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Showing posts from May, 2007

"Understanding Islam"

In recent years there has been a huge proliferation of books, news coverage, TV shows giving the non-Muslims an education in what Islam is all about. The implication is that unless we understand Islam better, we will not be able to figure out how to .... and there the thing breaks down because it is not clear exactly what we are after. Having read and listened to much of that, where I come out is that I don't want to "understand" Islam any more than I want to "understand" cannibalism. I don't buy into the notion that only if we understood the Muslim religion better, we would be able to live side by side better. And the more I understand about it, the less I am inclined to view anything about it favorably. The fact that Sunni and Shia groups split in 7 th century over next to nothing is no more an "explanation" or a justification for car bombs exploding in Baghdad than is whatever happened in history between Serbs and Croats a reasonable grounds f