Comments on: A Debate With Someone Who Defends Female Suicide Bombers

By: massaraksh

massaraksh — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 19:25:02 +0000

The Golden Age of Islamic Civilization happened because Islam was weak & Muslims were a small, militarized minority surrounded by a sea of non-Muslim subjects, & Muslim rulers were concerned mainly with collecting taxes & waging wars with all of their neighbors. This allowed the free-thinking intellectuals to benefit from the Greco-Roman heritage & combine it with the scientific knowledge from India & China. Once Islam “matured”, the mullahs had smothered free inquiry, & the Islamic world has become an intellectual wasteland.

Egypt, Syria, & Mesopotamia were the cradle of the world civilization – there’s no need to explain what Islam has done to them.

By: Mary Madigan

Mary Madigan — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 19:46:47 +0000

Emily Brink asks: What about far-right Christians who bomb abortion clinics and say that ‘God hates fags”?

The Christians wo say that “God hates fags” are led by Fred PHelps. Phelps’ who is a Democrat. Phelps worked for Al Gore’s campaign, in part because he believed the Gore hated gays, because Gore opposed a “gay bill of rights” and stated that homosexuality was not something that “society should affirm”.

Most of the members of the small Westboro Baptist church are members of the same (Phelps) family. Phelps and his son hosted a Gore fundraiser, which Gore and his wife attended.

By: Howie

Howie — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 17:51:05 +0000

Islam’s golden age?

You mean when they butchered and destroyed India and Alexandria?

http://www.islam-watch.org/SujitDas/Holy-Islam-Illiteracy-Poverty-Backwardness.htm

By: J.J. Sefton

J.J. Sefton — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 14:40:57 +0000

After reading Andrew Bostom’s link to dhimiiwatch, I take back what I said: the past is ABSOLUTELY RELEVANT to what happens today. Very embarrassed to have written such a dumb comment

consider me chastised

By: tanstaafl

tanstaafl — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 14:30:50 +0000

…what I learned in college, at the University of California no less (Emily)

It took me 20 years of hard work to undo my University of California brainwashing.

And it’s only gotten worse, a few years back I read of a Palestinian friendly course being set up at Berzerkley, uh, Berkeley, where the actual course description read something like…If you’re sympathetic to Israel, don’t enroll in this course.

This kind of phenomenon is, as far as I can tell, going on at more than a few US universities.

Good luck untangling your thinking, Emily.

By: Sylvia Navon

Sylvia Navon — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 13:36:58 +0000

I do not claim to be an expert on the world of Muslim women, but from the first, I wondered how the women who committed bombings had “fallen out” of the very conservative world into which they were born. Subsequently, their biographies began to emerge. Loss of “proper” status within their community seemed to have been the fate of several of these women. Considering, the control and rigidity of the social rules which govern their lives, their behavior would have been very unusual if they had not already been
outside of the acceptable.

By: Godefroi

Godefroi — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 12:27:31 +0000

Wow…someone earned a comment from the esteemed Dr. Bostom. I’m truly impressed.

Thanks to all for the honesty here.

Drs. Chesler and Bostom – keep up the great and greatly-appreciated work.

~GdB

By: J.J. Sefton

J.J. Sefton — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 11:03:06 +0000

The Golden Age of al Andalus, however Jews and Christians played a part, is irrelevent to TODAY.

At one billion strong, even the small minority of violent extremists adds up to tens of millions of people. The majority either actively or passively agree with them. The rest sadly suffer in silence, intimidated and afraid for their lives if they speak out, the occasional and rare Ayan Hirsi Ali notwithstanding.

What a world.

By: Chip

Chip — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 04:18:44 +0000

The Golden Age of Spain was largely a creation of historians who were trying to make Christian leaders more tolerant by imagining a fictional Andalusia to compare favorably to the Christians.

So much for harmless lies.

By: Chip

Chip — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 04:13:29 +0000

Emily Brink,

Seen any abortion clinic bombings since last millenium?

Meanwhile

Debating these issues with someone who only spouts the opening talking points is very tiresome and I try to avoid it these days.

But, everyone knows arranged marriages between first cousins is the norm in places like Saudia Arabia, Pakistan and surrounding environs. To be fair, India is a leader in arranged marriages, but not to first cousins.

I just went to search the subject and I typed “Arabs marry…” “Cousins” appeared as the first option before I could finish.

You should try research.