#Religious Intolerance

[laismoura-art]

Ok so...

Twice now i’ve seen people approach @elsa-fogen about a take that is “Alastor is in hell because of Voodoo” (the latest one basically saying he is in hell solemnly because of Voodoo”) and I can’t help but feel there’s reeks of religious intolerance from his take (even if it’s not intentional) cause let’s not forget, Voodoo is a religion (main one in places such as Haiti and Gana), and it’s often stigmatised and viewed through the wrong light. So you all can understand how a take like this could rub someone the wrong way and be deemed as religious intolerance.

But as I know this fandom is PAINFULLY stubborn and probably will want to keep exploring this take even if it makes some people uncomfortable (take the people who refuse to acknowledge Alastor as aro and the people who refuse to stop calling Alastor a wendigo for instance) I would like to offer an alternative take: 

See, I’m not from Voodoo and it’s not that big of a religion here in Brazil, however, we do have two other religions here that are similar/derivatives from Voodoo (Candomblé and Umbanda) and face similar prejudices, so I’m making this based mostly on these two but know that it also applies to Voodoo. 

In Umbanda, we have a higher god, the Orixás (entities that provide guidance and protection) and we have spirits, these spirits divide in different groups and offer advices and guidance to all types of people, there are spirits that look after women, children, grieving parents and even the lost (such as drug addicts).

But as we have good spirits, we also have bad ones. they are popularly known as “espiritos de porco” (pig spirits) who are usually mischievous and even ill intended spirits that might loom over you if they feel a bad energy coming from you or if you are spiritually unprotected and they will start to cause you misfortune and even make you feel weak and sick.

Some ill-intended people use these bad spirits against people they want to harm, the bad spirits may guide them in performing a ritual or maybe the spirit will loom on this targeted person. 

It’s (partly) due to people like this that these religions have such bad reputation, but these people basically perform their religion in a corrupted way! Umbanda is a religion that connects you with nature and guides you spiritually, it’s deeply connected with healing practises (mentally, physically and spiritually), but as I said, like EVERY other religion, it can be corrupted and used to harm.

I think the best use of “corrupt vs proper use of religion” I’ve seen comes from Disney's The Princess and the Frog. People usually remember Dr Facilier better, who used Voodoo against his enemies and to harvest power (much like a certain deer man we all know and love) but we also had Mama Odie (which is a real figure in voodoo, mind you. Also present in Umbanda, a Mama Odie is sort of a priestess of the religion) notice how she is a much more accurate representation of the religion, she lives in contact with nature, she performs her rituals and prayers in the wide while dancing with a very positive energy around, and she wears white (which is the most recommended colour to wear during rituals, as it’s a neutral colour and pleases all Orixás). 

So as you can see, there’s good voodoo practicants and bad ones, and in the end it’s all about how you use your religion, if you use it as you were taught, with pure intentions, seeking guidance and protection of good spirits and Orixás, or in a corrupt way, surrounding yourself with bad spirits and helping them spread their bad energy. 

So what I am hoping with all this is is that people put a stop to “Alastor is evil because he uses Voodoo” and adopt the “Alastor is evil because he does malpractice of Voodoo” which is a much more accurate to reality and respectful take. 

I’d even like to offer a headcanon of my own: 

That Alastor's mom was from Voodoo (maybe even was a Mama Odie herself) and taught Alastor all she knew and he corrupted her teachings and started using them for evil (perhaps even to aid him in his killing) and THAT, that corruption, was what sent him to hell, and true redemption for him would not to give up his powers/forsake his religion but actually to go back to his roots and use his powers for good (perhaps in a way that he ends up healing/saving someone (hopefully Charlie or Rosie)👀

[matan4il]

I can't believe it's only Aug 12th and already there's a Xmas post on my dash.

