This guy is *BRILLIANT* (nails the message, and does so with great cleverness and eloquence). Between him and Bill Mahers and Sam Harriss takedown of Ben Affleck (as well as a lot of research on the Islamization of Europe), I have somewhat belatedly come to realize that Islam - both in terms of the teachings of its ancient texts, in terms of what most modern Muslims actually believe, and in terms of how large percentages of them actually conduct themselves - is antithetical and openly hostile to damn near everything I believe in as a progressive, secular humanist and democrat (with a small d, although I am also a lifelong Democrat). My liberal values cause me to instinctively recoil at the notion of judging someone elses faith or culture. American exceptionalism is far too often rooted in a meatheaded ignorance of other countries and cultures, or in old-fashioned chauvinism, parochialism, racism and/or xenophobia. But Islam is MUCH more than just a religion. The Koran and the Hadiths ALSO proclaim a comprehensive (and barbaric) legal system and a (fascist, supremacist, totalitarian) political ideology, both of which make the Spanish Inquisitors and George Wallace seem like paragons of the Age of Enlightenment. In Europe, at least, few Muslims seem to have much interest in assimilating into Western society, many if not most actually disdain Western values and culture, and alarming percentages view themselves as Muslims first and as Dutch or British or Swedish a distant second if at all. And far too many of them - way more than their Christian and Jewish counterparts - adhere, even in the 21st century, to a literal, fundamentalist view of their Iron Age sacred texts. So just this once, I am going to say: Screw tolerance. We should respect individual Muslims, both as fellow human beings and as citizens (if they choose to be the latter), as well as their right to practice their faith. But we should also, as a modern, progressive society which values individualism, democracy, enlightened discourse grounded in empiricism and reason, and a separation of church and state, oppose with great vigilance and vigor the spread of this hopelessly backward and illiberal religio-ideology or its encroachment into the public square. The example of Europe teaches us that caving in to smaller demands for special treatment - such as the provision of halal meals in public schools - leads inexorably to larger demands, such as mandatory prayer breaks at ones place of employment, the adoption of certain elements of sharia law in civil lawsuits involving Muslims, or even the turning of a blind eye by the authorities when a Muslim man beats his daughter or marries multiple wives or otherwise commits an act that is entirely illegal yet is sanctioned by the Koran. Peace.
Posted on: Wed, 07 Jan 2015 08:06:19 +0000
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