Letters to the Editor
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Fascinating
A stint in the Hitler Youth? Hosting a racist,snarling journalist? An obviously callous outlook towards Islam and it's revered Prophet? How in the world did this man become Pope?
Both your reasoning and your delivery are textbook Sean Hannity. I assume this is purely coincidental.
Ideologies, including all religions, are like loaded guns. In the abstract, they are neither good nor bad. Their relative values depend entirely on the individual believer, his* interpretation, and his actions.
I can't think of any Christian groups who wantonly desecrate mosques and murder non-believers in retribution for criticism of their faith or their leaders, but as soon as I find one I'll be sure to criticize and condemn it in equally harsh terms.
* His or her for the PC among you.
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Half Right
The only parts of Western civilization which survived the fall of the Roman Empire did so because the Church preserved them.
Or, uh.. you know. The Muslims.
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All religion begets violence, some more than others
"It was a gratuitous reawakening of the most entrenched and self-serving of Western prejudices -- that Muslims have a unique proclivity to violence, a claim that has no basis in history or in current world events (a fact that still eludes too many Westerners)...An elderly Catholic nun has already been killed in Somalia, perhaps in retaliation for the pope's remarks; churches have been attacked in the West Bank."
Yeah, burning Palestinian churches and murdering a nun because you're mad at what someone SAID; I guess your "fact" still eludes those criminals and myself.
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To the people attacking me personally
First, the No Name Given person. Glad to see you've been following along. The point of my experiences with Muslim "friends" is ancedotal and shows how deeply the antipathy for the West really runs in Islam. If you choose not to believe me, that's fine. For the record, these Muslim gentlemen were not talking about committing terrorist acts but rather arguing in favor of their reasons. In other words, the same sort of apologies for Islam one views on television from Western-suited Muslim apologists. I didn't spell that out, so thanks for the opportunity to clarify.
Also, nobody emails me in support. That's kind of a bizarre claim, as I don't post my email address.
And no, x-pot-farmer, I don't complain to the censors (please note the correct spelling.) Do you mean to say that you posted some nasty things about me that Salon removed? I can only imagine. :)
If you two ever post anything substantive, I'll respond in kind. I will now resume cheerfully ignoring your personal attacks.
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An observation (slightly OT)
I'm a conservative who reads blogs and letters columns on both sides of the fence, and very occasionally contributes to them. I've been following this particular thread closely, as I put my .03 in a bunch of pages back, then stood back to view the parade.
Comparing this letters page to, say, the one for American Spectator, I am struck by two things: One, the denizens of this liberal space are far more likely to hide their identities behind aliases or simply not give their names than my rightist counterparts. Compare the number of anonymous postings here with those on AmSpec. Second, the language on this site is far fouler than what I expect in discussion of topics as full of import as this. The nearly two-dozen pages of this thread alone are filled with vile, puerile, and childish vituperation that adds nothing but a stench to the debate.
I've always held it as a point of courage and honor in a free and open society to take responsibility and accountability for my beliefs in the public square. I was raised to understand this to be a mark of integrity and maturity. If one has something to say in our national debate, or wishes to take issue with the sincerely held and reasoned beliefs of another, one holds one's head high and speaks out, and does not hide behind a veil of anonymity.
I also believe, as an educated man and a writer who enjoys the poetry and peculiarity of the English language, that the use of sexual and scatological epithets indicates a failure of the speaker's vocabulary and, perhaps, intelligence. Our language has nearly infinite ways to express fact and opinion; to resort to the coarsest form of discourse - especially when addressing weighty matters - betrays only the user's laziness, lack of imagination, and immaturity.
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To "E"
You flaunt a rather sad lack of knowledge about Christian scripture. However it has been interpreted or ignored by 'Christians' in the past (and present), Jesus taught that the two greatest commandments were to love God and to love your neighbor as yourself. I don't know if the idea of radical, unconditional love originates with Jesus, but it is certainly not something you find Muhammad talking much about.
There is a reason Jesus didn't bother to try conquering the physical world. Regardless of the actions of people who claim to be Christian, Jesus teaches us to put away the sword, turn the other cheek, give our coat to the man who takes our jacket. Christianity is a religion of throwing ourselves before our enemies and rejoicing in the part of them that is like God, because there is that part in everyone.
Christianity, at its best and more pure, is a religion inspired by a man with a vision of radical love. Islam is a religion inspired by a man who married many wives (including young girls), who conquered and converted, who seemed more interested in worldly gain through religious suppression than in salvation.
There are good and bad Christians, there are good and bad Muslims. But the point is not the followers, this entire argument is dealing with the progenitors themselves.
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The pope is under no obligation ...
to be a secular humanist.
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Peter
Just a few responses to your comments:
1) On anonymonity: I agree with you in general. However, I find it prudent to post under a pseudonym when writing about Islam. One only has to look at the murders committed both in the States and in Europe to understand why. I suppose I feel compelled to explain my atypical cowardice. :)
2) On the level of discourse: I think Salon in general allows posters to write freely. The worst filth (from ex-pot-farmer) has already been removed - I am assuming that his/her posts prompted this comment.