The Religion Of Pieces
Yes, Islam, the religion of body parts -- all the people who, in the 21st Century, have been blown to bits or hacked apart after having their throats slit or who had their heads sawed off by Muslims in the name of Allah.
On WorldNet.Daily, there's a piece about CAIR (the Council on American-Islamic Relations) attacking a new book, Why We Left Islam: Former Muslims Speak Out, by those who've not only have the humanity to walk away from Islam, but the courage to speak out against the violence the Koran and far too many followers of Islam advocate.
And note, as I pointed out yet again yesterday, when I speak out against the evidence-free belief in god in Judaism and Christianity, nobody talks about me having "courage." They wouldn't, because it would be silly, because 21st Century Christians and Jews don't go around murdering people who "insult" their religion. As Wafa Sultan pointed out on TV in the Middle East, you don't see Jews going around blowing up German restaurants.
An excerpt from the WND piece:
"Why We Left Islam" is filled with first-person stories of former radicals who began to question the Quran and ultimately changed their lives.Khaled Waleed, for instance, said he was indoctrinated with the same type of teaching as fellow Saudi Arabian Osama bin Laden.
"Our teacher and other Islamic scholars told us that as Muslims, we are the best people in the world," he writes. "I listened to my imams and was disturbed when they used abusive language to describe non-Muslims as the grandsons of monkeys and pigs ... [they] told me that it was my duty to revile and ridicule non-Muslims."
Waleed says the attack on the World Trade Center changed him: "On Sept. 11, 2001, I saw the real face of Islam. I saw the happiness on the faces of our people because so many infidels were slaughtered so easily. I saw many people who started thanking Allah for this massacre."
More on CAIR's real missions here, at The Investigative Project on Terrorism. And here's an interesting piece by Jacob Laksin and Jamie Glazov on FrontPage.com, about CAIR's war against Jihadwatch's Robert Spencer:
Spencer, who heads the site JihadWatch.org and is the author of a recent biography of the prophet Muhammed, The Truth About Muhammad, is a reputable scholar who draws on Islamic sources to substantiate his work. Contrary to CAIR's objections, Spencer does not engage in theological polemics. He simply reveals what Islamic sources say.Which calls forth the question: Why would a group that, by its own account, has no truck with Islamic militants, take such heated issue with an authority on Islam who is guilty of nothing more than highlighting those features of that religion that inspire and sanction Islamic terror? If CAIR was genuinely opposed to Islamic terror and wanted to bring Islam into the modern and democratic world, why wouldn't it embrace individuals such as Spencer? After all, Spencer's work equips Muslim moderates and reformers with the knowledge they need to confront the Islamic extremists in their midst. Armed with that knowledge, Islamic reformers who undertake the monumental challenge of liberalizing Islam stand a much better chance. As Spencer himself says: "You can't reform what you won't admit needs reforming."
In the end, it is clear that what CAIR calls "bigotry" and "Islamophobia" is in fact a perfectly defensible historical argument, advanced by Spencer and others, that the roots of modern jihad terrorism can be found in classic Islamic theology. This is a matter of fact, not prejudice: if it is true, policymakers should take it into account, no matter how inconvenient it may be. Unless one thinks, as CAIR evidently does, that any critical analysis of Islam is a form of actionable hatred, the notion that Spencer is a bigot who must be drummed out of polite society looks like what it really is: the intellectually empty bullying of an extremist fringe.
>> I saw the happiness on the faces of our people because so many infidels were slaughtered so easily.
I was in London on 9/11. Everyone was a zombie for days. I went that night to Pizza on the Piazza for a quick dinner, and the table next to me was an Arab family celebrating. I still have the postcard describing it to my wife.
eric at May 1, 2008 7:38 AM
Why can Spencer be vilified this way? Because it works. Let me explain by example.
Opprobrium -- from illegitimate charges of racism, xenophobia, misogyny and the like -- are today mostly used to shut people up, not to accurately describe their positions. For example, opponents of affirmative action are often called 'racist,' even though they do not advocate the supremacy of a race and even use the fact of non-supremacy as evidence for their position. Still, the charge usually works. Affirmative action opponents get shut down.
Likewise, 'misogyny' and 'xenophobia' and 'bigot' are used to make people shut up. That's no way to get good ideas. That's no way to test marginal ideas. Precipitous charges like these have three simultaneous rhetorical effects:
One might think that among the more educated classes you'd see less of this. You'd be wrong. You see more of it.
