Very happy to change 'jihad' to one of its meanings, ie: "a war or struggle against unbelievers". Moazaam Begg is a best an apologist for Islamic terrorism, and at worst a terrorist himself. Presumably you think John Terry should not have been fined and banned for using the word 'black' after being found not guilty by a British court?

As for common and garden Islam, there is no such thing as Islamophobia. There are people who dislike Islam and will continue to dislike it no matter what fatuous legislation is enacted. They dislike it for perfectly good, rational, reasons: honour murders, female genital mutilation, Sharia courts, rampant postal vote fraud, trojan horse schools, hate preachers, anti-gay laws (including the death penalty), anti-women laws, anti-apostate laws (including the death penalty, anti-Semitism, etc.corrupt civil administration,
grooming gangs in dozens of cities etc etc etc

Edited by derben (17 Jun 2015 9.59am)

Its a good job no Christians have ever been involved in terrorist groups in the UK.

Or are we forgetting the Loyalists and the Provos?

Of course you can compare the Terry case with Begg's. Both were found not guilty of offences although many thought them guilty. You think Terry was guilty and a 'racist prick' for saying the word 'black'; I think Begg was guilty and attended a terrorist training camp and facilitated terrorism overseas. (The fact that Terry was fined and banned by the kangaroo court of the FA is neither here nor there.)

A 'phobia' is a fear of something, not necessarily a dislike. I don't have much time for any religion, but find it hard to take seriously your comments on Christian genital mutilation (who/where?), women as second class citizens (women Bishops now!), homophobic (see many Christian priests and vicars!). As for them massacring people and justifying terrorism - it must be a strange place on planet Serial.

I'm glad you asked Derben, it's always a nice feeling to teach people new things.

1. In Ethiopia, a Christian country, FGM affects around 85% of women. In other countries like Mali and Burkina Faso, where significant Christian minorities cohabit with Muslims, levels of FGM in those Christian communities is also worryingly high. FGM occurs all over Africa, whether Muslim, Christian or whatever.

2. Female clergy in one country in one strand of Christianity doth not equality make. Congo's civil war lead to the raping of tens of thousands of women in a Christian country, which is ranked, along with Christian Guatemala, as one of the top 10 worst nations to live in as a woman. Even in Western countries like Britain and America, women are dissuaded from work, and taught to be more docile than their husbands.

3. If you can't see homophobia in Christianity, you're beyond help.

4. Here is a list of 6 terrorist organisations who use Christian teachings and ideologies to justify their means, just as Al-Qaeda/IS do with Islam: [Link] Add to that the mass-murders of Anders Breivik, a radical Christian, and you realise that religious justification for atrocities is actually fairly prominent in Christianity!

As a side note, I have nothing against religions. We all follow certain dogmas and superstitions, be they political, theistic, philosophical or nationalistic. Religion has done brilliant humanitarian work, brought solace to millions and provided spiritual guidance across the globe. This is as true of Islam as it is of Christianity. But what is equally true is every religion, from Scientology to Buddhism, has been manipulated for atrocious ends.

See this view, in my mind, is hypocritical. When Egypt genitally mutilate women, it's because of Islam. Yet when Ethiopia do it, it's 'nothing directly to do with Christianity'. When Breivik massacres people, writing directly Islamophobic sentiment and calling for radical Catholicism, his religion remains out of the limelight, whereas when Muslims commit similar crimes, their religion is not only the basis for why they did it, but a virulent characteristic which inherently leads people to violence. When Congolese Christians rape women, it's 'nothing directly to do with Christianity'. When IS do similar, it is everything to do with Islam.

Why? And more importantly, why do I even need to waste my time explaining that all religion is used for vicious ends, some to even greater extents than Islam has ever done (the Borges and Crusades killed more than IS ever will)? Islamic society has given us Maths, the guitar, coffee, soap, chemistry etc etc. Islamic nations like Indonesia and Turkey continue to boast some of the most incredible cultures on the planet, far more tolerant and inclusive than ours. If Islam is so evil, why are these countries so wonderful?

Like I say, what follows scapegoating is ignorance, and what follows ignorance is panic. If you are afraid of something, learn more about it and you'll realise that it really isn't that bad after all. Derben, why not pop down to your local mosque and see what they have to say to your criticisms of their religion? I'm sure they'd be willing to discuss it with you.