Do Muslims around the world back Islamic radicalism and terrorism? We've been hearing a positive answer to this question for seven years now from a slew of right-wing pundits who seem to be making a very good living as Muslim-bashers. These pundits are big on anecdotes but small on data. Fortunately we are now in a position to answer them with the facts supplied in John Esposito and Dalia Mogahed's important book Who Speaks for Islam? If you haven't read this book, you cannot consider yourself properly informed on the topic.
Esposito and Mogahed cite Gallup data that shows that only 7 percent of Muslims consider the 9/11 attacks to be justified. The authors don't think that even 7 percent of the world's Muslims are ready to sign up for jihad. Yet any group of Muslims who approves of 9/11 is a group that I think we should worry about. These are the political backers of Bin Laden and his cohorts. Undoubtedly Al Qaeda hopes to recruit from this pool. We should be monitoring this group closely.
But let's at the same time recognize that this cohort is a tiny minority. Images of Palestinian activists celebrating 9/11 or radical Imams leading chants of "Death to America" are not representative of Muslim opinion. There are right-wing pundits who have been trying to foment a clash of civilizations by proclaiming typical Muslims to be radicals, but next time you hear this ask for convincing evidence to back up such allegations. Most likely you will get unrepresentative anecdotes.
The larger concern for Esposito and Mogahed is Muslims who reject terrorism of the 9/11 type but nevertheless hate the United States. This hatred, however, is not mainly derived from American support for Israel or America's alleged imperialist history. Nor is it because, as President Bush once put it, "they hate us for our freedom." Rather, Esposito and Mogahed trace Muslim anti-Americanism to the belief that the West in general, and America in particular, are conducting a "war with Islam." And when Muslims are asked why they think this, they point to three things.
First, they cite America's support for secular Muslim despots. Second, they point the finger at what they view to be anti-religious and immoral values disseminated through American popular culture abroad. Finally, they seize upon the statements of inflammatory Americans who say, as Lawrence Auster recently did, "The problem is not 'radical' Islam but Islam itself, from which it follows that we must seek to weaken and contain Islam." My former colleague at the Hoover Institution, Victor Davis Hanson, seems to share Auster's view.
One wishes that self-styled Islamic experts like Auster (an attorney previously known for his efforts to reduce immigration in America) and Victor Davis Hanson (actually an expert on classical antiquity with excellent books on topics like the Peloponnesian War) would stop trying to launch the United States on a crazy secular crusade to undermine or transform the religious beliefs of Muslims, a group numbering well over a billion people. These pundits' analysis would be greatly improved if they learned to distinguish among Muslims.
No, guys: they don't all look alike and they don't all think alike. There are Islamic radicals who are our sworn enemies, and there are other Muslims who are being alienated from the United States because they want to rule themselves, they want to affirm traditional Islamic values in their countries, and also because they are disgusted with the anti-Muslim sentiments exhibited by people like Auster and Hanson.
Reader Comments ( Page 5 of 15)
61. Anybody have any ideas yet where we might all blog when these blogs are discontinutd?
Hi GHB,
Renzo a couple of pages back provided links to some blogs that frequent the topics we enjoy. I copied them somewhere but haven't had time to check them out.
goddess1prevail at 3:46PM on Sep 15th 2008
62. Italian man catches wife in bed with priest ยป
Posted by: JamesMarcus 6 hours, 48 minutes ago
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An Italian husband returned home early from work to find his wife in bed with their local priest. Following the shock discovery, the man stormed into the local bishop's office in Chioggia, near Venice, and demanded an explanation. Later police were called to calm him down.
The 53-year-old priest was described as a specialist on the Bible (although he seems to have forgotten at least one of the Ten Commandments), as well as a good friend of the couple. Whether this makes his behavior more or less palatable is up to--well, a Higher Power. Meanwhile, the local bishop Angelo Daniel has now confirmed that the adulterous priest has been sent to another parish for "reeducation." Bishop Daniel added: "I have always respected the priest in question and I will continue to respect him. You cannot discount all the good a person has done in their life just because of one mistake."
http://www.propeller.com/story/2008/09/15/italian-man-catches-wife-in-bed-with-priest/?icid=200100397x1209425572x1200541837
Saint Brian the Godless at 3:51PM on Sep 15th 2008
63. 14. No. 5 Ryan Anderson. It's obvious that you're reading something into D'Souza's piece that is not there, i.e., "...Dinesh would defend people who would fly airplanes into buildings...." In actuality he is saying the opposite of that. I see this piece as fair and balanced and not an attack on liberals as you would suggest. Nice try, but no cookie.
