Mar 16, 2012 -- 2:25AM, Ebon wrote:

Mar 14, 2012 -- 3:44PM, Roodog wrote:

Or two atheists, Farragut, some  can be be intolerant, even of each other.

Although that does beg the question of how athiests can have doctrinal differences since the very fact of being an athieist means you don't believe in god(s).

They can disagree on why they disbelieve and how to respond to believers. Some are tolerant and some aren't.

Mar 13, 2012 -- 1:35PM, Tpaine wrote:

Mar 13, 2012 -- 1:08PM, Erey wrote:

It was probably an anti-shite attack by a sunni.  But the news reports don't go into that much detail.

It is sad about the Imam.  He is supposed to be 47 which means he probably has young children at home.

You're spot on, Erey. According to the BBC the arsonist is a Salafist (a very conservative Sunni sect). The Imam's name was reported to be Abdallah Dadou and he had four children. Link

The correct term is Salafi and not salafist.  Salafis are also sometimes known as Wahabbis and tend to be extreme when they practice.  Salafis are often really harsh in criticizing others who don't practice like them.  Salafism/Wahabbism is a very extreme Sunni sect that was founded by a guy named Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahab in the 18th century.  Wahab thought Islam  was becoming too modern and corrupt and started a movement to bring Islam back to the Islam that was practiced in the days of the Prophet (PBUH) and his companions.  Wahabis reject the 4 main madhabs (schools of thought) and claim that they follow the true teachings of the prophet pbuh.  They often go around criticizing people who don't believe exactly as they do and make extreme judgments (ie, this person is not a muslim, this person is misguided etc).  I myself have been the target of some harsh salafi comments.  Many muslims don't like the salafis because they can be so harsh and mean.  The Salafis are the people in power in Saudi Arabia.  I am a Muslim and I think salafis often do more harm than they do good.  What Abdallah Dadou did (any type of murder or attack actually) is a huge sin in Islam.  This firebombing is a huge tragedy.