Hatred for Muslims/Islam on ATS - where does it come from?

I have been reading a thread about a news item from Austria - about a yodelling angry lawn-mowing man. I have utterly shocked by the fear and loathing of Muslims/Islam in that thread.
If people were to make the same type of remarks about Jews, they'd be pounced on so fast their heads would spin.
It's utter and blatant racism that makes me want to vomit in my mouth.
I have to explain my points of view.
I am a Christian, and an ardent pacifist. I have Muslim friends and colleagues. I live in New Zealand - and here most Muslims are refugees from Somalia, Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan...
Does this (largely American) hatred and fear of Islam and Muslims come from fear (after 9/11), ignorance or from the kind of propaganda that Fox News is so famous for...
(I apologise if I have put this thread in the wrong place - I am a comparative newcomer, and I don't know the best place.)
Vicky

Welcome friend. I may as well be the 1st here to put my 2 cents in....

Prejudice exists for many reasons. Since you are a newcomer...read around here a bit. You'll find someone-somewhere who hates everything and everyone. Some are adamant. Many are opinionated, some are good-hearted, while others are plain evil. But, that doesnt make us all bad.

What it does do is make ATS a very good and wide cross-section...good and bad...of opinions from around the world. And knowledge is always a good thing. From it...we learn.

We learn to tolerate, and not to tolerate. We see the feelings of others, and can express our own. Such is man and women....and no 2 are alike.

Please dont judge us by the opinions of a few. Look deeper and you'll a very large group of different people, beliefs, races and creeds....all expressing their ideas, opinions and thoughts.

reply to post by Vicky32

If people were to make the same type of remarks about Jews, they'd be pounced on so fast their heads would spin.

Star & Flag for you my friend.

Those were my thoughts exactly when I was halfway through your thread, then I read those words. It seems only certain classifications are immune from criticism. Criticism should be given fairly and when it is due, it should never not be given due to the fact that it may offend certain groups of people. NO ONE is immune from fair and worthy criticism.

If the criticism is unjust or just plain stupid, then usually the criticism is coming from someone who is angry, racist, or just didn't think before they typed their post or opened their mouth.

Originally posted by mysterioustranger
Welcome friend. I may as well be the 1st here to put my 2 cents in....

Prejudice exists for many reasons. Since you are a newcomer...read around here a bit. You'll find someone-somewhere who hates everything and everyone. Some are adamant. Many are opinionated, some are good-hearted, while others are plain evil. But, that doesnt make us all bad.

What it does do is make ATS a very good and wide cross-section...good and bad...of opinions from around the world. And knowledge is always a good thing. From it...we learn.

We learn to tolerate, and not to tolerate. We see the feelings of others, and can express our own. Such is man and women....and no 2 are alike.

Please dont judge us by the opinions of a few. Look deeper and you'll a very large group of different people, beliefs, races and creeds....all expressing their ideas, opinions and thoughts.

Thank you for restoring my faith in human and ATS nature!
I did not expect such a thoughtful and considered reply..
Vicky

You are not alone,
But to be totally Honest,
All sides of the argument...
(Christian,atheist,Muslim,Jew,new age,etc,etc.)
come, for the most part from a place
Rooted in Foolish Pride and arrogance,
An illness all us human beings are born with.
But, I still think there's hope !
Maybe, one day we can put those things aside...
and just LOVE ONE ANOTHER.
That, in my humble opinion is the only way
we will defeat the darkness that keeps us all from being ONE.

Peace, The BrainGarden. Forgot, s&f

You confuse hatred of muslims for hatred of jihad.

The "hatred" comes from 1,400 years of nonstop Islamic Jihad against ALL non-muslims across the planet.

Wherever muslims interface with non-muslims there is violent Jihad.

Your question would be better posed to the adherents of the faith for which you apologize.

Why the planetary Jihad for 1,400 years? Why?

