Gregg R Thomas

Maybe look at things from a British Muslim girl’s POV:

Immigrants don’t need to integrate, you do

Also, you guys remain stuck in the habit of attributing the behavior, beliefs, actions, crimes of just some to group as a whole.

_Robert_ wrote:
And we can look at real crime data as well. 6.5% of the population accounts for 18.1% of the prison population. So almost three times the crime rate.

So, in Great Britain Muslims (who, let’s face it, face prejudices there) constitute a percent of prison population 2.78 times greater than their percentage of general…[Read more]

Well, it’s a mixed bag.  On the one hand it can be paranoid, aggressive and arrogant, responsible for the very worst that humans can do.  On the other, it’s a beacon of light.

what i think needs to be exposed is the dominant role of human nature in power dynamics and in adoption of beliefs.

Yes, why does it bring out the worst in people as well a…[Read more]

jakelafort wrote:
Simon, does not seem like the reaction to Muslims in UK is racist or xenophobic.

It’s a right wing trope – “we hate Muslims”.  Draw your own conclusions.

The abuse of vulnerable girls seems to be disproportionately done by Muslims, it’s true.  Although, everyone and his dog seems to be at them, because they’re vulnerable g…[Read more]

One of the stated tenets of Atheist Ireland is “You have Rights, your beliefs do not”.

jakelafort wrote:
islamophobia

I don’t know what it’s like in the US, but in the UK we have quite a lot of Muslims.  Some right wing people are forever going on about Muslims this and Muslims that.  Muslims are going to take over.  Muslims are going to declare Sharia Law.  Muslims are a bunch of evil freaks.  I hate Muslims.  That is Islam…[Read more]

jakelafort wrote:
Robert is describing the doctrine, belief and practices of that tiny cult. Is he tarring all 900 members of the cult? Or is he exposing the cult for what it is in simply describing it?

You can say that a cult has x, y and z doctrines, beliefs and practices.  But you can’t say that all the people in it are the same.

Reg the Fronkey Farmer wrote:
Scientifically speaking, there is only one human race: Homo sapiens. The concept of different “races” is a social construct, not a biological one.

The different ethnic groups look different and are different colours.  But I agree, those are superficial differences.

@jakelafort – Reg, do you think most of the deconverted are happy to have had their world view challenged and deconstructed?

In the long run, yes.  When Andy Dufresne escaped from Shawshank prison, he may have missed the social life he had with his friends inside but he never thought that returning to jail would be a solution. Returning…[Read more]

But it’s the same thing, to tar a whole group with the same negative brush.

Scientifically speaking, there is only one human race: Homo sapiens. The concept of different “races” is a social construct, not a biological one. We share more than 99.9% of the same DNA. Any physical differences are superficial and not indicative of any fundamental b…[Read more]

_Robert_ wrote:
Ah, OK. A religion is a race now.

Religion is not a race, and therefore you’re not being racist.  But it’s the same thing, to tar a whole group with the same negative brush.

_Robert_ wrote:
Ah, OK. A religion is a race now. Sorry, that’s profoundly dumb and you should know better. If someone believes and practices Islam as written and taught, they immediately drop 50 IQ points. Just look around at Muslim countries. AKA Shitholes. How many are democracies? What is their standard of living? How many are d…

[Read more]

@ Jake and Robert

Yada yada, yada…

It is wrong/unethical/immoral to make sweeping generalizations about a group, even Muslims.

Additionally, it’s illogical. It’s the fallacy of composition.

Example: Some people have turned a novel idea into a million dollar business. So, anyone with a novel idea can become a millionaire.

Despite all your…[Read more]

Now that we’re discussing, apparently seriously, whether Muslims are, as a group, stupid, shall we also ask the same about black people?

jakelafort wrote:
’ve wondered whether Muslims are innately lower in intelligence.

Wow…just wow.

All religions are superstition, but almost all advances in the past have been made in the context of some religion or other.

Jews have made many great scientific and mathematical contributions which have changed the source of history, but so h…[Read more]

Reg the Fronkey Farmer wrote:
I agree, perfection is just a subjective opinion. A living entity just needs to evolve to be the fittest for its environment. That is, it has adapted to survive in the environment it exists in.

And, typically, it continues to evolve toward a perfect solution, rarely, if ever, actually achieving it.

I was only talking about this last week with a friend who is a medical doctor from Pakistan. Marrying someone related to you is very common. I learned a new term during that conversation…..consanguineous marriage…read more here.

I agree, perfection is just a subjective opinion. A living entity just needs to evolve to be the fittest for its environment. That is, it has adapted to survive in the environment it exists in.

Regarding the Dawkins article…

It is wrong to think, as many people seem to do, that we humans are the pinnacle of humankind, that lions and tigers are the pinnacle of cathood, that the evolutionary process is complete now.

In fact, here’s how evolution works: when a trait helps a creature adapt, it tends to become incorporated; when it…[Read more]