To The Islam-Obsessed

This post is not aimed at my regular readers, or at others who address religious issues on a regular basis. It is aimed at those who only ever seem to pop their heads up when Islam is mentioned and, all too often, when the victims of Islamic violence are, let us say, 'of European descent.'

It is aimed at those like the fuckwhit who left a comment I saw somewhere under a story about the murder of Muslims by Buddhists in Myanmar, to the effect that any group who are against Islam are alright by him.

It is aimed at those who think branding every single Muslim in the world as a would-be terrorist is a fine and dandy idea.

It is aimed at those who wouldn't quite go that far, oh no, they're too nice to do that, but are still happy to discriminate against all Muslims 'just in case.' Because, as the torturers at Guantanamo might say, it's fine when we do it, since we're the good guys, right?

It is aimed at those who constantly and obsessively shoehorn comparisons to Islam into discussions of completely unrelated stories about the wrong-doings of other religious movements.

You get the idea.

Read Full Post »

David Cameron: “Religious Extremism Isn’t Religious.”

Behold, our glorious leader…

Here's the relevant part…

Read Full Post »

Arguments From Motorcycle Helmets

When did you last see this headline…?

"Remove your helmet or I won't serve you," biker is told.

That's right. You never have seen it, yet it happens every day. Even, or maybe especially, at petrol stations. And nobody thinks it discriminatory or unnecessary—not even bikers, though we may grumble under our breath in winter, as we carefully reassemble several layers of cold-weather protection.

Now imagine this headline:

"Remove your burka or I won't serve you," Muslim woman is told.

Read Full Post »

Racism & Islam In The UK

I'm getting sick of people (usually not British, often American) throwing up the phrase 'Islam isn't a race,' as if it's a killer argument, when confronted by stories of British Muslims, or those who defend their alleged right not to be offended, playing the racist card. Not because it's wrong (it isn't), but because it fails to take reality into account and is, frankly, not fucking helping. I've seen many Brits try to explain this to Americans, and usually to no avail. Too many Yanks, even educated, progressive, liberal ones, seem to have some sort of unconscious idea that their constitution applies to the whole English-speaking world, and that all Western culture follows exactly the same rules and patterns that theirs does.

Read Full Post »