Response to “Offended by Islam Video”
Our editor over here at Onin, the wonderful Abi emailed me over a link to a youtube video with the message “what are your views?”. Opening the link I didn’t have any real idea what to expect. The video was a post by Pat Condell and consisted of him sharing his views and opinions as well as explaining why he is “offended by Islam”. I’ll start by saying I’m a Christian and ironically have an Islamic first name, I don’t have any views on Islam at all, as quite simply, I believe God isn’t just a religion, its a spiritual bond, as I also believe church isn’t a museum for saints, its a hospital for sinners.
So I begin, Pat Condell; With a mass of 182,320 subscribers and having amassed a total of over 46 million views, its clear that Pat Condell has a following and a fair few supporters. So who is this man and how valid are his points?
It’s clear that there are a lot of ignorant comments and remarks floating about and this video to me was reminiscent of some of the well articulated but yet very ignorant rants I’d heard in the past. You can present your points beautifully, but if they’re not justified and there is no real substance and facts behind your argument, then it is void and holds no place.
In the video Pat states he is offended by cruelty, intolerance and oppression and describes Islam as “pushy, confrontational, demanding and threatening” going on to add Islam is “hair trigger sensitive to criticism” and then continues to explain why he is offended by Islam. Pat continues- “we all pretend Islam isn’t an oppressive religion” and then questions how “a girl can walk around all day inside a black sack”, I have to stop here before I continue and I’ll share my thoughts on the comments made in the 6:39 second clip; not only does this sound like absolute ignorance, but its clear Pat Condell is trying to provoke some sort of reaction. Describing the burkah as a “black sack” is simply ignorant and offensive in itself. To try and make your point through insulting your target totally destroys your argument and to add, attacking a religion which has around 1.5 billion, you’re going to have to step back an asses your comments because quite simply Pat, you don’t know enough.
Another far fetched observation which Pat Condell made; “Saudi funded Islamic schools which use books that preach violence and hatred are not shut down”, now I’d like to know which books this is in reference to and also if Pat had physically seen them himself, as well as been in a classroom where they were put to use. Having such a huge following and preaching your own messages of hate without actually having hard facts to hand makes no sense when your argument is that you’re supposed enemy is doing what you’re doing.
So intrigued by the man himself and how he developed his very basic and ignorant views, I done a bit of research on Pat Condell, which lead me to his personal website. Now based on the video I’d just watched, I immediately thought he was simply in his own bubble and a very ignorant man to say the least, but I’ve already decided I’m not going to do the predictable thing and attack him in this piece, I’m simply going to use his own words, from his own personal page. “And I don’t have much of a formal education – which is good, because it means I can actually read and write. But it also means I don’t have a great deal of what you might call actual knowledge.” – Pat Condell. So taking this short quote, I think it pretty much sums up my thoughts. The message behind the video makes it all too clear that a lot of what’s said and absorbed by the masses, simply comes from a man who doesn’t have much “actual knowledge”
So my thoughts on the clip are pretty simple. Pat is simply a very ignorant man, who doesn’t have much “actual knowledge”.
You can watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxlO7DLC6p8
What do you think?
Norradean Amorro
