Man Murdered in Woolwich

[BDunnell]

Putting historical texts, religious and otherwise, into their proper context with the modern world assumes a level of reasonableness, history and understanding which is not compatible with the vast majority of the world's population - islamic and other.

I would contend that many of them, from my admittedly limited study some years ago, have little context for the modern world beyond the allegorical.

[mr nobody]

Ban Islam? How on earth would that ever work? The very notion is absurd, and only espoused by fools.

Not as absurd as you seemingly pinning on me the notion to ban it. If you look, I replied to a post that said someone's friend was wanting a ban on Islam, not me.

[Rollo]

Birmingham murder may have been racially motivated, say police | UK news | The Guardian
A 75-year-old man stabbed to death yards from his home may have been targeted in a racially motivated attack, according to police.
Mohammed Saleem, who used a walking stick, was stabbed three times in the back as he returned home from prayers at his local mosque in Small Heath, Birmingham, on Monday night.

Did Mr Cameron call a meeting of Cobra after this had happened? Of course not. An attack by a Muslim makes world headlines, yet an attack on a Muslim barely made it to page 16 of the Guardian.

I think that the biggest lesson than can and should be learned from this is the bravery of Ingrid Loyau-Kennett. She was armed not with a gun, nor a knife, nor a meat cleaver; only her own humanity.
She destroyed these murderers’ madness with one weapon they could never possess: reason.

[BDunnell]

Not as absurd as you seemingly pinning on me the notion to ban it. If you look, I replied to a post that said someone's friend was wanting a ban on Islam, not me.

Where in my post do I say that you want to ban it? I merely said that the notion was ridiculous.

[BDunnell]

Birmingham murder may have been racially motivated, say police | UK news | The Guardian
A 75-year-old man stabbed to death yards from his home may have been targeted in a racially motivated attack, according to police.
Mohammed Saleem, who used a walking stick, was stabbed three times in the back as he returned home from prayers at his local mosque in Small Heath, Birmingham, on Monday night.

Did Mr Cameron call a meeting of Cobra after this had happened? Of course not. An attack by a Muslim makes world headlines, yet an attack on a Muslim barely made it to page 16 of the Guardian.

Well, quite. I would say that Cobra seems to be convened at the drop of a hat nowadays — otherwise, the PM's response has been decidedly sensible and measured — but the point about coverage and the feeling of threat that results definitely holds.

[CaptainRaiden]

Drummer Lee Rigby gets killed by stupid extremists because of what they perceived he did or deemed to be responsible just by being in the army.

And as this snowballed, other extremists cowardly stabbed A 75 year old harmless man in the back for....well......just being Muslim.

As always, as it happens in these scenarios, only the innocent die, while the responsible sit in their comfy chairs and plot their next plan of attack.

F***ing sad really.

[ndegroot89]

I was shocked when I saw this...can't believe how bold they were to do this in the middle of the street in broad daylight. Is there any reason why all those people just stood there while he gave that interview; just scared? He's lucky I wasn't there.

[mr nobody]

And stories like this one from Yahoo do little to smooth over the image Islam has in the world: Exiled cleric who taught UK knifeman praises 'courage'

[markabilly]

While I agree with the above responses to this point I'd also like to point out that when it comes to extrapolating the behaviour of literally a handful of people to billions of Muslims we are failed by the limitations in our ability to perceive risk and probabilities accurately.

We have a tendency as a species to directly focus on examples of behaviour by a particular group that promote our pre-existing views on them and ignore evidence that doesn't fit. We have an astonishingly strong ability to blind ourselves to evidence that contradict our point of view or twist them to suit.

Therefore in this case if people perceive Muslims to be violent then they will remember events like yesterdays and ignore the behaviour of peaceful Muslims they may encounter directly or through the media. Alternatively if they believe Muslims to be peaceful they will classify yesterday's event as an aberration, the action of extremists and take faith in the behaviour of the vast majority of Muslims.

True to a point, but even you have demonstrated your own prejudices and perceptions and without it being obvious, or perhaps you failed to see it, in your own post

[markabilly]

I don't get all the fuss about how this doesn't have to do with Muslim's or Islam, when it's pretty clear that a) the perpetrators usually use Islam as the justification for their actions, and far more importantly b) Verse 9:123 - "Believers, make war on the infidels who dwell around you."

It's right there in the very book. In plain Arabic, and as far as I'm aware there's little controversy about the translation or interpretation. Consider this; if any religious text had been written today, would they be allowed to gather support and followers? I think we all know the answer to that one.

I don't single out Islam as being the only bad religion, to greater or lesser extents they all are, but it is probably the worst, and certainly on a practical level it currently is.

oh, some time back, there was a long thread where people demonstrated an inability to read and understand the teachings of the "prophet" and what they really mean. Hatred and the killing of nonbelievers is not only tolerated but demanded by the faith as written in the Koran.

One need only consider that the prophet was a big practioner of pural marriage and even married a girl who was somewhere between 9 to 12 years old.....and there are far worse things to be found as part of the faith of Islam.

So aas far as the Koran is concerned, the murder was not only acceptable but a commendable act of faith.

But after all, the "vast majority of Moslems" are peaceful....so were the vast majority of members of the Nazi party in Germany

be blind and ignore it all you want, but there it is....