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When my sister visits us in Guanacaste, she chooses to wear her hijab. It’s actually amusing to notice the looks, especially when she is up in the rondel with us watching the bulls! Nonetheless, her manner of dress provides a great opportunity to respond to the many Tico questions we receive- their look is even more incredulous when her responses are in fluent Spanish!
I’m not certain how many people here know Muslim families, have children who attend school with Muslim kids, have lived in Muslim societies or have loved ones who practice the faith of Islam. How many have read the Koran and attempted to digest its infinite contrasting academic, historical and theological interpretations? Sans such interaction, I’m not at all surprised nor disappointed by the admonitions of resident sages like Sprite. But I do want to quickly consider one quote from a post of his- [i]”Let me first say that I do not approve any religion and specifically disapprove of the Muslim religion or culture and I would move away from any place that is predominantly of that fanatic and zealous culture. I am not tying to offend anyone.”[/i] -If you do not “approve” of any religion, you can’t specifically disapprove of any single one. -YOU don’t get to “approve” religious practices; only government entities like China and Iran, and loose affiliations like the Taliban have that privilege. -Your purposeful association of religion with culture is ignorant; your description of fanaticism and zealousness is downright bellicose. -And finally, yes, you ARE trying to offend- when you foist such views in a public forum with a pre-emptive mea culpa, you know exactly what you are doing.
What is being referred to here is municipal law, which is only applicable in Cambridge. Here is a link to the original article http://thecambridgeadvocate.com/archives/an-open-letter-to-the-honourable-robert-nicholson-minister-of-justice-and-attorney-general-of-canada/
In addition, Stats Canada has projected that the majority of folks in the three large urban areas will be primarily made up of visible minorities with muslim being the major religion by 2031. Here is a link to that http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/100309/dq100309a-eng.htm.
I completely agree with Sprite and we can no longer afford to be politically correct about this. It seems that every religious group has the right to this and the right to that to support them. What about those of us who don’t subscribe to any religious mythology or dogma and just want to live a peaceful life and coexist? Why is it that Westerners who go to Saudi are expected to adapt to their culture, respect their religion and all the rules such as dress that go along with it, but when they come here they change nothing and continue as if they haven’t left their country behind. If it’s so great over there then why did they come here? Many of the muslim women I know are extremely grateful to have left behind the oppressive regime in their countries but many (mainly men) want to implement the same repression here in Canada. Believe it or not, it wasn’t that long ago that Ontario actually entertained bringing in Sharia law. It was Muslim women who fought hard against it and won (fortunately in Canada they have the right to fight). It also begs the question, what the hell were our politicians thinking??? That may have opened a door to quite the nightmare, perhaps we would have been witness to public stonings or beheadings. The message clearly needs to be, not in my country, thank you.
I can’t believe Scott allowed such an appalling article on this web site. I suggest to remove our flag from it ASAP!
We lived in Vancouver and I must say, it’s one of the best places we’ve ever lived in.
Let’s look into the facts presented by John Oldham:
“It is against the law in virtually every municipality to provide such accommodation for your elderly parents.”
-Not true. You need to adhere to your zoning requirements and legalize your basement. Do tell us the other side of the story! It has nothing to do with “elder abuse by government”. That’s just ridiculous.
“Canadian families can hardly pay their gas and hydro bills, or high property taxes”
-Which Canadian families are you talking about? Canadian economy is booming. We have the LOWEST electricity and water rates (yes, even comparing to CR). Our property taxes are low comparing to US, for example. If you can’t afford your Hydro bill in Canada, you CANNOT afford to live in CR, trust me!
“The Canadian government has also destroyed our quality of life by allowing an excessive number of immigrants into the country over the past few decades.”
“No more paying high taxes to support excessive immigration”– I don’t even know where to start.. Canada (as well as Australia and NZ) got it right. We are attracting the “independent” category of immigrants using the points system. That system proved to be the best in the world as it lets in only the most highly-educated, young and ambitious people. Those new immigrants get the jobs right away and start paying taxes. Part of those taxes immediately goes to support the “elderly”.
Your taxes are not supporting immigration, it’s the other way around: the newcomers are supporting YOU.
Without these very intelligent and ambitious newcomers Canadian economy would not able to support itself. It’s a known fact.
“No more complaining Muslims.
No more government that caters to the desires of minorities.
No more witnessing attacks on Christianity.”This point has been well covered in the previous posts.
If you don’t like what you see, why not move to Vancouver? Unless you also don’t like Indians, Eastern-Europeans and Chinese..Your reasons for leaving Canada in favour of CR are so wrong. The only right one is the weather which is absolutely the best here.
I suggest you take off your pink glasses next time you’re here and re-do your research!!
Here are my top reasons to leave in CR:
1) weather
2) cheaper (please note that I said “cheaper”, not “cheap”. Again, if you can’t afford your Hydro bills, you can’t afford CR)
3) lots of things to do if you like nature
4) gardening is the most rewarding
5) 2 WARM oceans within reasonable driving time
6) low property taxes (this has been changing lately, so let’s see if this reason stays)
7) reasonably friendly locals (though Canadians are probably just as friendly and definitely more helpful). I know many will disagree with this item, as many locals see us Gringos as “money bags” with plantations of money trees back North. I’m trying to say that there is no open hatered towards us. It’s nice to see smiling people on the streets.