Dennis Bowen at 12:16AM on Sep 15th 2008
------------------------------
no dennis bowen, you are clearly ignorant of some of dinesh's previous blogs as well as his own disgusting book "the enemy at home: the cultural left and its responsibility for 9/11." ryan has been posting on this blog for quite a while and he knows what he is talking about.
so, sorry, it's no cookie for YOU.
Richelle at 3:55PM on Sep 15th 2008
64. Karl Rove said that McCain's attack ads have 'gone too far'. My gosh, that's like Satan chastising one of his hell demons for being overzealous...
Pliny-the-in-Between at 3:59PM on Sep 15th 2008
65. Thanks Richelle.
Ryan Anderson at 4:10PM on Sep 15th 2008
66.
Founding member of Pink Floyd, Richard Wright, passed away today at the age of 65.
Ticking away the moments that make up a dull day
You fritter and waste the hours in an offhand way
Kicking around on a piece of ground in your home town
Waiting for someone or something to show you the way
Tired of lying in the sunshine
Staying home to watch the rain
And you are young and life is long
And there is time to kill today
And then one day you find
Ten years have got behind you
No one told you when to run
You missed the starting gun
And you run, and you run to catch up with the sun, but it's sinking
Racing around to come up behind you again
The sun is the same in a relative way, but you're older
Shorter of breath and one day closer to death
Every year is getting shorter
Never seem to find the time
Plans that either come to nought
Or half a page of scribbled lines
Hanging on in quiet desparation is the English way
The time is gone
The song is over
Thought I'd something more to say
Home, home again
I like to be here when I can
When I come home cold and tired
It's good to warm my bones beside the fire
Far away across the field
The tolling of the iron bell
Calls the faithful to their knees
To hear the softly spoken magic spells
Bye Richard. Thanks for the beautiful music.
ex-christian at 4:19PM on Sep 15th 2008
67. Anybody have any ideas yet where we might all blog when these blogs are discontinutd?
Saint Brian the Godless at 3:02PM on Sep 15th 2008
--------------------------------------
i'd say maybe propeller.com, topix.com, or if you want to piss off a lot of the far right maniacs start commenting on the foxnews forum.
Richelle at 4:19PM on Sep 15th 2008
68. no problem ryan. of all the people who comment on this blog i've always thought you are one of the most reasonable and level-headed. dennis and troy just need to catch up.
Richelle at 4:23PM on Sep 15th 2008
69. Thanks ex.
mac at 4:30PM on Sep 15th 2008
70. My beautiful lyrics? ( if anyone is still rerading this crap)
If the stars fall down on me,
And the sun refused to shine,
Then may the shackles be undone,
May all the old words cease to rhyme,
If the sky turned into stone,
It will matter not at all,
For there is no heaven in the sky,
Hell does not wait for our downfall!
Let the voice of reason chime,
Let the friars vanish for all time,
God's face is hidden, all unseen,
You can't ask him,
What it all means,
He was never on your side,
God was never on your side,
Let right or wrong alone decide,
God was never on your side.
See ten thousand ministries,
See the holy, righteous dogs,
They claim to heal,
But all they do is steal,
Abuse your faith,
Cheat and rob,
If god is wise,
Why is he still,
When these false prophets,
Call him friend,
Why is he silent,
Is he blind?!
Are we abandoned in the end?
Let the sword of reason shine,
Let us be free of prayer and shrine,
God's face is hidden, turned way,
He never has a word to say,
He was never on your side,
God was never on your side,
Let right or wrong alone decide!
God was never on your side!
No,
no,
no!
He was never on your side,
God was never on your side,
Never!
Never!
Never!
Never!
Never on your side!
Never on your side!
God was never on your side,
Never on your side...
Lemmy, but he aint dead yet!
mac at 4:31PM on Sep 15th 2008
71. Dinesh: OK let's do the math. Using a conservative 1 BILLION Muslims (some say it's 1.4 since they reproduce at a much higher rate that non-Muslims)that works out to 70 MILLION insane fanatics! That's if you believe Esposito who is a know apologist for Islam. And you'd also have to believe that people answered honestly. I wonder what controls were in place to catch liars. Still 70,000,000 people who think 9-11 was justified is nothing to be pooh-poohed.The tenets of Islam is supremacist. It is Islam's goal to replace all other religions because there 'religion' is better. In fact it's more than a religion since it controls all aspects of it's adherents lives. Dineesh, would you like your Mom, sister or wife to be a Muslim woman?
