Posted on 07/14/2007 11:58:01 AM PDT by Republicain
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates: They were some of the best and brightest in the Muslim world who toiled for years to master their knowledge. Now they stand accused of seeking mass murder.
For weeks, commentators and analysts in the Muslim world have been grappling with the implications that a Muslim doctor and engineer, at the pinnacle of their society, may have been behind the failed car bombings in London and Glasgow last month.
The question being asked in many educated and official circles is this: how could such acts be committed by people who have supposedly dedicated their lives to scientific rationalism and to helping others?
The answer, some scientists and analysts say, may lie in the way that a growing movement of fervent Muslims use science as reinforcement of religious belief, rather than as a means for questioning and exploring the foundations of the natural world.
"It's not that surprising for doctors and engineers to be involved in political Islamist movements — both of the violent and the more moderate sort," said Taner Edis, associate professor of physics at Truman State University in Missouri and author of "An Illusion of Harmony: Science and Religion in Islam."
He and other researchers who study Islamist movements say that the involvement of doctors and engineers in terrorism is not shocking. Muslim scientists are among the most politicized groups in the region, and the Muslim approach to the scientific method, in the most extreme cases, can squelch the freewheeling curiosity at the heart of scientific discovery. "Fundamentalist-type attitudes are relatively common among people in applied science in the Muslim world," Edis said. "The conception has been that modern science is developed outside, and we need to bring it into our societies without it corrupting our culture."
(Excerpt) Read more at iht.com ...
Not all Muslims are terrorists. Some of them are productive members of society, like family men and doctors.
..... And Bill Clinton thinks he is a gynecologist.
Gee, if you listen to the MSM, terrorism is caused by poverty and global warming. Can’t let the facts get in the way of what they feel should be true.
In The Enemy at Home (which I've just started reading), Dinesh D'Souza claims radicalism among Muslim professionals as evidence for the proposition that liberal Westerners' moral decadence, and the spread of that decadence to Muslim countries, is a major contributor to Islamic enmity. Seems like sound logic to me.
when euro and american “intellecturals”
are kool aid drinkers,
why not moslems?
it’s a ridiculious argument.
i dare anyone compare the human rights and ethics of West vs Sharia countries.
these people aren’t riled up because of porn or gays.. does anyone seriously suggest that all the guys in saudi arabia aren’t screwing around with each other? everyone knows it.
they hate us because we are not under sharia.. and it is their obligation to change that.
What's so surprising?
Well, the conventional thinking on the issue of suicide bombers is that it's related to the fact that people (who do this) are poor and/or uneducated and it really has nothing to do with either "philosophy" or "religion" -- but rather from being poor and uneducated and being in a situation (in society) "without hope".
And thus, that the Muslim threat (that the West faces) is more from certain "radicals" who have "hijacked" Islam and have simply "preyed" upon this certain segment of society to get their recruits for these suicide bombings.
So, that's the basic premise and the "working knowledge" that many in our society go by. That Islam is really a "religion of peace". That only certain "radicals" have "hijacked" the religion (making it to be what it really isn't). That the only ones who have participated in these suicide bombings are those "without hope" in their societies, because they have been repressed.
This is the "working premise" of those who supposedly "know" what is the explanation for these suicide bombings.
THEREFORE, to find professionals (engineers and doctors) who are at the pinnacle of any society, in terms of "getting ahead" and definitely not being repressed and/or disadvantaged and definitely not being "fooled" by certain "radicals" who have "hijacked" Islam -- it is DEFINITELY SURPRISING -- for that UNDERSTANDING.
The problem is -- HERE -- is that "understanding" is simply wrong.
Islam is (1) not a "religion of peace". (2) Islam is not even a "religion" but is, rather, a "form of government" that uses "religion" as a guise and subterfuge to gain entrance into "enemy societies" in order to violently overthrow these societies. (3) There are not "certain radicals" who have "hijacked" the relgion/government -- but rather, it is the "rank and file" of all Muslims who are so-called "radicals". In other words, there is no such thing as a "moderate Mulsim" because if you're a Mulsim, you're just as much a potential suicide bomber as the radicals are. And besides that, the "rank and file" of the religion/government support these so-called "radicals" in all that they do. The only ones who are not the "radical types" are the ones who are "nominal" and are not really Muslim in the first place but are only Muslim, because they are pretending to be Muslim and don't really want to be (they perhaps, consist of about 30% of the Muslim population). (4) The Islamic "religion/government" is an evil philosophy and/or governmental system that needs to be totally destroyed, just like Nazism was during World War II.
So, that's why this is SURPRISING. It is to those who don't know these things -- which is really most of the population of the "West".
Regards,
Star Traveler
For those who are aware about the history of islam, have educated themselves about history generally and are engaged in current world events, "professional" killers should be no surprise whatsoever.
Islam is a community, indivisible, the umma.
Devotion and loyalty to the umma trumps everything, including killing ones's own children.
Why should any "profession" get in the way of that kind of blind, mindless dedication to murder? For the greater glory of allah, of course.
Where's the surprise?
My surprise would be not to find professionals engaged in islam's favorite passtime, murder.
I can’t resist the temptation to use Rosie O’Donnell’s blatherings: “Terrorists are mothers and fathers too!”
i dare anyone compare the human rights and ethics of West vs Sharia countries.
Human rights are not the issue under discussion. As for "ethics" ... define your terms. Near-pornographic entertainment is not part of the mainstream in sharia countries as it is here.
these people aren’t riled up because of porn or gays.. does anyone seriously suggest that all the guys in saudi arabia aren’t screwing around with each other? everyone knows it.
Immorality is practiced everywhere ... but only in the West is it celebrated.
they hate us because we are not under sharia.. and it is their obligation to change that.
The Far East is also not under sharia, yet it is the USA that is singled out as "the head of the snake."
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.