8 ) privacyWe do have excessive taxing in Canada. I believe it is well over 50 per cent. The most dastardly thing, though, is the lack of accountability by the government on how they spend the money.If it were spent in an efficient productive manner the taxpayer would not feel so frustrated and abused. The prime minister does not have any checks and balances to counter his authority. I just cannot believe that we have a true democracy. Betty Mychasiw
“Why is it that Westerners who go to Saudi are expected to adapt to their culture, respect their religion and all the rules such as dress that go along with it, but when they come here they change nothing and continue as if they haven’t left their country behind.”
religion IS the government and government IS the religion in SA. yes, you’d better adhere to the customs, lest you wind up like that english couple who got busted for frolicking on a beach in Dubai. kissing in public is against the law there, as is drinking (but they still do it in private), smoking pot (the rich go to Lebanon for the weekend to get high), and a whole long list of other activities that have severe (and i mean severe) punishments. Saudi Arabia is a Muslim country and therefore they can dictate how they expect foreigners to conduct themselves or how to dress.
[quote=”twinzor1″] -And finally, yes, you ARE trying to offend- when you foist such views in a public forum with a pre-emptive mea culpa, you know exactly what you are doing.[/quote]
Yes, I do know that I am offending. It is not my intention but I am aware that what I say will offend the religious. Too bad. They need to get used to it. Their beliefs are not superior to any others and all beliefs are subject to critique on this side of the planet…..so far.
By the way, since I was talking about barbarism, what is the punishment for a Muslim who renounces his faith?A typical religious view has been expressed above that says that I, as an individual, do not have the right to disapprove of a religion. Well,here I am anyway, disapproving to my heart’s content. I live in the west
and until and unless a repressive religion like Islam takes over here, I will continue to do so. I can walk in front of any catholic church in Costa Rica and NOT cross myself..and not a single Tico is offended.Religion is an important part of Costa Rican culture as is agriculture, education, banking and government. Are you suggesting a separate forum for each and every topic? What would the purpose be? What is your objection to seeing a topic which includes a lively discussion about religion or politics?
That some will get angry? We are not children on an unsupervised playground. We are adults exchanging information and ideas in cyberspace within rules of established western civil behavior. This isn’t the Saudi Kingdom where apostates are executed.Sprite,
You just don’t get it.
My suggestion in the [b]Just a Suggestion[/b] post (https://www.welovecostarica.com/members/cfmbb/messages.cfm?threadid=65150D35-24E8-5ED2-F1E6D25AB8B9ADD2) was simply to set up separate forums for bigots like you.
I am just tired of going to the [b]Costa Rica Living Forum[/b] and getting suckered into a caustic thread on either Politics or Religion. Take your bigotry someplace else.
Joe
[quote=”twinzor1″] YOU don’t get to “approve” religious practices; only government entities like China and Iran, and loose affiliations like the Taliban have that privilege. [/quote]
I think you better add Mecca Saudi Arabia to that list. I would have to say they are at the top since they confiscate all Christian bibles at the airport when you land.
[quote=”Blade Runner”]Sprite,
You just don’t get it.
I am just tired of going to the [b]Costa Rica Living Forum[/b] and getting suckered into a caustic thread on either Politics or Religion. Take your bigotry someplace else.Joe[/quote]
Joe, You are obviously one of the people who should probably avoid even reading topics such as this one since they upset you to the point of name calling. The word bigot doesn’t apply here since it means that one is intolerant of ANY creed, religion, race, etc which differs from one’s own. I love Costa Rica because of its differences from my own culture. Most of us appreciate and accept differences which we perceive as positive. I just don’t see Islam, or any religion as a positive in the world. If you want to go through life with your hands over your ears and singing “lalalalala” while the adults talk over issues, go ahead. But please don’t try to stifle the rest of us who want to talk about things which matter to us.
I also think that the original article was out of line and shows the authors bigotry but am more surprised by some of the responses. Why is it when religion is brought up rational discussion and civility leaves the room. Can a person not disagree with any or all organized religions without being reviled? I thought the article interesting even if only to the point of thinking “wow that is a bitter, unhappy man” wonder if he will be happy in a place that is full of Latinos.
Scott – glad you didn’t take the article down, it encourages thought and discussion.
i can’t help wondering who else the author doesn’t like besides the folks wearing turbans: black people? short brown indigenous people? chinese? all those people live in costa rica.
i agree with the poster who said he didn’t want this type of gringo moving here with their bigotry and racism. i’m certainly not going to extol the virtues of the Patan who tried to blown up NYC, but i certainly wouldn’t condemn all muslims.
I think the posting of the article was appropriate. It was nothing more than the expression of a man who has seen his world as he has known it change. I believe we are all seeing it though through different glasses. Our revelations and the emotions they stir are sprinkled and in some instances poured throughout these threads. You need not try and bury it in some new forum. You need to read and listen and debate if inclined, but you need to see what others see and what you may have missed. You don’t need to agree but you may need to have heard it.
Abolish all religions, we are all the same.
All these nonsense creates separation between brothers, and
the separation creates emotional pain. We are slaves of the
systems created by corrupt governments and corrupt companies that create fear and sorrows among us.It is all about love and freedom. Everything is inside of us already, look for inner peace, inner happiness , inner freedom, etc. First you stop watching the news and then move to Costa Rica for a better “life”.
There is no end to the rat race, most people are brain wash
to be slaves to the system since day one. Some rats choose other ways, and I choose the pura vida Way.Hook on God but not to religion.
cesar
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