Laurie Posted June 13, 2016 Share Posted June 13, 2016 Did anyone see this story on the news a few months ago? http://www.wftv.com/news/local/iranian-doctors-planned-talk-on-islam-and-homosexuality-outrages-some-in-sanford/185803158 I didn't hear/see anything about this on our local ABC affiliate or its website. Did you? It's incredible to me that several years ago we heard all about that Florida pastor and his plans to burn the Muslim holy book even though it wasn't happening in our area. He wasn't planning on burning the people who read the book, just the book itself. And I still get very angry when I think about a local news story that I heard when the Salman Rushdie fatwa was in the news many years ago. A reporter talked to some men in a local mosque and asked what they would do if Rushdie were to walk in. One of the men said he would kill him. I was so outraged about it that I called the mosque. The man on the phone told me they only wanted to live peacefully with their neighbors. (If I ever hear death threats being made like this again, I'll be calling the police and homeland security.) I just don't understand why burning a book makes news around the world, but talking about exterminating people only creates a little stir in a local community??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChocolateReignRemix Posted June 13, 2016 Share Posted June 13, 2016 (edited) Probably for the same reason the Dominionists who want to stone gays and lesbians never get any coverage. Edited June 13, 2016 by ChocolateReignRemix 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiana Posted June 13, 2016 Share Posted June 13, 2016 Really sadly, if we reported on every time some lunatic religious extremist gave a talk about executing some group of people for their "sin", we'd never have time to talk about anything else. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hornblower Posted June 13, 2016 Share Posted June 13, 2016 What I did see actually was stories about Ted Cruz & Bobby Jindal attending an event where Kevin Swanson the "kill the gays" pastor gave a long speech reiterating his hideous views. I'm not sure why HuffPo called this story "why is media ignoring" this because a) HuffPo posted it, and b) Rachel Maddow did a long segment on it. It's not that it got ignored. It's that it got no traction - & that I think is the much bigger issue. It seems people either support it or don't care enough speak out against it. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michelangelo-signorile/post_10496_b_8544540.html 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shawthorne44 Posted June 13, 2016 Share Posted June 13, 2016 I think there needs to be some surprise for the story to get traction. Pastor talking about burning a book: surprise. Muslims talking about killing non-muslims: no-surprise. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurie Posted June 13, 2016 Author Share Posted June 13, 2016 (edited) What I did see actually was stories about Ted Cruz & Bobby Jindal attending an event where Kevin Swanson the "kill the gays" pastor gave a long speech reiterating his hideous views. I'm not sure why HuffPo called this story "why is media ignoring" this because a) HuffPo posted it, and b) Rachel Maddow did a long segment on it. It's not that it got ignored. It's that it got no traction - & that I think is the much bigger issue. It seems people either support it or don't care enough speak out against it. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michelangelo-signorile/post_10496_b_8544540.html Thanks for the link. When I read the pastor's name it sounded familiar and I had to go check my homeschool collection. Yes, I had his audio cd about special needs kids. Now that's in the garbage can. I don't believe in burning other people's holy books, but I have thrown away two books in the past. I threw away Dr. Mel Levine's book about special needs kids after the child molestation news came out about him, and the same with the cookbook by the "Frugal Gourmet"! I would usually donate stuff I no longer want or need, but if the person commits or even just suggests criminal behavior, then it's going straight to the garbage can. Once I know something about someone, I can't "unknow" it! Edited June 13, 2016 by Laurie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChocolateReignRemix Posted June 13, 2016 Share Posted June 13, 2016 Thanks for the link. When I read the pastor's name it sounded familiar and I had to go check my homeschool collection. Yes, I had his audio cd about special needs kids. Now that's in the garbage can. I don't believe in burning other people's holy books, but I have thrown away two books in the past. I threw away Dr. Mel Levine's book about special needs kids after the child molestation news came out about him, and the same with the cookbook by the "Frugal Gourmet"! I would usually donate stuff I no longer want or need, but if the person commits or even just suggests criminal behavior, then it's going straight to the garbage can. Once I know something about someone, I can't "unknow" it! I do the same thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 14, 2016 Share Posted June 14, 2016 I think there needs to be some surprise for the story to get traction. Pastor talking about burning a book: surprise. Muslims talking about killing non-muslims: no-surprise. Do you KNOW any Muslim people? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bettyandbob Posted June 14, 2016 Share Posted June 14, 2016 I think there needs to be some surprise for the story to get traction. Pastor talking about burning a book: surprise. Muslims talking about killing non-muslims: no-surprise. I live in an area with a significant Muslim population. I have Muslim neighbors, coworkers and friends. None of these people talk about killing non Muslims. Am I misinterpreting or are you being inflammatory. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petrichor Posted June 14, 2016 Share Posted June 14, 2016 I think there needs to be some surprise for the story to get traction. Pastor talking about burning a book: surprise. Muslims talking about killing non-muslims: no-surprise. I live in an area with a significant Muslim population. I have Muslim neighbors, coworkers and friends. None of these people talk about killing non Muslims. Am I misinterpreting or are you being inflammatory. I wrote out a reply similar to this, but it deleted itself. Shawthorne, I'm sure your local masjid would welcome you at an open house night, or, if you just made an appointment with an Imam wanting to meet with some of the members from the masjid. Our masjid (and many like it around the country) hold interfaith brunch type events in conjunction with local churches. If you have a church, see if you can make something like that happen. Get to know your neighbors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
