One thing I hear from Christians more often than anything else is why atheists always seem to focus on their religious belief and not others, particularly Islam. First, at least in the West, Christianity is the dominant religious belief and in the U.S. alone, some 71% identify with the Christian belief. That doesn’t mean that those same people are actual practicing Christians, it’s just that at least here, the influence of Christianity vastly outweighs that of any other religious belief.
Should atheists spend as much time critiquing Islam as we do Christianity? I don’t see why not. Of course as soon as someone does, there’s always the charge of Islamophobia, or even racism against those who would dare to stand up and say that, in many cases, Islam is actually a more repressive religious belief than any other. I think that we need to reject the term Islamophobia; When I was in school, I was taught a phobia was an irrational fear of something. I personally don’t fear Muslims, and I think that most people have substituted , or added, hatred in the definition. As for the charge of racism, Islam is a religion not a race, so I reject that as well. I’ve never been accused of being Christophobic or a racist for criticizing Christianity, but for Islam, it is a weapon to silence those who may have legitimate questions about the self proclaimed Religion of Peace.
In ten countries, all Islamic, a person may be put to death for being gay. Those same countries may imprison or sentence to death someone for apostasy. A woman, who’s been raped, has to have at least four male witnesses to convict her rapist, and even then, it’s the woman that’s eventually punished. Some of these same countries still practice stoning, for adultery. These are just a few of what I would call horrors inflicted upon their own citizens.
As much as there is to criticize Christianity, Islam is a much more intolerant belief system. In my experience, most of those apologists for Islam, have never actually spent any time in an Islamic country. I’m not referring to a vacation in Dubai, but a few months in Kuwait, or how about Pakistan? The same apologists may come back with a different view. I’m not trying to paint all Muslims with a broad brush, just pointing out that those same governments are oppressive.
I think that atheists in the West, especially the U.S., could probably spend more time being vocal not just about Christianity, but Islam as well. After all, together, both of these religions comprise nearly half the world’s population. Many atheists have read the bible, or major portions of it, but how many of us have delved into the Quran? I know very few people that own a copy, yet these same people probably own two or more copies of the bible.
Maybe it’s time for us to start going through the holy book of Islam the way we do with the bible. We could all do with a little education and less apologetics.
Conservative Skeptic 
The Bible isn’t moral. The Koran isn’t moral either. Any religion that breaks the human spirit instead of exalting it, is immoral. I am anti-Christianity & anti-Islam for the simple fact they are both anti-ME. In Islam’s case there is no dialogue with them. It doesn’t want to be agreed with, it wants to be obeyed. It thinks it has the God-given right, to make the rules, not just for Muslims, but for everyone, and some of us think that’s a little bit too much to ask. I think that any religion that demands earthly vengeance and retribution for any reason is not really a religion at all, but a disease and should be treated as such.
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“Harrumph, harrumph! Give the Governor a harrumph!”
Everyone, including atheists, who loves the Constitution and the liberty offered by such documents in Western Civilization, should spend as much time as possible denouncing Islam, which means “SUBMISSION.”
It is both a religion and a form of government. Muslims, who do not want to be tarred with the same brush as Islamists, need to prove it. Our government must decide to truly investigate any suspicious activity by Muslims and when warranted, any Muslim related to the person under suspicion should be immediately deported along with them, their Mosque closed and their Imam and his relations deported as well.
If any Muslim requests that our courts consider Shariah Law for their case, that Muslim and his or her entire family should be deported at once.
Muslim citizens must be watched, even as we watched other peoples with whom we were at war. Too bad. Not incarcerated or deported, but watched. If they step out of line and are deemed suspicious, too bad.
Muslims have had many decades to denounce what Islamists have done to their supposed religion of peace. There has been no Reformation in Islam as there was in Christianity. Islam has not passed through its dark age to emerge an enlightened religion. It is a threat to all modern civilizations, even Communist ones.
If Islam is studied at all, it should only be studied in Comparative Religion classes at the college level. It is a plague upon the 21st Century.
Do I think Islamists are the greatest threat to Western Civilization and a free nation’s way of life? Damn right I do!
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I was listening to Glenn Beck’s radio show this morning, when they were discussing a recent poll. Apparently, 57 % of those Americans polled would be “comfortable” with a Muslim president. Of course, 43 % would not be comfortable. I suspect that many who said they would only responded that way to signal their virtue as ever so politically correct, unbiased, non racist, etc.
A similar percentage would be “comfortable” with an Evangelical Christian, but man bulked over a White Male and of course nearly everybody would be “comfortable” with a Black Male or Black Female.
I suspect Atheist Male or Female is near the bottom, but I wonder if that was even asked of those polled.
Obviously, I would not be “comfortable” with a Muslim president, because I am a religious bigot.
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