Every single year I have to get through the non-Christian erasure that is Xmas season, the way that everyone acts as if the whole world celebrates Xmas, every year I have to feel like I'm being mean and raining on people's parades when I refuse to join in, or when I try to (as politely as I can) refuse to be greeted with Xmas wishes, every year I have to grit my teeth as every show has a Xmas special, every app and software has festive events and sales, changing into special Xmas versions of their icons, every media outlet wants to tell me about the joys of Xmas shopping and tourism, meanwhile I'm biting my tongue not to blurt out repeatedly that Xmas is when historically my people were targeted, brutalized and sometimes even MURDERED... and apparently Xmas season just keeps getting longer.

I don't mind that people who are religiously or culturally Christian celebrate it. I kinda mind it when non-Christians do, because that strikes me as the effects of commercialism and cultural colonialism, but hey. Other people are independent individuals, it's up to them to make their own choices, even if I personally make a different choice. And I'd never make anyone personally feel bad about their choice, either. What bothers me is that it's basically IMPOSSIBLE to opt out of Xmas celebrations if you're one of the people who don't want to participate. They're everywhere. They're in every place, they're in so many spaces that I otherwise love. And they just keep starting earlier every year. I wanna bang my head against the wall.

This is what religious / cultural coercion feels like. Yeah, even if it's done unintentionally by many.

[shadowqueenjude]

SJM shaming modest women, apart from being sexist, is also quite telling of her racism and religious intolerance.

She acts like people who dress modestly are oppressed, and this reflects her beliefs on many Eastern cultures, whose women tend to dress more modestly than Western ones. By extension, it’s also a reflection of her Islamophobia, and considering she’s a Zionist, are we really surprised?

[theasexual-jackson]

Has anyone else noticed some people starting to grow against monotheism, or even theism in general, or....

Okay so, yesterday night, in a video talking about cultures with more than 2 genders (which are many, btw), someone said that monotheism ruined everything.

And I corrected them, saying: Actually, only christianity, because christianity was the only one to dominate the world and get lgbtphobic at some point in the hands of europe.

And they were like: No, all 3 religions are homophobic, islam being the worst of them, you must hate the west.

???

I doesn't help any bit knowing that most people think all the 3 religions (Judaism, Islam and Christianity) worship the same God (It is worth remembering that they are based on the same Abraham, but not on the same God. Because it is impossible for the God of Christianity, who sent Jesus to be a savior, to be the same God of Islam, where Jesus is, as far as I know, a prophet) and have the same morals, rules or even doctrine as Christianity.

And I'm scared, because this association could lead into a wave of islamophobia and anti-semitism (which are racist, because you're going against a non white culture in specific).

Or, this could be a small paranoia my brain created and Jewish and Muslim + Arab people are safe, nonetheless. 😃🤷🏽‍♂️

I want to hear y'all's opinions, please, I can't stand this feeling growing up insida'me- 🙇🏽‍♀️😭

[atheostic]

"Stalin was an atheist, so atheism is bad!"

Okay, let's assume for the sake of argument that you're right.

Now let's see a small sample of atrocities by religious people, shall we?

Atrocity - Number of people killed

Warsaw pogrom - 2

Boston Massacre - 5

Częstochowa pogrom - 14

Porvenir Massacre - 15

Brussels Pogrom - 20 (rest of community exiled)

Assassinations over abortion rights - 23 (not a complete number - just what I could find with a quick search)

Salem Witch Trials - 25

Pinsk massacre - 36

Vilna offensive - 65

Basel massacre (pogrom) - 600 (plus 100 kids forced to convert to Christianity)

