[WillowTheWhisp]

Originally Posted by garinda

Mani does seem to be the one we expect to put forward the 'Muslim' point of view, and perhaps that is a lttle unfair.

I don't really expect Mani to be able to speak on behalf of all muslims any more than I would attempt to speak on behalf of all LDS let alone all Christians but it seems like he's the only muslim member we have these days and it's interesting to get his (muslim) point of view on things.

I have, until now, had the idea that most people are much more alike than they are different and that although there may be extremists in different walks of life that they are in the minority and that the rest of us are quite happy to get along with each other and live & let live.

I like the fact that children are taught basic information about many religions in school and my children come home with gems of knowledge that lead me to want to find out more. As people have been discussing Islam recently, not particulalrly on this message board but in many places due to the furore following the objections to those cartoons I've found myself wanting to know more about some things which we are being told are "facts" and which, on further investigation, seem not to be quite so factual. I was apalled to learn that the cartoons had been embellished and made worse than the originals before being shown in certain muslim countries with the claim that they were the originals. Why would anyone do such a thing? That was perhaps the first time I had ever had any anti-muslim views.

I have enjoyed visiting muslim countries, I have admired the beauty of the mosques and respected the reverence of the people. I have even felt that at times as a Latter-day Saint I had more in common with a devout muslim than with a nominal Christian. Last year on safari in the Sahara we met up with a guy from Accrington and our "Accy origins" gave us something in common in a foreign country whilst he was a muslim and I am a Christian - yet one thing we both laughed about was how Higher Antley Mosque had little in common with the beautiful buildings there. (Yes, I have been inside HA mosque as the board of school governors were invited there due to many of our children belonging to that one.)

Sadly I found myself reading mani's post on this thread, which dismissed the idea of any of us learning more about Mohammed, with disappointment and suspicion that perhaps others feel the same. Perhaps the person who I feel I have something in common with really regards me as not worthy of having an opinion. Perhaps all the muslims I think are friendly and just like me are really looking down on us and think that we are ignorant and beneath them. Perhaps they do not want equality with people they regard as inferior, perhaps they are merely paying lip service to tolerance. Perhaps Mani's post shows the reality that I have been trying to tell others they are wrong about. Perhaps I'm the one who has been the fool after all. I'd like to think not but sadly the one post dismissing us as too ignorant to learn about Mohammed and Islam has had this effect.

I've read, on another forum, people criticising Mohammed for the fact that he had several wives and in particular for the fact that one of them was very young. I've seen similar derogatory postings about the LDS prophets Joseph Smith and Brigham Young and so I wanted to know more from the muslim viewpoint, which led me to read more and I've been looking for more unbiased information to read. To that end I welcomed the opening post in this thread. I have read much of the link and will come back and read more. I hope to be able to regain my view that the majority of muslims do not regard all non-muslims as ignorant, but unfortunately Mani's post has left me with severe doubts now since he previously came across as someone who would communicate with the rest of us on an equal level rather than looking down on us as he now appears to have been doing.

I previously couldn't understand intollerant people, but now I think perhaps I know where it comes from. I have made comments myself that I think we try harder to please Asian immigrants in recent years and do more to fit in with their way of life, the languages, etc than we ever have done with any other immigrant group in the past, yet the more we do the more is expected - like the university thing where the hours will be changed to suite the minority. Far from being intollerant perhaps we have been far too tollerant and it's only led to more problems.

I'm waffling more than usual now so I'd better stop.