We're Long Overdue For An Injection Of Islamo-Reality
Neither terrorism denial nor pretending that all Muslims are a danger makes sense.
The truth is, Islam is a pernicious ideology, incompatible with Enlightenment values, that commands Muslims to convert or slaughter the rest of us.
The other truth is that not all Muslims practice it that way.
Or as Claire Lehmann put it:
There needs to be some sensible middle ground between "there is no threat" & "ban all the Muslims". Seriously. https://t.co/5KDZQptKuE
— Claire Lehmann (@clairlemon) February 4, 2017
Andrew Glover writes at Quillette about the ridiculous pretense that Islam does not call for the violence it actually calls for over and over and over:
It's become increasingly apparent that some proportion of the left is engaged in a kind of 'terrorism denial', believing that terrorism poses no real threat, or at least not one worth talking about. They cite the relatively modest fatalities in the US and other western countries from terrorist attacks since September 11 -- and it's always 'since' -- as evidence of this apparent lack of threat.These numbers are misleading for a number of reasons. Simply adding up the body count from various causes of death doesn't reflect why terrorism should concern us -- how and why these deaths occurred is also important. Accidental deaths should be less concerning to us than deaths caused on purpose. Lawnmowers and armed toddlers may indeed do us harm, but they don't intend to do it. More importantly, they don't seek to do more harm than they actually do. In contrast, the ambition of a terrorist is rarely modest. In almost all cases, the goal is to create as many casualties as possible in any given attack. As a matter of public interest and public policy, those who have no upper limit in the amount of harm they want to cause are more of an existential threat than those who do. As Sam Harris argues, jihadist inspired terrorism 'takes the guard rails off of civilisation' in a way that these more mundane causes of death don't.
But what is most spurious about these numbers is that they ignore the deaths prevented from security and counter-terrorism measures that managed to thwart attacks before they occur. Every day the US and other Western countries are fighting the war on terrorism. They are saving lives before it becomes apparent to the rest of us that they ever needed saving. This may sound dramatic, but it needs to be understood if people believe that the war on terror is a fantasy, or less of a threat than bathtubs. The relatively low death tolls from terrorism in the West are, in part, due to the success in thwarting attacks, not because there is no threat in the first place.
In this respect, terrorism denial commits the same faulty reasoning that the anti-vaxx movement uses to deny the reality of the threat posed by infectious diseases and pandemics. Anti-vaxxers argue that the small number of deaths caused by infectious diseases in recent times is evidence of them posing no threat. However, those who understand the underlying science recognise the nature and scale of the threat, and the critical role that vaccination and pandemic prevention play in neutralising it. Were we to stop vaccinations -- or counter-terrorism -- it's clear that the death toll from both these threats would rise significantly.
As a prophet, Mohammed was no Jesus:
Muhammad's efforts to recruit peacefully at Mecca netted less than 100 followers in 13 years - mostly friends and family. His tactics changed drastically during his last ten years. Once he obtained the power to do so, he began forcing others to accept his claims about himself at the point of a sword. In many places in the Hadith, he tells his followers that he has been ordered by Allah to fight unbelievers until they profess their faith in Islam (the Shahada).During these later years, Muhammad did not seem at all bothered by conversions that were made under obvious duress. These include that of his sworn enemy of Abu Sufyan and his wife Hind. According to Muslim historians, when Abu Sufyan went to seek peace with Muhammad, he was instead forced to embrace Islam. The exact words spoken to him in Muhammad's presence were, "Submit and testify that there is no God but Allah and that Muhammad is the apostle of Allah before you lose your head" - (Ibn Ishaq/Hisham 814, Ibn Kathir v.3 p.392). He did.
The entire city of Mecca followed suit, even though the residents and leaders originally detested Muhammad and resisted his preaching. Most of them "converted" to Islam the day that he abruptly marched into their city with an army. Only the most credulous of believers would think that this was a genuine religious epiphany - just happening to coincide with the sword at their necks.
...Through the centuries, Muslims have forced Christians, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, Zoroastrians, pagans and others to accept Islam, either by bluntly offering them death as an alternative, or by making their lives so miserable (ie. taxes, denial of rights...) that the conquered eventually convert to Islam under the strain.
Forced conversions persist among extremists. Recently in Egypt, a Christian girl was kidnapped and told that she would be raped if she did not convert. In 2010, an 11-year-old Christian boy in Pakistan was kept enslaved in chains (1, 2) by his Muslim landlord, who proudly told the world that he would liberate the lad if he embraced Islam.
Neither of these examples of attempted forced conversion was condemned by Islamic organizations, even in the West. From the Muslim perspective, the victim in each case technically retains the "choice" to convert, even if the only alternative is death. In fact, some even lauded the Pakistani slave-owner for being magnanimous in offering freedom and debt relief to his subject for embracing Islam.
via @Sentientist
I would backhandedly describe the backhanded post as backhanded progress.
Onward to insight.
Crid at February 19, 2017 10:39 PM
And remember, to fundamentalist Islamists, it is not conversion or forced conversion, but reversion, since all people everywhere are Muslims, even if they are currently heretical in practice.
spqr2008 at February 20, 2017 6:24 AM
since all people everywhere are Muslims, even if they are currently heretical in practice.
Maybe we can send the Mormons after them? baptize Mohamed into the Mormon fold?
I R A Darth Aggie at February 20, 2017 10:37 AM
Muslim pre-school teacher says have a nice trip, be sure to kill some Jews!
Fired.
Gog_Magog_Carpet_Reclaimers at February 22, 2017 1:50 PM
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