Quote:
Originally Posted by Sidd Finch
I have no illusions about being able to get people to say what I want them to. Nor that there is any grand figure in Islam who can direct everyone to behave in any particular way.
I don't think it's a coincidence that so many people find justification in Islam for violent action -- whereas, any commonality in the color of car they drive is a coincidence (honestly I never considered that anyone could say that the color of car was as important a factor, but Ty did, and I'll leave it at that). While I recognize that there is enormous variation in what people say and believe within Islam -- 2 billion people, after all -- there is still enough of a discourse that a significant number of people, from very different places and backgrounds, are hearing a message that their religion justifies killing.
I think that Muslims, particularly Muslim leaders, are the ones who are going to change that discourse. I don't think I'm alone in that view, and over the weekend saw a number of things such as a letter from various Muslim leaders in the NYTimes that echoed this. Over time, those developments will change the discourse.
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The key here is that the West doesn't listen to any of the Muslim leaders who speak; the only time you hear what Sisi or Erdogan or Abbas say, or what any Muslim religious leader says, is when the news finds something they say outrageous. Did you see reports of Sisi going to Church on Christmas - a huge story in the Middle East?
It goes deeper than just the news, too. Translations from major Arabic works are entirely lacking in English, and we still rely on translations done during the Renaissance for many Arabic classics. People's knowledge of Arabic in the US seems to come mainly from the jihadists - it's like we deputized Westboro Baptist to explain Christianity to Muslims.
They can talk all they want. The West is only going to hear what it wants.
