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Andrew McCarthy has written a must-read article on why we shouldn’t be negotiating with Syria and Iran Iraq.
He makes the telling point that many of us don’t have a clue about what motivates radical Islam, while those driving the radical Islamists understand us very well indeed, and reject our western way of doing business not because they don’t understand western/multicultural/postmodern values, but because they do.
Key grafs:
[ . . . ]
“Islamic countries, moreover, are not rejecting Western democracy because they haven’t experienced it. They reject it on principle. For them, the president’s euphonious rhetoric about democratic empowerment is offensive. They believe, sincerely, that authority to rule comes not from the people but from Allah; that there is no separation of religion and politics; that free people do not have authority to legislate contrary to Islamic law; that Muslims are superior to non-Muslims, and men to women; and that violent jihad is a duty whenever Muslims deem themselves under attack … no matter how speciously.
“These people are not morons. They adhere to a highly developed belief system that is centuries old, wildly successful, and for which many are willing to die. They haven’t refused to democratize because the Federalist Papers are not yet out in Arabic. They decline because their leaders have freely chosen to decline. They see us as the mortal enemy of the life they believe Allah commands. Their demurral is wrong, but it is principled, not ignorant. And we insult them by suggesting otherwise.
[ . . . ]
So when you read Mr. Ahmadinejad’s letter, keep in mind that he fully understands that (if not why) we view the world through a postmodern prism which regards force, violence and warfare as being obsolete tools of national survival, and which reduces virtually all issues to ones of racism, western hegemony, oppression, western guilt, victimization, “it’s all our fault-ism,” etc.
It’s profoundly disturbing to me that he should understand the western mind so well, and we the Islamic mind so poorly.
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Pajamas Media appreciates your comments that abide by the following guidelines:
1. Avoid profanities or foul language unless it is contained in a necessary quote or is relevant to the comment.
2. Stay on topic.
3. Disagree, but avoid ad hominem attacks.
4. Threats are treated seriously and reported to law enforcement.
5. Spam and advertising are not permitted in the comments area.
The clause regarding "hate speech" has been deleted because readers criticized it as being too loosely defined. We agreed.
These guidelines are very general and cannot cover every possible situation. Please don't assume that Pajamas Media management agrees with or otherwise endorses any particular comment. We reserve the right to filter or delete comments or to deny posting privileges entirely at our discretion. If you feel your comment was filtered inappropriately, please email us at story@pajamasmedia.com.
2 Comments
1. bourne2y:I’ve often wondered if that is exactly what he said. Haven’t you?
Nov 29, 2006 - 3:41 pm 2. Brian:Andrew McCarthy has written a must-read article on why we shouldn’t be negotiating with Syria and Iran Iraq.
He makes the telling point that many of us don’t have a clue about what motivates radical Islam, while those driving the radical Islamists understand us very well indeed, and reject our western way of doing business not because they don’t understand western/multicultural/postmodern values, but because they do.
Key grafs:
[ . . . ]
“Islamic countries, moreover, are not rejecting Western democracy because they haven’t experienced it. They reject it on principle. For them, the president’s euphonious rhetoric about democratic empowerment is offensive. They believe, sincerely, that authority to rule comes not from the people but from Allah; that there is no separation of religion and politics; that free people do not have authority to legislate contrary to Islamic law; that Muslims are superior to non-Muslims, and men to women; and that violent jihad is a duty whenever Muslims deem themselves under attack … no matter how speciously.
“These people are not morons. They adhere to a highly developed belief system that is centuries old, wildly successful, and for which many are willing to die. They haven’t refused to democratize because the Federalist Papers are not yet out in Arabic. They decline because their leaders have freely chosen to decline. They see us as the mortal enemy of the life they believe Allah commands. Their demurral is wrong, but it is principled, not ignorant. And we insult them by suggesting otherwise.
[ . . . ]
So when you read Mr. Ahmadinejad’s letter, keep in mind that he fully understands that (if not why) we view the world through a postmodern prism which regards force, violence and warfare as being obsolete tools of national survival, and which reduces virtually all issues to ones of racism, western hegemony, oppression, western guilt, victimization, “it’s all our fault-ism,” etc.
It’s profoundly disturbing to me that he should understand the western mind so well, and we the Islamic mind so poorly.
Brian
Nov 30, 2006 - 1:18 pm