Worms massacre - 800

Black War - 878

Lisbon Pogrom - 1,000+

Conquest of the Desert - 1,300

Proskurov pogrom - 1,700

Aragon and Flanders massacres - 2,000

9/11 - 2,996

Erfurt Pogrom - 3,000

Massacre of the French in Sicily - 3,000

Trail of Tears - 3,464

Massacre of Verden - 4,500

Genocide of Native Tasmanians - 6,708

1391 Pogroms - 10,000

Massacre of the Rhineland Jews - 12,000

Iași pogrom - 13,266

Massacre at Béziers - 15,000+

1098 Ma'rra massacre - 20,000

Rintfleisch massacres - 20,000

Australian Frontier Wars - 22,249

Parsley Massacre - 24,393

Reign of Terror - 26,272

Kyrgiz Massacre - 28,460

Witch trials of the early modern period - 44,721

Herero & Namaqua Genocide - 61,156

Decossackization - 70,711

Spanish Repressions of Dutch Protestants (80 Years War) - 100,000

Antisemitic pogroms in the Russian Empire - 115,039

Iceni Revolt - 150,000

Albigensian Crusade - 200,000

Inquisition - 300,000

Cromwelian Conquest of Ireland - 400,000

Kitos War - 440,000

Circassian Genocide - 447,214

Bar Kokhba Revolt - 580,000

Partition of India - 632,456

French Conquest of Algeria - 707,107

Italian Conquest of the Horn of Africa - 1,000,000

Gallic Wars - 1,000,000

Rwandan Genocide - 1,234,190

Punic Wars - 1,850,000

Jewish–Roman Wars - 2,000,000

French Wars of Religion - 2,828,427

30 Years' War - 5,873,670

Holocaust - 17,000,000

Crusades - 20,000,000

Colonization of the Americas - 34,047,026

If I did my calculations right, that's 91,298,812 people in just a small sample.

You still wanna go there?

[anneangel]

WTF, what is happening to the world???

Don't like using my Tumblr for other things than fun and fandoms that I use for escapism of the real world. But, WTF, what is happening to the world???

I can't understand all this “free speech” nonsense/ absurdity, because for me it's very simple: "freedom of expression of opinion/ free speech" is one thing, but slander, defamation, hate speech, attacks on minorities, etc, IS NOT "freedom of opinion/ speech", it is verbal violence (which, if disseminated, turns into other types of violence).

It's not that these people don't know the difference between “freely expressing my opinion” and “violent and hate speech”, they PRETEND not to know the difference in an attempt to legitimize their "hate speech", claiming that it is nothing more than “free speech ”. And the more people believe this, more lost we'll be as a society.

And, another thing, it's very easy to perceive prejudice, but in case you are in doubt: when someone who enjoys rights, but wants another group of people not to enjoy the same right, segregates and restricts them, that is prejudice. Then:

If you have the right to come and go, and I don't. This is segregation, and it is prejudice.

If you are white and you can freely access a building, but I, who am black, have to use the employee service elevator. This is racial prejudice, it is racism.

If you can go into an expensive store, or restaurant. And I'm blocked or watched closely by security, just because of the way I dress and because I look poor, that's prejudice. It's class elitism.

If you are a man, and can drive or play a sport, and I am a woman and I am restricted from enjoying this same right because I am a woman. This is prejudice. It's misogyny. It's sexism.

If you are heterosexual, and you can go out holding hands with your boyfriend/girlfriend, you can kiss them and show affection, but you think that because I am from the LGBTQIA+ community I cannot do the same, I cannot enjoy the same right as you, then you are being prejudiced. This is homophobia.

If you have the freedom to believe in and practice cult in a religion, but believe that others should not have the same right, just because their religion is different from yours. This is prejudice. It's religious intolerance.

If you think that someone different from you, that people with disabilities/PwD, if you think they are not capable or are inferior to you, that is prejudice, that is ableism.

I can't believe that in the 21st century, someone would still say that won't assist someone who is LGBTQIA+ and justify that “I have that right!”. What? Once you justify it this way, and the Court agrees with it, becomes possible to segregate ANY person. Do not doubt then that tomorrow black people will not be served either, because “I have that right”. Or “I'll not provide service to you in my store because I do not agree with your religion, your way of thinking, or your way of living, I have that right”.

And now this fake discourse of"free speech", this madness is spreading to other places.

No, you do not have the right to prune the rights of others!

So, repeat with me: when you want to enjoy rights, but you don't want others to enjoy the same rights as you, that IS PREJUDICE AND SEGREGATION. It is not freedom of speech, not freedom of opinion.

If rights are equal for everyone, then everyone MUST be able to enjoy them, regardless of who they are, whether you like it or not. If we leave room for some to enjoy something and others not, that will not be a free society based on equality and freedom.

