[WOMBAI]

Originally Posted by Dezzy

Not all muslims are intolerant, if you base your opinion of an entire religion on the actions of a few then all religions and creeds are bloodthirsty and evil and none moreso then Christianity, If we look back in history Christianity have slaughtered millions, burnt women to death for no reason and have looked down and restricted rights to various types people in socieity. If we are to take that approach in modern times then should branches of Christianity like the Westboro church should represent the religion as a whole? Are all Christians extreme homophobes that preach hatred to all creeds apart from themselves? No, and it's the same thing for muslims. There's extremists in every religion but you can't judge the whole on a minority.

The point about Islamic countries is laughable and quite intolerable towards in itself which is quite contradictory to what you are trying to say. If a country doesn't want different creeds and cultures then they should close the country's borders. People emmigrate for plenty of reasons, thousands of Brittons move to other countries for work and such and it's the same for most people who come to the UK. People don't always have the luxory of choice.

To say your main point is about how intolerant muslims are you're not doing yourself any favours.

What if in a muslim country they passed a law that churches couldn't have a steeple or a crucifix or a bell or something? There'd be outrage in the Chrsitian community, this is the same thing. Empathy is a key point, put yourselves in other people's shoes.

Now I could understand from a voters perspective if the minarets were in a more accident prone place but they aren't. and I could understand it from a culture perspective but there isn't enough mosques in your average city to make any difference to it.

Wer'e not talking about history - every religion/culture has it skeletons in closets - we are talking now. Most religions/cultures have moved with the times to some extent - and few religions in this day and age still stone women to death.

Of course there are extremists in every religion - but the Muslim religion has, by far, a much greater number - the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are evidence of that.

And most people who choose to live in another country - assimilate into the culture of that country and adopt its way of life. That is respectful. Do you really think that any woman, including western women, could go to Muslim countries like Saudi or Afganistan and walk around freely and safely in clothing that did not cover them in the way the Muslim religion dictates. We are expected to show respect and cover up in their country - so why do they not show the same respect for our codes of dress - and insist on wearing clothing (the burkha) that does not fit in with our way of life and causes much controversy.

Switzerland has made it perfectly clear that Muslims are welcome in Switzerland as long as they are prepared to assimilate into Swiss society - a perfectly reasonable request.