Video by "In a Nutshell": The European Refugee Crisis and Syria Explained
I follow the YouTube Channel "In a Nutshell" (formerly known as Kurzgesagt) and support them in a very small way on Patreon. They are a group of Munich-based designers and their channel generally has science-based videos. This is a departure from their usual them, but clearly they feel strongly to make their case on the subject.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvOnXh3NN9w
I welcome their contribution to the debate. It was timely, courageous and useful. And I'm especially grateful to them for addressing the question of immigrants with Muslim religion, which is always avoided by mainstream politicians and media. Good job. Having opened the debate, I want to continue the discussion.
The video made a case for putting the issue of Islam into perspective, and that was useful (most extreme case: a 25% rise of Islam to 5% within the EU, birth rates dropping, etc.)
However, any rise (and also the current level) is a legitimate concern if we're talking about people who hate and want to destroy exactly the things the majority value most highly. And unfortunately it looks like a substantial proportion do.
Here are some results from a ComRes poll (very reputable research organisation) of British Muslims commissioned by the BBC in the wake of the Charlie Hebdo massacre (see comres.co.uk/polls/bbc-radio-4-today-muslim-poll):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvOnXh3NN9w
I welcome their contribution to the debate. It was timely, courageous and useful. And I'm especially grateful to them for addressing the question of immigrants with Muslim religion, which is always avoided by mainstream politicians and media. Good job. Having opened the debate, I want to continue the discussion.
The video made a case for putting the issue of Islam into perspective, and that was useful (most extreme case: a 25% rise of Islam to 5% within the EU, birth rates dropping, etc.)
However, any rise (and also the current level) is a legitimate concern if we're talking about people who hate and want to destroy exactly the things the majority value most highly. And unfortunately it looks like a substantial proportion do.
Here are some results from a ComRes poll (very reputable research organisation) of British Muslims commissioned by the BBC in the wake of the Charlie Hebdo massacre (see comres.co.uk/polls/bbc-radio-4-today-muslim-poll):
- 27% have some sympathy for the motives behind the Charlie Hebdo attack
- 24% disagree that violent acts against those who publish pictures of Mohammed can never be justified
- 11% feel sympathetic to
people who want to fight against Western
interests - 45% disagree that Muslim
clerics preaching that violence against the
west can be justified are out of touch with mainstream public opinion.
These are truly scary numbers. We
often hear the mantra, "This is not Islam". But in any relevant
sense, Islam is what people who define themselves as Islamic believe.
Is a country morally obliged to
admit any individuals (refugees or otherwise) who support actions which are
unlawful in the potential settlement country? I'm talking about beheading,
stoning, apostate killing, gay killing, forced female genital mutilation,
forced marriage, etc. Do our "Western values" dictate that we must
admit people who want to destroy "Western values" ?
At this point, I want to make sure
it's understood: I am not arguing that every adherent to Islam seeks to destroy
many of the most deeply held values of the Western countries in which they
live, but it is clear that a scary number do. I'm not arguing that the EU
should not admit Mulsim refugees, but I am saying that process and right to differentiate on the
basis of individuals' belief is a legitimate and important discussion.
To close my contribution, I'm
interested to hear comments on the video below, a copy of which I picked-up
from Richard Dawkins' Twitter feed recently. There are various copies on
YouTube and because the opinions being
endorsed by the audience are so grotesque I wondered if the video could be
faked. But this appears to be the original and I can't see why this YouTube
channel would be motivated to fake it:
And here is the Wikipedia
page about the organisation "Islam.net".
(Of course, I don't think the
beliefs expressed belong to a majority of Muslims, but they seem to belong to the large number of Muslims in a conference in the small country of Norway.)
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