I’m not sure if it’s media fueled misinformation, or just a lack of knowledge, but it seems like there is a pretty big bias in Halifax against the Muslim community.
My little taste of this came from when I posted a few ads around certain Halifax forums in hopes of finding some people who would be able to chit-chat about Islam—I’m genuinely interested in learning about the religion and history—I think, “Hey, it’s Halifax, there are probably lots of friendly Muslim people who’d wanna talk in an intellectual non-threatening manner”. And there were!
You know what there are also a lot of?
Ignorant racist bigots. My inbox was flooded with everything from people telling me to go back to my own country (I’m Canadian… and Caucasian. That one really didn’t make much sense) to pleas for me to convert to Christianity, and that I’d go to hell if I didn’t.
I think the best one told me that Christians wouldn’t go to other countries pushing their religion down other people’s throats. Something told me that person never took history.

Just for kicks, I posted the same ad substituting Christianity for Islam. Nothing racist, nothing threatening, nothing telling me my soul is going to be damned. And a few Church invites. Ok, cool.

So people are cool with me asking about Christianity, but not Islam?

Religion is not for everybody. No, I don’t think people should force their views on others. No, I don’t think you should make fun or get angry because someone is religious. We don’t have the right to attack other people’s thoughts.

I just wanted to ask some questions, but apparently I chose the wrong religion to ask about in Halifax. —Isolated Potential Convert

This article appears in Sep 15-21, 2011.

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35 Comments

  1. Jesus. What’s he done for me lately? Seriously though, what you are witnessing is more and more old people with knowledge of the internet. They can literally complain AT ALL TIMES. No one under 40 cares about religion anymore.

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  2. Look up the mosques in the phone book. I did this in the mid 80s and ended up finding out Islam wasn’t for me, but spent a few weeks meeting some very nice Muslims who accepted me into their group, and enlightened me.

    Please don’t confuse some red necks emailing you with all of us being like that. In my experience there are more nice people, but the assholes are more vocal.

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  4. Yep, the media has done a number on us there OP. It’s ok, these people don’t know what they’re talking about. There should be a “mind your business” religion (I think a major component of many religions, especially Christianity is “live and let live” shows what kind of hypocrites you’re dealing with) and these people should convert to that.

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  5. I have a simple solution: become atheist. If you still feel like something is missing, pick up a drug addiction or cat or something.

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  6. An interesting article I recently read about religious people, & atheists saying that they are very close in their beliefs.
    (doesn’t matter what religion you want to look at this holds true)

    You see a devout religious person, believes their particular belief … Is the only right way to god.
    THey don’t believe any other of the hundreds of religious groups, that is practicing today or have existed in the past has the merit that their particular religious belief has & they are the only ones who are right.
    While an Atheist believes exactly as they do, with the small exception , they don’t believe their particular belief is right either.
    So all that truely seperates a devout believer & an atheist is 1 religion !

    As for your Muslim search, seeing as much of the worlds terrorism is being done world wide by Muslim extremists …who while maybe not true muslims, in the eye’s of the faithful of that faith…are still Muslim’s in their own minds & they’re extremism is causing a great many of the worlds other peoples in condeming all Muslim’s, instead of just the extremists.

    I personally believe all religions, are Bullshit & should loose their ‘tax free’ status & be taxed just like any other business, because that’s all any of them really are… money raising businesses selling redemption tomorrow, for a price today !

    While I am not an Atheist, I just don’t think any religion is anywhere near the ‘truth’ about an Ultimate creator, so none of them are worth wasting any more of my time on them.

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  8. All religions should be fucking banned for all the destruction and devastation they’ve caused mankind throughout the ages. Pap for the weak-minded.

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  10. look. I’m sorry you had to find out this way that halifax is just like any other place on earth and people are stupid pretty much everywhere you go.

    If you’re interested, hit a local mosque and ask the source. If anybody knows where such a group of individuals meet and chat, they probably would. Also the Unitarian Church in the south end may know because they’re essentially a patchwork religion that embraces everything under the sun including that week that they did a series of lectures on the spirituality of satanism. So they’re also on the up and up about stuff like this.

