Reza Aslan absolutely destroys CNN and Bill Maher on Muslim violence

[ElectionsGuy]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzusSqcotDw

Eat it, CNN. They just can't take it after he gives too many facts and not enough generalizations to feed the Islam-phobia propaganda. I love it.

(We can move this to International Board if that fits better)

[ElectionsGuy]

Islam is not a progressive religion.  By that I mean, Islam is a set of rules for every facet of life and those rules do not change.  Islam is a religion, but it also contains a set of cultural norms that date to the early middle ages in Arabia.  Is there dispute about those rules?  Sure.  Many Muslims believe music is allowed.  Many Muslims believe that women should be allowed to travel alone.  But, the general attitude is that these rules are not debatable or permissive if you find a clear statement from the Islamic scriptures.  In that way, Islam more resembles Christianity in Europe before the reformation democratized Christianity with vernacular texts. 

Basically. I think there's inherently some tension between Western liberals who want to be pluralistic and respectful of other cultures, and the fact that in its current form, Islam is not compatible with Western liberalism.

You can be a liberal, pro-choice, pro-gay Christian. There are Christian denominations like the Episcopal Church and United Churches of Christ that formally accept and accommodate socially progressive and theologically liberal viewpoints.

You can't be a liberal, pro-choice, pro-gay Muslim. There is no sect of Islam that formally accepts those sort of modern, Western values. If you are a Muslim and consider yourself a liberal, I'd argue that you're not a very good Muslim and you need to find a different religion to be a part of. I have Muslim friends and acquaintances who drink alcohol, eat pork products, and generally heed a 21st century, post-modernist view on most social issues. But if they were to go to their mosque and be upfront about these things, they'd get taken to task by the religious elders and by members of the congregation. By comparison, there are churches and synagogues that Christians and Jews with comparable lifestyles can go to and not be reprimanded.

I tend to think that if American Muslims want to put the phobia and bigotry to rest for good, they might have to just have a "schism" of their own and form a new sect of Islam that's more compatible with the society they live in. It would be more forward-thinking on social issues and not interpret the Koran literally. Men and women would not be segregated during prayers. Women would not be obliged to wear hijab.

I absolutely agree with all of this. However, the headline on CNN was "Does Islam Promote Violence?" which is utterly absurd. Being a Muslim requires you live your life in many outdated and reactionary (in a social sense) ways, but violence is only promoted by the fringe minority of lunatics who think their violent acts against society are good in the name of God. Does the ultra religiosity of Islam (that in many areas of the world prohibit progress) make it likelier that religious terrorism will exist? I would say yes. Is it a problem with Islam itself? No.

And I do find Aslan annoying as Sanchez said at times but I think he has it right here.

[ElectionsGuy]

Was this thread a bad idea?

[ElectionsGuy]

Was this thread a bad idea?

Yes. It gave me a brain tumour.

So sorry to hear that. I might terminate it soon.

[ElectionsGuy]

I'm going to lock the thread. If y'all want, you can create a thread on Muslim violence in the political debate section.