Chris Hayes Offers A Useful Perspective For Secular Liberals
Background:
A surprisingly good overview by CNN: Bill Maher's Muslim problem
Weighted Muslim Population Distribution Map
Distribution Of The 2 Main - And Generally Opposing - Sects of Islam
Note: There few thousand (or hundred thousand or so) radical Muslims in a population of 1.57 billion Muslims.
A surprisingly good overview by CNN: Bill Maher's Muslim problem
Weighted Muslim Population Distribution Map
Distribution Of The 2 Main - And Generally Opposing - Sects of Islam
Note: There few thousand (or hundred thousand or so) radical Muslims in a population of 1.57 billion Muslims.
The Main Discussion;
2:20 has to be my favorite moment with Bill Maher shrugging and Ben Affleck exclaiming "Jesus.
This was in response to "Islam is the mother load of bad ideas" - Listen to white guy in second video below.
2:50 "people standing up to them like Malala or...' (bunch of other studies not covered in the media as it would be the opposite of smearing which is the media's current goal)
At 4:05 the guy comes with an interesting idea that i might be inclined to agree with (te Muslim world is going through a dark age, not as bad as the Christian dark age with burning of witches and all, but a dark age nevertheless).
It's important to understand 2 things about that idea 1. He estimates it at 20% which seems fair to me. 2. Holding strange beliefs is normal for large human populations, for example;
One in four Americans think Obama may be the antichrist, survey says - Poll asking voters about conspiracy theories reveals alarming beliefs – including 37% believing global warming to be a hoax
Quarter of Republicans Think Obama May Be the Anti-Christ
A5 6:10 the Michael Steele does get it right that the media doesnt cover important stuff making most news a sort of smear campaign (one which Bill Maher has been witnessing for years already and probably doesn't realize it yet).
7:50 Ben Afflek is right we look at Iraq etc. and think oooops we made a mistake and don't even carry out an investigation(the last part is me).
At no point did they cover economic situations of those involved. It's touched upon in the second video below.
I'm very confused where Bill Maher is getting the 90% figure on how Muslims feel about someone leaving thier religion. Oh! Nevermind. Found it. From CNN:
Maher then cited a Pew Research poll that he claimed found that 90% of Egyptians supported the death penalty for those who left Islam. I'm not sure where Maher got his numbers, but a 2013 Pew poll actually found only 64% of Egyptians supported this -- still alarmingly high, but not 90%.
Another useful extractfrom CNN:
More importantly, Egypt does not define the Muslim world. Rather, Egypt is simply one of 47 Muslim-majority nations. That same poll found that in Turkey, a nation that has almost as many Muslims as Egypt, less than 5% supported the death penalty for leaving Islam. Maher also has left out that only 13 Muslim nations have penalties for apostasy, while 34 do not.
So who truly defines Islam? To Maher, clearly it's the worst of our faith. That's something you would expect to hear from a far-right bigot, not a liberal.
Maher's remarks dismayed American Muslims across the country but won applause from all the hosts on Fox News' "The Five." When you're a progressive and a gaggle of Fox News hosts praises your views, you know something is seriously wrong.
Note: On the belief that individual Muslims should be out fighting the rhetoric of fundamentalists... first off, it's a Fox News endorsed belief (with Muslims under death threats from Christians supporting them) and secondly, individuals of any culture tend to be cowards. Only the masses are brave. Bill Maher thinks he's brave because he has free speech in a world where he can speak freely. He would turn tail like a coward if he ever had to face any real difficulties;
On Topic - Political Parties - The Democratic Party: Stephen knows that when someone misbehaves, it's natural to assume that person is a Democrat.
The Beginnings of A Real Discussion On The Matter...
Articles (Updates):
Why Bill Maher's Defense of Muslim-Bashing Just Doesn’t Make Any Sense
For all his odes to liberal ideals, Maher's latest effort to demonize Muslims reveals a disturbing, illiberal truth.
Atheism, Islam and liberalism: This is what we are really fighting about... The debate raging in American culture boils down to an even simpler divide than you think
Meet Some of America's Most Dangerous Islamophobes—You Might Be Shocked Who They Are
When Ben Affleck and Bill Maher Debate Islam, Everyone Loses
Bill Maher on Paris Attack: 'There Are No Great Religions—They're All Stupid and Dangerous'
"I'm asking liberals to turn toward the truth."
10 of the Worst Terror Attacks by Extreme Christians and Far-Right White Men
Most of the terrorist activity in the U.S. in recent years has not come from Muslims, but from radical Christianists, white supremacists and far-right militia groups.
Hey Bill Maher, Being Liberal Doesn't Excuse You From Islamophobia - A look at why the comedian seems to have so much animus against Muslims.
15 New Rules That Bill Maher Should Adopt When He Talks About Islam on His TV Show
Things tend to get ugly when the Middle East comes up on Maher's HBO show.
Bill Maher and Salman Rushdie Praise Muslims for Condemning Attacks, but Blame Islam’s ‘Bad Ideas’ - The Real Time host continues his criticism of Islam.
For all his odes to liberal ideals, Maher's latest effort to demonize Muslims reveals a disturbing, illiberal truth.
