I can certainly respect this though I think most of the Abrahamic faiths would argue that their sacred texts don't promote violence outside of self-defense but, as discussed earlier, people choose to do as they wish and then try to back it up with religion. I think most of us would agree that Buddhism promotes non-violence and yet, many acts of violence have been perpetrated by Buddhist monks using religion as a motivation (Burma/Myanmar and the Tokyo Sarin attack are the first that come to my mind). When I was searching for a faith and left Christianity, I came very close to Hinduism at the time and it is a religion which I would consider quite peaceful and does not at all promote 'us versus them' and yet history has seen some major crimes against humanity committed in the name of Hinduism as well. I only wanted to point this out because I hear that 'Buddhists never kill anyone' or that kind of thing quite a bit and sadly, even Buddhism is not free from people manipulating their faith to serve their own twisted cause. As many have said in this thread, religion is an additional 'group' to add to the other ways that people differentiate amongst themselves and the way they treat each other. Please forgive me for not keeping this to an atheism question. Thank you again for all your answers!

Oh, sorry! My son got my phone and I didn't even realize till got back to this post.

To be fair, when you find people who are atheists but used to be Muslim or who live in the middle east, they are often more critical of Islam than Christianity....as the others said, background and familiarity play a huge role.

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1. Location-general is ok, don't worry about posting your GPS for us. ;) I'll answer for Morocco though I live in the US right now. 2. Are kids usually allowed to eat free range or only what is set aside for them? (Yes, I know there is variation, but in general or where you are specifically.) They eat what their parents eat (plus whatever else they want, in some families lol) 3. Do you eat three main meals a day or is there snacking allowed/encouraged? Typically 3 meals a day but snacking is allowed. 4. Is the afternoon or evening meal the heaviest for you? Afternoon, except in Ramadan. 5. Are food allergies/intolerances often diagnosed? If so, do you know which ones are most common? No. Actually, I don't know any Moroccans with regular food allergies. A lot are lactose intolerant or may have mild dairy allergies but most continue to consume dairy anyway as it is often in the diet. 6. Is food allergy awareness common or is it brushed off? My observation has been that it is mostly brushed off though I've found people understanding if I reference lactose intolerance or dairy allergies. 7. Is gluten intolerance getting to be a "big deal" where you're at? No. I've only met a couple of people who were familiar with gluten intolerance. 8. What's a general day's food commonly like in your area? For example, for most people I personally know here in the states, it is Breakfast-cereal, Lunch-sandwich and chips, Dinner-pizza/spaghetti/hamburger sort of theme, snacks-packaged crackers, cookies, apples, bananas... Breakfast: tea, coffee, pastries, m'semmen, baghrir, eggs, yogurt, bread and jam/butter, amlou, sometimes a special type of soup dish...etc Lunch: cold and warm vegetable salads, tagine and bread, couscous, or bastilla...etc Dinner: same type of thing as lunch, harira, chabakia, and briewat in ramadan at first to break the fast. Snacks: tea (often served multiple times throughout the day), pastries, fruit, smoothies/juices...there is also a lot of street food. 9. Any idea what the most common illnesses are by you (non-contagious-things like asthma/diabetes/etc.)? Diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and heart disease are what I see a lot of. A lot of people have asthma that is going untreated as well.

Thank you guys! This has definitely been an informative thread :).

Just to add, I wouldn't tell someone that if they lost a child, our attitude tends to be encouraging them to the idea that they will be reunited in heaven and be rewarded for their patience with dealing with such an affliction. Didn't want to be misunderstood. I'm not trying to insinuate all people would be going out and killing themselves, I just mean whether belief in a deity and an afterlife gives some people the ability to keep going on if they are the type of person who would not be able to cope without it

I completely understand the exhaustion of listening to beginning readers BUT I think the video is a mistake and that is the reason so many posters who originally found the post hysterical but went back and watched the video later have said it was unkind. It is one thing to feel that way and even to discuss it with other parents/family, but another to mock and actively show your child (while they are happy to be reading and want mommy to be proud of their success) that it is torture for you and you can't stand it. I don't doubt that she really loves her kids. :)

I have a question regarding a previous post (the slideshow post) and the general attitude I seem to hear from many atheists that religion is to blame for most of the ills committed by humanity of the world. I don't think all of you have echoed it but I've seen things like this mentioned a lot within the atheist community. I was kind of debating whether to ask because I didn't want to accidentally lead into a debate or derail the topic. Do most atheists agree on this topic (that religion is to blame)? Don't you think that it is often the interpretation and misuse of a religion rather than the actual religion that causes these things and that the same people who perpetrate oppressive or violent acts against people would find a way to do it with or without using religion to back them up? I just can't see, personally, that things would be any different whether or not there was religion. There would still be culture and there would still be psychopathy and many of the acts that are often thought to be religious are practiced by multiple faiths in the same area because it is based on the desires of people backed up by cultural tradition. When I look at crimes committed that have nothing to do with faith...I mean, just looking at a news websites will show you horrible murders of children, rape, etc..., I don't really think that having religion or not would make a big difference in this area. It seems like humans have a large propensity to be destructive, regardless. On another note, do you think that there is a use for religion in which case it might be beneficial for it to exist in some way? What I mean by that is, to take the example of someone who lost a child suddenly at a young age, one's faith might comfort that person that there was a reason for it and that this is part of God's plan and that they will be reunited with their child permanently...whereas not having that belief and having the view that the child is just dead and dust, that they're gone for good, and that there was no reason might drive someone to be suicidal or such extreme depression that they can never function normally again? KWIM? ETA: This thread had additional posts since I wrote so I don't know if this was already covered now, I will have to go back and read. Also, please take my comments as meant respectfully and genuinely curious to know. I don't want to look as though I'm trying to bait someone into a debate! And an updated question based on Albeto's post: Would most atheists consider themselves to also be anti-theist?

