Why Arabs are so Easily Offended

[Sandman]

I think the whole ”the old testament doesn't apply to me” line is basically a copout. If it's truly god's divine word, then you should follow the laws with the same vigor as any orthodox Jew. I'm familiar with all the debates surrounding the ”new covenant”, so we really don't have to lay out all the verses here, but I think we should be able to both agree that, this being a Bible discussion, there are just as many verses supporting the opposite view. Just look at the multiple new testament passages, particularly in Matthew, where Jesus himself specifically says that he hasn't come to supersede ”the Law”, meaning the Hebrew mosaic law. He goes out of his way to make this clear. Even later in Matthew when he makes the ”he who breaks the least of these commandments” statement, i'm paraphrasing but i'm sure you know the one. I get that mosaic law was written specifically for the Jews, but in a much larger sense, so was the entire Bible given the dynamics of the time period. The debate over whether or not there is a ”new covenant” goes back to the very beginning of christianity, and from what I understand it's attributed to Paul. His side of the argument obviously won out, allowing the religion an infinitely wider audience, but that doesn't make it the one right interpretation. Many Hebrew and Christian scholars and religious leaders at the time vehemently argued against it, and maintained that mosaic law still applied. Ultimately, if you reject mosaic law, then you might as well reject the entire old testament, and I doubt you do that (not assuming, just doubting).

To bring this back around to my original comparison of muslims and christians, it's worth pointing out that there's a similar debate within Islam as well. Not perfectly analogous, but enough so it makes my point. There are pays of the Quran which suggest that there are different shariah for different time periods (ie: old laws need not apply to modern times), while other verses assert the opposite, that the law is the law. Point being, muslims generally err on the side of safety and follow the old laws, while western Christians take the opposite route and err on the side of convenience, forcing the square peg into the round hole. It really doesn't matter which interpretation of either holy book is ”right”. What matters is that when given essentially the same choice as modern christians, muslims choose to follow the old laws because they actually fear their God. Because they actually believe he is real. If Christians had the same gut belief, they'd make the same choice.

This is my point. As a western Christian, you cherry-pick your contradictions to fit modern life. I'm not criticizing, I think it's great. Why? Because unlike you, I don't believe the civility of our society comes from Christian values. I think it comes from our secularism. I've read the Bible a few times, and I think I have a fairly good idea of what our society would look like if the 80% or so of Americans who call themselves Christian actually no-shit believed in their religion the way muslims believe in Islam. It doesn't look too fun.

[RoyBatty]

[PoS]

Affluence and education plays a role too- I find Muslims in Malaysia and Brunei (who are generally pretty well off compared to ordinary folks in the ME) to be pretty mellow when it comes to tolerance in general, although there are still pockets of extremism around. But yes, Islam isn't just a religion, its a way of life- Mohammed was a genius compared to the writers of the bible simply because he prescribed a series of doctrines that people had to immerse themselves in their faith in order to live it. Islam's directives are classic cult programming techniques.

[eynon81]

[eynon81]

[eynon81]

[PoS]

[Sandman]

[Sandman]

[Sandman]

Well, it's just been my own experience. I respect that you have a different outlook. I can't tell you what you've experienced. Everywhere I've personally been in majority muslim countries (not just minority arab muslim communities in western nations), what I said about germ theory has overwhelmingly been the norm. And again, germ theory is just one tiny example to illustrate the larger point. In Islamic countries, the majority of muslims share the general notion that the Quran contains all the important stuff. It's a point of pride. And as you said, I would completely agree that it's not anti-science or anti-education. On the contrary, it's very popular for muslims to take great pride in what they perceive to be predictions of modern science in the Quran. How they "got it right" before the western world, or rather, how the western world built upon (or stole, to the extremist) what was already being taught by Islam.

This has all probably gotten way too anecdotal and personal, and that's my fault. In the end, my contention is just that muslims are more easily offended by affronts to their religion because they have a deeper and more total belief in their religion than the others we tend to compare them to (Christians, Jews, Hindus, etc). I have my personal experience that has led me to this conclusion, but clearly, it's too subjective to really debate in depth. I can accept that.