No. These people are not defending "freedom of speech". They are defending segregation. They are defending slander. Defending the right to defamation. Defending the right to lie. Right to Fake News.

[thelandswemadeofpaper]

Western Men were a totally different matter—odd people, they were. The ones called Eldar were even stranger—long-lived and sorrowful, they seemed to speak in rhymes and knew more about the Dark Enemy than anyone else. They spoke of things Rhunians knew very little about, such as Powers Beyond the Seas and a distant Island of Eternal Peace, appearing all-knowing, even if their condescending attitude often annoyed Master Freggo. Their tales feel more like distant myths. Sometimes, the West felt like another world far removed from their own harsh reality.

Tenka vividly remembered a man from Gondor visiting with his knights. They had such pale skin that she wondered how the sun did not burn them. He had sat in her clan’s dining hall while Lady Cissa told her usual tales to the gathered crowd. It had been a common story, featuring a figure from Shevan lore: The Sun King, a noble hero from the times of old, ancestor of the Welfa's clans while they still migrants from the South, had stolen a star from the sky and forged it into a sword that could cut even through the darkness of the night.

The Gondorian, however, had listened with a dismissive air. He scoffed at the the her liege lady's face, “You truly believe a mortal man could steal a star and forge it into a sword? Elbereth’s stars are beyond the reach of mere mortals. What preposterous ideas."

You king claim to descend from a goddess of song and a magical island of the sea Tenka nearly said, but bit her tongue, choosing not to provoke her lady's guests further

Tenka was Shariah, a high priestress of the M'angli. Even if she had soared among the skies, she wouldn't dare claim to know everything about their mysteries.

Maybe even the stars don't know much about themselves

[lenbryant]

Holy shit! Literally.

[suvarnarekha]

i hope the makers of caliphate netflix will sued the kerala story producers and why you defend the kerala story, do you know Vipul Amrutlal Shah was supported bjp, i know you will furious but you need understand that shah is making money for bjp and you need find real truth on kerala because you are north indian, you will visit kerala to show real side

What do the creators of Caliphate have to do with The Kerala Story? Both are raising the same issues which should be brought to the limelight but the respective makers are not intersected in any ways whatsoever. What reason would they have to sue any people associated with any film ecosystem?

Now; our prime minister, along with the BJP, did uplift the movie in Karnataka. So? What's the issue with that? AK often tweets about movies, rates them and even makes some of them tax free in Delhi whenever he wishes. So, if the country's leader himself is appropriating the masses by mentioning such important ventures, then what exactly is so horrifying about that?

It might come as a shock to you, anon, but the background activities done by the creators of the film is of the least concern to me unless they harm our Nation and its integrity. Plus, do you have any substantial testimony of the allegations you are putting on Vipul Amrutlal Shah? From where exactly did you get this information? Why will I believe a supposed claim coming from a completely unreliable source? Hand over the authentic sources, I will happily believe them.

"because you are north indian" What precisely is that supposed to mean? I live in north India so I am completely ambiguous about the ongoings of the other regions? What you need to get a-fix in your mindset is that one does not need to visit a state to know the reality. Because unlike you, dearest anon, some of us do our due research. We do not believe cockamamie conspiracy theories spewed on the internet.

It's deranged how you think I would get furious when you clearly cannot stand anything that is said against your judgement, anon. You want evidence about the girls converted and sent to ISIS from Kerala?

Fathima (pre-conversion name : Nimisha), Mariyam (pre-conversion name : Merrin Jacob), Ayisha (pre-conversion name : Sonia Sebastian. Yasmin Zahid, who recruited many youths from Kerala and sent them to Afghanistan, is now sentenced to jail.

I'm sorry but the "real side of kerala" you kindly mentioned is right here. Aforementioned and open. A little advice, anon? Say whatever you want, but believe what you see. These myriad victims might just be statistics for us but they are suffering. This is an ongoing process. And it'll only begin to decline when we acknowledge this.

[weirdly-specific-but-ok]

dealing with queerphobia, racism, sexism, religious intolerance etc

guys I know that some people are just ignorant and not malicious and it will do us more good to educate them than to simply condemn them etc

But this is just a reminder to all y'all that IT'S NOT YOUR JOB TO BE A SPOKESPERSON FOR YOUR COMMUNITY ALL THE TIME.

