Disconnected from society

I will keep it short for now because it is late and I am tired having covered what feels like the entire length of the United Kingdom today (in a traffic jam).

The BBC have reported, in a news item titled “‘Islamic duty’ to help UK police” that:

Muslims have been told it is their “Islamic duty” to co-operate with the police to ensure Britain’s safety.

This blog has previously been accused of concentrating its attacks on Christianity, and often Atheism in general is accused of being “anti-Christian” rather than “anti-Deity” largely because it concentrates on the dominant religions in the English speaking world. There is no reason, however, why Islam should get off lightly and this brings to mind a startling example of what is really, really wrong with both the religion and how its adherents see themselves within the UK. (I can only assume this is valid elsewhere).

Basically, this statement (is it an edict?) from the Muslim Council of Britain (*) admits that “Muslims” within the United Kingdom see themselves as separate from society. The MCB are basically saying that unless told to do so by authority figures within Islam, Muslims living here will not function as members of the “British” society.

For centuries the “British” (OK, mainly the English) have been worried about Catholics coming to power here, as it was assumed they would place the authority of Rome over the needs, wants and laws of the People of Britain. While this is still a real concern (try to become king if you are Catholic for example), it seems no where near as much of a problem as this portrayal of Islam.

It is sad that a large segment of people born and bred in the United Kingdom feel patriotic towards another nation and will only behave as citizens of their homeland when ordered to do so by their Church. I am constantly amazed that so many people who dislike the lifestyles and behaviours of this (or any country) continue to live here, maybe they are some variation on the flagellants… 🙂

Isn’t the 21st century wonderful.

(*) Does Northern Ireland have its own? Do people forget that the UK is not just Britain? Does the MCB not like Northern Ireland – you could hardly blame them… 🙂 (and it would explain the B rather than MCUK…)

3 thoughts on “Disconnected from society

  1. This is simply untrue, you cant just blame one thing as the reason for a dissconected and simply depressing society. it is a multitude of things such as, media, ok religion to an extent ( but you are forgeting that religion Today is not what it used to be, religion gives espesialy young people a grounded set of morals to follow in life, this my friend is a positive thing, dont get me wrong im not a bible basher in the slitest , but in my position it is clear that religion is not the key ofender when it comes tot he attaks on society. media causes self contousness. religoin causes fear. family,school,education is part of the causes.. pverty aswell.. aw well i must go.i just dont think you should post a fuking blog . if you are consernd about this issue writting a fuking blog isnot going to solv anything. Fuck The System.

  2. Mr Ritchie – thank you for your comment.

    This is simply untrue, you cant just blame one thing as the reason for a dissconected and simply depressing society.

    I didnt realise I had tried to blame one thing for our disconnected and depressing society. I certainly didn’t think I had identified religion as such for this role. I do, however, think education and the ability to express oneself clearly is an important part of interacting with society.

    it is a multitude of things such as, media, ok religion to an extent

    Well, we can sort of agree on this. But the point I was trying to make was about how a huge segment of the UK’s society seems to feel it is not part of society unless it is told to “pretend” to be part by the MCB. Is this a fault of religion? Possibly, but there are other causes.

    but you are forgeting that religion Today is not what it used to be

    I don’t forget that in the slightest. Please feel free to read round the other posts here to see my (and heather’s) opinions on this.

    Religion, ironically, sells it self as an “unchanging rock” people can cling against however, I agree with you – it has massively evolved over time. Religious values eventually fall into line with societies values. Kind of undermines the point of religion though.

    religion gives espesialy young people a grounded set of morals to follow in life, this my friend is a positive thing

    Here we disagree my friend. Religion doesn’t give people morals to follow, it just gives people rules to obey or they will face an unspecified punishment. In this it is no different than any set of laws.

    More importantly, religion creates the situation where people (especially young people) can justify doing bad things in a good cause. Also, religion per se doesn’t have a consistent set of morals. Each religion has its own ideas of what is moral and what isn’t. Some religions endorse stoning and honour killings. This is not moral behaviour in any way I would recognise it, but it is religious.

    . religoin causes fear.

    How is that good?

    i just dont think you should post a fuking blog .

    Why not? Why do you start off being fairly reasonable, polite and friendly then change to this? Are you two people?

    if you are consernd about this issue writting a fuking blog isnot going to solv anything.

    Who said it would? Equally, why do you think it wont? Are you demanding direct action every time something annoys you? If a news paper publishes an article you dont like, should their offices be firebombed? How do you know what else Heather or I are doing?

  3. You have to admit if all religious defenders spoke with the eloquence and clarity of Mr Ritchie, the debate would be much simpler.

    I’m not convinced that religion does cause morality though. Plato was very clear that the acts of the Gods were scandalous and should be hushed up, yet Greece was the country which invented ethics as a subject to be studied. So why is religion associated with morality? Is the rush to CCTV a modern attempt to rebuild an omniscient god substitute? We talk about the good old days of morality, but maybe there has never been a golden age of morality, just a fear of an all-seeing-eye and poorer reporting of breaches of morals. Religion might not instil morality, but generate a fear of being caught, which is said to be a far greater deterrent to criminal behaviour than things like sentence-length. In that sense religious fear might be better than nothing if moral education isn’t an option.

    I think open debate can help formulate ideas. There’s also room for many approaches. It might be possible to improve the system with an act of love. Other people might be thinking more along the lines of ρἁφανιδώθήι, but where would you get a mallet large enough?

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