I Find Islam Offensive

I think it is fair to say that Islam is not the most well-thought of religion in many people’s minds these days. While it is easy to simply blame Muslims for Islam, there are some beliefs that I find reprehensible in Islam of which Muslims who aren’t bent on violence can become victims of.

• Shahada: The shahada is the central creed in Islam. Many make this creed out to be some profound idea. At the core of the shahada is the tawhid or the “oneness” of god. This idea seems to be making a point, but in fact doesn’t. Monotheists already buy into the idea that god is “one.” Whatever that means….The only difference here seems to be one of emphasis. I am actually having a hard time describing the absurdity of the shahada, but within its emphasis on the “oneness” of god, it suffers from the same intolerance to ideas that other monotheisms do. This intolerance to other points of view seem to be on steroids in the case of the shahada. In other words, no one can imagine god to be anything other than what the shahada says it is. In this sense it doesn’t allow for differing opinions on the nature of God which leads to absolutism.
• Taqiya – This idea stinks!! Taqiya is a principle in which one is allowed to lie for the sake of Islam. No other idea in Islam makes Muslims fall prey to suspicion more than this one. Dishonesty is not a virtue. While I understand that this is used for people under duress, it is extremely easy to rationalize lying about one’s intention as an extremist views the world as black and white. Wherever Islam is not the primary religion of a people/culture/nation it becomes easy to claim duress.
• Jihad: Usually translated as “Holy War,” but more properly translated as a holy struggle. For some, jihad means an internal struggle against sin. The one that gets the most attention is the struggle against the House of War/Heathens. The political dimension in Islam makes jihad makes a slippery slope. It doesn’t help that the emphasis on jihad in the Qu’ran is towards the “outer jihad.” Depending on the interpretation, jihad can inspire some Muslims to not play well with others.
• Treaty of Hudaybiyyah: a precedent that allows Muslims to break treaties in order to further Islamic agendas.
• Dhimmi: A non-Muslim who, once humiliated, pays a tax to “protect” the person from the Islamic populace under Sharia law. The status non-Muslims would have in the end game of political Islam.
• Kuffar: While all religions have some distinction between religious and non, kuffar is a derogatory term. Kuffar are on the receiving end of jihad, and dhimmitude. 
• Mohammed: The supposed prophet of god. I find the life of Mohammed to be a morally bankrupt one. Between all the wars, splitting of booty, rape and pedophilia, it is difficult to find anything redeeming in this person. While many apologists argue for Mohammed’s context (He lived in a different time, etc….) regarding said issues, it is very strange that such a “final morality” would be so fluid. It turns any adherents into the ultimate moral relativists. The most problematic issue with Mohammed is that he was both a spiritual and temporal leader.
• Qu’ran: The Muslim holy book. It reads like word salad. Extremely contradictory and repulsive. While no different then the Bible in this regard, as a percentage, the Qu’ran is more violent. A book about as long as the New Testament, but truly boring
• Sharia: Islamic theocracy. Theocracies suck in general, Islamic sharia seems to be dedicated to erase fun from the society. No Alcohol, extreme concern over where penises get inserted, no dancing, no singing, no music, no freedom of thought or speech, no bacon, women must be modest and possibly smiling is prohibited. All around shittifying life.

All of these ideas are offensive to me and if you hold them then we disagree on these points. I won’t think you are a subhuman or think you are a savage. I simply believe you are wrong and that is the difference between liberal secular values and other values. Also as an atheist, I am willing to be convinced if I’m wrong on these issues. My goal isn’t to misrepresent or create a straw-man, but I’m somewhat interested in what I got wrong, if anything.