Hi Billy, Sent from my iPhone
On Jan 30, 2011, at 21:30, [email protected] wrote: > Ernie : > What strikes me is a tendency to gravitate to deductive logic when > discussing the prospects for reform in Islam. Huh? Not sure how you wrung that out of my comment. Still, let me ask a question that has bothered me: Islam may always have been evil, but the Christian communities being purged from Iraq and Egypt had survived for 1000 years. And the Ottoman Empire may have been thuggish, but I don't recall it being vastly worse than it's contemporaries. In short, things seem worse now than a century ago. Which implied modern Islamism seems to owe at least part of its virulence and intolerance to political and economic factors, in -addition- to theological ones. I'm not denying that Islamic theology is deeply incompatible with modernity. And I would love to see all Muslims worship a God with the character of Christ rather than that of Mohammad. And yes, creeping Shariah is a genuine and under-appreciated problem in the west. But just as it is foolish to ignore theology and view Islamic terrorism as the fruit of purely economic and political determinism, so it seems narrow to blame -all- of Islam's current ills and misbehavior -solely- on Islam itself. Yes, that may well be the root cause, but there should be ways to reduce the worst symptoms in the absence of a full cure. I agree that thoroughgoing reform is a long shot, but a detente of sorts with modernity seems at least conceivable, and necessary, if we are to coexist. I understand your preference for a full solution, but the reason I balk at that is the cost involved. The only way I can see to eliminate Islam entirely is forced conversion, and I refuse to countenance that level of coercion. So yes, I hold out the hope of moderating or containing Islam on deductive grounds, because the alternative is unthinkable. Previously, you made it sound like we could hope to get rid of Islam purely through strong moral argument. With your endorsement of deportation in your proposed amendment it sure sounds like you are prepared to cross that line and use the threat of physical force. So how far are you willing to go to rid the world of Islam? Is there anything you categorically won't do? And what happens if that level of force isn't enough? E -- Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community <[email protected]> Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org
