In Reply to: I wish she had said that posted by Oldtimer on March 28, 2006 at 13:40:31:
Even if she was directly attacking the basic tenets of Islam (she only touched on a couple of things, not the whole theology) she did so as a secular humanist. If I understand her position correctly, everyone has the right to believe in whatever foolish religion they want (I think she said "you can believe in a stone") but they don't have the right to allow their religious views to interfere with anyone else's inherent human rights. I think she would probably attack the beliefs of puritanical, fundamentalist Christians in the same way.
You wrote: "Islam simply needs to come out and say that certain of its harsh tenets are outdated or should no longer be applied." You are operating under the assumption that there is a single voice that speaks for all Muslims. How do you suppose Islam can "come out and say" anything? Just as there is no single voice that speaks for all Christianity, there is no ultimate authority that speaks for Islam. And neither of their Holy books solve this problem, because it is all a matter of interpretation, and as I continue to argue, both books are misused for self-serving political purposes.
This is a difficult conversation to have right now given all the war propaganda that exists on both sides, and the prohibition against politics on this site. The politics of fear plays a big role in how we perceive the "other". It's far easier to send young soldiers/terrorists to die for God and country when the enemy can be depersonalized as ungodly, heathen, the great Satan, etc, etc.
Btw, Oldtimer, how's the juicing going? Have you tried red cabbage yet? It's got lots of extra benefits and is quite yummy.