Posted on 09/15/2012 7:17:03 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Modernity requires the willingness to be offended. And as anti-American violence across the Middle East and beyond shows, that willingness is something the Arab world, the heartland of Islam, still lacks.
Time and again in recent years, as the outside world has battered the walls of Muslim lands and as Muslims have left their places of birth in search of greater opportunities in the Western world, modernity — with its sometimes distasteful but ultimately benign criticism of Islam — has sparked fatal protests. To understand why violence keeps erupting and to seek to prevent it, we must discern what fuels this sense of grievance.
There is an Arab pain and a volatility in the face of judgment by outsiders that stem from a deep and enduring sense of humiliation. A vast chasm separates the poor standing of Arabs in the world today from their history of greatness. In this context, their injured pride is easy to understand.
In the narrative of history transmitted to schoolchildren throughout the Arab world and reinforced by the media, religious scholars and laymen alike, Arabs were favored by divine providence. They had come out of the Arabian Peninsula in the 7th century, carrying Islam from Morocco to faraway Indonesia. In the process, they overran the Byzantine and Persian empires, then crossed the Strait of Gibraltar to Iberia, and there they fashioned a brilliant civilization that stood as a rebuke to the intolerance of the European states to the north. Cordoba and Granada were adorned and exalted in the Arab imagination. Andalusia brought together all that the Arabs favored — poetry, glamorous courts, philosophers who debated the great issues of the day.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
All of you must be wrong. They are the religion of peace...
I think I read the same column written by the same guy about 11 years ago.
Instead of insights this guy, Fouad Ajami, offers excuses.
Insecurity. They know there “prophet” was a killer and a pedophile and they don’t want the first bit of scrutiny.
I’m thinking a movement to post Youtube videos of various things done with the Koran, like wiping the ass, wrapping garbage, using as notepads, etc. After the first few hundred, the towel heads should all disappear after spontaneous combustion.
Islam is a narcissist religion.
Narcissists will dish out all kinds of abuse and then blame the victim.
It is the perfect religion for psychopaths because it excuses any atrocity. All its followers have to say is that it was done in the name of Islam.
From “Understanding Muhammad;A Psychobiography”
“Muhammad was an orphan. Spurned by his mother in his infancy and left in the care of a Bedouin couple, he had a loveless childhood. He then passed to the care of his grandfather and uncle who took pity on him and spoiled him. Not receiving love at a time he needed unconditional love and not receiving discipline when he needed to learn about boundaries, he developed narcissistic personality disorder, a trait that made him a megalomaniac bereft of conscience. He fantasized about unlimited power, expected praise and admiration, believed he was special, and expected others to believe him and go along with his ideas and plans. He took advantage of others, was jealous, yet believed others were jealous of him, and was extremely hurt when rejected, even killing those who deserted him. He lied and deceived, feeling entitled and justified in doing so. All these are traits of narcissistic personality disorder.”
More at the following link:
http://www.faithfreedom.org/book.htm
They are easily “offended” because it gives them an excuse.
re: “they fashioned a brilliant civilization that stood as a rebuke to the intolerance of the European states to the north”
Yes, they “fashioned” a brilliant civilization by killing all who stood in their way. I’m not saying it was a picnic in Europe, but Northern Africa was primarily Christian prior to the 7th century A.D. - and not by force, but by genuine conversion. When Mohammed came along with his hordes of soldiers it was convert or die. Spreading Islam by the sword was not only acceptable, it was an imperitive in their belief system.
The Crusades were initially about restoring Northern Africa and parts of the Middle East to Christianity - as a liberation. Islam nearly made it to Europe if not for its defeat in Spain (El Cid, etc.). Had Islam spread to Europe we would still be in the Dark Age.
The idea that Islam is “bad” because they believe they are the true religion and everyone else has it wrong is an incorrect idea.
Christianity also teaches that Jesus is the One and only true God and all other gods and belief systems are false. But, the difference is that Jesus did not advocate conversion by force - although unfortunately that did happen, at times, in the past by “Christians” who either were ignorant or who had their own agendas rather than Christ’s.
Also, who doesn’t think their views are “correct” and others “wrong”. Atheists believe they are correct and everyone who disagrees with them “wrong”. Those who believe all religions are equally valid, but wrong to tell others that their religion is “correct” are also guilty of believing that THEY are correct in their relativist beliefs while those who disagree with them are “wrong”.
The real questions are - is there really such a thing as Truth? Is there such a thing as Right and Wrong that applies to everyone regardless of where you live? Is there such a thing as God, and, if so, who is He? If there is no God, then is there meaning to anything? Does morality mean anything?
