Quote:
Originally Posted by CliffFletcher
A devout Muslim immigrant oppresses his wife, won't let his daughter learn about birth control, and denounces homosexuals as depraved degenerates. In the eyes of modern progressives he is a thread in the rich tapestry of cultural diversity, and the only possible explanation for denouncing him is bigotry.
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Yeah, I think that's a massive generalization. Even someone like me, who thinks that Western foreign policy has had a massive effect on radicalization doesn't deny the religious element of it. I think what I'm arguing is that religion alone can't solely be the factor, or that I want a better explanation of why Islam is much more effective at radicalizing people than other religions. It just doesn't make sense to me that scripture alone could be responsible for that.
Another side of that is seeing the violence perpetrated against moderate Muslims by Westerners based on rhetoric that paints all Muslims as potentially dangerous and regressive extremists. I don't disagree that we're seeing a massive over-correction by some progressives but I also question if some of the absolutist language used by some opponents of Islam hasn't partially contributed to that.
The other big elephant in the room that no one really wants to get into is the whole liberal concept of freedom of religion. If you've been raised to believe that freedom of speech, freedom of religion, etc. are paramount to a free society then you're going to see attacks and calls for bans on certain faiths as antithetical to that. And there's the logistical element to deal with. How do you actually defeat an ideology like this? Clearly bombing the crap out of them isn't working and appears to have made the situation worse. Rational discourse likely isn't the solution unless you honestly believe that the true believers haven't been exposed to the dialogue and arguments against radical Islam. What you have is an ideology that is completely incompatible with modernity when practiced in taught in its most literal form, but how do you quash it without compromising the liberal values that you claim are essential to your society?