Should the US be more or less like Saudi Arabia?

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

less of course. But the religious right think the answer is more.

[nclib]

I think the religious right doesn't see the similarities between fundamentalist Christianity and fundamentalist Islam.

[Bandit3 the Worker]

Less of course! But the Religious Right thinks the answer is more!

The conservatives have openly been on the side of the Saudi Arabian government for years.

[senatortombstone]

Yawn! another pathetically loaded question.

Like it or not there are some things that The Saudis do better than the US.  The one that comes to mind is how they deter crime better than we do.  No, I am not in support of amputations or physical abuse or torture.  But there's something said about a country, in which you can drop your walet on the ground, remember it a week later and go back and get it with all of the money still in it.

There are some basic similiarities between Christianity and Islam, but they are miniscule when cmpared to the differences.  But then again, there is no point in listening to the willfully ignorant ranting and raving of mockers and scoffers.

[Bandit3 the Worker]

Like it or not there are some things that The Saudis do better than the US.  The one that comes to mind is how they deter crime better than we do.

1994-style conservatism lives on in the mind of senatortombstone, after being discredited in the minds of everyone else.

[senatortombstone]

Like it or not there are some things that The Saudis do better than the US.  The one that comes to mind is how they deter crime better than we do.

1994-style conservatism lives on in the mind of senatortombstone, after being discredited in the minds of everyone else.

Uh, Ok!  HOw then d you explain the domination of conservatives in the house, senate and oval office?  We'd also have the judicial but unfortuanately judges aren't always electible.  Funny, liberals do the best when they don't have to win elections.

[dazzleman]

Yawn! another pathetically loaded question.

Like it or not there are some things that The Saudis do better than the US.  The one that comes to mind is how they deter crime better than we do.  No, I am not in support of amputations or physical abuse or torture.  But there's something said about a country, in which you can drop your walet on the ground, remember it a week later and go back and get it with all of the money still in it.

There are some basic similiarities between Christianity and Islam, but they are miniscule when cmpared to the differences.  But then again, there is no point in listening to the willfully ignorant ranting and raving of mockers and scoffers.

I agree completely.

[opebo]

I see very little difference between christians and muslims - both suffer from the same intolerant tendencies.  As for prioritizing the ability to retrieve a lost wallet, money intact - why would anyone care about that?  Give me a free country where I have to look after my wallet over a crime free State devoid of freedom any day.

[dazzleman]

I don't admire Saudi Arabia for a number of reasons.  But I think even bad societies have some things we could learn from, and I do think we could do a better job in deterring crime, though I wouldn't go so far as the Saudis go.

I think there's a huge difference between Christian and Muslims, though I don't buy into the "all Muslims are bad" argument that has been advanced by some of the most liberal posters here.

I've admitted to prejudice against Muslims.  I've tried to be honest, and not falsely mouth politically correct platitudes.  I'm glad to see in a way that some liberals are willing to break with political correctness.  I see FUNDAMENTALIST Islam as a huge threat, both to the US and Europe, and think that an uncomfortably high percentage of Muslims are potentially attracted to it.

To equate Christianity with Fundamentalist Islam is crazy.  It's like equating a speeding ticket with a murder indictment, because they both involve illegal acts.  There is no half-way credible sect of Christianity that advocates the wholesale killing of large numbers of innocent people.  The Muslims are where the Christians were 500 years ago, and they need to come out of the dark ages.  It may be happening, courtesy of, among other things, the free elections in Iraq.

I also think that most anti-religious people are just as intolerant as the most fundamentalist Muslims and the most extreme members of the Christian coalition (not to imply that there's any equivalence between the two- there isn't).

[Lunar]

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Dude, this is Bandit.  He believes that if the Republicans stopped rigging the elections, the Democrats would win every state.

Anyway, I voted less of course.  I'm not a fan of authoritarian governments.

[phk]

But there's something said about a country, in which you can drop your walet on the ground, remember it a week later and go back and get it with all of the money still in it.

You can also do that in Japan, and they are voluntarily secular.

[opebo]

But there's something said about a country, in which you can drop your walet on the ground, remember it a week later and go back and get it with all of the money still in it.

You can also do that in Japan, and they are voluntarily secular.

Heck here in Thailand, where the per-capita income is the equivalent of $500/month(CIA-PPI), I leave my jacket and bags of purchases, as well as my helmet, in the basket of my motorbike all the time.  No one ever takes anything.  Robbery is far and away less common than in the US.   And all in a country where prostitution is completely tolerated.  Just goes to show you that you don't have to be miserable in order to be 'safe'.

[phk]

I don't admire Saudi Arabia for a number of reasons.  But I think even bad societies have some things we could learn from, and I do think we could do a better job in deterring crime, though I wouldn't go so far as the Saudis go.

I think there's a huge difference between Christian and Muslims, though I don't buy into the "all Muslims are bad" argument that has been advanced by some of the most liberal posters here.

I've admitted to prejudice against Muslims.  I've tried to be honest, and not falsely mouth politically correct platitudes.  I'm glad to see in a way that some liberals are willing to break with political correctness.  I see FUNDAMENTALIST Islam as a huge threat, both to the US and Europe, and think that an uncomfortably high percentage of Muslims are potentially attracted to it.

To equate Christianity with Fundamentalist Islam is crazy.  It's like equating a speeding ticket with a murder indictment, because they both involve illegal acts.  There is no half-way credible sect of Christianity that advocates the wholesale killing of large numbers of innocent people.  The Muslims are where the Christians were 500 years ago, and they need to come out of the dark ages.  It may be happening, courtesy of, among other things, the free elections in Iraq.

I also think that most anti-religious people are just as intolerant as the most fundamentalist Muslims and the most extreme members of the Christian coalition (not to imply that there's any equivalence between the two- there isn't).

The person who wants to modernize Islam is like that forgetful genius who wants to invent a machine in his/her garage, which can turn copper into gold!

Is it good for Islam to become modern?

The first question is why should Islam be modernized and why do they insist on this?

If someone says that slavery can also become humane, I will ask them why they insist on making slavery humane; is there a lack of modern and humane schools of thought?

One should ask persons promoting modern Islam, whether they themselves are modern Muslems? If not, then why are they paving the way for oppressive and historically backward monsters to continue their existence in new forms?

Let's assume that Islam can be modernized; why are they helping it to do so?

Leave it, let it be as it is and let it go out of business. Notwithstanding this, in my opinion, their depiction of 'modern' is limited, which is why they say Islam can be modern. Probably, if Islam allows a woman to go to school with a knee-length skirt or to become a judge as long as she does not speak of her sexuality, then Islam is modern from their point of view. Now this won't do.

Islam and Religion has no place in what I call modern (in fact this word is also relative) nor in the society that I would like to live or in the modernism that I think we deserve. Islam must be uprooted. Just as some people believe in fascism and still strongly believe in patriarchy, some also believe in Islam. Islam's track record is much more apparent than that for anyone to attempt its rescue.

The person who says that Islam can be modernized is a Muslim who wants to maintain their religion and its survival. Otherwise, I cannot understand any non-Muslim's insistence on this concept, apart from the fact that they want to create a tactical ally forthemselves.