22 replies to this topic

[The_Zooloo_Master]

1.
There seems to be this silly idea among people that muslims are connected to somesort of hive mind, and a muslim from Somalia has exacly the same goals as a muslim from france. Would it really hurt us if we let people to follow what ever the fuck religion they want in a way they choose to? I can tell you from my own personal experiences that just because mans name is Ahmed, it doesnt mean he bows down 5 times a day to mecca...

2.
People in europe pride them self for being open minded and our acceptance of different religions / cultures / customs, yet we should place Religion X above religion Y? If christians want to have their churches, let them muslims have mosques. World will not end just because few mosques are built.

1.: Well, to be fair, this hive-mind that you speak of, and which I suppose can be argued I intimated, does exist. It has many names, and one of them is Al-Qaeda.

2.: I don't think you really saw where I was going with that argument. My point was to rebuke the very idea of religious discrimination. It's not about being against Islam, but rather being against the construction of minarets whence the call to prayer would be issued. Because from a purely pragmatic standpoint, it is annoying, and furthermore it could be considered an infringement of one's peace. I merely wanted to distinguish church bell ringing from the call to prayer, because they aren't the same thing. Just as Europeans must put up with the call to prayer very late at night (during Ramadan) when visiting Islamic countries, others should put up with church bells while visiting Europe.

I guess that not many other people think that Muslims are taking over...

[Goth Skunk]

If the concern is about the eroding of European culture by Islamic immigration and eventual democratic dominance, this is a theory - albeit a quiet one - that I have heard before. Normally I dismiss such claims as xenophobic paranoia, but I admit, this theory gave me pause. I asked myself, 'is it hypothetically possible for people of one culture to immigrate into a foreign democratic nation and engage in a massive procreation campaign in an effort to rise from the ranks of visible minority to visible majority, and eventually replace the currently existing culture with their own?'

In my own country, the answer to that question was 'Constitutionally, no. The Canadian Constitution and Charter of Rights and Freedoms do not legally permit such a change in the way the country is run. On the other hand, if they outnumber us, why would words on a piece of paper stop them?'

I'm all for immigrant freedom to religion and preservation of culture, so long as such freedoms and preservation do not erode my culture. And any attempt to impede on my culture will be met with resistance.

[Hrugnir]

Just thought I should add what just happened in the Swedish elections - a racist party (Sverigedemokraterna - The Sweden Democrats) with roots in the Neo-Nazi movement managed to get 5.7% of the votes (20 out of 349 chairs) last night.

More info here: http://www.thelocal.se/29126/20100920/

And so Sweden joins the ranks of other European countries where xenophobia gets ridiculous and racist parties into the parliament... *sigh*