Atheism, Islam and liberalism: This is what we are really fighting about... The debate raging in American culture boils down to an even simpler divide than you think
Meet Some of America's Most Dangerous Islamophobes—You Might Be Shocked Who They Are
When Ben Affleck and Bill Maher Debate Islam, Everyone Loses
Bill Maher on Paris Attack: 'There Are No Great Religions—They're All Stupid and Dangerous'
"I'm asking liberals to turn toward the truth."
10 of the Worst Terror Attacks by Extreme Christians and Far-Right White Men
Most of the terrorist activity in the U.S. in recent years has not come from Muslims, but from radical Christianists, white supremacists and far-right militia groups.
Hey Bill Maher, Being Liberal Doesn't Excuse You From Islamophobia - A look at why the comedian seems to have so much animus against Muslims.
15 New Rules That Bill Maher Should Adopt When He Talks About Islam on His TV Show
Things tend to get ugly when the Middle East comes up on Maher's HBO show.
Bill Maher and Salman Rushdie Praise Muslims for Condemning Attacks, but Blame Islam’s ‘Bad Ideas’ - The Real Time host continues his criticism of Islam.
The Daily Show discusses the idea that Muslims need to condemn every act done in the name of their religion:
The Condemnologists - Following an insensitive tweet from Rupert Murdoch about Muslims, Jason Jones, Jessica Williams and Hasan Minhaj condemn those responsible for the Charlie Hebdo attack. (5:41):
The Condemnologists - Following an insensitive tweet from Rupert Murdoch about Muslims, Jason Jones, Jessica Williams and Hasan Minhaj condemn those responsible for the Charlie Hebdo attack. (5:41):
An introduction to the sort of crybabies athiests tend to be.
The Daily Show: Culture War Update - The Dividening of America - American Atheists vs. Ground Zero Cross - The American Atheists organization files a lawsuit to exclude a steel beam Ground Zero cross from the 9/11 memorial, suggesting a giant atom sculpture instead. (2:56):
The Daily Show: Culture War Update - The Dividening of America - American Atheists vs. Ground Zero Cross - The American Atheists organization files a lawsuit to exclude a steel beam Ground Zero cross from the 9/11 memorial, suggesting a giant atom sculpture instead. (2:56):
My theory, since college, has been that they encountered the various discrepancies between their religion & science and it broke their faith. So they have been throwing a tantrum ever since ... minds completely closed except to the most simplistic explanations. Maybe, in their minds, the hurtful lies of Santa becomes the hurtful lie of religion, with it's primary myth making aspect ignored as "irrelevant". Interestingly enough, I haven't noticed a corresponding pattern in the Muslim world.
Bill Maher is wrong... the blaspheme law was adopted from British Law from it's colonial days (probably not to seem below the mighty British the Muslims in India-Pakistan said 'we will punish people for Blaspheme as well, see we are no less than the British')
"...But they uttered blasphemy ... if they repent, it will be best for them, but if they turn back, Allah will punish them...." [Holy Qur'an 9:74] (i.e. it's not the Muslim Believers responsibility to punish blasphemers. This misconception is because of a lack of Muslim Leadership - most probably haven't read the Quran like the Christians with their Bible - Bill Maher is neither... technically he's a "Christian Atheist" from the "Constitutional Era of Human History" as future historians will probably see it. It is not the job of a believer to do God's job for him. That a sign of pride, ego & arrogance to assume to know the will of God.)
Turns out the Blasphemy Law in Pakistan is actually a modern rendition of Ancient British Law!
When were Pakistan's blasphemy laws adopted? What fueled them?
According to the public policy think tank Jinnah Institute, Pakistan’s blasphemy laws originated in British colonial laws drafted in 1860 to protect religious beliefs and customs.
In the 1980s, under the rule of hardline Islamist and military dictator Gen. Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, the laws were amended to include life imprisonment and the death penalty.
Zia-ul-Haq accused previous governments of leading the country away from the principles of Islam and openly stated his mission to return Pakistan to a conservative Islamist state. Zia-ul-Haq’s reign is widely viewed as the “Islamization” of Pakistan.
Critics say that soon after the blasphemy law was amended under Zia-ul-Haq, many accusers began misusing the law and exploiting Pakistan’s ineffective justice system to settle personal scores and persecute minorities.
The Jinnah Institute says nine cases of blasphemy were reported in Pakistan between 1929 and 1982. Over the past 15 years, the number of cases has reached into the thousands.
Update - Jan 16 2015:
Although I'm right about the origin of the law in the 60 year old Pakistan, turns out the blaspheme law is even older than I thought (which makes sense, given some of the saints stories I remember). It's a remnant of the medieval age, a period I haven't studied much. Dealing with this tradition has to come from within the Islamic States themselves. Just keep in mind that the main thing the Quran has to say about the other "people of the book" is that their religious texts have been corrupted... so allowing a medieval interpretation to subsume the facts is bad for Muslims - from the Quran's point of view.
Has Islam been interpreted incorrectly?
Does Islam have a problem with blasphemy? Mustafa Akyol says interpretations of the Quran that punishes blasphemy with death are purely “man-made.”
Another translation mistake (it's 72 raisins NOT 72 virgins):
The Daily Show: Fareed Zakaria says suicide bombers get 72 white raisins, not 72 virgins. (6:41):
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