Political Crossfire Forums

[Freemason]

Religion is all pervasive in the Islamic world, but is it a cause of the effect we perceive as "terrorism"? I believe not.

I believe that culture is more powerful of a cause. Culture is often mistaken as being made-up of various components including "religion" however, more accurately, a religion is reflected by one's culture...

The Islamic religion is very much the product of the Arab culture, and T.E. Lawrence does a very detailed job at trying to explain just who the Arabs are.

In that explaination and others, I think you'll find that the war-like ways of the Arab is from the history of their warring tribes which even today is not fully gone, and just 100 years ago was completely the same as it was 1,000 years ago.

Thus, in this modern world, people not unlike the Vikings or Ancient Greeks in a sense of warrior-society has been thrust into a global arena where now their way of life is threatend by Globalism.

This I believe is the cause of terrorism. Not that they want to spread Islam or believe Islam to be under attack, but because their society is under attack, regardless of who from, and their method of retaliation for centuries has been the sword.

[Saracen]

Freemason wrote: Religion is all pervasive in the Islamic world, but is it a cause of the effect we perceive as "terrorism"? I believe not.

Religion is not a cause for the effect you perceive as "terrorism". The only thing that is dangerous are the people who interpret this religion wrongly.

Quote: I believe that culture is more powerful of a cause. Culture is often mistaken as being made-up of various components including "religion" however, more accurately, a religion is reflected by one's culture...

Not really. Islamic culture has nothing to do with violence. Neither does Arab culture. It has to do with the extremism of a few sick-minded individuals who seek to fundamentalize their religion and use it for their own nefarious ends in "justifying" their attacks and their crimes.

Quote: The Islamic religion is very much the product of the Arab culture, and T.E. Lawrence does a very detailed job at trying to explain just who the Arabs are.

I think it's the other way around: the Arab culture, a reserved culture indeed, was very different before the rise of Islam, and when Islam came into being, Arab culture was greatly changed by Islamic culture: it became more civilized and tuned in.

Quote: In that explaination and others, I think you'll find that the war-like ways of the Arab is from the history of their warring tribes which even today is not fully gone, and just 100 years ago was completely the same as it was 1,000 years ago.

We are not a "warring people". Just because we have a few fanatics and warlords running rampant doesn't mean we're warmongers. Take a look at the majority of countries around the world. Most are Christian countries. You have the drug lords of South America, the Pat Robertson/Jimmy Swaggart radicals of North America, the rebels running wild in Africa, and the Tamil tigers of East Asia. They're not Muslim. They all follow different religions. But they do not make a significant part of the population of Christians or other theists. Same as the radicals: only 1-5% of Muslims are radicals, and 95% are the good Muslims who follow Islam.

Quote: Thus, in this modern world, people not unlike the Vikings or Ancient Greeks in a sense of warrior-society has been thrust into a global arena where now their way of life is threatend by Globalism.

Our way of life is not being threatened by Globalism, but is being confronted with Western society. This is "culture clash". We're now in the first steps of integration into the rest of the world, but this Western culture threatens to dominate ours, and our culture is our heritage, to which we have a right to. We can not give way to another culture to domineer us for the rest of our lives. In doing that, we don't commit attacks, but rather we fight the battle at our cities and our homes: preserving our traditions and rites.

Quote: This I believe is the cause of terrorism. Not that they want to spread Islam or believe Islam to be under attack, but because their society is under attack, regardless of who from, and their method of retaliation for centuries has been the sword.

It is said that "Islam was spread by the sword". Not a material sword, but the sword of Islam:
http://www.islamvoice.com/islam/Q+A/was_islam_spread_by_the_sword.htm
http://www.swordoftruth.com/cgi-bin/forum.pl?action=display&num=3578
Retaliation by defense is justified. What the AQ are doing does not represent the entire Arab/Muslim population, who want to live their lives as much as anyone does.

[cap'n queasy]

Freemason wrote: Religion is all pervasive in the Islamic world, but is it a cause of the effect we perceive as "terrorism"? I believe not.

I believe that culture is more powerful of a cause. Culture is often mistaken as being made-up of various components including "religion" however, more accurately, a religion is reflected by one's culture...

The Islamic religion is very much the product of the Arab culture, and T.E. Lawrence does a very detailed job at trying to explain just who the Arabs are.

In that explaination and others, I think you'll find that the war-like ways of the Arab is from the history of their warring tribes which even today is not fully gone, and just 100 years ago was completely the same as it was 1,000 years ago.

Thus, in this modern world, people not unlike the Vikings or Ancient Greeks in a sense of warrior-society has been thrust into a global arena where now their way of life is threatend by Globalism.

This I believe is the cause of terrorism. Not that they want to spread Islam or believe Islam to be under attack, but because their society is under attack, regardless of who from, and their method of retaliation for centuries has been the sword.

I think there is probably a lot of truth to that opinion, although the religion known as Islam is a major factor in these folks outlook. I have to say I find their refusal to comprise certain moral values admirable. I believe Islam has some major theological errors IMPO but they do attempt to adhere to a moral code while the philosophy of most of the modern world denies any moral absolute as it slides into decadence. Many of the things that Islam finds fault with in the western civilization are valid IMHO.


Islam is not compatible at all with the emerging morally relativistic, secular humanist/socialist world order and that is why they resist it.

[Saracen]

Good insight, queasy. :-D
We still have to talk Scripture and Koran... you and me. But I need to find a suitable topic that we both share. I owe ya. :wink: