The enemy is Bin Ladenism

June 19, 2004 | self

[philosofy123]

The American politicians have very limited grasp of the Islamic culture and Islamc fanatic movement in the past 25 years. There are many US think tanks with dozens of experts who really know the problem, but their recommendations keep getting filtered out! Stupid politicians on the take from the Saudis keep the US action or reaction to practically NOTHING.

[Valin]

It is a problem defining exactly who the enemy is.
Bin Ladenism=Isalmic terrorism=Islamic funamentalism=salafiism=Wahhabism=...
When we come down to it what we have is a group of people who don't like the way the world is going(globalism) and believe god has told them to kill and destroy civilation to stop it. Unfortunatly (for Muslims) they are basing their fight on Islam and to be honest they have a lot of ammo in the Koran. In the end it is up to them to refute this and up an end to it.

[Tares]

But the problem with Islamofascism, isn't so much with it as an idea, but as a direct form of action incited by certain religious teachings that cannot be divorced from Islam.

By labeling what we are fighting as bin Ladenism, rather than Islamofascism, those Muslims who wish to disavow the terror tactics can feel more confident in doing so. In effect, it would provide Muslims a rhetorical smoke screen of their own so they can in practice divorce themselves from "certain religious teachings that cannot be divorced from Islam." And the rest of the "axis of evil" can be so labeled as well, Islamic or not (i.e. North Korea). Motive is irrelevant.

[Tares]

In the end it is up to them to refute this and up an end to it.

My hope is that calling it bin Ladenism rather than Isalmic terrorism will make it a bit easier for them to refute it.

[Valin]

If it makes you happy I'll try to remember to call it bin Ladenism, as it really doesn't make a whole lot of difference to me.


(note: I do understand what you are trying to do, and think it's a good idea. It's important to define your terms)



Good thread!

[Tares]

Reading the below article, I see Victor Davis Hanson used the term bin Ladenism before I did. So much for my pretensions to originality.

Feeding the Minotaur

[expat_panama]

Hey, originality has nothing to do with it.  Sales is everything --keep at it.  You thing E. Hubble noticed that far stars had more red-shift than near stars?  Hell no, it was some guy that Hubble met in the early 1900's (I forget his name).  But what Hubble did do was grab it and run with it.

He got the constant and the telescope named after him because we need people who can spot a good idea and make it sell.

[Tares]

Sales is everything --keep at it.

Okay...how's this for a start?

BUMP!