@hpqp

Thanks for the heads-up about the post. And thanks for clearly detailing your position on the matter. If I may, I’d like to explain my opinion on the topic.

Is it wrong to “criticize Islam?” In a civilized society that values free speech, clearly the answer is no. But free speech is a two-way street. If it is acceptable to criticize Islam, then clearly it is just as acceptable that such criticism be open to criticism in return. In short, just because a person thinks their opinion on a particular matter is correct doesn’t make it so. And if a person can’t handle someone disagreeing with their opinion… well we all know the adage about people who live in glass houses.

My major objection to people like Sam Harris is not that I believe religion or in particular Islam is some off-limit topic of criticism. No. My major objection to Sam Harris is that rather than criticize Islam he instead tries to inspire fear of it—and, by association, Muslims as well (i.e. No one lies awake at night worrying about the Amish—but those Muslims on the other hand…). Many of his arguments seem to be based on fear, misunderstanding, exaggeration, oversimplification, and in of some cases apparent intentional misrepresentation of not only Islam but other religions such as Jainism as well. They often lack any sort of evidence (i.e. Islam is the religion causing the greatest amount of suffering in the world) yet we are expected to swallow their truth without doubt. And when someone raises these criticisms of his supposed criticism? Rather than actually defend his claims and provide solid evidence in support of them he instead insinuates we’re just too “liberal”—too culturally relativistic— to see the danger that he sees.

Sam Harris is free to criticize Islam. In fact, I’m eagerly looking forward to the day when he actually starts doing so (in the dictionary sense of the term). In the meantime, I dismiss his arguments as both unsupported and intended to intentionally stir up both fear and prejudice against Islam and its followers.

Next, I’d like to address the issue of Islamophobia—prejudice against, hatred, or fear of Islam and Muslims. Islamophobia doesn’t exist? I think the 200,000 Muslims killed and 50,000 Muslim women raped during the Bosnian Genocide would disagree with that statement. So would Iranian-American Zohreh Assemik, who was sliced with a boxcutter, kicked, had her hand smashed with a hammer, and had anti-Muslim slurs written on the mirrors of her nail and facial salon. So would pretty much anyone who played Muslim Massacre: The Game of Modern Religious Genocide in which you get to kill not only terrorists but Muslim civilians as well.

Frankly, @hpqp, I’m surprised. All of our conversations on the Sift have been reasonable, if a bit passionate at times. I think you would be just as shocked if I were to suddenly proclaim there is no such thing as Antisemitism as I was to read your statement in this thread. Islamophobia (as defined above) is quite real. No, claims of Islamophobia should not be used to shut down criticism of Islam (any more than claims of Antisemitism should be used to squelch criticism of Israeli policies). But that’s a far cry from claiming Islamophobia doesn’t exist, isn’t it?

You seem like a reasonable guy. I know you’ve tried your best to explain it to me but I still don’t understand why you believe so strongly that Islam itself—and not particular interpretations of Islam—are such a threat. So let's do something different. I’ve asked you this before, but you didn’t reply, so I’ll ask you again—what do you/Harris hope to achieve with all of this vitriol? What’s the goal? What do you hope to see happen? What’s the endgame? I ask these questions because I think the answers will really help me see where you are coming from and to understand your point of view.

>> ^packo:

>> ^marinara:
that guys wife was held on 911

held?


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbara_Olson#Death

For those of you who don't know Barbara Olson was on American Airlines Flight 77.

Olson was a passenger on American Airlines Flight 77 on her way to a taping of Politically Incorrect in Los Angeles, when it was flown into the Pentagon in the September 11 attacks.

Flight 77 was hijacked at 8:54. At some point between 9:16 and 9:26, Olson called her husband. She reported that the flight had been hijacked, and the hijackers had knives and boxcutters.[3] She further indicated that the hijackers were not aware of her phone call, and that they had put all the passengers in the rear of the plane.[3] About a minute into the conversation, the call was cut off.[3]

Shortly after, Barbara reached her husband again. She reported that the "pilot" had announced that the flight had been hijacked, and asked her husband what she should tell the captain to do. Ted Olson asked for her location and she replied that the aircraft was then flying over houses. Another passenger told her they were traveling northeast. Ted Olson informed Barbara of the two previous hijackings and crashes. She did not display signs of panic at the time. At that point, Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon.

Politically Incorrect host Bill Maher left a panel seat vacant for a week following her death.

Upvote for the guy reminiscing about cutting himself with the boxcutter and then nonchalantly throwing it still opened on the table.. Safety FTW!

More teen masturbatorial material for the acne challenged. Let's see- it STILL hasn't been proven to work. Sorry for clouding the issue with facts.

Anybody figure out how it will protect us against a dirty suitcase bomb? An attack on a chemical plant (which STILL have not been secured according to the recommendations of the 9-11 Homeland Security group)? Boxcutters? A reservoir? An IED, for christ's sake?

Thought not. That IS the problem, isn't it? No thought, all glitz. It's what these corpse-orations do quite well. And please spare me the outdated fear-mongering of a discredited neocon, corporation suckhole. The no-bid, no-review war profiteers are doing landmark business at the cost of soldiers lives and limbs.

It's not what cost freedom. It's what cost corporate profit?

the 'official story' is actually a conspiracy theory, theo .... it defies laws of physics (take a course on gravity, freefall and momentum), it contradicts footage and eyewitness comments, and expects us to believe that 19 men took over 3 planes with boxcutters and maneuvered them, one in particular, into the most highly guarded air space on this planet.

but let's stay on topic, theo ... please refer back to my questions so we can continue this debate!

Those who blindly swallow any swill that is fed to them by the mainstrem propoganda machine will think that John doesn't remember the way he felt on 9/11/2001. They feel it is somehow wrong to take those to task who actually perpetrated this event (not boxcutter weilding Arabian lunatics),those who had the most to gain. There is so much information and disinformation on the Internet, but it is our duty to sift through it with an open mind so that we can become aware of the real truth and insist on justice for the real culprits. John Stewart is excellent and real and I thank you for posting this video.