<p>i just read a report that a pastor in north carolina hung up a sign on his church's front yard that read-
"the koran needs to be flushed"</p>
<p>the koran is the holy book for all muslims (as the bible is to christians)</p>
<p>well im not muslim, but i am an international student who willbe studying in the US... but this is still shocking for me...</p>
<p>do u ppl feel that religious intolerence is surfacing?</p>
<p>This isnt a good issue to talk about. There biggots here. But again there are biggots in all countries. Being from a Muslim nation, I have first hand account of hatred for Jews and Christian. (i am not a biggot). So just dont take this at face value. These people will learn their lessons the hard way. I love America :)</p>
<p>In America, he has the right to hang out that sign just like the rest of us have the right to calll him an idiot and boycott his church. I'm usually live-and-let-live with fools like that until they start trying to legislate their beliefs on everybody else. When that happens, I grow fangs. :)</p>
<p>yep sadly enough, advertising intolerance has been upheld....being a Muslim, i don't support such a pastor's claim, but i do acknowledge his right to do so...the only way it'd be unfair is if a radical mosque didn't have the right to advertise equal but opposite philosophy...so in the context of the first amendment, morality is not an issue, just equality for all groups...this is why it is legal for neonazis and the kkk to parade in a street with a petition.</p>
<p>They have the right to speak out what in their mind. Same in the case of Muslim nations</p>
<p>I love free speech, and unfortunately, I have to admit making the pastor tear down a sign of his own thoughts would be a greater tyranny than letting it remain. That being said, the pastor does need however a firm, hard slap across the face.</p>
<p>One thing I always found strange, was how some religions claim that God (or another higher power) created everyone as equals, and that God loves everyone equally, yet these religions are firmly against anyone outside that religion.</p>
<p>Eh, it's kinda immature. Okay let's say he wants to convert people to his religion. How will he achieve that by putting up such rude signs? First off, you will have some Muslims not showing any sympathy toward this guy or his religion. Then you'll have those who aren't a part of his religion not listening to him either because they are tolerant of others, and they'll find it offensive..even if they aren't Muslims either. </p>
<p>So anyway.. you're an international..you may find religious intolerance especially evident in the South, seriously. Go to NY and you probably won't find a lot of prejudice there since the people are so mixed. </p>
<p>But there has always been religious intolerance since Day 1 in 1607 when settlers told the Indians to "get off their land" (it wasn't their land, indians were there 1st!)..and there will always be religious intolerance. I mean, some people really can't help it, they were raised that way. It's really not terribly bad though, I'm sure you'll be fine. You'll probably like it here because of all the "stuff" here..like the clothes and the food and man, everything :)</p>
<p>"do u ppl feel that religious intolerence is surfacing?"</p>
<p>are you kidding. this is one isolated example of a person being what I would call slightly insensitive, at worst. since when is it verboten to criticize the Koran for the messages it may or may not contain. i'm no scholor in this field, but I do know that some people with sufficient education in these matters (specifically Islamic dogma and religious writings) do have bones to pick with the Koran. Whether the person in this story was making a legitimate criticism or just being hyperbolic in response to Newsweek's lies we can't rightly tell, but we should all lay off the "intolerance" panic button for a moment and be rational. "this is still shocking for me" Why not be shocked by irresponsible reporting and the Muslim extremists who used a news article as justification for rioting and killing people.</p>
<p>also, if you think intolerance is "just" surfacing, you should look no further than the Muslim Mid East. i'd say its one of the biggest hotbeds of religious intolerance in the world.</p>
<p>^
i know that the middle east is a hot bed for extremism.</p>
<p>what i found "shocking" was that such things could happen in america- a country that i NEVER thought such things could happen in. however i was unaware of the fact that expressing ur views on a particular religion is condoned by the first amendament as long as everyone has the right to do so. (as someone pointed out to me on this thread)</p>
<p>what i do finding alarming is what you said-
[Quote]
example of a person being what I would call slightly insensitive, at worst.
[/Quote]
</p>
<p>slightly??? i can think of few things that are more offensive than this.</p>
<p>but i guess where i come from (india) religion is given alot more importance than in america, and people tend to get very passionate about religion in my country..</p>
<p>(im athiest btw)</p>
<p>
I agree with you that every1 has a freedom of speech. and although i might sound stereotypical here, every right has a certain amount of responsibility and you can't just speak whatever comes to your mind! you have to show some social responsibilty.
This article, although many might not know some of the facts used in it, illustrates it properly.
<a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1123486.cms%5B/url%5D">http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1123486.cms</a></p>
<p>i have to completely disagree with that article adides:</p>
<p>should we dilute the truth just becuase it may offend someones feelings?
thats cowardice, not "self-relugation" to me.</p>
<p>free speech is allowed, but paraphenalia that promotes hatred is banned, isn't it?</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>If i speak out some pretty volatile things just to prove that i am not a coward and get 100 ppl killed in a riot, i think thats very insensitive of me. then do u agree when MODI (a religious fanatic) speaks out his mind against certain religion, is it ok? I dont think so.
So i think there has to be a limit to all the freedoms!</p>
<p>well i said we should not dilute the TRUTH. what modi, the pastor in question and oher religious fanatics allover the world have to say is not the TRUTH. they make statements only to incite hatred and disharmony.</p>
<p>but i will proclaim the truth, regardless of what people think of it. because the TRUTH is sacrosanct. u cannot give in to violence and agree to mellow down.</p>
<p>I find a disturbing rise in anti-Christian intolerance, actually. I only began to notice it maybe five or so years ago... possibly because of the moral issues that came to light in the last two presidential elections.</p>
<p>To the OP, these things happen in the United States all the time. Unfortunately, that people have the right to express themselves in this way is one of the things which makes the United States great- even if people misuse their right to free speech.</p>
<p>"slightly??? i can think of few things that are more offensive than this."</p>
<p>did you even read what i said? all the pastor said was that "the koran should be flushed." Hyperbolic in it's criticism of Islam, yes, an illegitimate opinion that Islamic extremists use the koran to condone their violence, no. and lets remember, it's not as if the pastor pulled this particular line out of thin air. it's a reference to a Newsweek article about Guantanamo Bay guards flushing Korans down toilets, one which was later retracted. </p>
<p>also, i'llbeback, it's very presumtuous of you to say that the pastor's opinons are all lies and that yours are the truth. people are becoming way too sensitive about offending other people's beliefs.</p>
<p>i agree with illbeback.</p>
<p>nowhere did i bring in MY opinion of the Koran. all im saying is that it was insensitive of the pastor to put up such a sign. whether he conjured it out of thin air or derived it from recent news articles doesn't in anyway detract from it's offensiveness.</p>
<p>I read the Newsweek article. If it is proven true, then the US should be ashamed of itself and apologise to the Muslim world.</p>