“These are the questions that must be asked before you should have the right to criticize other people, religions, philosophies, without even attempting to learn anything positive from those peoples,religions, and ideas.”

What you are proposing in that sentence is government control of free speech. You can’t legislate community. You can’t force people with the threat of the state punishment to be “nice” to each other. Communists have tried that and failed miserably. If Islam is going to survive and thrive in Western societies, it’s going to have to be able to take the hits of criticizm, and bashings of its detractors: just like Christianity does.
Christianity gets bashed up and down, it gets mocked, it gets ridiculed, it gets blamed for all kinds of ills in the World. But quietly, it continues on in its work: tending to the poor, and preaching what it believes to be true. Is Islam humble enough to do the same without striking back? Without crying to the Human Rights Commissions? Without calling for censorship and special treatment?

Law is Cool: Just to step in here briefly (we’re glad people are talking). The government controls free speech all the time, and always has. We have tons of cases on the subject. Politically speech is the least restricted; other forms, including commercial and expression likely to engender disdain and danger towards discernable minorities, is not.
This is not something new.

Publications that imply that certain religious communities “…and its members are inferior, dangerous, and pose a threat to the community [or] …likely to expose them to hatred and contempt” are likely to be considered discriminatory (Carson v. Knucwentwecw Society [2006] B.C.J. No. 3102 at para. 4).

Furthermore, “…discriminatory expression is of low value, being in conflict with the core values behind the s. 2(b) guarantee of freedom of expression. Those values are the search for truth, the protection of individual autonomy and self-development, and the promotion of public participation in social and political decision-making (Irwin Toy, supra, at 976).

Discriminatory speech is incompatible with the search for truth…. “(Kempling v. British Columbia College of Teachers [2004] B.C.J. No. 173 at paras 95-96).

There is little point of us weighing in on the issue, because the courts already have.

And most/all have many many negative aspects. There are plenty of people fawning over how “peaceful” and “loving”; and not enough critiquing and critically evaluating. There is no reason why critics of religion always have to precede their remarks with fluff about all the good things.

These are the questions that must be asked before you should have the right to criticize other people, religions, philosophies, without even attempting to learn anything positive from those peoples,religions, and ideas. Let’s learn to listen to each other instead of looking for flaws.

Let’s stop showing off…lowering others and criticizing others will not give you authority, power, nor will it make the world a better place.

Who cares about what is written in some damn Koran or Bible? I certainly don’t.

Putting aside for the moment that I see very little of a “positive aspect” to religion and the teachings of the major religions; there is enough fawning over religion that its critics don’t need to. Their are enough people running around bleating about how their religion or religion in general is “beautiful”, “peaceful” and “loving”. I’m not concerned with that. I’m concerned with the fact that religions by the clear and unequivocal language of their texts quite often teach profoundly immoral things, and in the name of their religion people do other profoundly immoral things.

The “bully” throws around terms like “hate” and “prejudice” to insulate their views and the teachings of their religion from criticism.

Here’s a clue, if you want to criticize Israel, you have to let us criticize Islam.

that some people will abuse the right to criticize is self-evident. just as self-evident is that some people will abuse their religion for improper goals. in both cases, I would submit, the “cure” is worst than the disease.

if we’re going to have government evaluate what criticism is constructive, or ignorant, this would be a severe blow to freedom. similarly, if we decide that because some people use religion for illegitimate purposes the government ought to monitor every preacher and religious edict, that would equally be a severe blow to freedom.

so get ready for criticism of your religion, both legitimate and illegitimate, constructive and non-constructive. there is no other way, unless you want to live in Saudi Arabia of course.

A bully criticizes because he has the right to criticize. His point however, in my opinion, is not to look at the positive aspects of your personality, but he rather concentrate exclusively on your ugly side.

“The whole picture.”

When I hear that polygamous mormon sects are allowing routine sexual abuse of minors I can’t sugar coat how disturbing that is.

When I read passages from the Bible, the Koran, the Torah or whatever that preach hatred, contempt and sometimes even violence against non-believers, homosexuals or whomever I am going to conclude that that religion has serious defects (no matter how many theologians try to obfuscate clear and unequivocal language with empty appeals to context),

When I see poll results showing that religious communities (be they evangelical Christians or conservative Muslims) support theocratic ideas I am not going to have a positive view of the teachings of that religion. When I see religious leaders like Charles McVety advocate for the denial of rights for gays and lesbians, or Mohammed Elmasry advocate for laws to criminalize mockery of religious prophets I cant escapt the conclusion that their religion had something about it.

The fact of the matter is that conservative religiosity is one of the most influential factors in the character of a society–particularly the level of freedom enjoyed (there is an inverse correlation). Im simply not willing to put religious teachings, and the actions of the religious beyond criticism.