They Rioted Over Muhammed, They Rioted Over Football
December 11th 2007 19:23
Soccer is a religion in many parts of Europe and South America which is why the results of particularly heated soccer matches end in violence. Perhaps they are not religiously motivated in the literal sense but I beg to differ, the effects are one in the same and argument one way or another is simply arguing the semantics.
Passion and dedication drives anger in those who are weak minded. When someone asks why only Islam seems to create people who riot over such things as cartoons they ignore some key points. It isn't that the religion is inherently violent, it isn't that the followers want to create a Sharia state. To put it most concisely, many Muslims are passionate and dedicated to their beliefs yet know very little of them.
But why the rioting? Surely there are those non-Muslims who are passionate about their beliefs enough to be angry over yet another insulting portrayal of Jesus Christ? There are many explanations for it yet any simple reason will not give the whole picture, and at best may only partly explain the broader picture.
One such reason is the victim mentality Muslims have. While every minority and majority has such a mentality Muslims probably are the most right in claiming this status. The reason is of course from the 'war on terror'. Nothing gets ones blood boiling as 'Muslims Disguised as Christian Pilgrims threw fire crackers inside a Church sparking riot in Israel' though something more along the lines of 'Jews Disguised as Christian Pilgrims Threw Fire Crackers Inside a Church Sparking Riots in Israel' is hardly news. Hey, it's in a foreign country, has very little to do with the current world climate and to put it simply, who cares?
Islam is founded on five commandments or as they are known ‘pillars’. These make up the fundamental aspects of Islam, they are:
1) Agreeing that there is only one god and that Muhammed is his last messenger
2) Praying five times a day
3) Paying charity
4) Fasting on Ramadhan
5) If possible going on a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once
If Islam is inherently a violent religion why would none of its five founding principles, the five points that define a Muslim, make calls to war or violence in the slightest?
Of course the same principle can be applied to Christianity, if indeed it was an inherently violent religion why would one of its underlying principles be ‘love thy enemy’? Both Islam and Christianity beg for peace before anything else, yet extremists can fool those who know little of their beliefs but have plentiful passion for them to take a more distorted view.
There is no one group that is singly tied to extremism, soccer fans can be extremists just as well as Muslims could be, they both riot over the most ridiculous of things. In a world without religion someone would take advantage of the typical soccer fans misplaced energy and use it to gain power. So the question ultimately comes down to, why is it that Muslims suffer such negative stigma as inherently violent people?
The magnitude of news will always play second fiddle to its timeliness and context. Islam is just the subject of the day and has been designated as the 'last remaining extremist religion' or anything else following those lines. The rational will of course know better, extremism is inherently an entity in its own right and festers itself in different forms yet always exists for the same purpose. You cannot attribute extremism specifically to any given religion or doctrine without attributing it to all religions and doctrines.
Make no mistake, even if all religions were wiped off the face of the Earth extremism would exist. Extremism is not something that exists because of religion, it exists because many people are passionate about things with very little understanding of it. You cannot change this short of changing the human race. Extremism will find a way, be it through football or patriotism or religion, it's something all humans are capable of and no one is exempt, except those who can control their passion.
Passion and dedication drives anger in those who are weak minded. When someone asks why only Islam seems to create people who riot over such things as cartoons they ignore some key points. It isn't that the religion is inherently violent, it isn't that the followers want to create a Sharia state. To put it most concisely, many Muslims are passionate and dedicated to their beliefs yet know very little of them.
But why the rioting? Surely there are those non-Muslims who are passionate about their beliefs enough to be angry over yet another insulting portrayal of Jesus Christ? There are many explanations for it yet any simple reason will not give the whole picture, and at best may only partly explain the broader picture.
One such reason is the victim mentality Muslims have. While every minority and majority has such a mentality Muslims probably are the most right in claiming this status. The reason is of course from the 'war on terror'. Nothing gets ones blood boiling as 'Muslims Disguised as Christian Pilgrims threw fire crackers inside a Church sparking riot in Israel' though something more along the lines of 'Jews Disguised as Christian Pilgrims Threw Fire Crackers Inside a Church Sparking Riots in Israel' is hardly news. Hey, it's in a foreign country, has very little to do with the current world climate and to put it simply, who cares?
Islam is founded on five commandments or as they are known ‘pillars’. These make up the fundamental aspects of Islam, they are:
1) Agreeing that there is only one god and that Muhammed is his last messenger
2) Praying five times a day
3) Paying charity
4) Fasting on Ramadhan
5) If possible going on a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once
If Islam is inherently a violent religion why would none of its five founding principles, the five points that define a Muslim, make calls to war or violence in the slightest?
Of course the same principle can be applied to Christianity, if indeed it was an inherently violent religion why would one of its underlying principles be ‘love thy enemy’? Both Islam and Christianity beg for peace before anything else, yet extremists can fool those who know little of their beliefs but have plentiful passion for them to take a more distorted view.
There is no one group that is singly tied to extremism, soccer fans can be extremists just as well as Muslims could be, they both riot over the most ridiculous of things. In a world without religion someone would take advantage of the typical soccer fans misplaced energy and use it to gain power. So the question ultimately comes down to, why is it that Muslims suffer such negative stigma as inherently violent people?
The magnitude of news will always play second fiddle to its timeliness and context. Islam is just the subject of the day and has been designated as the 'last remaining extremist religion' or anything else following those lines. The rational will of course know better, extremism is inherently an entity in its own right and festers itself in different forms yet always exists for the same purpose. You cannot attribute extremism specifically to any given religion or doctrine without attributing it to all religions and doctrines.
Make no mistake, even if all religions were wiped off the face of the Earth extremism would exist. Extremism is not something that exists because of religion, it exists because many people are passionate about things with very little understanding of it. You cannot change this short of changing the human race. Extremism will find a way, be it through football or patriotism or religion, it's something all humans are capable of and no one is exempt, except those who can control their passion.
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