LA Ute
06-20-2013, 11:13 PM
I just ran across this interesting essay (http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/lee-rigby-and-the-struggle-to-contain-violent-islamists-by-tony-blair) by Tony Blair.
There is not a problem with Islam. For those of us who have studied it, there is no doubt about its true and peaceful nature. There is not a problem with Muslims in general. Most in Britain are horrified at Rigby’s murder.
But there is a problem within Islam, and we have to put it on the table and be honest about it. There are, of course, Christian extremists and Jewish, Buddhist, and Hindu ones. But I am afraid that the problematic strain within Islam is not the province of a few extremists. It has at its heart a view of religion – and of the relationship between religion and politics – that is not compatible with pluralistic, liberal, open-minded societies. At the extreme end of the spectrum are terrorists, but the worldview goes deeper and wider than it is comfortable for us to admit. So, by and large, we don’t admit it.
Read more at http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/lee-rigby-and-the-struggle-to-contain-violent-islamists-by-tony-blair#rqqerMWVVYmL7C47.99
This could the basis for an interesting discussion.
There is not a problem with Islam. For those of us who have studied it, there is no doubt about its true and peaceful nature. There is not a problem with Muslims in general. Most in Britain are horrified at Rigby’s murder.
But there is a problem within Islam, and we have to put it on the table and be honest about it. There are, of course, Christian extremists and Jewish, Buddhist, and Hindu ones. But I am afraid that the problematic strain within Islam is not the province of a few extremists. It has at its heart a view of religion – and of the relationship between religion and politics – that is not compatible with pluralistic, liberal, open-minded societies. At the extreme end of the spectrum are terrorists, but the worldview goes deeper and wider than it is comfortable for us to admit. So, by and large, we don’t admit it.
Read more at http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/lee-rigby-and-the-struggle-to-contain-violent-islamists-by-tony-blair#rqqerMWVVYmL7C47.99
This could the basis for an interesting discussion.