What makes me uneasy about all of this, is that so many otherwise sane people are so keen to make blanket statements about Muslims and how "bad" they ALL are.
Have a look at way various minority groups were persecuted in pre-war Nazi Germany, and tell me that we're not on the same path. No, we haven't gathered up the Muslims and put them all in camps, but have a look at the calls of "send them all back" and the talkback radio rhetoric of "these people" and then tell me that it is really any different to the way the Jews were treated just before the Nazis began to put them in concentration camps...
I am absolutely NOT condoning the f%^kwit behaviour that happens in the name of Islam. I have no tolerance for the repression of women and even less for sanctioned abuse of women. I loathe the violence just as much as anyone. I despise any religion that grants its followers a sense of superiority over the rest of the population. I wonder how its OK to hold up a sign saying "Death to Infidels" in a public place in Australia.
But it makes my hair stand on end when we judge every Muslim on the behaviour of the worst.
Are all Catholics kiddy fiddlers?
Are all dirt bikers teenagers on pitbikes in suburban streets at 2am?
etc.
We are not going to deal with the actual problems we have with Islam while we ruin our own arguments and waste our energy, on bitching about irrelevant crap and unfairly targeting the wrong people.
If you don't believe me, write down a list of the specific issues you have with Islam - and put them in order, from most important to least important. Now look at the items on the bottom of the list and imagine they were the entire list - bet they look pretty trivial...
It is increasingly obvious that we need to do something about Radical Islam, and the violence it brings. But I'm here to tell you that accusing all Muslims of being extremists and complaining about the way Halal certification adds to the retail price, are not even close to being part of the solution.
