Ignorance

Why is it that there are still so many people that are ignorant in this and many other countries? I'm not saying that I'm not ignorant, because everyone is with something or another.

I was reading an article on MSNBC.com like I usually do when I'm at work, and I found one that said, "EGYPTIAN WOMEN EMBRACE CURVES" (http://worldblog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/04/02/851104.aspx). It's about a women from America starting a Curves in Egypt and how it's growing now to other parts of the Middle East. It's a great article and I'm glad that they have Curves over there, but the first thing I noticed was the way they made Islam out to be a bad religion. Here's one of the lines:

"'Women on the streets [here] are so sober. They don't seem to have a sense of joy,' said Alcala. 'When they walk in here, they are fun people. They love to dance, laugh and be silly, but I never see that outside.'"

Now maybe it's because an American woman is describing what she sees, but it's still pretty sad to think how people will think about Islam and how they'll attain the ignorance instead of knowledge.

What really got me though were the comments. When I read them, I thought, *You have GOT to be KIDDING me!* I know that I don't know much about Christianity, but the fact that Islam is everywhere in the news right now, you would think people would go out and start buying or checking out educational books about Islam or at least talk to the local Muslim people (either from a mosque or a Muslim Student Association)...there are many of them out there!

ARGH! It frustrates me to no end! And whenever someone tries to explain something to them (the people spouting off the nonsense), there are many who don't want to listen.

So many people think that Islam condones killing/stoning of women (or killing of any kind for that matter), but it does not (well, except for maybe self-defense)! My parents even tell me that they do that in Pakistan, but that they only do it in the small villages where people aren't educated and have no idea what they're doing (sorry...not trying to put down any villagers)! I absolutely HATE it!

Oh, by the way, this is what I wrote down on the board just because I was really angry at the time. It says the comments are screened so let's see if mine makes it through.

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Here it is:

I'm so disappointed in people on this board. Please go to your local library and read up on Islam because not everything that you hear on the news is true.

I'm glad that Curves has opened up in Egypt but disappointed in the comments that I see. The religion is ISLAM...NOT MUSLIM. Muslim are the people. Islam is to Christianity as Muslim is to Christian.

Another thing, Islam is not a bad religion, and the fact is, Islam and Christianity are so very similar...it's the people that do things in the name of a religion that makes it sound bad.

And another thing, half of the women liked to be veiled and welcome it. It's their choice (in most places), but people see them as serious just because they have a veil on.

The stories that you hear about women being stoned usually happens in small villages where people aren't as educated and supposedly follow a group of people that condone that sort of thing.

So please, stop putting down a religion, when you know nothing about it. Again, more than half of what you hear on the news is not condoned by Islam, but is allowed by a culture...NOT a religion!

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