Islam and Muslims seek to cause harm to innocent people because of the actions of my government. They do not understand that the people had no say in both the Iraq or Afghanistan wars, and they see us as the target. That is what makes them the threat, and is why I loath every single one of them, and their religion. They would kill me and my family because of something we had nothing to do with.

reply to post by Vicky32


Just to point out, and it may seem a little pedantic. The term 'muslim' does not refer to race. The use of the term 'racism' in your OP is not really relevant. It should be 'bigotry. Of course bigots can also be racists, but sometimes the terms are confused. How many times have you heard it said that religious groups use the 'race card' when replying to specific incidents. In essence they are two seperate issues.

reply to post by Vicky32


Who hates Muslims? Hmm.. They are people, just like you or I.

However Islam is a shady bloody sneak.

I don't like obvious cults..

*No I am NOT an xtian*

reply to post by mike_trivisonno


really ? and can you provide a source for your claims ?

Originally posted by Vicky32
Does this (largely American) hatred and fear of Islam and Muslims come from fear (after 9/11), ignorance or from the kind of propaganda that Fox News is so famous for...

Yes, the hatred for Muslims originates from fear (of those different from us), ignorance and propaganda. Plus a few other reasons.

One: Willful ignorance of the part the West has played in systematically attacking and attempting to destroy the Muslim strongholds around the world. If people would look at history and how the West has treated Muslim countries in the past, they might have some inking of understanding, but they ignore it.

Two: Arrogance. The Arrogance of Americans. They think we're "right" to go after "our" resources in these other countries. They think it's OK to invade countries around the world and try to make them live by our laws and morals. They think America has it figured out and we have some sort of divine right to tell the rest of the world how to live.

Three: Greed. Many Americans don't understand the concept of sharing the world and her resources with all the people of the world. They seem to think they own it all and are letting other people live here out of some kindness... But many think that the US should own everything.

I'm sure there are other reasons (like bigotry), but I think those are the top, IMO.

Fortunately, some (and I would venture to say most) people understand that religious extremists do not represent the whole. Christian extremists don't represent the whole of Christians and Muslim extremists don't represent the whole of Muslims. The vocal minority just doesn't want to accept that.

Originally posted by Vicky32

I did not expect such a thoughtful and considered reply..
Vicky

Quick to oppose a negative view, but ready to hold one

ha

Those ATS people are such raci.. Oh wait, Hey.. you're alright!!

I think one reason may be that many see them as invading their country and demanding rules to be changed to suit them, as opposed to assimilating to the culture they chose to live in.
There are also some religious beliefs that the country's culture cannot tolerate such as how Muslim women are treated by their own.

Granted these examples are by no means across the board, but they happen enough to reinforce the stereotype.

reply to post by Vicky32


Hi Vicky32,
You raise a good point, however it's kind of naive in a way. That was not meant in a bad way by the way, naivety is a kind of compliment.

In the context of the post about the Austrian having to pay because he yodelled and his Muslim neighbours took offense. Well at face value it's the most moronic thing i've ever heard:
a) the Muslims should be more tolerant, especially since they choose to live in Austria a non Muslim country. They are at fault for their lack of intelligence and lack of integration
b) the government is at fault for even contemplating, let alone aggreeing, to fine the Austrian
c) the media plays us all for fools and thus pushes the fear/hatred agenda. N.B. The media is owned and controlled by Jews pushing their own Zionist agenda.

As to why there is so much hatred. If you actually dissect the hatred for what it is, some of it is warranted. Noone likes the thought of a chap wearing a belt full of explosives blowing himself up in the name of Allah. On the flip side noone likes the way the Zionist regime is controlling the media and pushing it's own hate campaign against the Muslims and hiding the fact.

On to the crux of the problem, this has been going on since the beginning of religion. Religion in itself is a form of mind control and serves to keep us all, the Christians, the Jews and the Muslims, in a constant state of fear and loathing of each other. You state you're an ardant Christian, thankfully you're one of those with open eyes, the rest cannot be said for the more fanatic Christians out there. I hate to say this to you, but your post deserves an honest approach and response: All religion is based in pure falsehood and serves to exploit human weakness in order to make money out of it, fact!

