They coulda shortened it to...."We are always right.  Come and gain wisdom from your betters.  All others need not apply."

Shesh. 

*shrugs*

Like you said mason, every forum has it's rules. If you don't like it, then you don't have to post there.

I mean, it's the same thing here, DU, etc...

They don't sound that extreme. I've seen the same sort of rules on other forums that are dedicated to a single purpose and have particularly hardworking moderators, from game forums to christian ones. They just write a new rule every time they get a new spammer/griefer/troll.

As for being excessively positive in their portrayal of Islam, well, why not? The forum members are there to discuss it positively. Why bother letting people troll it? It's a private site not unlike JU or DU, so why not enforce the beliefs of the site founder?

Back a few years ago I tried to argue religion on a Christian site (that now I can't seem to find), and was met with EASILY as draconian a response. If you question the inerrancy of the Bible, you were being blasphemous. If you tried to expound on their misguided ideas about evolution, you were proselyting secular humanism.

I think you'll find that you could find just as draconian rules on many different forums of varying topics. You've been to DU. You can't even argue from a conservative perspective there. It isn't allowed, because the forum is FOR anti-republican dems. The only thing they really hurt is their ability to debate in the end, because their ideas are never challenged.

If they want hothouse arguments that can't survive without a jackboot moderator, great. Let the stricken deer go weep, imho. They're just ripe for the picking when they wander out.

I see no problem with a forum for discussions within a group that is not open to outsiders. There are plenty of other places for debate, that just isn't one of them.

They don't sound that extreme. I've seen the same sort of rules on other forums that are dedicated to a single purpose and have particularly hardworking moderators, from game forums to christian ones.

I was thinking the same thing.  Change the intent to politics and Islam to democrats, and you have democratunderground.org. 

Supporting zionism, occupations and imperialism are not allowed.

I wonder if quoting the Quran is allowed.

The Quran does support Zionism, occupations, and imperialism.

Reply #3 They don't sound that extreme. I've seen the same sort of rules on other forums that are dedicated to a single purpose and have particularly hardworking moderators, from game forums to christian ones. They just write a new rule every time they get a new spammer/griefer/troll.

I never said they were extreme, just that there seemed to be a lot of them. (yes, I'm bening facetious) I only posted sections of what is a long list of rules. I've read the rules pages of a lot of forums and this simply struck me as being among the most authoritarian that I had run across.

The fact that they felt the need to post more than one rule/statement regarding violence and sectarian posts is what really stood out though.

As for being excessively positive in their portrayal of Islam, well, why not? The forum members are there to discuss it positively. Why bother letting people troll it? It's a private site not unlike JU or DU, so why not enforce the beliefs of the site founder?

Actually I agree with you here. There is nothing wrong with trying to create an intelligent, positive forum. My point was that in establishing some of their rules they are in a round about way acknowledging the fact that sects and violence are a problem within Islam despite the claims of some to the contrary.

Some of their rules are indeed to deal with trolling, and I have no problem at all with that. I've seen plenty of other forums that could use better troll rules.

Reply #1 They coulda shortened it to...."We are always right. Come and gain wisdom from your betters. All others need not apply." Shesh.

Reply #4 Back a few years ago I tried to argue religion on a Christian site (that now I can't seem to find), and was met with EASILY as draconian a response. If you question the inerrancy of the Bible, you were being blasphemous. If you tried to expound on their misguided ideas about evolution, you were proselyting secular humanism.

Yep, I've seen some of those. But I don't think I've ever seen one that needed to have rules against certain sects of their religion who promote violence.

Reply #5 I see no problem with a forum for discussions within a group that is not open to outsiders. There are plenty of other places for debate, that just isn't one of them. Jythier View Jythier's Profile Email Jythier Find Posts By Jythier

You misunderstood something there. They are open to "outsiders" and have a statement welcoming them. Nothing in the rules I posted states that "outsiders" are unwelcome.

Reply #6 They don't sound that extreme. I've seen the same sort of rules on other forums that are dedicated to a single purpose and have particularly hardworking moderators, from game forums to christian ones. I was thinking the same thing. Change the intent to politics and Islam to democrats, and you have democratunderground.org. Dr. Guy View Dr. Guy's Profile Email Dr. Guy Find Posts By Dr. Guy

Frankly, I think DU is far less tolerant than these folks

Reply #7 Supporting zionism, occupations and imperialism are not allowed. I wonder if quoting the Quran is allowed. The Quran does support Zionism, occupations, and imperialism.

Yeah, they do indeed quote it as well as the Torah and the Christian Bible.

While reading through some of the forum I was a bit surprised by how many Christians, Jews, and Atheists were posting members there. They definitely do not discourage people of other beliefs from posting there, asking questions, or even debating certain ideas so I have to give them that.

The Muslims on the forum are mostly living in Europe, Canada, the US, and various other mostly English speaking countries. It's a pretty good way to see just how they think as you read some of the posts. One of the things that you find is that even those who are educated and living in Western countries still agree that insulting God, Mohamed, or Islam is deserving of the death penalty under Divine Law.

These rules are no worse than any other number of forums I've seen. I don't think it's because they're Islam, I think it's just that they're strict on staying on a set topic.

"Yep, I've seen some of those. But I don't think I've ever seen one that needed to have rules against certain sects of their religion who promote violence."

Visited may anti-abortion sites? Get a heated discussion going about homosexuality on a Christian site and sit back and wait, as well. You'd be surprised the bent some of these Phelps-esque Christians can have.