Hundreds of people have died during this year’s Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia as the faithful faced intense high temperatures at Islamic holy sites in the desert kingdom.
People who went the official route, getting a permit and going through a company were ok as they stayed in air conditioned places most the time. These people spend upwards of $5k and much more.
People who couldn't afford it went through unofficial routes and were forced to sleep outside and had to walk everywhere and even some had to sneak into makkah through the fucking desert.
Islam doesn't force people to go through pilgrimage unless they can do it both physically and monetarily.
Also even of the ones that went through the official route MANY of them are super old with medical conditions and shouldn't have even boarded the plane.
“Regrettably, the number of mortalities reached 1,301, with 83% being unauthorised to perform hajj and having walked long distances under direct sunlight, without adequate shelter or comfort,” the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.
That's still 200+ deaths who were registered. And my understanding of Saudia Arabia in this context is that they don't always permit Muslims from certain countries, so they have no choice if they want to make their pilgrimage. This is a once in a lifetime event that some people may plan out years in advance. I don't think it's fair to blame them for not registering, especially when in some cases they can't.
Allah: "As faithful Muslims, I command you to make a pilgrimage to the desert in the middle of June."
Muslims: "Yes, O Lord!" [Proceed to die of heat exhaustion.]
Allah: "Ha ha! Fuck you!" [Goes off to hang out with the virgins those guys didn't get for not dying as martyrs.]
Sorry... just trying to imagine how many people of any deistic faith wouldn't have unnecessarily killed themselves over the centuries if they just accepted their god didn't exist.
I think it's silly too, but isn't this a bit insensitive? People died. It is their own fault for making bad decisions in this situation, but they still died.
It's also a lot easier to choose not to be Muslim when your entire family and maybe your entire support group isn't Muslim. Hell, how many of those people who died came from countries where it's basically required by law to be Muslim?
It is indeed. But atheists have a tendency to think it's fine for them to be hateful towards religious people because "they hate all religion". Logically hating more people makes someone even worse, but there's not all that much logic going on in the minds of some atheists. For some people, Atheism is just a cover for being hateful, in exactly the same way some people use Christianity (or any other religion) to provide cover for their hatred.
If the guy didn't say something about "deists," the comment would be identical to something an Islamophobic Christian might say. Religious bigotry from atheists is identical to bigotry coming from religious people.
I doubt it's required by state law for them to go to Mecca on pilgrimage in any Muslim country. How could they even prove you really did it? At most they could inspect your passport to see if you went to Saudi Arabia.
Allah: “As faithful Muslims, I command you to make a pilgrimage to the desert in the middle of June.”
Muslims: “Yes, O Lord!” [Proceed to die of heat exhaustion.]
Allah: “Ha ha! Fuck you!” [Goes off to hang out with the virgins those guys didn’t get for not dying as martyrs.]
Why aren't they martyrs? They literally died for their religious belief.
noun One who chooses to suffer death rather than renounce religious principles. - The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
That's not what the term martyr means when we're referring to Islam tho. They're usually referring to Jihad which is much more specific. (And problematic)
Also, imagine thinking an American dictionary and en English word mean anything when the only 'true' reading of this religion is Arabic
"Jew" can refer a person's religion, but can also be an ethnicity. "Islam" is a religion and not an ethnicity. I couldn't give less of a shit if you make fun of the Jewish religion. Do it all you like. It's a moronic religion.
So the religion of Islam? Yeah, I'll mock it. Arab culture? Nigerian culture? Malaysian culture? No. I won't mock that.
You don't choose your ethnicity. You choose your religion.