I’m starting this in the pit already, because I am going to express some strong opinions which probably may not be popular with some people.
Freedom of speech is very laudable and all that, but it doesn’t work very well against fanatics with AK47s. Are we going to just let this horrible ideology take over the world?
And in in our own western societies: it’s time to speak out. Islam is NOT a religion of ‘peace’. It has forcible conversion built in to its basic tenets.
We need to realise there is a WAR on here. What are we going to do about it?
This broad brush is pretty hard to accept. This way leads to horrors like the Pogroms and the Holocaust. Some that follow Islam are not peaceful, but the same can be said for many other extremists from different religions and isms.
Also, how long was the effort made to do something in Afghanistan? What the hell do we have to show for it?
Extremist Muslims are bad and dangerous. Moderate Muslims (and there are likely hundreds of millions of them) are the best possibly ally and bulwark against Muslim extremism. Our efforts should be, as much as possible, aimed at assisting and enabling moderate Muslims against extremists around the world.
I know, it’s a generalisation. But it can’t be denied that there is a strong component of forcible intolerance in islamic culture.
Right. We can’t enforce ‘western democracy’ on other countries. The ‘Arab Spring’ made that clear: the old rulers were toppled, but theocratic dictators and warlords bubbled to the top in the aftermath.
Exactly. I’ve known a number of Muslims here in Canada, and in most cases, the reason they came here was to get away from the overbearing Islamic religion in their home country. They just wanted to live and let live without religion getting in the way.
Turkey has Kemal Ataturk to thank for dragging it out of the middle ages and making it a largely secular country. It’s a very pleasant place now. But Erdogan seems to want to reverse all that and go back to islamic theocracy.
The trumpist white evangelicals want to do the same thing here.
Let’s get ready to fight that war before we start worrying about people half a planet away with no material ability to project power to where you and I live.
Unlike our homegrown reactionary white christian supremacists. Who live in your town.
Extremists of all stripes want to force everyone to go along with their agenda.
Actually I don’t think Trump has any interest in religion personally, but he’ll exploit it as long as it works for him.
We are lucky to be living in a somewhat secular society. This is actually fairly recent, historically speaking.
Don’t count on it lasting…
Hey, if I buy into this hatred and ignorance, can I get a coupon for half off one of the Gaza beach front condos that Jared Kushner is going to develop and sell next year?
I know that I can’t buy the properties at their auction and point of sale going on now in Teaneck, NJ and Toronto, Canada… but a half off coupon is better than nothing.
Can you imagine the sunset views from those Kushner-built balconies…? /s