# If I were the Chairman of Radical Islam Worldwide **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [April 5, 2004, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-were-the-chairman-of-radical-islam-worldwide/238356 "2004-04-05T14:28:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![The\_Long\_Road](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b5a626/32.png) [@The\_Long\_Road](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Long_Road)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2004, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-were-the-chairman-of-radical-islam-worldwide/238356/41 "2004-04-06T02:18:56Z")
> [@amrussell](#): > > Scuppering all attempts to create peace in Iraq, particularly if they are initiated by Iraqis as this could only be low cunning presaging the invasion of poor naive Israel… So let me ask something waaaaaaaay off topic. Do you use the word “scuppering” often? I had never seen it before this post. So I’m wondering, is there some great world conspiracy to hide the usage of this word from me or is this “pull little known word out of ass” day? Perhaps it’s an often used term in England? ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2004, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-were-the-chairman-of-radical-islam-worldwide/238356/42 "2004-04-06T02:28:48Z")
From [dictionary.com](http://dictionary.com): scupper: 1. _Chiefly British_: To overwhelm or massacre. 2. To ruin or destroy: “The world oil glut combined with disastrous federal energy policies to scupper Alberta’s economy” (Christian Science Monitor). Not really a hugely obscure word. My mom (who’s not at all British) uses it all the time. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc348/32.png) [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2004, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-were-the-chairman-of-radical-islam-worldwide/238356/43 "2004-04-06T03:42:41Z")
> [@Coldfire](#): > > “Muslims are evil” I’m appalled **Desmostylus** The SDMB churchlady strikes again. **Libertarian** , thanks for sticking up for me although I don’t think that’s doing you any favours. Yeah, I bitch slapped Bush alright, but that wasn’t the main focus of the OP. The confusion in this thread is clearly a testament to my inability to communicate. But I will elaborate later in this post. > [@Eonwe](#): > > Doesn’t the title say “radical Islam”? I didn’t read this as a slam on “all of Islam” at all. > And, it seems moderately tongue-in-cheek. The bit about Mexico isn’t particularly offensive IMO. But, I don’t know, maybe I’m just not picking up on the nuances here. Well your take on the OP is pretty close. Thanx > [@haj](#): > > I read it as what grienspace thought would be a good strategy for the Radical Moslems, and a nasty one at that. getting close > [@Evil Captor](#): > > Actually, this is an interesting experiment: what would you do if you were in charge of RADICAL Islamists worldwide and wanted to promote their interests in the world? It’s be a good way to anticipate what they’ll be up to next. You got it ! > [@EddyTeddyfreddy](#): > > For what it’s worth (probably not much), I think this last line is the key to the OP. My take is that grienspace is saying that Islamic radicals are doing a lousy, incompetent job of pursuing their agenda. They’re too stupid, he believes, to adopt strategies that will be effective in achieving their ends in the long run. Instead, they’re indulging in feel-good, immediate-gratification tactics that actually set them back from their goals. Crappy means leading to dead ends, as it were. > > The bit about Bush is simply a backhanded insult to the radical Muslims from an anti-Bushista. > > That was my first impression on reading the OP. I may be giving him more credit than he deserves, of course. Why do you say “of course”? I’d say your on the right track in interpreting my OP, except that I’m not questioning the intelligence of the radical Islamic leadership. I just wonder if we really understand their agenda. It had previously understood that the objective of the radicals is the pursuit of world wide Islam. Israel was a setback and the hedonistic Hollywood lifestyle of America marketed worldwide is a threat to that end. Yet it is clear that the al Qaida-America conflict is escalating to something resembling the the course of recent history between the Palistinians and the Israeli’s, and it must be obvious to the radicals that they are going nowhere. so what the hell are they really after? Don’t you agree that if al Qaida and the Iraqi insurgents just ceased hostilities, US troops would be out of Iraq in a flash? Same in Afghanistan. Then they could put a regime in place more favourable to them. But it ain’t gonna happen if they keep shooting. I’m afraid the Mexico comment may have resulted in a red herring. A bit tongue in cheek regarding the weakness of America’s Mexican border control and I wanted to avoid any reference to Islamic American citizens. No slight intended towards Mexicans. **Coldfire** , how does it feel to be misrepresented. But hey, I was wrong. That should make it OK ? ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2004, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-were-the-chairman-of-radical-islam-worldwide/238356/44 "2004-04-06T04:05:35Z")
_obtuse_ 2a. lacking sharpness or quickness of sensiblity or intellect: INSENSITIVE, STUPID b. difficult to comprehend; not clear or precise in thought or expression. syn. see DULL From my Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh Edition. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2004, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-were-the-chairman-of-radical-islam-worldwide/238356/45 "2004-04-06T04:18:52Z")
> [@Libertarian](#): > > It isn’t lame; you just don’t get it. I think parodies like these raise the intellectual level of the SDMB. I think lowering everything so that third graders can get it does an injustice to the board. Considering that lately you have the maturity level of a third-grader, I’d think we’re doing you a favor. Jesus Christ, are you going out of your way to alienate everyone on this board, **Lib**? Because you’re doing a damn good job of it. ---
**Author:** ![Michael\_Ellis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/977dab/32.png) [@Michael\_Ellis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael_Ellis)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2004, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-were-the-chairman-of-radical-islam-worldwide/238356/46 "2004-04-06T04:48:59Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Considering that lately you have the maturity level of a third-grader, I’d think we’re doing you a favor. > > Jesus Christ, are you going out of your way to alienate everyone on this board, **Lib**? Because you’re doing a damn good job of it. Leave Jennifer Love Hewitt alone! ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2004, 7:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-were-the-chairman-of-radical-islam-worldwide/238356/47 "2004-04-06T07:12:38Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Considering that lately you have the maturity level of a third-grader, I’d think we’re doing you a favor. > > Jesus Christ, are you going out of your way to alienate everyone on this board, **Lib**? Because you’re doing a damn good job of it. And you are doing your job of drama queen beautifully as well, thanks. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Atticus\_Finch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ec9cab/32.png) [@Atticus\_Finch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atticus_Finch)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2004, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-were-the-chairman-of-radical-islam-worldwide/238356/48 "2004-04-06T07:14:09Z")
> [@grienspace](#): > > It had previously understood that the objective of the radicals is the pursuit of world wide Islam. Israel was a setback and the hedonistic Hollywood lifestyle of America marketed worldwide is a threat to that end. No, they’re not after “world-wide Islam”, just a united Islamic world (ie all the territories “ruled” by Islam at its peak), the citizens of which act in the way of Allah, as interpreted by righteous temporal leaders. May I suggest you use “Radical Islamism” rather than “Radical Islam” - a more corect term for those striving towards such an end. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2004, 10:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-were-the-chairman-of-radical-islam-worldwide/238356/49 "2004-04-06T10:30:10Z")
So, Fred Phelps is a Radical Christianist? ---
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2004, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-were-the-chairman-of-radical-islam-worldwide/238356/50 "2004-04-07T00:27:20Z")
> [@grienspace](#): > > **Coldfire** , how does it feel to be misrepresented. But hey, I was wrong. That should make it OK ? Errr, huh? I don’t think you misrepresented me. Or are you refering to that out-of-context quote you started your post with? The rest of the paragraph, I again do not understand. But at least you explained your OP, which appears to be harmless, if rather weird. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-were-the-chairman-of-radical-islam-worldwide/238356.md?page=2)