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marfknox
SFN Die Hard
USA
3739 Posts |
 Posted - 07/30/2011 : 13:06:48
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I found this column in Patheos sort of interesting. It's a Christian defending Muslims from what he sees as unsubstantial claims.
I was particularly interested in this paragraph: | And there are much larger numbers of Muslims who register approval of terrorism, including the 9/11 attacks, in public opinion polls. But Kurzman argues that these results speak more to rampant, irrational anti-Americanism than any actual terrorist actions. The same Muslims express admiration for Al-Qaeda on one hand, and on the other express support for democracy, women's rights, western fashions and secular entertainment, all things that real Al-Qaeda types deplore. One finds little ideological or theological consistency in polls of the Muslim world. |
It makes these polls seem almost useless for gaining any real insight into these peoples' minds, except to show that there is a great deal of double think. And what's new about that trend among humans?
How do people here respond to the columnist's arguments and conclusions? I think it raises more questions than it answers.
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"Too much certainty and clarity could lead to cruel intolerance" -Karen Armstrong
Check out my art store: http://www.marfknox.etsy.com
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Edited by - marfknox on 07/30/2011 13:07:33
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teched246
Skeptic Friend
123 Posts |
 Posted - 07/30/2011 : 20:29:55 [Permalink]
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| What self-styled "expert" on the middle east reduced this nuanced, complex issue to a poll? More violent towards...? Are muslims naturally more inclined to take up arms in championing a cause or belief? Certainly not. "Irgun" was a jewish terrorist movement in the region and, as the first terrorist movement there, it bombed the state of Israel as we know it today into existence. Are we to say that, because they've aquired and secured a lofty position in the region jewish fundamentalists are less likely than muslim fundamentalists to take up arms if they percieve a serious enough threat to their interests? Puh-lease. History has taught us that fundamentalists of all three of the abhrahamic religions are equally brutal and ruthless under the right circumstances. A more pertinent question than the provocatively oversimplified "Are muslims more violent?" would have been, "Are there more fundamentalists in Islam than in Judaism or Christianity" since it is the fundamentalists in any cause who account for the violence on behalf of a cause. Still an unfair question given the ratio between Islamic and Judaic count, and yet even more unfair when we compare the social priveleges of their respective cultures. More factors must be taken into account and more pertinent questions must be raised in order to fully tackle this issue. |
"For all things have been baptized in the well of eternity and are beyond good
and evil; and good and evil themselves are but intervening shadows and damp
depressions and drifting clouds.Verily, it is a blessing and not a blasphemy
when I teach: ‘Over all things stand the heaven Accident, the heaven
Innocence, the heaven Chance, the heaven Prankishness." -Nietzsche |
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marfknox
SFN Die Hard
USA
3739 Posts |
Posted - 07/31/2011 : 15:41:55 [Permalink]
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| Love your comments, teched. You make some excellent points. |
"Too much certainty and clarity could lead to cruel intolerance" -Karen Armstrong
Check out my art store: http://www.marfknox.etsy.com
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alienist
Skeptic Friend
USA
210 Posts |
Posted - 08/01/2011 : 11:15:11 [Permalink]
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One could argue that the people who are more prone to violence are drawn to the fundamentalist religion. So is the problem with the religion itself or how people use religion? Which countries are Muslim terrorists coming from. the 9/11 hijackers were all from Saudi Arabia and Egypt. So what is going on in those countries? Certainly, a big problem in those countries is disenfranchisement.
I agree with teched. Polls can reduce topics to more simplistic terms and generalizations. Why do some people become terrorists? Because the number of terrorists is quite small (and thus the sample size is small) it is difficult to determine why some people are terrorists. |
The only normal people are the ones you don't know very well! - Joe Ancis |
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Are Muslims More Violent?