CAIR uses the tactic of opprobium because in the US it works and works well. Most people see argument as a team sport, and any tactic -- ridicule, insult, impugning character, complex questions -- anything that helps one side win is legitimate. The long term consequences for debate are obvious. That's why I stand against bad rhetoric in the service of arguments I favor. For example, I'm often in the uncomfortable position of pointing out bad rhetoric used against Creationists and ID, even though I disagree with Creationism and ID.
Even if you don't agree with Spencer, it's important to stand against the kind of dirty tactics used against him by CAIR.
Jeff at May 1, 2008 7:41 AM
Amy Alkon
http://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2008/05/01/the_religion_of.html#comment-1543663">comment from ericWow, Eric. Barbarians.
Reminds me of the reported Golda Meir quote: "Peace will come to the Middle East when the Arabs love their children more than they hate us."
Amy Alkon at May 1, 2008 8:40 AM
I just discovered a book I had never heard of by a Marine Corp Major General (two Medals of Honor) entitled "War is a Racket". It was written in the period between WW1 and WW2. Here is a link to the ten page summary:
http://www.wanttoknow.info/warisaracket
I still bet most Arabs love their children as much as most Jews love their children. It's one of those riddles that gets more complicated the more you learn.
eric at May 1, 2008 9:32 AM
Eric - they may well love their children as much as the Jews. But that was not the comparison presented.
Do they love their children more than they hate Jews?
brian at May 1, 2008 12:58 PM
I remember the first day I heard "Peace will come when the Arabs love their children more than they hate us" because it was the day before I ran across this article
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2007/jun/23/afghanistan.uknews4
Elle at May 1, 2008 2:42 PM
*and the table next to me was an Arab family celebrating*
Now there's a story that would have ended differently in Houston.
Gog_Magog_Carpet_Reclaimers at May 2, 2008 7:06 AM
Hi amy, your articles on islam show that you are clearly not just afraid of islam but your campaigning against it. I find this amusing as you wrote in one of your articles, (sorry i really should of quoted this) that muslim parents should love their children rather than spending their time educating them what pigs christians and jews are. Arent you educating the users of the internet what pigs muslims are. Can't you see your just retaliating, an eye for an eye. This is childish behaviour. Islam actually teaches us that Christianity and Judaism are two of the closest religions to Islam, ofcourse their are some differnces but if anyone really takes the time to annotate and see these differences they'll truly undrstand why many anti muslim christian and jewish people make such websites. They are afraid of islam growing.
If anyone wants to learn or rather UNDERSTAND islam then they should search up from many DIFFERENT resources what islam really is, what it teaches . People who do not understand islam shouldn't base their opinion on the muslims they see because when it comes down to it they are just humans and humans arent perfect, everyone makes mistakes therefore leading to my conclusion that although muslims practice islam, the muslims arent perfect, the religion is and if you really understand the religion youll realise this is why islam is the fastest growing religion in the world , Subhunallah.
Inshalla oneday maybe even you will clear your mind of the medias perspective on islam and really look at islam and see it for the first time.
Thanks for leaving a comment section in your website for people to express their views because so many anti-muslim websites don't and from my point of view its the fear of the extreme retalliation theyll get.I say be a man and face the music if your going to put up any type of opinion thats really controvertial.
Thanks again :)
aseel at May 13, 2010 12:31 AM
Amy Alkon
http://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2008/05/01/the_religion_of.html#comment-1715699">comment from aseelIslam preaches death or conversion of others. I have a problem with this -- along with the Quran-mandated killing of gays by Muslims, the Quran-mandated killing of apostates, the Quran-mandated killing of Jews (the bit about the rocks and trees) and all the rest of the evil ordered by the Quran. The big question: why don't you have a problem with this stuff, barbarian?
I'm guessing you're like one of so many Muslims who hasn't read the Quran. Check out Surah 9:5, The Verse of the Sword. I'm very, very informed about Islam, which is why I know to fear it. You're just an uninformed apologist.
Learn about your religion, founded by a mass-murdering pedophile who married Aisha at 6 and fucked her at 9. Your education begins here:
http://www.sullivan-county.com/x/sina.htm
I'm no fan of Judaism or Christianity, but Islam, when practiced as mandated by the Quran, which is to be taken literally, is evil -- totalitarianism masquerading as religion.
Amy Alkon at May 13, 2010 1:17 AM
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