13 Tweets That Make an Excellent Point About Blaming All Muslims For Terrorist Attacks
The Islamic State group has claimed credit for a gun and suicide bomb rampage on Nov. 13 in Paris that killed at least 130 people and wounded over 350 others. In the weeks following the attacks, political commentators demanded peaceful Muslims around the world denounce terrorism, be held responsible for crimes they did not commit and stop playing the victim card.
Many Muslims did denounce the attacks. Others refused to apologize, saying they would not be held collectively responsible for the actions of extremists.
On Nov. 27, Christian man Robert L. Dear attacked a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs, Colorado with firearms, killing a police officer, two civilians and wounding nine others. In the aftermath of the attack, Dear told law enforcement part of his motivation was "no more baby parts" — an apparent reference to baseless right-wing allegations the nonprofit is involved in for-profit sale of fetal organs, based mostly on selectively edited videos released by a socially conservative group called the Center for Medical Progress.
As countless people on Twitter pointed out, no one is asking all Christians apologize for Dear.
"Where are the moderate Christians to condemn the terrorist attack on Planned Parenthood?"
Moderate Christians need stand up publicly and denounce such terrorist acts. http://valerietarico.com/2015/11/28/christianist-republicans-systematically-incited-colorado-clinic-assault/ ...
Moderate Muslim: Where Are All The Moderate White Christians Denouncing Planned Parenthood Shooting? http://flip.it/hlFWm
Moderate Muslim: Where Are All The Moderate White Christians Denouncing Planned Parenthood Shooting? http://flip.it/hlFWm
When will the moderate white christians denounce terrorism? #PlannedParenthood https://twitter.com/WesleyLowery/status/670736134146801672 ...
When will moderate white Christians denounce this act of terror? https://twitter.com/wesleylowery/status/670736134146801672 ...
When will the moderate Christians speak out and condemn the Planned Parenthood shooter?
"Will moderate Christians condemn the attack on Planned Parenthood, or is Christianity a religion of hate?" #YesAllReligions
I haven't heard many moderate Christians denounce the Planned Parenthood shooter. Disturbing. Where are the religious leaders?
What are moderate Christians doing about the radicalisation that leads to terror attacks such as on the Planned Parenthood clinic in the US?
Another Christian terrorist is shooting up an abortion clinic. What are moderate Christians doing about their extremists? Via @daveanthony
Why won't white Christian males condemn #PlannedParenthoodShooting? Where are all the moderate Muslim... I mean white male voices?
What are moderate Christians doing about the radicalisation that leads to terror attacks such as on the Planned Parenthood clinic in the US?
It would be just as unfair to blame all Christians for Dale's attack as it is to assign collective responsibility to all Muslims for the horrible events in Paris, since the vast majority of both do not agree with violence in the name of religion. Nor do most religious people worldwide.
Dale, whatever his beliefs, does not represent Christianity any more than ISIS represents all Muslims. A Gallup poll released this November found that "in 11 countries with significant Muslim populations, people from Nigeria to Jordan to Indonesia overwhelmingly expressed negative views of ISIS."
Source: Pew Research Center
A Gallup poll of 130 countries in 2011 concluded "public acceptance of violence against non-combatants is not linked to religious devotion," adding "strong levels of popular rejection of deliberate attacks on civilians are linked to a healthier, more stable society, a lower risk of social conflict, and higher levels of human development" rather than religiosity. In other words, terrorism occurs more often when marginalized or isolated groups of people become radicalized, not particularly when those people proclaim a particular faith.