Vince at 4:43PM on Sep 15th 2008
72. It is mainly about the corporate God - Money. It is above all else even life. We go to war for money! Businesses will poison the waters and lands ultimately killing people for money. Corporations will destroy anything that stands in the way of them making money and of course the center of business is the U.S. This is the major problem. They see the U.S. as the destroyer, Satan. They are not the only ones. Although these that terrorize are of the extreme not the mainstream, just like the KKK was a Christian terrorist group, but we don't judge all Christians by the few thousand knuckleheads. It is easy to look at other cultures and blame, but difficult to look in the mirror at your own culture and see the evil within.
Nick at 5:01PM on Sep 15th 2008
73. 50. I could accept your comments on main stream Muslims, but still I wonder how this 7% can exist when 93% of the remaining muslims are against jihad. It would seem that this religion has the ability to clean it's own house
xx
christianity certainly can't. christian factions still openly persecute gays and blacks and jews and hispanics and sacrifice pigeons and goats and drink strychnine and kiss rattlesnakes and copperheads in religious frenzies and believe the universe is 6,000 years old and that life begins when two living things join and that jesus and god are republicans. Some with most of those traits post here.
That's only about 9 to 12% of christianity, but they still think they're chosen by god to destroy or enslave their enemies, which would pretty much be the other 88 to 91% of us. Both mcsame and the spokesmodel belong to religions that fall more or less if not excatly dead center into that demographic - the evangelical fundamentalist.
Clif Kuplen at 5:29PM on Sep 15th 2008
74. Nick @ 72. I tend to agree with you on that. I know that you don't mean that terrorism is justified (someone probably will leap to that in haste) but I sense that you mean that we should properly study the true sources of our enemies hatreds. No, not to be defeatist or blame America but to use our brains so as to properly prepare for the future and reduce the danger of conflict if possible. Intelligent and thoughtful foreign policy is not defeatist in the least. It is simple prudence. We have a State Department and military analysts ostensibly for a reason - to understand other countries so that we can prevent conflict if possible, and/or be prepared to effectively fight them if diplomacy fails or is likely to.
Lastly, amidst all this concern about American smut and 'cultural imperialism' shouldn't we pause to reflect that those terrorists didn't fly planes into MGM studios, or Hugh Hefner's mansion - they chose to attack the Pentagon and WTC - symbols in their minds of US economic and military power? Understanding your enemies motivations is a big part of defeating them - or better yet of potentially avoiding conflict all together in situations where reasonable compromise is possible (No, I'm not talking about criminal enterprises like Al Qaeda here) Doesn't it stand to reason that we should really be interested in what angers the rest of the world if for no other reason than at least then we can be better prepared, better armed to thwart recruitment, and better prepared to identify the breeding grounds of potential enemies? Who knows, maybe we'll learn something useful about ourselves in the process too.
Pliny-the-in-Between at 5:46PM on Sep 15th 2008
75. A lot of you have made the point that if "they" hate us for our [fill-in-the-blank... TV... loose morals, etc] then they should hate Europe and Japan just as much or more.
I dont't know about Japan, but... "they" actually do hate Europe pretty much as much or more than they hate us. More Islamo-terrorist attacks have taken place in Europe than in the US or against US properties around the world. More unrest between local Muslims and native people happens in France and England and Germany than anywhere here in the US. Tensions in Denmark and the Netherlands are high.
One of the reasons they single us out to hate as the Great Satan [ONE OF THE REASONS] is the perception that we are purposely exporting our culture onto them at the expense of their culture and values. American TV shows are broadcast around the world.
Other countries love our TV. It does give them a skewed view of us... Russians thought we were all like JR Ewing! And medical dramas and soap-operas are not exactly documentaries on hospital life... [you did realize that didn't you?] But they just love our TV... and when the people love our TV and movies, they see "us", and they want what we have!
This just scares the heck out of "them"! If the average Arab / Muslim were to "get" what the average American has... Then "they" would lose all power.
Other reasons that "they" hate us are our support of strong-man totalitarians at the expense of democracy and the everyday man, our historical "exploiting" of the oil, our interference in their internal affairs [ex: overthrowing Iran's government and re-instating the Shah in the '50s], our unambiguous support of Israel [a country that made the desert bloom and that they should emulate, but which they prefer to use as an all-round scape-goat / excuse for all that is wrong in their own countries], etc.
Richard at 6:02PM on Sep 15th 2008