FFS: I normally avoid religious topics but I woke up to this...

It's not supposed to be a funny joke. It's supposed to be satirical, hence its inclusion in a satirical magazine. Satire isn't always supposed to be funny.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satire#Satire_and_humor

"Satire is a genre of literature, and sometimes graphic and performing arts, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, corporations, government or society itself, into improvement."

"Laughter is not an essential component of satire; in fact there are types of satire that are not meant to be "funny" at all."

 

But the original photos weren't from charlie hebdo, they were from newspapers and merely reprinted in Charlie hebdo (with even more added). They weren't funny OR satirical. They were deliberately offensive

 

In the 2011 census there were only two categories of religion with falling numbers, that was Christianity and Jedi Knight.

All others including paganism, Satanism and heavy metal were up.

I expect Jedi Knights to rise with the forthcoming Star Wars film due.

 

Do you mean the ones from the Danish paper, whose culture editor wrote:

"by treating Muslims in Denmark as equals they made a point: We are integrating you into the Danish tradition of satire because you are part of our society, not strangers."

 

Yes but I believe that satire was an excuse rather than the real reason

 

I like this bloke's attitude.

https://news.vice.com/article/mayor...lim-extremists-in-the-netherlands-to-****-off

 

Re: I agree with you 100%

No, of course not. But what I'm saying it what seems outrageous in one culture might seem completely normal in another. You can't judge their culture on your standards. We automatically have a black and white view of right and wrong that's taught to us from birth. And no matter what people say to you, you'll still argue for the rights of a woman to drive a car, for example (and rightly so).

But, realise that they're the same. They've hundreds of years of tradition and culture that they live by and all of a sudden people in another place are interfering and telling them how to live. And they're mocking something you believe to be sacred.

And now everyone in that culture is against you and telling you you're wrong and bombing your cities because they have a different lifestyle.

And they're mocking you even more. And bombing you even more.

 

Re: I agree with you 100%

Fair point Luke. It goes for both 'sides' though.

 

Re: I agree with you 100%

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P__d0WyN0HE

 

I'd avoid religious topics....

 

Re: I like this bloke's attitude.

Lived in middle east for 12 months..........wow! have and still have Muslim mates. Like All religion very much open to interpretation and manipulated by the few to serve the plenty.
I have had dinners with people who informed my they saw "gynns" or summert (look it up) they are ghosts who are only recognisable coz their feet are back to front, the advice they received was................................to pray more and harder!! At times it was like listening to children but I had the utmost of respect and never degraded their ideals.
I would say with this French thing in mind tho, the big difference is you dare not take the micky (generally) to muslims regarding their religion.
Hard liners in any religion are dangerous, I'm sure any God didn't or doesn't want us to kill each othe. Why cant we all just get along?????

 

Re: I like this bloke's attitude.

Because all religion was originally designed as a way of controlling the masses. "Do as I say or you will burn in hell". They were all the same just with different instructions or controls depending on what the person in charge wanted you to do or not do. Its for that reason that the various religion don't get on, because they all say in their scriptures that anyone who is part of another is evil. They of course would say this because it was the only way to keep the control of your subjects. You can't go saying that another persons control methods are correct or people would listen to them instead of you.

Some religions have developed more than others in moving a way from the tight control methods and more towards guidance. Christianity for example doesn't really try too hard to control and essentially enslave its members. Its now there to guide and offer support. Other religions such as muslim religion hasn't moved away from these controls as much. I reckon the reason for that is that with a proper government, police force and essentially a set of systems to control the country that we have in place it is no longer necessary for the church to do that job while over in less developed countries where the infrastructure and government isn't set in stone and organised like here they still need religion as a means of control.

The problem we have is that many many Muslims know no other way of life and have never experienced another set of controls so when suddenly we go over there telling them their entire lives values are a lie and are wrong they don't believe it and they then hit out as their scriptures tell them to. Just like christiams did many years ago when they were too the same thing. Of course it only makes it so much harder for them to top tier beliefs and accept that the alternative aren't evil like they've been told when their first experience of the 'western' way is through having a bomb dropped on their country and their family and friends murdered by the west.

 

Re: I like this bloke's attitude.

Emotions in all this are so raw its difficult to speak or think about it logically and I have some empathy with everyone's point of view other than the murderers who pervert religion for their own ends.

What the world lacks is genuine empathy for views that are different to the American centric view that dominates western culture. I'm not talking about political correctness but a genuine willingness to listen and respect views that are different from our own.

We may find the cultural beliefs and norms of others strange. I worked in the Northern Territory in Australia on a project with Aboriginal communities. I had been absolutely shocked at the vicious and casual racism of Australians towards Aborignes. When I started working in the communities i realised that the cultural divide was so vast it made any level of engagement or understanding very difficult. Some friends of mine for example have a permanent job knocking down and rebuilding houses in the Aboriginal ciommunities as families won't live in houses where anyone has died. To have the image of an aborigine on TV after death is also something that aborigines cannot handle.

We cannot all be homogenus. We cannot all be the same. We cannot hide behind free speech when we deliberately provoke and insult others.

 

Re: I agree with you 100%

Double post.

 

Re: I agree with you 100%

Clearly there has to be an understanding of values and cultures (from both sides) but there can be no justification whatsoever for the bloodthirsty barbarity that is documented under these extreme ideologies.

 

Re: I like this bloke's attitude.

Ever seen the Evangelists in USA ?That is just what they are doing. The problems are not the Religions themselves , it is the radical zealots from these religions that are the trouble. I have heard it said that the Koran is the only scripture that promotes the killing of non believers, well I guess that those people have not read the Bible then?
Some of the worlds worst atrocities have been in the name of Christianity.

I say this as a practicing Christian and I myself, along with the vast majority of Christians ,have no problem with other Religions.

 

Re: I like this bloke's attitude.

That's what I was trying to get at. The majority of western religions have moved on from the control element but there are still some who relish in the evil control aspect. The westboro baptist church are the best example. Family members are brainwashed and controlled by the leaders who are twisting words and well controlling their family under the guise of religion. The teenagers weren't allowed boyfriends or to go for coffee with friends without asking permission. The reason? An obscure reference in a scripture.

 

Re: I like this bloke's attitude.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

 

Re: I like this bloke's attitude.

This is an interesting read.

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/mehdi-hasan/charlie-hebdo-free-speech_b_6462584.html

 

Sharia law is rife in the uk. For far too long there has been a blind eye turned towards the actions of certain areas of the populus.

What's gone off in France over the last week is more thsn likely going to happen this side of yhe chsnnel in the near future.