Religion
Related: About this forumAtheists Ignore Islamophobia At Their Peril
August 29, 2012
By Chris Stedman
When I first heard that a white supremacist opened fire on a Sikh gurdwara in Oak Creek, WI a few weeks ago, I froze. My stomach lurched and my thoughts turned to the friends I’d made in the Sikh community through my work as an atheist and interfaith activist.
In the wake of the horror I reached out to friends directly and logged on to Twitter to express my shock, outrage, disgust and sadness—as a Millennial, I suppose you could say this is one way I engage in the collective processing of such traumas. Within minutes of my first tweet, I began to get responses from other atheists saying that interfaith work is bad, that I should be more concerned about atheists than Sikhs, and that “religion poisons everything.” The next day, I was called “a traitor” when I tweeted about efforts to raise funds to rebuild a mosque in Joplin, MO that was burned to the ground. When I tweeted about reaching out to the Sikh community and expressing solidarity, I was accused of trying to make atheism a religion.
And I wasn’t alone in facing such criticism. When skeptic blogger Kylie Sturgess wrote a post about the Joplin mosque she was called “a terrorist” by a commenter.
Of course, it’s hardly reasonable to be concerned solely on the basis of comments made by Internet “trolls.” Unfortunately, there are worrying indicators that public figures in the atheist movement are perpetuating and enabling a hostile stance toward Muslims—in many cases, above and beyond the criticisms they direct at other religious communities. One of the most widely-known atheists in the world, Bill Maher, for example, is alarmed by the number of babies being named Mohammed in the U.K., and said the following of Muslims and Islam: “What it comes down to is that there is one religion in the world that kills you when you disagree with them. They say, ‘Look, we’re a religion of peace and if you disagree we’ll cut your fucking head off.”
http://www.religiondispatches.org/archive/atheologies/6330/atheists_ignore_islamophobia_at_their_peril
Chris Stedman is the Assistant Humanist Chaplain and Values in Action Coordinator for the Humanist Community at Harvard. His memoir, Faitheist, about his experiences as a former evangelical Christian, a queer person, and an atheist, is due out in 2012 from Beacon Press.
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no_hypocrisy
(46,133 posts)I'm an atheist, freethinker, and a humanist and my brother is a Sufi Muslim. I have stood up for him and his religious views vigorously, not just because he's my brother, but also because he is a religious minority like myself. We both are in groups that seem to garner controversy and antagonism from those who don't want to know about what we believe.
It doesn't make a difference whether my brother and I are diametrically opposed to each others' tenets. He believes in Allah and I don't believe in God at all. What is important that his right to believe as he chooses is protected from attack by anyone. I have taken a "hit" from my family for standing up for him and don't regret my choice.
I guess that more people don't take an inclusive position for a couple of reasons: 1) because they don't support religious worship under any circumstances, 2) they don't want to become a target themselves by defending those who are attacked.
BTW, I don't expect my brother would necessarily reciprocate if I were attacked for being an atheist, etc. That wouldn't influence my future support of him and his religion.
rug
(82,333 posts)These are fundamendal core principles you're living.
When my brother married another Sufi, my entire family sat in the very last row of seats and I sat alone in the first row.
'Nuff said.
cbayer
(146,218 posts)My step-daugher just married a Pakistani Muslim. Adds a new and interesting twist to our family dynamic. At this point, she is not going to convert, but time will tell.
Your approach to your brother, and to believers in general, is wonderful. Your brother is lucky to have you.
no_hypocrisy
(46,133 posts)My brother's wife is also Sufi.
cbayer
(146,218 posts)My new son-in-law hasn't told his father yet and his mother is not happy, but is going with it.
He's a great guy and we welcome him to our family. It will be interesting to see how they work around the religious issues. While my step-daughter is basically irreligious, her mother and grandmother are evangelical christians.
What a soup!
no_hypocrisy
(46,133 posts)My SIL's mother and father spent a good part of the Sixties in India on the Ashram like the Beatles! You know the Hindus and Muslims don't get along too well historically.
To answer your question, they were really cool with it all.
cbayer
(146,218 posts)They still live in Pakistan and had already decided who he would marry. His marrying a blue eyed, blond American from West Virginia was not exactly what they had in mind.
longship
(40,416 posts)It is the pastors, reverends, priests, bishops, popes, imams, rabbis, etc. where I have problems, but even then, not universally.
But I don't care what other people think if they'd just keep it to themselves. I don't even care if they knock on my door on Sunday mornings. I am universally polite to them.
I have problems when they attempt to use government fiat to impose their beliefs on others, which they seem to want to do. The extent to which they attempt such monkey business is the extent to which I see them as an enemy. The deal here is that it isn't the flock who are doing this. It is the religious leader who is spurning the flock on. This country would be much better off if Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson had never been born.
I also have a huge problem with pious fraud, the outright criminals who use religion strictly for personal gain. Benny Hinn, Peter Popoff, the Crouch clan, and others, including many mega-church pastors.
Don't get me started about anybody who preaches hate. They are the bottom of the barrel.
dmallind
(10,437 posts)rug
(82,333 posts)Write him.
One Harvard Yard, Cambridge MA 02138
Call us at: 617-495-5986
He'll give you all the data you want.
skepticscott
(13,029 posts)that atheists will be subjected to if they DO ignore Islamophobia?
dimbear
(6,271 posts)concerned. They usually aren't, at their peril.
cbayer
(146,218 posts)Interesting that there appears to be more Christophobia expressed on DU than Islamophobia. My suspicion is that there would be much less tolerance of anti-Muslim sentiments and that is most likely because we can identify a political enemy in the christian right.
Big kudos to this guy. I hope he is indicative of more to come.
skepticscott
(13,029 posts)that more people on DU (who are primarily Americans) are concerned about the influence of the Christian right wing and their enablers and apologists on their daily lives than on the influence of Islamic extremists on their daily lives? Is Islam trying to restrict Americans' access to birth control and abortion? Did the Republican's notions about "legitimate rape" and pregnancy come from Islam or from fundamentalist Christianity? Is it Muslims who are trying to force creationism into public schools are every opportunity?
Why is the reaction on DU anything other than what you'd expect? Why would you even say such a thing, other than in an attempt (yet again) to paint yourself and other Xstians here as poor, persecuted victims?
And you might remember this person the next time you or others of you ilk try to falsely equate atheism and anti-theism.
ZombieHorde
(29,047 posts)I admire that.
Silent3
(15,239 posts)No, you're not ready to meet the peril.
But I can defeat the peril!
No, the peril is too perilous.
