Gurgen wrote:
Burnwinter wrote:
Islam is practised without terrorism or violence by nearly everyone that does practise it.
Therefore the idea that the words of the Qur'an, or the teachings of Islam alone are responsible for directly and deterministically radicalising individuals and causing acts of violence has to be calmly and empirically questioned.
That's not the point at all and I did not claim what you are saying. Bad ideas have effects though, which is something you continue to ignore. Why don't you just answer my question?
I did answer your question, and I also acknowledged that "bad ideas have effects" as I have many times before.
For example, the bad idea that "Islam causes terrorism" has effects.
If you asked me for a laundry list of the things that need to happen for the broader conflicts attributed to "Islam" to unwind, this is what I would say:
- NATO nations toning down their relationships to the Gulf Cooperation Council and stopping their supply of arms and materiel to the Saudis
- An end to strategic tolerance of Saudi funding of terrorism and radical madrassas
- An end to military adventures that have displaced millions of people and killed hundreds of thousands
- An end to the hostile anti-Islamic rhetoric that now characterises the populist right in many countries
- An end to the pretence that going to a mosque turns you into a terrorist
Doing those things would immediately help. Attributing the problems primarily to Islam will not, any more than attributing Irish republicanism to "Papism" would have resolved the Troubles.
Islam-baiting is almost entirely vacuous, a tremendous vulgar racist sideshow that goes on and on in our public spheres and is poisoning the well of our politics all over the world, creating the political careers of these Donald Trumps, Tony Abbotts, Nigel Farages, Viktor Orbans and Marine Le Pens.
There is nothing to be said for giving it credence or taking a nuanced view. It is a waste of time. Those of us who aren't Muslims should be turning to protect the dignity and well-being of the Muslim citizens who live and work alongside us.