umsami Posted June 14, 2016 Share Posted June 14, 2016 I think there needs to be some surprise for the story to get traction. Pastor talking about burning a book: surprise. Muslims talking about killing non-muslims: no-surprise. As somebody whose been a Muslim for over 20 years in numerous mosques within the United States, I've never heard a Muslim Imam or people talk about killing non-Muslims in person. No khutbahs (sermons) on it. No statements on it. Never one on killing homosexuals either, actually. I'll also add that those who think kafirs means Christians do not know a lot about Islam. Kafirs (non-believers) cannot be people of the book, which includes Christians, Jews, Zoroastrians, etc. People to whom God has sent a Holy Book too. There are Muslim scholars who include Hindus, Buddhists, and other major religions in as well. Even with that, you can't just kill a non-believer. There are tons of conditions. War or killing can only be done with reason... justly....War must be declared by a head of state. There can't be vigilante justice....there must be a trial, etc. You can't kill somebody who is not harming you or who hasn't broken a treaty with you, etc. Some other requirements include: Before engaging in battle, the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) instructed his soldiers: 1. “Do not kill any child, any woman, or any elder or sick person.†(Sunan Abu Dawud) 2. “Do not practice treachery or mutilation.(Al-Muwatta) 3. Do not uproot or burn palms or cut down fruitful trees.(Al-Muwatta) 4. Do not slaughter a sheep or a cow or a camel, except for food.†(Al-Muwatta) 5. “If one fights his brother, [he must] avoid striking the face, for God created him in the image of Adam.†(Sahih Bukhari, Sahih Muslim) 6. “Do not kill the monks in monasteries, and do not kill those sitting in places of worship. (Musnad Ahmad Ibn Hanbal) 7. “Do not destroy the villages and towns, do not spoil the cultivated fields and gardens, and do not slaughter the cattle.†(Sahih Bukhari; Sunan Abu Dawud) 8. “Do not wish for an encounter with the enemy; pray to God to grant you security; but when you [are forced to] encounter them, exercise patience.†(Sahih Muslim) 9. “No one may punish with fire except the Lord of Fire.†(Sunan Abu Dawud). 10. “Accustom yourselves to do good if people do good, and to not do wrong even if they commit evil.†(Al-Tirmidhi) 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurie Posted June 14, 2016 Author Share Posted June 14, 2016 As somebody whose been a Muslim for over 20 years in numerous mosques within the United States, I've never heard a Muslim Imam or people talk about killing non-Muslims in person. No khutbahs (sermons) on it. No statements on it. Never one on killing homosexuals either, actually. I'm not doubting you. What I'm shocked by is that someone in the community sounded the alarm about the visitor's teachings, the local news covered it before the event, and it didn't seem to cause more widespread outrage! When Mars Hill Church (with pastor Mark Driscoll) had some kind of parenting event featuring a Christian author who advocated spanking, I saw the news coverage of the protesters who showed up outside. I'm sure if someone came to our city to speak about exterminating gay people (as a compassionate act or not), there would be a huge reaction. I just can't understand how someone can show up in a Florida mosque, however small it may be, and speak like that. Honestly, it makes me really suspicious about a mosque (or any other house of worship) that would invite speakers from outside the country with a message about killing other people...it seems too convenient/calculating to be able to let that person be the one to talk about acts that would be against the law in the US and possibly inspire local radicals to action. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluegoat Posted June 14, 2016 Share Posted June 14, 2016 I think sometimes people's reactions relate to how widespread they see something as, or how likely to come to fruition. We all know there are nuts out there, and when they say nutty things, it often isn't really news. But if we think some nuttieness might be an example of something more common, or gain traction, we take it more seriously. I've seen a few news stories covering some nut statement where the reaction from the public, to the story, was very negative. People felt the reporter or agency was trying to manipulate emotion to get attention, or using a nut to imply something about a group. Also - some things are just chance - someone picks up on them, and writes an article. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hornblower Posted June 14, 2016 Share Posted June 14, 2016 Laurie, to give a slightly different perspective: as an atheist with a huge concern about the reaches of religion in public life, in North America, right now, my concern is with Christianity and not Islam. Globally that changes, but in NA, Christianity has the numbers and the power and the authority. Therefore, those of us who are concerned about uncovering and publicizing the extremists tend to focus on the Christian variety, because it appears the most relevant to us here right now. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.