Sandals/bare feet are a difference of opinion. I cover my feet so no sandals for me. Honestly, despite all that I wear this was the hardest transition for me because I HATE wearing stuff over my feet. My feet always get hot lol. Anyway, it is not a big deal issue. Halal meat is used a few different ways. There is dhabihah meat, which is meat specifically slaughtered with the name of Allah said before the slaughter and then there is halal meat as in, meat that is permissible for us to eat (ie not pork. We also can't eat frogs or carnivores (so no bear meat for us!) for example). We're allowed to eat meat slaughtered by People of the Book. Some people take this REALLY seriously and refuse to eat anything unless it is from a Muslim-owned store slaughtered in the specific way or from a Muslim-owned restaurant that exclusively serves meat slaughtered in that way. We follow the opinion that unless you know it is slaughtered by other than a person of the book then it is halaal and that if you live in a country where the majority people are 'people of the book' then you would assume it is permissible to eat so we eat from everywhere as long as we know it doesn't contain pork or alcohol. We don't have an issue with mixing foods (like the dairy/meat thing in Kosher). We don't eat much meat but when we do we get from WF or the farmer's market (or a restaurant) usually these days. We sometimes buy a lamb or chicken (or rabbit lol) and do the slaughter ourselves. We've usually slaughtered a lamb at eid time and donated some to the poor, some to family, and kept some.

That is where my family is from :). I grew up around the Epcot Pavilion LOL.

LOL. Yes, the young ladies do have a sense of humor about themselves (whether that is intention or unintentional remains to be seen).

Clearly, going to the ER was a very good decision. Praying the doctors figure it out and fix it quickly!

Not really. We believe in 'daw'ah' which is usually manifested in being exemplary in character and trying to mimic the character of the Prophet to represent our religion and answering any questions non-Muslims might have about our faith to dispel misunderstandings and so they have a real grasp of what our faith believes. We believe more in educating than trying to convert since the Qur'an says that 'there is no compulsion in religion'. Ultimately, in my life, I want the people close to me and people I get to know, to have a realistic idea of what Islam is and what we believe so they can't ever say that they knew me but I never did them justice by teaching them about my faith. By setting a good example and offering answers to any questions people might initiate, yes, we hope for them that their heart might turn toward the faith because since we believe it is Truth, we want the best for them. But personally, I don't believe I can convert anyone. God is the only one who guides, not me. I don't personally know anyone who goes around trying to convert people but I'm sure there may be the occasional person who does.

I've been watching the weather and it seems like there are several tornadoes in the OKC area and in Kansas. Everyone please do take care.

^Those are exactly the leaks I had as well.

Please keep us updated! God willing it is nothing serious but if it is, they've caught it soon enough that he will be safe and sound. You are in my thoughts.

I've had the leaking issues you described ever since I moved to a place with really hard water. I just keep trying to treat it in the ways recommended for that. It could also be a problem with the detergent you are using as I've had that as well, it tends to create a surface that the liquid glides over rather than absorbs and it comes out the side. For the prefolds, have you tried looking at the DiaperSwappers FSOT? They sometimes have good deals on there and you pay with paypal. I have CD'ed two children myself. For prefolds specifically, the GMD ones are the best IMO. I really like pockets for outside and fitteds if I'm feeling extra extra lazy but am out of pockets but I often find myself going to the prefolds at home.

I would trust my instinct and tell him to go to the ER if your gut feels like it may be something serious. I'm not sure how old he is but the memory loss would concern me, especially such a huge gap like that and with the elevated heart rate (assuming his heart rate is typically normal and not naturally higher). Hopefully someone else can come with more info. I hope he's OK!

This is a style specific to some of the Gulf countries. It isn't that common anymore but can still be seen worn by some older women, rural/tribal areas, and in general just people who dress very culturally because it is a unique cultural style. I've heard that Bandari Arabs in South Iran wear it as well. I've heard that some cultures differ the style of it (size, shape, how much of the face it covers, and decor) based on the woman's age and marital status.

I thought the post itself was quite funny and did laugh. The video, however, bothered me.

No, no, no, I think you're giving us too much credit...I only want to convert those I like ;) I'm just kidding, honestly but I couldn't resist.

It makes sense to remove God from the pledge and money, even if you aren't an Atheist because they have no place in government regulated things in a secular country where there is an emphasis on separation of religion and state. I also wish they'd remove religious holiday activities from public schools. My sister goes to public school and it has been a fight to get her out of the little Christmas, Halloween, Easter...etc activities without her losing credit for participation. I really think it'd be much better if they were seasonal activities and seasonal parties so that all faiths could participate. Ok, what on earth is a Jewish Atheist? I'm not trying to be offensive but isn't that an oxymoron? Or do they just mean Jewish as an ethnic group/heritage?

So glad they found her!

As I mentioned up thread, the general belief is that it is for people who don't believe in Islam/ that there is no God but God and Muhammad is His messenger and who are of sound mind, adulthood, living since the advent of Islam, and have heard and understood the message but rejected it. Although 2 other posters mentioned they disagreed on this premise.