In Reply to: I'm glad you got where I was trying to go... posted by Carol on June 23, 2004 at 18:21:13:
A very interesting book I have been reading which discusses this very element you are talking about is "Terror and Liberalism" by Paul Berman. Now this is not a conservative author at all, he is in fact, very liberal and very respected amongst the liberal side of journalists. He goes into depth about where fanaticsm in Islam comes from. I strongly suggest it, it's an excellent read and I have learned quite a bit about the Islamic mind. The author discusses the philosphers of Islam and why they are so revered and followed and what they are passing on in the form of Islamic fanatacism. I have taken my time reading it because there is so much to digest. I find that I put it down for awhile and then come back and reread the last few chapters. In this book, it is strikingly clear that the Islamic viewpoint is that Westernism, with all it's troubles and sins, is not freedom at all, but a falling away from Allah and the freedom of serving him in the way they believe. They would like to erradicate this problem and freely serve Allah without having to fight the Western way of life that takes Muslims away from their strict observances and gives women freedom, among other things. Very, very intesesting. I am thoroughly enjoying it.