Monday, March 15, 2010

John Guardiano Does not Make an Argument about Moderate Islam, He Makes an Asssertion.

by David Forsmark

John Guardiano claims today that moderate Islam exists because, well he said so.
After all, there are lots of Muslims.

John claims that I struck out in my analysis of moderate Islam. But I made no such analysis. I did not deny it exists—though I would challenge its relevance anywhere in the world except the United States, where people are free to practice nominal Islam the way other practice, say, cultural Catholicism.

What I challenged was his use of Dinesh D’Souza, whose book The Enemy Within is horribly researched and therefore speciously argued to trash Robert Spencer and Andrew McCarthy. My statement was that “John Guardiano railed against caricaturing Islam today—by caricaturing conservatives like Robert Spencer and Andrew McCarthy.” Here is the most egregious example:

GUARDINO: The United States is seriously challenged to win the wars it is now in in two of those countries, Iraq and Afghanistan. Opening up a second front, this time against all of Islam, seems to me to be completely impractical and profoundly stupid. Yet, that seems to be the approach urged upon us by right-wing critics like Spencer, McCarthy and Work.

Way to knock down that straw man, John. Yes, that would be stupid. That’s why no one is proposing it.

So, how about answering this question, you write:

GUARDIANO: But to follow this approach, you first have to believe that Islam has an inherent truth which is worth explicating and developing. I believe that it does; my right-wing critics believe otherwise; and therein lies the crux of our dispute.

You’re finally right, I don’t believe that what is basically a 7th Century code for ruling nomadic people has much “inherent truth.” However, you assert it does.

So, go ahead. Educate us. WHAT inherent truth?

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IceStar's avatar - Go to profile

IceStar 82p · 3 hours ago
Islam in particular fears criticism. The book I cite above is formatted after the book Why I Am Not A Christian, by Bertrand Russell.

It is always good to compare Christianity with Islam in my opinion, the differences are stark, Christians did not put out a contract on Mr Russell's life after his book was published, Ibn Warrak has to publish under a pseudonym, there are fatwas on him, Wafa Sultan and many others.

Again I think this Mr Guardino is afraid to look at Islam too closely for fear of what he will see.

"GUARDINO: The United States is seriously challenged to win the wars it is now in in two of those countries, Iraq and Afghanistan. Opening up a second front, this time against all of Islam, seems to me to be completely impractical and profoundly stupid. Yet, that seems to be the approach urged upon us by right-wing critics like Spencer, McCarthy and Work."

Civilization and Its Enemies The Next Stage Of History, by Lee Harris takes this point of view on brilliantly.

I think it is important to understand the war the West fights today is one that has been fought for nearly 1400 years, same war, different people.
The Ideology that drives this war, Islam, is unchanged, the Qu'ran Hadith and Sunna, the Sharia, all are unchanged.
The problem here is his ignorance about the whole of Islam.
I wonder if he is afraid to read Why I Am Not A Muslim, by Ibn Warrak, The Sword Of The Prophet,by Serge Trifkovic, Jesus and Muhammad:Profound Differences and Surprising Similarities, by Mark A. Gabriel.

In order to be fully informed one must look at the whole picture and not just the parts that reinforce one's preconceived ideas.
In other words, true learning cannot happen if all you read and all you talk to just tell you what you want to hear.

Just my two cents.

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