Question

Explain one particular current event or issue in the Middle East in which the religion(s) of the area are impacting other people's perceptions of that religion in a negative way.

Answer 1

well there are guys out there who are so devoted to their god they will strap a bomb to themselves and blow up 99 others in the hope of getting 40 virgins etc etc

and although the killing of others is generally frowned up i personally think that kind of unwavering devotion is -misplaces as it is- highly respectable. how many of us love our gods / friends / whatever to such an extent that we would die for them?

Answer 2

the thing is and i will stereotype here, that movies like taken and that one about the bomb on the plane and every single time without fail everyone suspects that its the "arab looking guy" who is the culprit

Answer 3

stereotyping is bad and saying there arent nice people in every religion is false

people believe what they wish and if they will die for that belief then thats awesome

if they wanna kill others then thats kinda arguable

people can stereotype me and @mathgeek27 because we go to pompous schools but the reality is that we're super duper poor

Answer 4

whats happening in the gaza strip and the helmand province and etc etc is nothing different then the 3000 years of warefare that have happened in the past

theyre still fighting among themselves

and people from distant lands are still being sent in

Answer 5

man theres just so much i can say

Answer 6

from a soldier who has un-offically been there and seen first hand the impacts of religious disputes; i think holy war isnt as glorious as it is made out to be

Answer 7

theyre fighting because they believe in their god and his rules

Answer 8

we got sent in because we believe in our government and its rules

Answer 9

there are some crazy azz despotic tyrannical megalomaniac autocrats

Answer 10

on both sides

Answer 11

and thats not cool

Answer 12

but that doesnt matter because what the world sees on the news is some "arab looking guy" blow 999 civilians up and they dont like that

they dont stop for a second to think about the "arab guy's" beliefs

and im not saying what he did was good

but that judging is wrong

Answer 13

i could honestly write about this forever but i have a lab to prepare for

Answer 14

just take it from me

Answer 15

i have a HUGE reason to hate them all and i dont

Answer 16

(that doesnt mean i give them a pat on the back and a treat when they kill innocents)

Answer 17

and its because of my faith that i am able to say "you know what mate thats okay i forgive you"

Answer 18

like i said i should hate them and i did for a very long time

before you do the same take a look at yourself and you may not have blown up a school full of kids but is one sin any more devastating than another?

Answer 19

if i kept 9 out of 10 commandments then does that mean i am pure and perfect

Answer 20

they are still human

Answer 21

and they may seem so heartless

Answer 22

but maybe thats because youre looking at them from a tv screen on the other side of the world and dont know what its like to be them or to grow up with their stringent beliefs

Answer 23

i seem to be making a lot of excuses for mass murder and thats not my intent

murder on any scale is bad

blowing yourself up for you god, to me, is bad

but being that devoted is amazing

and if my god asked me to do that would i be brave enough to

Answer 24

man i suck at explaining stuff in short:

were all human (means we all suck at being pure)

what you think they are they think you are (so if you think theyre bad they will look at you as if all you do is act prejudiced towards them)

Answer 25

yeah they kill people and thats super bad

but look at yourself; you lie and steal (maybe not physically but you sure do steal glory from God) and you turn a blind eye to that?

Answer 26

okay imma stop because i have written too much and stuff

Answer 27

peace

Answer 28

@grray7 @arabpride @JoshuaKNM @RabbiMordcha @KenLJW @Algorithmic @ericanoel912 @Jumperman

Answer 29

i dunno if you guys wanna comment and say "Prae you douche you totally missed the point and went off on a tangent" etc lol

Answer 30

i guess i did but my point is i have a super good reason to hate what the majority of the "civilised world" would condemn and instead i am trying to save them because once upon a time one of them saved me

Answer 31

but that of course if classified etc etc