Re: Exactly what did Bruce say to prompt this little diatribe?
- From: "A to Z" <THECAPSaddietzARE@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 3 Feb 2008 17:57:25 -0500
it's Bruce S Springsteen, a Lawrence, KS resident, not our Bruce
http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2008/jan/27/islam_attack/
To the editor:
David Burress attacks Cal Thomas' anti-Islamic columns, calling them
"bigoted" - reflective of an intolerant set of received views - but the
samples that Burress quotes don't clearly make that case. Any of the quotes
might be reasonable in the context of Thomas' arguments, which Burress does
not engage.
That aside, I invite him to consider Ayaan Hirsi Ali, not an American
right-winger like Thomas, but a modern, liberal refugee from the Islam of
her African/Saudi upbringing, a victim of genital mutilation and escapee
from a forced betrothal, who has said "I see no difference between Islam and
Islamism. Islam is defined as submission to the will of Allah, as it is
described in the Koran. Islamism is just Islam in its most pure form."
She has also said "Islam is the new fascism." She insists that at the core
of Islam is hostility to pluralism, civil liberty and the tolerance Burress
presumably supports. Strong words. Is Ms. Hirsi Ali also to be dismissed as
"bigoted," or should liberal, tolerant people consider her arguments in some
detail?
Hirsi Ali expresses - and Thomas claims to agree - not a hatred for Muslims
as persons, but for the illiberal ideology of Islam. Burress muddies that
distinction in his eagerness to take offense for others. Thomas might be a
Christian propagandist attacking a competing revelation, but Hirsi Ali
relates her direct experience with this medieval, totalist worldview,
expressing a courageous, outraged humanism that any true liberal should
admire and emulate.
Bruce S. Springsteen, Lawrence
"Maureen" <foxy1vixen@xxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:e5ac6339-6fa4-4b37-b6cd-387d9f4a43fc@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Lawrence Journal World
Islam differences
January 31, 2008
To the editor:
Bruce Springsteen apparently misses the point that Islam, like
Christianity, is not a one-size-fits-all religion. Different sects.
Different regions. Different interpretations. Differences causing
arguments, rifts and even wars.
Ayaan Hirsi Ali may write that Islam is "the new fascism." But, after
700 years, it can't be. That's just a sound bite. She certainly
doesn't represent all Islam. Heck, she doesn't even speak for all
Muslims any more than Cal Thomas speaks for all Christians.
Hirsi Ali has gone through terrible things. But genital mutilation is
not Islamic. Neither is forced betrothal, being found in all faiths
and countries, including our own.
Saudi women are certainly treated as second-class citizens (if that).
But think about this: Within my lifetime, women received the right to
vote in Afghanistan, Yemen, Morocco and Egypt -- all predominantly
Islamic countries -- before they did in Switzerland, Liechtenstein and
Samoa -- all predominantly Christian countries.
She writes "Islam is defined as submission to the will of Allah, as it
is described in the Koran." So? Substitute Christianity, God, and the
Bible and see how many evangelical Christians disagree.
Cal Thomas has recommended nuking Tehran. And giving Palestinians
where a bombing attack originates 24 hours to turn in the unknown
drive-through bombers or have everything within a half-mile radius of
the launch site destroyed. This is Christian behavior?
No. It's "terrified Christian" behavior that reveals nothing positive
about Thomas' claims of deep and abiding faith, just Old Testament
mean-spiritedness and, yes, bigotry.
Kendall Simmons,
Lawrence
.
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