I didn't say Egypt and Iraq were a considerable distance away. Sorry for any confusion.
Nothing in Islam says you can crash into two twin towers in NYC, behead Christians at will, or go suicide bomb terrorists.
Except that it does and terrorists use that to justify their actions. Ever read the Quran?
Also, Livid, I don't see how Sharia can be a path of enlightenment to get closer to god because it is a fucked up vile system. Let's not pretend it only seeks " clarification and rules on fasting, diet, hygiene, sex and more". It seeks to control people's lives, make women pretty much worthless (I really hope you do not support that) and it is not fit for our modern times. Do you really want to live in a country where people get stoned to death? A place that allows "honour killings", such as a husband killing/mutilating his wife for adultery. Also the amount of Muslims in developed countries (like the UK) that support the implementation of Sharia nationwide is fucked up (not that it's ever gonna happen). Even the fact that it has been allowed in some districts is disgusting to me.
Some Sharia law shit
(PICTURES WERE HERE)
luuuul sry but pic was funny.
These are isolated incidents which happen in countries where Islam is taken very literally. In Bangladesh, a majority Muslim country with laws based on Sharia Law, this does not happen. Flogging doesn't happen, limb severing doesn't happen and stoning does not occur. That said, police aren't the best, some saying that women getting raped is their own fault. That is not the case for most of them anyways. Sharia Law doesn't undermine women or dictate what they should wear, it only says that they should be modest in their clothing. What Saudia and Iran do is a literal translation of the Qur'an, which is not some sort of manual. The Qur'an is mostly made up of poetic verses.
Just to be clear, we fully understand these incidents are not common in every part of the world with every Muslim. They are just examples of the extreme to show a point.
I don't know nearly enough about Bangladesh to argue with you, but some google searches seem to show that some stonings and lashings (in one case a 14 year old girl) do occur.
Your sentence that, "Sharia Law doesn't undermine women or dictate what they should wear, it only says that they should be modest in their clothing", clearly contradicts itself. I mentioned this to you on Steam, so maybe you've had time to think about this? It sounds like it tells women to dress modestly, which is obviously a restriction. So it does restrict, and you shouldn't say it doesn't.
Of course there are (literal) interpretations of Islamic scripture that lead to what most of us consider horrid, evil behaviour. The original point we were trying to make is that you shouldn't ignore this fact. Part of the problem is the very religion that helps inform these views and practices. To say otherwise is just factually incorrect and, in my opinion, really not helpful to solving these problems. To do what Ender does and play the No True Scotsman Fallacy game by saying "oh, they aren't Muslims because my interpretation says so" as if that somehow solves anything... also isn't helping.
Farthermore, I looked at some Pew polls and found out that a mere 0.00625% of Muslims identify with Extremism. I was reading some older posts and wanted to share some of my opinions. Also, I'd really like to know what kind or form of Sharia Law these people are talking about. Did Pew ask if Muslims wanted strict and literal Sharia Law, taken directly from the Qur'an with literal meaning or some form of reformed version seen in Bangladesh?
The Pew polls I've seen blatantly show that it is MUCH higher than 0.00625%. I have no idea what you looked at, or how you arrived at that number.
From Wikipedia, sourcing Pew:
This is very specifically about suicide bombing, and is just one example, but it clearly shows it can't possibly be only 0.00625%.
Oh, and whoever said Wikipedia isn't a good source - You're wrong - Wikipedia is an
excellent source when the article is well-sourced and maintained, and there is no reason to write it off outright.