Posted on 05/04/2006 3:10:08 PM PDT by Mr. Silverback
In a recent Washington Post story about Abdul Rahman, the Afghan whose Christian conversion almost earned him a death penalty, reporter Pamela Constable wrote that Afghans are grateful to the United States for its economic support. But, she added, many Afghans “remain leery of Western values and associate Christianity with fornication and drunkenness.”
Clearly, Afghans link Christianity with America, and link America with decadence. But why would they do that?
Well, let’s see. In the news this week, we have stories of Duke University lacrosse players accused of getting drunk and raping an exotic dancer. Pictures of two unmarried and very pregnant American actresses, Angelina Jolie and Katie Holmes, have been splashed across the tabloids. A DVD about homosexual lovers, Brokeback Mountain, is selling briskly. Meanwhile, our lawmakers continue to discuss legalizing gay “marriage” and even polygamy. And gambling interests continue to buy political favors.
Decadent? Us? Now, why would Muslims think that?
The story about the Afghans is a sobering reminder that the Muslim world watches everything America does—and often resents our influence. Especially do they resent the pornography, lewd music, and trashy films that make their way into Muslim homes.
Well, I resent them too. We know what damage pornography does to those who consume it, and it leads to crimes against women and children. We know that kids are better off in married families, and we know, from the evidence coming out of Scandinavia, that same-sex “marriage” destroys traditional marriage.
This is why we ought to continue fighting the culture war—restricting pornography and protecting marriage—because to do so is good for our society. But fighting these battles will help us in another way, as well.
As Charles Krauthammer noted in Townhall.com, one of the reasons Islam is fighting “the great jihad” against America has to do with sexual depravity. The jihadists claim that wherever freedom travels—“especially in America and Europe—it brings sexual license and corruption, decadence and depravity.”
This is what so affected Sayyid Qutb, whose radical writings I’ve talked about earlier on this program and whose teachings influenced Osama bin Laden. Jihadists, like bin Laden, view themselves as holy warriors fighting a holy war against Western decadence.
Now, we have got to be careful not to blame innocent Americans for murderous attacks against them. At the same time, we need to understand how America’s increasing decadence is helping Islamic fanatics recruit more foot soldiers. No, of course I’m not suggesting that we try to accommodate or adopt Islamic beliefs about sexuality and women. I am saying, however, that we ought to realize and help our neighbors realize that living up to the tenets of our own faith, and the tenets of Western civilization, will take away one of radical Islam’s best weapons.
And at the same time we would be helping Christian missionaries to win the hearts of Muslims around the world. Muslims, who, not surprisingly, associate the Christian West with drunkenness and fornication, want nothing to do with our Gospel, as we’ve discovered in our work in the prisons. So I say it’s time for us to get smart and to do good at the same time.
This is part three in a four-part series on Islam.
Well...:)
I was taking off on what another poster said...you could always start with Paris Hilton, but...I guess she isn't really a slutty actress...I doubt our enemies will make the distinction. Just be sure you wear double protection, cause it'll probably be sloppy seconds for you.
I was mainly being bombastic, but I think you know what I mean.
Hell, rich Saudis and other wealthy Middle Eastern men travel to India and the Far East in order to indulge in drunkeness, lewd behavior, child prostitution, and wild orgies. Then they come back to Saudi land and pretend they are as pure as the driven snow.
Well I would associate Islam with blowing up women and children. Whatever.
So, no slutty actresses? Ahhh, man....
Oh, come now. There must be SOME out there somewhere...all those short, sweaty balding men with casting couches must have used them for something.
I know...Madonna is...too weird. Fonda is too old, and besides, you don't want to touch her. I think Garafalo is really a lesbian. Umm....okay. I admit it, you got me.
Excellent point. I hadn't thought of that before, or of the fact that what they see of their own country is, in a sense, very limited and only what the government wants them to see.
They don't see the daily bad things in their local news, and the daily bad stuff is certainly not used as a basis for movies or television. For example, I have read that Iran has the highest AIDS rate in the ME, because of prostitution and drug use in its poorer provinces - but I bet this does not appear on their TV; while if you looked at American television, you would think that about 95% of us were druggies and thugs, except for the other 5%, which is composed of celebrity sluts. Not exactly an accurate view, and we know this - but they don't, and furthermore, they don't know the bad stuff about their own countries.
Very interesting, and something I imagine you can only know by having spent time in their countries (or by reading great posts on FR!).
I am not so sure. Plenty of people on "our side" are anti-God, and few of them are Islamic.
we are decadent, as only sophisticated cultures can be. true.
much of what we do runs strongly counter to the strict public moral code sharia law imposes. true.
our culture offends many muslims. debatable.
many muslims believe our decadence has weakened us to the point that they can beat us. true.
our decadence has weakened us. true.
our decadence has weakened us to the point that the muslims will win. remains to be seen.
You make a good point. In war, it is customary to employ propaganda to demonize your enemy. That is happening in this war too, except our enemy's propaganda is being supplied by Hollywood and the networks.
I know what you mean, however, culture does not change hearts, only the Holy Spirit working thru the Gospel does that.
You are certainly right about that. Yet those non-islamic anti-God forces seem to be aligning themselves with the enemy (they are a fifth column in the U.S. and in Europe).
Um...Could you tell me what the title of this article is, for starters?
Sorry, that argument doesn't fly. Calling for Americans to tighten up their moral lives is to adopting Islam as calling for more GOP Party discipline is to putting Jews on cattlecars. There's just not relation at all.
They hate us that badly to wish something like that on us???????
Oh well. Guess we have to do what we can not to oblige them :-)
"She was 9 years old."
She was 6 when Mo married her, 9 when he consumated the marriage.
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