Chris Dickey talks about “Christian Rage, Muslim Moderation” in a Newsweek column. While the title and lede are somewhat misleading, I think the overall point is one that needs to be hammered over and over again: No religion has a monopoly on extremists, ignorance, or blinders. Dr. Marranci gives a detailed example of the same idea at his blog.
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‘Stealth Jihad’ Conveys Paranoia – Newsweek
‘Stealth Jihad’ Conveys Paranoia – Newsweek. Also, simply put, foreign words freak people out. “Jihad” and “Sharia” reinforce the sense among Americans that Muslims in general have an unfathomable world view. During World War II, formerly obscure words like “hara-kiri” and “kamikaze,” which suggested the “warlike ferocity” of the Japanese, became common parlance, Nunberg says. “There was this sense of being confronted with this hostile, alien culture.” The Japanese were “literally demonized,” he says.
2 for the show
Two articles worth reading: Haroon Siddiqui has a fair and well-balanced article in the Ideas section of the Sunday, 20 August Toronto Star entitled The Muslim Malaise George Soros’ article in the Wall Street Journal entitled A Self-Defeating War is also worthwhile and is published at the TPM Cafe. Here are some excerpts: “The war on terror is a false metaphor that has led to counterproductive and self-defeating policies…Unfortunately, the “war on terror” metaphor was uncritically accepted by the American public as the obvious response to 9/11. It is now widely admitted that the invasion of Iraq was a blunder.…
CALME
Campaign for American Leadership in the Middle East. via TPM. Looks very promising. Sign on. Spread the word.