This is where one must evaluate and judge what is true - but, how does one do that - especially since no one can agree on what “truth” is?
I am a Christian and I believe that there are moral absolutes set by God. I also believe that God exists and is knowable by man. I believe that one of the differences between Christianity and other religions is that while in other religions it is man seeking after God, in Christianity, it is God who seeks after man.
I know that there are others who vehemently disagree with these ideas and I accept that and that it is incombent on me, as a Christian, to answer those questions.
Salvation, from the Christian view, is a gift offered to man by God. It is up to the individual to receive it or reject it. It is not up to Christians to force that belief on anyone, but, it is our mission, given us by Jesus Himself, to offer it to everyone - to offer it as a gift.
It is also our calling to “always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect” (1 Peter 3:15).
My point is, it is not “intolerance” to believe that one belief is right and all others wrong. What is intolerant is NOT to ALLOW others to make their own choices. Islam does not allow that.
If they’ve got a cultural inferiority complex, reacting hysterically and violently doesn’t really help their cultural image or earn respect. I’m certainly willing to honor the achievements of numerous different cultures, but I can’t honor this primitive violence.
Islam is satanic. Simple answer.
In terms of current and past events, the centrality of Jihad to Islam and its relation to the vast interconnection between the OIC at the UN, the Muslim Brotherhood and it’s spinoff, Al Qaeda, Maj. S. Coughlin, an Islam analyst at a high level has produced 5 videos detailing the current world wide Jihad, its techniques, infrastructure and its halfway point in a scheduled 10 year agenda ending in 2015.
The entire West has wilfully ignored Islamic public realities, preferring instead wishful thinking at its peril. The detail and the unraveling of Islamic scriptural code is explained, and the operation and linkage and intent of Islamic organizations is carefully outlined to disclose their integrated purpose. They are the most informative videos in regard to the immediate current events going on now, and have been predicted by Maj. Coughlin. His analytical and advisory services were terminated early in the current Administration.
The link: http://www.centerforsecuritypolicy.org/p19087.xml?cat_id=210
“they just lack impulse control.”
Because of a long, long history of inbreeding. Their brains are messed up. Just look at medical studies. There was a good article here about a week ago that explained it all.
Centuries of inbreading.
Because their prophet was easily offended. He had a woman murdered in her bed between her nursing babies because she wrote poems mocking him.
Everything else follows.
Islam pretty much wiped out Zoroastrianism....
It’s their key source of power and control. Sets them up to “justify” their inevitable next round of violence while the world kowtows and wonders why the Muslim world is so easily offended.
Good article about Muslims and Westerners: The Psychological Differences
“Muslim culture has a very different view of anger and in many ways opposite to what we experience here in the West.
Expressions of anger and threats are probably the quickest way to lose one’s face in Western culture. In discussions, those who lose their temper have automatically lost, and I guess most people have observed the feeling of shame and loss of social status following expressions of aggression at one’s work place or at home. In the Muslim culture, aggressive behavior, especially threats, are generally seen to be accepted, and even expected as a way of handling conflicts and social discrepancies. If a Muslim does not respond in a threatening way to insults or social irritation, he, not “she” (Muslim women are, mostly, expected to be humble and to not show power) is seen as weak, as someone who cannot be depended upon and loses face.”
Read it all here
http://www.newenglishreview.org/custpage.cfm/frm/63122/sec_id/63122
It has nothing to do with Islam or politics.
It has everything to do with simple jealousy. Jealousy of the West’s culture, opportunities, wealth, and our progress out of the mud huts of the Middle East. Life in the 21st century makes them angry about having to live in the 7th century.
RE: Expressions of anger and threats are probably the quickest way to lose one’s face in Western culture. In discussions, those who lose their temper have automatically lost, and I guess most people have observed the feeling of shame and loss of social status following expressions of aggression at one’s work place or at home. In the Muslim culture, aggressive behavior, especially threats, are generally seen to be accepted, and even expected as a way of handling conflicts and social discrepancies. If a Muslim does not respond in a threatening way to insults or social irritation, he, not “she” (Muslim women are, mostly, expected to be humble and to not show power) is seen as weak, as someone who cannot be depended upon and loses face.”
____________________
Hard to see how these two disparate cultures can co-exist side by side if this is the case. Isn’t self-control ( controlling one’s temper ) a virtue in the Muslim world the same way it is in the Western world? I find it hard to believe that it isn’t.
RE: He had a woman murdered in her bed between her nursing babies because she wrote poems mocking him.
1) Where is this story found?
2) If found in one of the Islamic sacred writings, how much truth do Muslims ascribe to it?
3) Do Muslims call Muhammad the most perfect man ever and someone who every person should strive to be like?
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