Regards,
T

Originally posted by dylandalek
Islam and Muslims seek to cause harm to innocent people because of the actions of my government. They do not understand that the people had no say in both the Iraq or Afghanistan wars, and they see us as the target. That is what makes them the threat, and is why I loath every single one of them, and their religion. They would kill me and my family because of something we had nothing to do with.

what makes you think your a target ? and first let me tell you your views of Islam are very twisted ,you have been feeding off the propaganda machine , let me enlighten you a bit ! 6 months ago if you would have met me ,you would have been very comfortable around me ! why ? because i was the biggest Islam hater ! i hated Muslims why? because i DID NOT UNDERSTAND ! and i was feeding off the propaganda machine ! , so in my path to gain spritule enlightenment and believe me when i tell you my good man i have been on this path for a very long time - so i decided to open my heart and see what Islam was all about - and woe ! to me i noticed that the music did not sound evil anymore ,nor did i get a bad feelings from it anymore ..infant the truth is i found peace a peace i have never seen any any religion i have studied , now its only a mater of time that i must take to deprogram my self from the religion i was raised in ! ,so the moral to the story is , NO! your family will not be hunted down ! do you really feel thees people would do this ? bare in mind they are humans ..let me QUOTE you a little something from their "evil book"

Those who believe in the Our' an, and those who fallow the Jewish scriptures ,and the Christians and the Fabians and who believe in Allah (OR GOD CAUSE ALLAH MEANS GOD) and the last day ,and work righteousness , shall have their reward with their Lord ,on them shall be no fear ,nor shall they grieve

keep in mind that theese people do not just go out and kill people ! it is a big sin to do that ,however they will only attack ,if their religion is being attacked or if their home is being attacked , and it sounds like to me that thats just what the USA and other supporting country's are doing ? is it not ? would you not defend your home ? would you not defend your creator ?

you see evil killers ,i see brave warriors willing to die for their creator ,let me ask you if you have a religion ,and you believe in your god ,would you not die to protect his word ?


Nephi

Originally posted by torqpoc
In the context of the post about the Austrian having to pay because he yodelled and his Muslim neighbours took offense. Well at face value it's the most moronic thing i've ever heard:

Which is why you should have looked further into it, as some here on ATS did. Turns out the yodeler has been harassing his Muslim neighbors every Friday at prayer time for over a year now, even after being told to cease by the authorities. There was no fine, nor did a judge rule. They settled out of court and the yodeler paid 800 pounds to his neighbor to prevent himself from getting into legal trouble. That story was about an ass hat harassing his neighbors, nothing more.

Fox news, Sean Hannity on the radio.
Michael Savage.
It doesn't come from ATS.
But it's dragged in from other "sources".

Don't believe that?
Go read the Forums that Hannity sets up for his Radio show.
Then wash your hands...and your brain.

Originally posted by Nephi1337You see evil killers ,i see brave warriors willing to die for their creator ,let me ask you if you have a religion ,and you believe in your god ,would you not die to protect his word ?

Dear Nephi1337,
Your post was nice, your last sentence was a bit off. There is nothing wrong with defending your family, your country, even your religion. Targetting civilians however is wrong in any context, and under the guise of any religion.

Atrocities are the same if you're a Christian, Jew or Islamist.

Regards,
T

reply to post by Nephi1337


I would never take advice from someone who capitulates their soul to that evil cult, to support these murderers in the way you have described galvanises my belief that you are all evil.

Originally posted by Benevolent Heretic

Originally posted by torqpoc
In the context of the post about the Austrian having to pay because he yodelled and his Muslim neighbours took offense. Well at face value it's the most moronic thing i've ever heard:

Which is why you should have looked further into it, as some here on ATS did.

Turns out the yodeler has been harassing his Muslim neighbors every Friday at prayer time for over a year now, even after being told to cease by the authorities. There was no fine, nor did a judge rule. They settled out of court and the yodeler paid 800 pounds to his neighbor to prevent himself from getting into legal trouble. That story was about an ass hat harassing his neighbors, nothing more.

Dear Benevolent Heretic,
In that case I humbly apologise for being a guppy who read the news and, like a moron, believed it. I am sorry.

The rest of my post still stands though =) I don't always have the time to check everything, sadly. I now feel a little stupid though, so thanks for that! *grin*

Regards,
T