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  11. what i think is GREAT about this bitch however is the irony of the comments.

    Haligonians are pretty cool but we’re not perfect. Most of us have our pretentious heads up our asses and assume we know everything. Humankind has no further to go in our understanding. We have reached the apex. That’s why we know everything.

    Agnostic is greek for “don’t want egg on my face”. Peace.

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  15. Good ‘un, Painey – organized religion has been ordered to stay 500 yards away from me at all times. Can you tell I’m a former Catholic?

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  19. wel, OP, for a bitch thread where we generally don’t pull punches….I’d say you got a surprisingly islam friendly, but somewhat non-religious response. if that makes any sense. 🙂

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  20. I feel bad for you OP. You’re looking to explore your spirituality and you’re met with grief from the insensitive and uneducated.
    Personally, I am atheist but if religion makes somebody a stronger and better person and a more productive member of society, I’m behind them.
    Islam is not well understood in these parts, it’s associated with extremism because that is what most people see on the news. War, explosions, people chanting and raising their fists all of which represent a minor portion of Muslims.
    Christianity sprung from Judaism which, like Islam, has it’s roots in the Middle East. The history of the faiths are quite parallel.
    I’m not a religious person so I really don’t know where the mosques are in Halifax but maybe see if you can locate one. Go to a couple of services, see what you think.

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  22. some would say that you are only interested in the 72 virgins when you die, defending allah,or mohamoud.don’t listen to them. i do have a lot of muslim friends and even a smattering of jewish ones too.believe what you want to, but stay the fuck away from christians. they are one fucked up group of zealots.read the bible, filled with killing and sex. and their god, is sposed to love you. if that is the case, splain to me, why an innocent child dies, and a murderous sum a bitch lives?give me the great flying speghetti monster every time.

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  24. Did you hear the one about the dislexic atheist? He looked to the heavens, raised his hands towards the sky and said, “Is there a Dog?!”

    But seriously, I am not a religious person. I was raised catholic but am not really a practicing one. I don’t agree with a lot of what the church has/does stand for but at the same time, there are some things that I do take comfort or inspiration in. I don’t know any muslims and only know a very basic understanding of the religion but I HAVE been to the middle east several times and can tell you first hand that generally speaking, they are a very friendly, peace-loving and compassionate group of people. Despite what you see on tv or read in the daily news, the extremists are NOT the norm and only represent a miniscule fraction of the muslim world. But, like everything else, the media has sensationalized and only focused on this tiny group of people. Don’t give up your search for answers.
    Check here: http://bangladesh2000.com/bdcom/islam/dir/…

    Scroll down to Nova Scotia and you should see a number of mosques and centres where you could probably talk to someone to get more information

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  27. Religion may be on the wane, but Scandinavian parents evidently prefer their children to have an immortal soul. >; )

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  28. Religion is for the weak, all religions, not just Christianity. Feeble minded people, willfully herded into a confined space to be told they aren’t good enough. But for a small fee, one can be absolved from all their sins (actions not condoned by some superpower) no matter how disturbing. I call bullshit!!! All religions are the same, they all want money, money, money. Stupid Christians, why don’t you all go back to your homeland and take your Mexican god with you!!!

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  30. No offense, but fuck all religions. Since the dawn of recorded time, they’ve done nothing but cloud judgement and touch little boys. Not religious and never will be. I used to tell the Jehova’s Witness’s that I actually believe in Satanism. Lucky for them, satan isn’t real either.

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  33. Och! Aye, Ivan! mmmmmmm Lagavulin *smacks lips* Purdedbrillyant tha’ is. I’d mur-dah a wee dram righ’ new!

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  35. “And your kind spread AIDS if bumped into by real humans.”
    – Posted by Donairious BIG on September 19, 2011 at 10:42 PM

    More sub-human references. He has obviously dehumanised homosexuals in his mind completely. HE WILL KILL! It is just a matter of time.

    Illegal hate speech. Ban the user. Delete the post. If you do not then you are as guilty as he.

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