tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post469678656276989347..comments2024-03-27T03:19:11.216-04:00Comments on Assistant Village Idiot: Real Terrorist MotivesAssistant Village Idiothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01978011985085795099noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-77754180541962978592008-12-08T00:02:00.000-05:002008-12-08T00:02:00.000-05:00The connection between IRA and Islamic terrorism i...The connection between IRA and Islamic terrorism is interesting, but it seems to me that the resemblance is only skin deep. As Copithorne points out, Islam has a strong tradition--dating back to the time of Mohammed--of jihad and violence against non-Moslems, especially Jews (who are singled out for extra "attention" in the Koran and the hadiths).<BR/><BR/>The social networking explanation appears to be a new <A HREF="http://www.amnation.com/vfr/archives/009044.html" REL="nofollow">Non-Islam Theory of Islamic Extremism</A>.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-12397905964088364652008-12-05T10:11:00.000-05:002008-12-05T10:11:00.000-05:00copithorne : Good comment.copithorne : <BR/><BR/>Good comment.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-8906394742982185602008-12-04T17:48:00.000-05:002008-12-04T17:48:00.000-05:00I hope you are correct in that prediction, copitho...I hope you are correct in that prediction, copithorne. The potential is certainly there. The attacks in Mumbai were discouraging on that score.Assistant Village Idiothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01978011985085795099noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-11219340307338704262008-12-04T17:15:00.000-05:002008-12-04T17:15:00.000-05:00That was my impression from reading the book, Infi...That was my impression from reading the book, Infidel by Aya Al Hirsi.<BR/><BR/>Young men (in particular) wish to be summoned to a heroic undertaking. This is a traditional initiation function in every society. In a functioning society, we provide a heroic undertaking that is constructive or at the very least is a safe outlet. But in the Muslim world the only people offering a heroic vision of life are the violent fundamentalists. And they do a good job of that. They offer a real program of a heroes’ journey of sacrifice and meaning. The heroic challenges that characterize modern life, building civic society or making money are stagnant in the Muslim world. (And I wish that our own religious culture offered a clearer hero’s journey to young people. It is actually a real strength of Muslim culture that they do so. )<BR/><BR/>I am very optimistic that we can use this understanding to begin to craft an appeal to young Muslim men to undertake a hero’s journey to join modernity. We will see Barack Obama begin to offer this message in the next two years.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com