Hate speech and religious intolerance on the Religion forum

Hey, and honestly, it gets even worse (or maybe just more ridiculous)—the second you say something even remotely positive about Islam, people immediately tag you as a potential convert. You start getting those creepy private messages and invites to hang out online outside of this forum. Yikes!

([declined])

...and then, I guess, you slowly start dreaming about wealthy sheiks and obsessing over which style of hijab looks best on you (it’s like watching an internet forum user turn into Padmé Amidala or something). Seriously, yikes!

And all of this happens just because I come onto the forum wanting to actually discuss some controversies. Gross.

In my opinion, the whole issue with discussing Islam is that the signal is being beamed from Canada straight toward the coast... so, basically, to make sure guys don't get too "enlightened" by reading forum posts, they feel the need to shut down or butcher every single discussion until it's just surface-level nonsense.

Ego, this is a much bigger issue than people realize...
I trust you'll handle things however you think is best, just as you said, but you don't even really have to "think" about it: just take a quick look at what freedom of speech, tolerance for opposing views, and true parliamentarianism actually mean.

I honestly don't understand why everyone is getting so worked up over proselytizing. If you look at this subforum, almost everyone is busy preaching their own gospel while simultaneously trashing anyone else's. We all seem to be pointing fingers at Shady because he currently holds the power to sanction different viewpoints (whether those views are justified or not, it doesn't really matter), but if we were actually sitting in his chair, we all know how things would playout. It certainly wouldn't be some promised land.🤷

Furthermore, regarding faith itself: a truly solid belief system should be resilient enough to withstand missionary efforts, rather than cowering from scrutiny or, in worst-case scenarios, being suppressed. This applies to everyone here, regardless of what they believe, but it’s especially relevant when looking at one's own creed. If a religion has managed to survive two bloody millennia, I highly doubt a single moderator on a forum with 160,000 members—which, by the way, is more people than live in my entire hometown—is going to pose any real threat to it.👍

Lisa Morales4 said:... we just need to take a moment to actually define what freedom of speech, tolerance for dissenting views, and parliamentary procedure really mean.

Most people on this forum could probably use a refresher course on those concepts.🤷

And if we’re going to pretend this forum is modeled after a parliamentary system, then perhaps we should all start using our real names. That way, we might actually face some level of formal or legal accountability for the things we say and do. But since we aren't doing that...🤷

@ Brian Edwards6

It’s inevitable that other users' beliefs and biases will bleed through their posts... but these folks don't try to silence everyone else by banning people or using intimidation tactics just because they dislike an opinion. They don't derail the conversation by nitpicking every single word a dissenter says, nor do they needlessly shut down and lock topics every other minute.

A moderator is free to hold their own convictions—as long as they aren't acting in a way that actively harms the community itself!

As for whether participants should use their full names... true parliamentary systems aren't built on consequences, but rather on accountability and mutual trust among those involved.
The discussion itself is the ultimate goal, not the person doing the talking.

I feel compelled to speak up at this moment. The accusations leveled against Muslims being posted on this platform—accusations made right here in this thread—simply don't hold water for one obvious reason: we Muslims haven't even been posting on this forum for nearly three months.

We were the first ones to stand up against the injustice of moderator Shady, which was backed by the forum administration, and we collectively walked away from this site because our sense of honor won't allow us to engage in such an environment under these conditions.
What Shady represents—and what you’ve tried to pin on him by claiming missionaries are running around enforcing Sharia on this forum—carries absolutely no weight. By withdrawing, we made it crystal clear that we distance ourselves from his views and ideology entirely. Ultimately, his actions and words on this board have very little to do with honorable Islam; they have everything to do with his desperate desire to cling to his moderator position. The few Muslims who still post here aren't qualified to be judged as representatives of Islam for two reasons: some are far too young and inexperienced, or they promote deviant teachings that mainstream Islam abandoned long ago. The second reason is simply numbers; there are so few of them that they cannot possibly represent mainstream Islam. This only plays into the hands of those users who are just waiting for a chance to attack Islam, which only highlights their own lack of intellectual integrity, but I won't dwell on that.
It is also telling how indifferent the administration has been toward our numerous complaints and accusations. Our eventual exit proved that they are choosing to support this kind of Shadyevski-style gossip, for which Islam ultimately pays the full price as the sole scapegoat. Well, it won't happen that way, gentlemen.

The Muslims on this forum are people of integrity; we have proven that, and we continue to prove it. Meanwhile, you have shown that you are far from an honest, democratic administration. Furthermore, you've proven incapable of handling modern concepts of freedom of speech and thought, instead exhibiting nothing but pure, unadulterated tribalism—that much is clear to everyone. You might feel uncomfortable reading this, and you may even hate me, but I couldn't care less about your opinion (if I did, I wouldn't be able to remain objective). My concern is the quality of this forum. Only when you manage to strip away your personal interests and impulses can we hope for this forum to become a better place for everyone, regardless of faith, skin color, or nationality...

And of course, in memoriam to all the usernames that were perma-banned for paying the ultimate price for your forum's unjust policies.

Warm regards to all people of goodwill. 😍

Susan Brooks83 said:Susan Price30, I don't think it's right to call someone an idiot; I'm not a fan of labeling people like that, regardless of
who they are or how much they might be hurting.

