> Yeah, I really wonder how reliable they are. You sure won't catch me
> hanging out in many Muslim-dominant lands (not until after we're done
> liberating them), but judging from afar it seems like Islam is so heavily
> forced on people there, and everyone else are so heavily persecuted, and
> Islam is so tied in to family, tradition, ethnic identity, national
> identity, that lots of people are probably called Muslim whether they
> sincerely pray to Allah or not. But I wouldn't know!
> For example, Palestinians hate gays so much they want them all killed, yet
> little did they know that their former leader, Arafat, engaged in secret
> homosexual orgies! Seems like lots of people have their public positions
> in Muslim countries, but then they have their secret thoughts and views
> and lives that they keep hidden.
> I wonder how many atheists are in Pakistan who are afraid to say that's
> what they are. The official stats suggest there are none. However, a quick
> google of "atheists in pakistan" gave me someome who posted
> this:
> =====
> Regarding attitudes, I knew more atheists in Pakistan than here. But most
> generally kept their atheism to their close circle. OTOH, there is a
> social circle (the very rich, urban families) in Pakistan where atheism is
> actually fashionable.
> Posted by: Zack at August 20, 2003 12:46 PM
> =====
> And another who blogged this:
> =====
> May Muslims convert to other religions?
> Go for it. As an aside, I knew more atheists in Pakistan than I do in the
> US.
> =====
> I'm in no position to judge how true those postings are, but it's
> interesting, and I tend to believe it because I tend to believe lots of
> people bullshit their neighbors in order to fit in and not make waves.
> And Pakistan is huge, so if only 3% are non-Muslim, that's still millions
> of people! Only 1% of America is Muslim, yet I run into them everywhere,
> and I've never heard them say that they are too miniscule a percentage of
> the USA to be considered a significant part of the country.
> And then there's the whole Sunni v. Shia thing. Don't many Sunnis (well,
> certainly Usama bin Laden and Zarqawi anyway) consider Shiites to be
> infidels who are as low as Jews? If they hate each other to that degree -
> to the point where they wanna wipe each other off the face of the earth -
> I'd hardly call them "bound together" by a shared religion.
> (Although they probably both like to f*** goats on just as regular a
> basis.*)
> And didn't Arafat have a close relationship with India, while the Muslims
> in Pakistan wanna nuke India? But then again, Arafat did cheer when
> Pakistan tested their nukes, so it's very confusing.
> (Pakistan's nukes, or nuclear know-how, may be sold to someone who wants
> to blow up Seriously Flowered's home, and you can bet that if someone does
> so there will be Palestinians cheering in the streets....so one wonders
> why she's so keen on all this Islamic-fascist unity.)
> * Sorry, that was for Theo van Gogh, may he rest in peace.
Wow! When he asked about those stats, I didn't even think about all the atheists and agnostics that may be without a voice. You brought up some great points there.
There is NO ROOM for difference in these funadmetalist nations.
FUNDAMENTALISM SUCKS!
R.I.P. Theo Van Gogh.
