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Reader comment on item: Once considered anti-Islam, senior scholar says he's now in the middle
in response to reader comment: Who is afraid of Islam?

Submitted by the Grand Infidel of Kaffiristan (Australia), Aug 29, 2010 at 02:35

Mr Ghulam writes:
"The contest between Islam and the so-called western modernism ..'

What is 'so-called' modernism? It is or it is not. describing it as 'so called' indicates you think it is not. Please explain why, when you compare the West with Islam - you describe it as 'so called'.

Why do you see it as a contest? The West existed quite happily before muslims decided they'd like to live there. There never was any contest between the West and islamic world. The Islamic world was more or less irrelevant.

'....will produce its own synthesis on merit; of the both sides, irrespective of the age and time difference or whether the ideas are presented by a desert herdsman or a Washington politician or a Ivy league arms chair ideologue."
but applying the same logic to the Islamic side of this equation - islam has one hell of a lot to learn from the West.
'.... In fact Islamic sharia does not bring anything new ..'

Too true. Stonings, amputations etc were excised from western culture ages ago. There is NOTHING new that Islam brings to anything - that was not already known. In any field, especially jurisprudence and religious areas.
'..other than highlighting and prioritizing certain ideas of justice and fairplay.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dtfp_UPfcpU&feature=player_embedded

'.....Perfection in any civilization does not come with either by mere passing of the time or ghettoizing to reject all outside ideas. "
Good thought - tell that to your mullahs, sheiks, ayatollahs, imams etc
"The western civilization is sure to accept better ideas from Islamic ideologies in a natural process of interaction of ideas. "

If Islam had any - anything original and demonstrably useful - that was not a rehash of other beliefs or systems - I'm sure the worldwide media would find them out and present them. Sadly - hasn't happened yet. but we wait with great anticipation.
'Mere barricading will not help. It only shows the weakness of the western panic stricken status-quoists who are afraid of change; especially that is identified with Islam.''

You think anti-terrorist initiatives in western countries are based on fear and panic? You might be smart enough to understand that western democracies are highly organised. They have various systems that deal with specific threats. You have a police force in India don't you - even anti-terrorist forces? If terrorists present a threat to the state or society in general - operations are set in motion to neutralise the threat. It does not mater which religion or ideology terrorists have. The fact that terrorism these days is 99% Islamic based is an issue that MUSLIMS have to look at. Security forces will deal with them no matter what their derivation. Nothing to do with fear and panic - rather clarity and efficiency. A problem is seen to be developing which harms or is likely to harm the functioning of society - so it is dealt with. Cooly and surgically.

Your sentence is better re-phrased as:
'Mere barricading will not help. It only shows the weakness of the Islamic panic stricken status-quoists who are afraid of change; especially that is identified with anything western.'

Submitting....

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