Sunday, 7 June 2015

Outlet for Religious extremists: Making unacceptable behaviours accepted

Over the years, Religion has increasingly been portrayed as a widely controversial topic in today's society. Although it can give individuals the sense of love, and hope, religion is often used as an outlet for extremists to promote their faith through unacceptable behaviours. The unacceptable behaviours of religious groups, leaders, and institutions, has made religion an accepted way to behave unacceptably among society.

Islamics gather to preach on the streets of Britain Greenfield, Daniel. Are you Planning to kill again in the name of Allah? 9 Jan 2015. Web. June 7, 2015. http://www.frontpagemag.com/2015/
This group of Muslims (left) use signs to emphasize the violence they will account on people who do not agree with the Islamic faith. Not only is this message conveyed through text on the posters, but also the body language of the people. This crowd of protesters purposely hold their signs either on their chest, or above their heads to make sure everybody reads the threatening text. Further resulting in others to be fearful of their fearless attitudes.These extremists have been so immersed  into their religions that they are willing to preform violent actions on those who do not follow the same beliefs as them. Not only do these extremists believe their actions are necessary, but they trust that their actions promote their religion, as well as defend their god.Thus resulting in more people starting to agree with the acts of Islamic extremists because they too believe that the Islamic faith is impeccable. However, in society, threatening and harming others is considered unacceptable behaviour and is prohibited from occurring. Therefore proving how religion has become an accepted way to act unacceptable in society.




An Islamic woman goes to Farooq Islamic Center to pray, where she spots
vandalism reading "Muslims go home" near the entrance.
Stanford, Tom. Best photos of 2010. 24 Dec 2010. Web. 7 June 2015.
http://blogs.tennessean.com/behindtheframe/2010/12/24/best-photos-of-2010/

This image (left) portrays a woman overlooking graffiti threatening Muslims to go back to their country. The placement of the black burqa shows viewers that this woman belongs to the Islamic faith. This is important to recognize as it is made clear that the graffiti is directed towards her.The building, being a mosque, holds great importance to Muslims as it is a place where they worship their god. However, the drawn cross beside the words, suggests that a group of Christians vandalized the building. This group of Christians are willing to disrespect the Islamic religion, in order to show faithfulness to their own.They believe that their act of hatred is accepted as their religion is superior to the Islamic faith, despite the fact that vandalism is strictly prohibited and unaccepted in society. Thus proving that religion is an accepted way to act unaccepted in society.


Woman protesting from WestBoro Baptist Church
Trommater, Eric. WestBoro Baptist Church: Thank God for Malaysian 
Plane Crash. 21 July 2014. Web. 7 June 2015.  http://www.alan.com/2014
/07/21/westboro-baptist-church--thank-god-for-malaysian-plane-crash/#

This photograph (left), taken during a WestBoro Baptist Church protest, displays a woman holding a sign reading “fags doom nations”, while wearing a shirt reading “godhatesfags.com”. The colour scheme of the posters are important to note down as the words are notably bolder than the background colour, so when an individual sees the sign, they are immediately drawn to the words. Holding these signs are an act of targeted hatred towards a group of people, and is unacceptable in society. However, this group of individuals feel the need to express their disapproval towards homosexuals because they have been so immersed into their religious texts. They believe their acts are acceptable as they are representing their faith, and religious community. Further proving how religion is an accepted way to behave unacceptably in society.


Hitler shaking hands with the Bishop of Osnabrück, Wilhelm Berning. 
Millington, Thomas. Politicians. N.d. Web. 7 June 2015.
http://tommillington.net/?page_id=253

This picture (left) displays Hitler shaking hands with the Bishop of Osnabrück, Wilhelm Berning. The facial expressions, as well as the gaze between Hitler and Osnabrück is important to recognize as it conveys the excitement they feel to meet eachother. During their conversation, Hitler says to him, “as for the Jews, I am just carrying on with the same policy which the Catholic Church has adopted for fifteen hundred years, when it has regarded the Jews as dangerous and pushed them into ghettos.” He was right when saying this as the Catholics have continuously discriminated against the Jewish community. From Popes demanding Jews to wear special clothing to distinguish from Catholics, or making it illegal for Jews to own real estate. It is fair to say that Hitler’s treatment of Jews may of been inspired by the treatment of Jews by his Catholic community. People believed that treating Jews poorly is accepted because the acts of religious, and political leaders, thus making it acceptable to act unacceptably in society.



In conclusion, religion can be used as a beautiful way for believers to have a sense of love and hope to get through difficult situations. However, it is still increasingly been used as a getaway for extremists to promote their hate towards one another. Further proving how religion is an accepted way to act unacceptably in society.
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5 comments:

  1. Anonymous13 June 2015 at 15:01

    I agree with the fact that people use their religions as an excuse to discriminate against others and i wanted to add that there are some people who are pressured into acting out against other beliefs just to be accepted by their own religious society. So not everyone have the same objective to behave unacceptably, they just might be forced to. But overall i really enjoyed your presentation, good job :)

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  2. Anonymous14 June 2015 at 17:47

    First I would like to say good job. You picked a very interesting topic that many can relate to or have been affected by. I agree with your thesis that many people use their religion as an excuse to act unacceptably in society. You made wonderful points that I would never have thought about if it wasn't for your presentation!
    I do have a question based on what you said in your presentation; Have you every thought that some people such as children, may not feel as they are using their religion to act unacceptably but believe that is how their religion is because that is the way they were taught by their parents and people around them? Overall I really enjoyed learning more about this topic and I enjoyed your presentation! Keep up the good work Upama! :p

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    1. Anonymous15 June 2015 at 11:36

      Thankyou for your feedback on my blog! I am happy that you enjoyed learning about this topic, and had interest in my presentation. To answer your question, I do believe that when you are a child, your opinions, and beliefs are largely influenced by those of your parents. However, when you become a young adult, I think that you start to form your own opinions, and thoughts about different topics, influenced by classmates, the media, and friends. This is when the individual decides between forming your own opinion, or tagging along to those of your parents. I also understand that sometimes, even if the individual does not believe in the religious texts, they feel pressured to because of their parents. However, ultimately, I think it is definitely up to the individual once they get older to decide to make choices for themselves, you are the only person who has the opportunity to shape who you are, and how you will present yourself to the world.

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  3. Anonymous14 June 2015 at 18:11

    This is one of the most debatable subjects to touch upon. It was overall a well written piece of work just an argument to be made about how Religion most definitely has an effect on people, but the terrible things that some do are not always a work of Religion. You have to put yourself in that persons shoes and see, what has made that certain person to do such. It may be some other sort of problem, or a problem that is being covered through the trails of Religion. Also not all Religions display the same message, or stand for the same things. As in some Religions are not against gays and lesbians, and some just do not partake in allowing such. Overall well done and good job.

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    1. Anonymous15 June 2015 at 11:23

      The fact that religion is an outlet for extremists to perform unacceptable behaviours was exactly the message that I proved throughout this blog. Extremists look into religious texts, and purposely use it as an excuse to protest, and act unnoticeably in society, in the name of God. However, because God wrote it, they believe that their behavior is acceptable, as they are defending their lord. Also, I agree with your point that not all religions display the same message, However, I argue that there is at least one con to every religious text, because of the norms of society during the time period it was written. Every single religion is equal, and has both pros, and cons to them. Due to the limited amount of paragraphs I wrote, I was not able to prove my points using every religion.

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