That was actually directed at the person who claimed: Canadians can't be part of the Islamic State, and that's just the way it is! I'm glad too—they are simply technologically obsolete until they accept One God—Allah!!! Until then, they can stay on this earth—but somewhere else!!! This individual is constantly pushing their agenda on Religion.

Sorry if that term bothers you,🙂 it was a bit "graphic," but I only used it to drive the point home...😁

Lisa Morales4 said:It seems like some of you forum users can't help yourselves—you just have to shut people down with bans or intimidation tactics whenever someone expresses an opinion that doesn't sit right with your particular worldview. It’s a bit much, isn't it? It’s honestly exhausting watching the moderators stifle any real dialogue. They seem determined to misinterpret every single word uttered by anyone with a differing opinion, effectively shutting down the conversation before it can even get started. It feels like they’re just jumping in to kill the momentum and lock everything down, regardless of how productive the discussion actually was....

The first part isn't happening simply because they lack the capacity to pull it off—which, frankly, is their biggest flaw—whereas they are more than capable of executing and actually utilizing the second part. I suppose one could argue that’s just one of their legitimate tactics for fighting back.🤷

If hanging out on an online forum is considered some kind of battleground... then what actually counts as a "legitimate way to fight" ?
Can someone paraphrase this for me?

Brian Edwards6 said:They fail at the first part simply because they lack the capability (which is their biggest flaw), but they absolutely succeed at—and utilize—the second part. Honestly, that’s a perfectly valid way to fight back.🤷

__________________
You can run, but you can not hide.

It seems you judge the rest of humanity by your own standards. 😁

Angela Newman33 said:Shady actually wrote recently that his family and kids suffer because of his moderation and banning spree, but he claims it's just his mission.

And then he uses excuses like waiting at the doctor's office to justify all sorts of outbursts... wtf????

Are we really going to tolerate a moderator checking out whenever someone else gets under his skin? This isn't a public clinic for him to vent his frustrations. He can't just come here to hand out bans and red cards every time his blood pressure spikes.

No matter how you look at it, the problem is obvious. This guy isn't approaching moderation objectively or professionally. Instead, he's bringing a massive amount of personal bias and frustration to the table, using this place as a playground for his own missionary work and personal jihad.

If that’s the case—and everyone here seems to agree it is—then this man should just resign. He needs to step down from moderating religion without forcing the site admins into the awkward position of having to kick him out because he clearly doesn't want to leave.
If he has any dignity left, he should walk away himself 🤷 and do it ASAP. Half the people interested in religion have already abandoned this forum because of his terrible moderation, and from what I'm reading here, the rest are constantly complaining about it.
It's wild how much being a moderator can mean to someone that they stay even after all this.😕 Is it really just about missionary work and some "higher purpose" like you all keep saying? Because from where I'm sitting, it definitely looks that way.
The best move for the users and for this forum—which exists for us, not for biased moderators on a crusade—would be for him to take his little mission somewhere else outside of this website.

boldsailor32 said:I honestly think the admins are just chicken. They’re terrified they’ll have to look over their shoulders every time they walk down the street, so they just won't make a call—nothing at all. 😁

It was a mistake putting him on moderation in the first place. Now that things have already gone south, let him step down if he actually has a conscience. But honestly, how much can you really expect from someone who's clearly here on a personal crusade rather than trying to moderate fairly and honestly like our fellow religious folks on this board say they should?
Guys, you have to see this.😂

Blaise, please just step down as the Religion moderator.

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Blaise,
I already posted this in the thread about the status of women in Islam, but since you clearly aren't listening, I figured I’d just start a whole new topic for you.

On what grounds can you shut down the "Jewish views on Jesus" thread but leave that absolute train wreck of a topic about the "status of women in Islam" wide open? The opening post in that one is packed with the exact same insults toward Muslims as the thread you just closed regarding Jews!

Go read the OP in the "status of women in Islam" thread, then compare it to the opening post in the "Jewish attitude toward Jesus" thread—which I just closed out—and tell us what you think:

What's the deal? Why leave one topic open but shut the other one down?!

Are you really just going to let Jews and Christians run wild in the "status of women in Islam" thread? They’re basically throwing an orgie in there, just straight-up trashing Islam and Muslims left and right. Yet, you shut down that Canadian thread just because it offended some Jewish texts? Make it make sense.

Look, let's be real here. I’m not exactly a fan of the way that Canadian guy carries himself—I can't stand dealing with him personally—but if you're going to shut down his thread while leaving this kind of garbage scattered all over the place, then you've lost all credibility. You aren't being impartial anymore. You're failing to treat everyone equally.

I think it’s time you stepped back from moderating. Honestly, your bias is getting way too obvious now. This whole gig is a massive burden on you, and it's clearly draining your energy and wasting precious time that you could be using for something actually productive. (Or maybe it’ll just be like always—power looking good, but totally blind?!)
__________________

So this actually made it to the moderators? With blackmail and threats involved???!!! 😂 And now that he's finally grabbed power, he's tightening his grip on everything. Total control.
Above all else, I agree. Honestly, the best move would be for all Christians to just step away from religion entirely. That seems like the only real solution.

hollowtrucker77 said:it would honestly be best if we lowered the tension now and focused on current issues

The user from the main thread has been banned by me.

We never doubted you.🙂

As for the other issues plaguing Religion, we can open separate threads for those... one by one.