 |
I managed to find this MRI of the mind of a Muslim guy . . . |
Posted on 06/28/2006 7:34:08 AM PDT by kromike
How do Muslims worldwide think?
To find out, the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press carried out a large-scale attitudinal survey this spring. Titled “The Great Divide: How Westerners and Muslims View Each Other,” it interviewed Muslims in two batches of countries: six of them with long-standing, majority-Muslim populations (Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Nigeria, Pakistan, Turkey) and four of them in Western Europe with new, minority Muslim populations (France, Germany, Great Britain, Spain).
The survey, which also looks at Western views of Muslims, yielded some dismaying but not altogether surprising results. Its themes can be grouped under three rubrics.
A proclivity to conspiracy theories: In not one Muslim population polled does a majority believe that Arabs carried out the 9/11 attacks on the United States. The proportions range from a mere 15 percent in Pakistan holding Arabs responsible, to 48 percent among French Muslims. Confirming recent negative trends in Turkey, the number of Turks who point the finger at Arabs has declined from 46 percent in 2002 to 16 percent today. In other words, in every one of these ten Muslim communities, a majority views 9/11 as a hoax perpetrated by the U.S. government, Israel, or some other agency.
Likewise, Muslims are widely prejudiced against Jews, ranging from 28 percent unfavorable ratings among French Muslims to 98 percent in Jordan (which, despite the monarchy’s moderation, has a majority Palestinian population). Further, Muslims in certain countries (especially Egypt and Jordan) see Jews conspiratorially, as being responsible for bad relations between Muslims and Westerners.
Conspiracy theories also pertain to larger topics. Asked, “What is most responsible for Muslim nations’ lack of prosperity?” between 14 percent (in Pakistan) and 43 percent (in Jordan) blame the policies of the U.S. and other Western states, as opposed to indigenous problems, such as a lack of democracy or education, or the presence of corruption or radical Islam.
This conspiracism points to a widespread unwillingness in the umma to deal with realities, preferring the safer bromides of plots, schemes, and intrigues. It also reveals major problems adjusting to modernity.
Support for terrorism: All the Muslim populations polled display a solid majority of support for Osama bin Laden. Asked whether they have confidence in him, Muslims replied positively, ranging between 8 percent (in Turkey) to 72 percent (in Nigeria). Likewise, suicide bombing is popular. Muslims who call it justified range from 13 percent (in Germany) to 69 percent (in Nigeria). These appalling numbers suggest that terrorism by Muslims has deep roots and will remain a danger for years to come.
British and Nigerian Muslims the most alienated: The United Kingdom stands out as a paradoxical country. Non-Muslims there have strikingly more favorable views of Islam and Muslims than elsewhere in the West; for example, only 32 percent of the British sample view Muslims as violent, significantly less their counterparts in France (41 percent), Germany (52 percent) or Spain (60 percent). In the Muhammad cartoon dispute, Britons showed more sympathy for the Muslim outlook than did other Europeans. More broadly, Britons blame Muslims less for the poor state of Western-Muslim relations.
But British Muslims return the favor with the most malign anti-Western attitudes found in Europe. Many more of them regard Westerners as violent, greedy, immoral, and arrogant than do their counterparts in France, Germany, and Spain. In addition, whether asked about their attitudes toward Jews, responsibility for 9/11, or the place of women in Western societies, their views are notably more extreme.
The situation in Britain reflects the “Londonistan” phenomenon, whereby Britons preemptively cringe and Muslims respond to this weakness with aggression.
Nigerian Muslims have generally the most belligerent views on such issues as the state of Western-Muslim relations, the supposed immorality and arrogance of Westerners, and support for bin Laden and suicide terrorism. This extremism results, no doubt, from the violent state of Christian-Muslim relations in Nigeria.
Ironically, most Muslim alienation is found in those countries where Muslims are either the most or the least accommodated, suggesting that a middle path is best – where Muslims do not win special privileges, as in the U.K., nor are they in an advanced state of hostility, as in Nigeria.
Overall, the Pew survey sends an undeniable message of crisis from one end to the other of the Muslim world.
That is simply mind boggling.
These people work real hard just to stay ignorant.
The rest of the world believes in conspiracy theories.
It gives them comfort to excuse their failures.
Think?...really?, it is more like an involuntary muscle spasm...
'"In not one Muslim population polled does a majority believe that Arabs carried out the 9/11 attacks on the United States."
That is simply mind boggling.
These people work real hard just to stay ignorant.'
Not really - it's badly worded question. Huge numbers of muslims aren't Arabs. Turkey and Pakistan are muslim, but not arab and Indonesia is the biggest Muslim country in the world, but is not Arab. If a Pakistani knows who committed 911 and he knows he was a muslim,but not an Arab, he will answer the question quite rightly with a no.
No longer a religion. Nor should it be classified as one.
In other words, the muslim world is fraught with adolescent mentality. Now there's a shock.
|
I managed to find this MRI of the mind of a Muslim guy . . . |
The Muslims think westerners are 'arrogant' or 'greedy'. This is great rhetoric but, a cross cultural conversation can never ensure unless the Muslims are more specific (IE, westerners are arrogant because.....). Conversely, I think Muslims are violent and ignorant because their culture obviously supports suicide bombings and belives 9/11 was a western conspiracy (my point, though perhaps debatable,is nonemotional and intellectual--your turm Muslims to convince me I'm wrong)).
In short, while the Muslim population has made a lot emotional arguments (that the liberals just suck up) they have not made any convincing intellectual arguments in my opinion. Until they are willing to put emotion aside and participate in intllectual debate, our two cultures will forever be in friction. And, sorry liberals, the Muslims unwillingness to participate in nonemotional intelligent discourse is the main problem in this world.
Westerners by and large want transparency and international law to dictate relationships. Muslims apparently want religion and political violence to dictate relationships. Until the Muslims get into the 21st century with the rest of humanity, I do not feel guilty defending the principles of freedom.
More surprising in the results is the fact that Americans have a more positive view of muslims than the British do. 55% of Americans think relations between muslims and westerners are bad compared with 61% of Brits.
There is also a very obvious hole in the survey - no American muslims were questioned. Very odd when you consider there are more than twice as many American muslims than there are British muslims.
Muslims are only as smart as the people that surround them, which is other Muslims.
Formal education would be the undoing of radical islam.
Unfortunately there are not enough real teachers in Islam. For education, most Muslims rely on mullahs and imans for their education, which is only religious and not from a social, plays well with others view.
We should give them their isolation. And destroy them if they bother others.
to read a great PDF file on Islam, go to yourarmstoisrael.org and select "sermon notes" and pull up "The Final End Time Beast". It is worth printing (38 pages) and keeping for future reference. All about Saudi Arabia-Mecca-Daughter of Babylon.
Haven't you noticed?
It is not necessary to think. They need only follow the thinking of the current self appointed leaders. Much like liberals.
In fact, thinking is not TOLERATED in fundamentalist Islam.
If Muslims want to know what they think about any given subject they are to ask their religious leaders.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.