Friday, September 17, 2010
The morning reading
Spengler is spectacular this morning. Read "Terry Jones, asymmetrical warrior." Teaser:
Meet the Reverend Terry Jones, asymmetrical warrior. It appears that pinpricks can produce chain reactions in the Islamic world. The threat may be termed asymmetrical because Islam is more vulnerable to theological war than Christianity (or for that matter Judaism).
As the youngest of the major religions (apart from Sikhism), Islam must defend its historical narrative more fiercely than the older religions. Islam never withstood the withering criticism of Enlightenment scholars from Spinoza to the Jesus Project determined to discredit sacred texts. And because the Koran is not a human report of God's word, like the Christian and Jewish bibles, but rather the "uncreated word" of Allah himself, any challenge to its authority cuts at Islam's credibility. The fact that Islam has established neither a Magisterium in the Catholic sense, nor an authoritative tradition like that of Orthodox Judaism, leaves it decentralized, divided and fractious.
But read the whole thing.
5 Comments:
By 
, at
Fri Sep 17, 10:36:00 AM:
If threatening to burn a Koran causes ten deaths among the Muslims in Afghanistan, how many would die if a thousand were burnt? It might be a good way for us to get our troops out.
By 
buck smith, at
Fri Sep 17, 02:00:00 PM:
I found this speculation most interesting:
"It is a misperception that America is the main object of Muslim rage. Most Muslim rage is directed against other Muslims. Religious violence perpetrated by Muslims against other Muslims is a routine feature of life in Pakistan, Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Sudan, Lebanon and Afghanistan. Of the 1,868 acts of religious violence listed by the Global Terrorism Database, all but a handful were conducted by Muslims on Muslims. America has done its best to suppress such violence. What if America (or Russia, or India, or China) were to incite it?"
By , at
Fri Sep 17, 02:15:00 PM:
Very good stuff.
Our crazy pastor from Florida has beclowned:
Obama's Hamas loving Imam from the Ground Zero Victory Mosque.
All the liberal thrill seeking media that have stoked the conflicting aspects.
The killer terrorists, who have already started riots before anything really happened in Florida.
Obama himself, who leaped to become involved, just like he did in supporting the Obama Ground Zero Mosque.
Bigoted haters of small Christian cults everywhere.
Euro-weenies worldwide, who basically hate anything in the United States outside the Beltway.
Beltway, pundits who demand that you follow their instructions regardless of the Bill of Rights.
The FBI, which was sent down to Forida to tell Pastor Smith what he could and could not do.
Call this a teachable moment.
By Dawnfire82, at
Fri Sep 17, 04:12:00 PM:
I find the idea of intra-regional ideological warfare to be paradoxically both medieval and avant-guarde. In the new, enlightened 21st century world, how do you condemn someone for supporting the spread of ideas, especially religions ones? Indeed. this is how jihadis have been able to penetrate as far into western society as they have.
Fascinating implications... like an eventual return to conventional religious warfare and Inquisition-style internal purges.
By , at
Fri Sep 17, 11:59:00 PM:
Spengler refers to three of his earlier articles at the end. The last one is called "General Petraeus' Thirty Years War".
Knowing that you respect both Spengler and Petraeus, and Spengler doesn't have a very high opinion of Petraeus, what's your opinion of that article?
Vilmos
