tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16821859.post114210763759563489..comments2024-03-26T16:03:42.608-06:00Comments on Flares into Darkness: Knowledge has released meambisinistralhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03836786826294202405noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16821859.post-1142190818452765272006-03-12T12:13:00.000-07:002006-03-12T12:13:00.000-07:00gumshoe:You can say whatever you like.I happen to ...gumshoe:<BR/><BR/>You can say whatever you like.<BR/><BR/>I happen to think calling one billion people a death cult is hystrionic.terryehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16609746018265953069noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16821859.post-1142185220133449612006-03-12T10:40:00.000-07:002006-03-12T10:40:00.000-07:00false dichotomy,terrye:one can state their feeling...false dichotomy,terrye:<BR/><BR/>one can state their feeling<BR/>that Islam is a "death cult"<BR/>and have no desire or be in no support of "final solutions".<BR/><BR/>"i'll make you an offer <BR/>you can't refuse".<BR/><BR/>"don't hurt our feelings<BR/>or we'll riot and burn (and kill)".<BR/><BR/>my solution is to have people recognize <BR/>the intimidation of belief represented by Islam.<BR/><BR/>there is no morality<BR/>(and no responsibility) <BR/>without free-will.gumshoehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10567181585153569751noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16821859.post-1142159966214037082006-03-12T03:39:00.000-07:002006-03-12T03:39:00.000-07:00I have worked with Muslims who were not frothing a...I have worked with Muslims who were not frothing at the mouth and so I would say yes you could, if you lived in a culture that allowed such a thing.<BR/><BR/>I know it is common today for people to simply write off an established religion with a 1400 year history and more than a billion adherents as a "death cult" but I consider that view to be unrealistic and hysterical.<BR/><BR/>That does not mean that I do not think Islam must adapt, it must, most religions do. In fact it has been quite some time since the Catholics burned anyone at the stake or ran all the Jews out of a country. <BR/><BR/>Christianity left the middle ages behind and I am sure there were a lot of other people who would have considered that impossible.<BR/><BR/>But I consider myself a practical person and I think it is more reasonable to hope that Islam will reform than it is to hope it will vanish from the face of the earth.<BR/><BR/>Unless of course we are to start talking of final solutions or some other genocidal mayhem. And that would help bring about the End of the Everything scenario the jihadis are always raving about.terryehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16609746018265953069noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16821859.post-1142143427016856542006-03-11T23:03:00.000-07:002006-03-11T23:03:00.000-07:00proselytizing religious culturesall have this prob...proselytizing religious cultures<BR/>all have this problem<BR/>(unlike Judaism or Buddhism,for example)<BR/><BR/>as i beleive you and i have discussed before,attaching oneself to "ultimate answers" usually entails one's desire (if not demand) that others not only share,but support those same answers.<BR/><BR/>the buddhist doctrine of<BR/>"ehi passika",which i believe<BR/>is sanskrit for "come and see"...<BR/><BR/>is sometimes paraphrased <BR/>as the buddha saying:<BR/><BR/>"i claim that what i have to teach is the Truth.<BR/>take it.<BR/>use it for yourself. <BR/>if it works,keep it.<BR/>if does not,THROW IT AWAY."<BR/><BR/>i find a great deal of confidence <BR/>in a doctrine <BR/>taught in such a manner.<BR/><BR/>it puts the odd Quranic<BR/>verse or two about <BR/>"no compulsion in religion" <BR/>to shame.<BR/><BR/>-------------------------<BR/><BR/>another worthy anecdote<BR/>in that vein is Hannah Arendt's distinction between <BR/>"competent authority" <BR/>and "incompetent authority".<BR/><BR/>the former you can question all day.<BR/><BR/>the latter flies into a rage at the mere hint of being questioned.gumshoehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10567181585153569751noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16821859.post-1142140008852463922006-03-11T22:06:00.000-07:002006-03-11T22:06:00.000-07:00Gumshoe, yes my question is poorly worded. Let me ...Gumshoe, yes my question is poorly worded. Let me try again: is what people mean by "moderate Muslim" compatible with a seriously Islamic life, or only with a movement away from a seriously Islamic life? IS the MM one who retains some kind of Moslem identity, without fully embracing Islam? Sultan, for example, calls herself secular. SHe has given up her religion. <BR/><BR/>I'm not trying to be provocative at the moment; it is simply a question I've been asking myself with no clear answer yet. Daniel Pipes, e.g., does not show us enough moderate Muslims to give me faith in the future of a moderate Islam, as opposed to conversion or apostasy. Yet i cannot discount the MM idea entirely.truepeershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16401984575637492845noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16821859.post-1142137672979817612006-03-11T21:27:00.000-07:002006-03-11T21:27:00.000-07:00"Terrye do you think that "moderate Muslims" can f..."Terrye do you think that "moderate Muslims" can find a way to practice their religious faith with great seriousness, or are they simply people in the process of stepping away from serious religious faith?"<BR/><BR/>what's the term,truepeers?<BR/>"false dicotomy"??<BR/><BR/>stepping away from Islam<BR/>does not automatically = <BR/>"stepping away from serious religious faith".<BR/><BR/>and no,<BR/>i don't feel the need <BR/>to tell others what to believe,<BR/>beyond pointing out the advantage to mankind of rejecting membership <BR/>in a death cult.gumshoehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10567181585153569751noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16821859.post-1142127925151070962006-03-11T18:45:00.000-07:002006-03-11T18:45:00.000-07:00Terrye do you think that "moderate Muslims" can fi...Terrye do you think that "moderate Muslims" can find a way to practice their religious faith with great seriousness, or are they simply people in the process of stepping away from serious religious faith?truepeershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16401984575637492845noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16821859.post-1142115194493016612006-03-11T15:13:00.000-07:002006-03-11T15:13:00.000-07:00cf:Well once people start saying it, hopefully mor...cf:<BR/><BR/>Well once people start saying it, hopefully more and more people will say it and with numbers will come courage.terryehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16609746018265953069noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16821859.post-1142114302941761562006-03-11T14:58:00.000-07:002006-03-11T14:58:00.000-07:00She is remarkable. My Moslem friends think as she ...She is remarkable. My Moslem friends think as she does though they haven't the courage to say this outside their own circle.cfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06415260679597997353noreply@blogger.com