Facebook fascism

There’s been a sad little story on the local radio station Energy FM today that I feel I should mention, just to demonstrate that there is a world of difference between opposing religious privilege and critiquing what passes as ‘religious morality’ (which is what I set out to do) and outright racism posing as religious discussion (which is what pondlife, often claiming to be sincere religious believers, do).
It seems the island’s small Muslim community has outgrown their temporary mosque and is making moves to acquire something more fitting. They’ve gone through all the right channels and not sought public subsidies. Generally been neighbourly, self-sufficient and acted pretty much as a respectable community organisation should do. That in itself is a refreshing change for a Manx religious group in the 21st century.
This seems to have annoyed local knuckledraggers so much that, in order to oppose it, they formed a Facebook group of 300 people, or around 150 wits with a combined IQ of, say, 3, if you prefer. You can find the report at http://www.energyfm.net/news/bulletinstory4.htm.
‘But you’re always knocking Muslim fundamentalism’, I hear some say.
Yes, but not Muslims (or Christians or Jews…) themselves.
Frankly, I don’t care what any consenting adult gets up to in private as long as they don’t abuse the vulnerable or expect me to subsidise it. That, in a nutshell, is the difference between me and a ’person of faith’.
I could also misquote Muhammad Ali to explain why I won’t be joining this sad little band of locally born bigots, white flighters and other losers.
No Manx Muslim has ever denied me employment, access to education, medical help in a crisis, or found their premises were too fully booked to rent out to groups I’m involved in because I was of the wrong or no faith. That’s more than I can say of ‘respectable’ Manx churchgoers.