You're a human being and you're allowed to exist. Just exist. You don't have to keep answering ignorant and/or offensive questions even if you know it would help the community.

That's not your responsibility.

If you want to and if you feel up to it, great! Go for it. But I know some of us are bloody tired, I sure as hell am. It's okay. Maybe do it when you want to, and chill when you don't.

Educating people about your community is not your responsibility I'll say it as many times as I have to. Don't spread misconceptions obviously but I mean don't feel obliged to answer invasive questions.

We deserve to live as human beings, not as a token posterchild diversity quota of our communities.

[thebooklook]

The Chrysalids by John Wyndham

After reading this book in my high school English class, and absolutely loving it, I rediscovered it this year. It was incredibly interesting to read a book that I only dimly remembered but knew I had enjoyed. Reading it now, I picked up on some deeper themes that I had missed, and enjoyed the ending less. At first glance this is post-apocalyptic science fiction based around the theme of religious intolerance, but I think it ultimately is about the evils of believing ourselves superior to other people. Events in the book are shrugged off by the main characters and forgotten, because they happened to someone "lower" than them and I feel like the moral of the book could be interpreted as that being okay. The casual destruction at the end of the novel is presented as a necessary evil to reach a better, more advanced world. That theme doesn't sit well with me, but I appreciate when a book makes me feel uncomfortable. Although I didn't enjoy it as simply as I did before, this was a great read and I'm happy to have rediscovered this story. My English teacher had some good taste.

[drmonkeysetroscans]

Anti buddhist hate.

[gemsofgreece]

I lived all my life in Germany and have never heard of anything like this happening :O Frankly, I don't walk around wearing a cross to ever "provoke" such encounters, but I didn't know others have. I grew up in a small town in the west where the greek community is very strong. Like after turks, greeks are the biggest minority in my town (and also generally in the whole west), so I personally think smth like this wouldn't have happened there. and in middle & high school I had some classmates who were openly Christians. I mean, very openly showing it by wearing crosses (one even read the bible during small breaks?) and we had in school religion as a subject (either protestant or catholic -- or for those who weren't neither the option for philosophy/ethics instead). one girl even told me how she questioned evolution when it was the subject in biology class and there wasn't anyone telling her to shut up or smth, so again, another reason I assume smth like this, ppl asking christians not to wear crosses, wouldn't have happened in my area/in western germany. and i think in the south neither. bc in the west (especially the Cologne-Münster area) and the south (especially Bavaria) are mostly catholic. I think such things like the ones your friend mentioned, would rather happen in the north and east germany (aka the post-communistic part). Especially in Berlin, where a) most foreigners are muslims (I currently live here so at least it seems so. at least greeks are very very few here) and b) the whole city is all about "diversity" and "wokeness" and "openmindness" (not that the rest of the country isn't trying, but here it's like literally the whole life motto of the city)-- where such hypocritical actions as the ones mentioned by your friend would definitely be more likely to happen. perhaps I should start walking around w a cross here to test my theory haha

And yet, he actually lived as west as it gets! I checked the population of his city and the Turkish minority is by far the largest while the Greek is not even in the top 5… so I suppose this was making him pretty vulnerable

[sethsingh]

MY FATHER-IN-LAW PUT ON THE PELOSI HAMMER ATTACK VIDEO FOR MY FUCKING TWO YEAR OLD DAUGHTER.

HE IS SO AFRAID THAT SHE WON'T GROW UP "A GOOD AMERICAN" BECAUSE HIS DAUGHTER MARRIED A SIKH, WHO WAS BORN AND RAISED IN AMERICA.

BEST WAY TO DEAL WITH YOUR ISSUES OVER YOUR GRANDAUHGTER BEING A SIKH IS TO SHOW HER GORE SO SHE IS AS HATEFUL AND PATHETIC AS YOU.

[silasfiorotti]

Campanha Contra a Intolerância Religiosa (2023).

[atheostic]