Weird attack

Submitted by Jon Frost (Germany), Aug 3, 2008 at 14:48

Dear "Ahnold" (is that a reference to Schwarzenegger, by the way?),
I am actually American and an Atheist, so I am well aware that there are non-Christian Americans. Thanks for the heads-up, though. I based my argument about Abu Ghraib on the fact that Lynndie English, Charles Graner, Janis Karpinski, and others are from conservative, rural backgrounds - I do not in fact know their religions, but my point was that Muslims seeing this may receive a bad view of Christians if this were all they knew about Christianity. (It was a direct reference to William Barthway's chosen ignorance of Islam, and decision to base his opinion of it on attacks by Muslims).

I could have also discussed some less well-known violence by Christians against non-Christians in countries like Nigeria or Ethiopia (I have read of some examples). My point was to discuss that this is a very selective and inaccurate picture of a global religion.

I don't feel the need to discuss "how bad" the torture at Abu Ghraib was. It clearly made big headlines in Muslim countries, though, and damaged public opinion toward the US. I think it is also indicative that some prisoners attempted suicide afterward. Torture is in my opinion always tragic, and morally wrong.

As to your main point, that Europe is being "Islamized" and is in danger: this point is a silly and misguided conspiracy theory. The number of Muslims in Europe is still small, and those that live here do so, in the majority of cases, in peace without major event. There are problems with integration, but these tend to dissipate after one or two generations (just as immigrants in the US integrate over time). The younger generation tends to be less religious than their parents. As to those who are religious, I know many young Muslims who are quite moderate and have a better, more mature perspective on religion than many people who grow up in a country with their religion in the majority. Why? Because they are forced to question and deal with their religion.

By the way, your comparison with Dachau makes little sense, but sends off alarm bells with me that you are trying to be provocative. Calling Islam a "cancer" is a similarly incendiary piece of rhetoric with little credibility. Please don't compare immigration to the holocaust.

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