--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "Irmeli Mattsson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Hi Angela! > > I also know personally some Muslims or former Muslims, who have come > as refugees to Finland, and they are truly fine people. E.g. I have > learned to know a conductor from Afghanistan, to whom I'm hiring an > apartment. I don't perceive any serious defects in his reasoning. > During the years I have also hired apartments to many kinds of > Muslims. And I have seen severe domestic violence.The Muslim men are > allowed to beat their wifes. The women are practically always very > submissive, fearful.They don't speak to me, even if I'm a woman. > > Even the man interviewed in TV, I described earlier seemed to be a > decent human being. However there were glaring defects in his > reasoning concerning those matters.In other areas of life he probably > would do better. > Strong religious beliefs makes it almost impossible to think clearly, > because then you would need to start questioning the ultimate truths > of the doctrine.The same problem is in other religions. Although > questioning is in them usually easier. The sanctions of doing it are > not so horrifying. > > Irmeli >
Healthy humans can generally be really nice, spiritual, friendly people. However, they are also capable of subscribing to belief systems whose realization can shock modern liberal minds. We westerners put a value on freedom of expression. We have no problem with rational dialog on any subject. These nice friendly spirits have made death threats to anyone making the slightest satirical comment on their icons. They shut down dialog with threats. These wonderful neighbors can be very kind, but they also have iron-age values that clash with the modern. Imagine if we transplanted a group of brilliant ancient minds like Aristotle's into modern times. They may come off as polished, intellectual, astute people. However they would be offended by they way we treat our women, look for non-military solutions, give freedom to slaves, question authority and so on. No doubt many third world people embrace modernity, assimilate it and contribute wonderfully to society. Part of this process requires understanding ancient tribal/religious identities as secondary to modern beliefs in humanism, tolerance, and science. s.
