Again your knowledge is limited: First you say during the time of Muhammed (pbuh) then you say who ever is in charge....you keep changing your tactic to prove your point and again you are wrong. Zakat - is Compulsory Zakat is the compulsory giving of a set proportion of one's wealth to charity. It is regarded as a type of worship and of self-purification. Zakat is the third Pillar of Islam. Zakat does not refer to charitable gifts given out of kindness or generosity, but to the systematic giving of 2.5% of one's wealth each year to benefit the poor. Don't just take my word for it, see the link below its not a Muslim source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/islam/practices/zakat.shtml Sadaqah - is voluntary charity
Not true again. Nether were tolerant at all. Europe or the middle east. There is nothing tolerant about a second class system where the person is considered sub human. Which is what both Christian Europe and Islamic middle east/Africa did. Tolerant ffs. You can still get killed for being gay in both religions. Neither knows a bloody thing about tolerance yet demand tolerance for themselves. No. Anything you choose should not receive the same protection as those things we cannot choose. Like race, sex, sexual preference, nationality, age etc.
Yes, its a charity donation to the faith. Some christian sects also do it. They don't pretend its a tax though. Justbuse emotional blackmail to get the coin. And Muhammed was the first, it didn't end with him. He just started this trend. Centuries later the modern Jewish conspiracies we see today were coined, within the Islamic world, as to discredit the Jewish faith more.
Its not really a choice is it? And those taxes happen to be 50%. You're already so poor that you can barely survive. The result each time is the same for the vast majority. Death, one just costs a lot more and takes a while longer. As long as you paid of course. Neither was or is acceptable.
Neither is acceptable no... But torture and death is worse than higher taxes. It's a matter of degrees. Belonging to the non-ruling faith has sucked no matter where you are throughout history anywhere in the world. Even atheism when it was the state "religion" has been brutal and horrible. Comparatively though, Islamic nations have been the more tolerant. Obviously that isn't true the last 70 years... But historically it is true. The only fair system is when government butts-out of religion 100%.
That rarely happens though, as people can't respect secularism and try to enforce their morality on everyone constantly.
Very true. Take the US for example. Let it slip on a job interview you're atheist and you likely won't get the job. (according to studies atheists are discriminated against more so than any race, religion, or sexual orientation by emoyers) Despite strict separation of church and state... Not a week goes by without someone in one state or another trying to get legislation passed based on some part of the bible or another. Even when laws don't go against you, society does.
You have the story from the side of the oppressors not the oppressed. The oppressed didn't think it was good at all, marginalised and subjected to every kind of discrimination imaginable. As I said, it was similar to living in Nazi Germany before Hitler started killing them by the million.
I don't mind idiots trying to get their ridiculous legislation passed, but the fact that it actually does pass is ridiculous. They bang on about the constitution constantly and then ignore it when it doesn't suit them. It's ok though, there's a group out there protecting the persecuted and preventing religious attacks: please log in to view this image
I grew up in England. University in the US. I learned world history from a western perspective from western sources. That's hardly hearing it from the oppressor. You're not going to convince me that paying extra taxes is worse than torture and murder.
No it's not. I only mention it because the US has it expressly written that there is to be no government endorsement of any religion.
You're making it black and white when its anything but. Jews were slaughter under Islamic law. This isn't western literature, this is Jewish literature from the times when they were oppressed by a ruthless empire. That empire was Islam. Here's a tip, don't believe anything a Muslim or Christian says about Jews and Jewish history. There own beliefs teach them that Jews are evil people and just about falls short of justifying their slaughter.
Does the President have to swear on a bible when taking office? Does this change for non christian Presidents?
That and the "pledge of allegiance." Pledge of allegiance states "one nation under God". It's pretty creepy, feels like it belongs in North Korea more so than a western democracy . Every morning, in every school in the US, every child is required to stand up and pledge blind allegiance to the flag and God. It's creepy to witness... Seems more communist or totalitarian in nature. (and in fact communists were the creators of the pledge). They added the bit about God in during the 50s in rebellion of the communist countries that were declared atheist.
You know luv, I wish people of today we're around when this religious stuff took hold. It wouldn't have stood a chance. Unfortunately religion took hold centuries ago and is now protected in the same way we protect those groups persecuted by religions over and over again.
A non Christian would never get elected. However, in court cases, witnesses may opt to chose a holy book other than the bible to swear upon. I imagine President would do the same.
