified in religion...

Behave yourself otherwise you'll face punishment. No mention of just doing the right thing because its the right thing.

[EL34x4]

18. Yes, the blanket "all religions are equally abhorrent" statement.

I find this opinion both intellectually dishonest and cowardly as well.

[Bonx]

24. You know what's dishonest ? Replying to me with a quote that's not mine.

[Nye Bevan]

9. I can guarantee that there will be fewer posts on DU condemning this

than there were condemning the Christian baker who wouldn't make a cake for a gay wedding.

[whatthehey]

12. ...and that those few will be greeted with poutraged cries

of Bigot! and Racist! because we think even brown-skinned Muslims are just a tad mean for whipping folks who disagree with them.

But that part doesn't bother you much does it? All about those Xian supermajority fee-fees. No criticism of Islam can ever be enough, and will ever be free from idiots claiming it's bigotry once made, as long as somebody made fun of a Christian on the internet.

Ah the oppression-seeking of those who have every scrap of power in the nation is always wryly amusing to watch.

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

15. We tend to ignore shit when it's not in our backyard though

100 people can be blown up in a market in Kabul or 1000 washed away in floods in Bangledesh and we generally don't give it the same play as the San Bernadino shooting or a couple people killed in a tornado in Arkansas.

[KamaAina]

17. Aceh, at the northern tip of Sumatra, is the fundie capital of Indonesia.

The vast majority of the world's largest Muslim country is not like that. The "madrasa" that young Barry Soetoro attended while living there is roughly the equivalent of a Catholic school here.

[romanic]

22. Barbaric.

And were supposed to say "Christians do it too"!?@? Yeah they probably did it too back in...1375 or something but not in fucking 2016 where it is law in this Indonesian providence. There's something truly wrong with Islamic laws and morals.

[Yo_Mama]

23. When Islam is also a civil law system, it is obvious that it is incompatible with Western culture

When Islam isn't, then Muslims can happily live in the west and be very good citizens.

People are confused about the Islam issue because they fail to distinguish between those two forms/modes of Islam.

It's also worth pointing out that many Muslims in the US came here to escape oppression elsewhere and don't want to live under sharia. Those who do obviously are not happy here. When your religious belief demands that the law of the land be other than it is, obviously you are in conflict with the prevailing culture. Either you must change your belief system, or the culture must change.

When the US starts importing large numbers of Muslim immigrants from regions where the vast majority support sharia law, it is setting up a problem.
http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/12/07/muslims-and-islam-key-findings-in-the-u-s-and-around-the-world/