Foxy

I am afraid your last post is a piece of self-righteous humbuggery

Dear Foxy

as I said:

"I know that trying to persuade you of this is futile..so I won't try :) all I can do is state it for the record."

Which...is what I did.

You are right about one thing there is enough hatred in the world, as exemplified in the quote I provided from that 'fundamentalist' site ..and mind you, where I specifically mentioned it was a fundamentalist site.

You say we can agree to disagree.. but I'm not sure what you actually disagree "about" ?

I cannot imagine that your 'unity in diversity' claim will include in your own mind the extremes of any faith or militant ideology either left or right... would this be correct ?

There can never be "unity" between Hyper Capitalists and Revolutionary Marxists....can there ?

If there can...please explain how?

We can have 'co-existence' where one mob is trying to gain supremacy over the other.. held back by law not intent..

So.. the strategy embraced by the Marxists is to achieve their goals WITH the law rather than by blood on the streets.

(see new thread if approved "Clause 61 and Gay Rights" for a detailed examination of that actual process.

They have moved away from 'REVolution' and, as guided by Herbert Marcuse and his Frankfurt school of neo marxist critical theorists are now using EVOlutionary changes in the law to bring us all to "Marxist Utopia"

But.. not the hell on MY watch!

Dear Steven,

As I've stated previously:

It's best to remember that any criticism
born of ignorance, mistrust, or hatred is
not only ineffectual and a complete waste
of time, it's harmful and elicits equally
pointless and damaging responses.

Prejudice has made damned experts of us all!

Dear AG,

Unless you have real experience and knowledge,
what can you say that won't sound foolish or
worse bigoted, to someone who knows and
appreciates more than you do? You're not likely
to be in a position to have something worth
saying unless you spend years immersing yourself
in gaining knowledge, experience, and understanding,
and only then if your agenda isn't hostile.

Foxy wrote:

"Prejudice has made damned experts of us all!"

Yes it has.

Spot on!

My Concise Oxford Dictionary defines prejudice as:

"A preconceived opinion that is not based on reason or actual experience..."

Usually he word "prejudice" is used to characterise a negative opinion. But that need not be the case. ANY preconceived opinion, positive negative or neutral, that is not based on "reason" or "actual experience" is a "prejudice."

When it comes to contemporary Islam I submit it is you who is "prejudiced" and me who is making a considered judgment about the nature of that belief system and the effects it has on many, not all, of its adherents

Dear Steven,

According to the unabridged edition
of "The Random House Dictionary of
The English Language," the word
"prejudice," means :

1) An unfavourable opinion or feeling
formed beforehand or without knowledge,
thoughts, or reason.

2) unreasonable feelings, opinions, or
attitudes, esp. of a hostile nature,
directed against a racial, religious or
national group.

You really need to respect the right of others
Steven, to disagree with you and learn to test
things; always check your ideas against facts,
and be ready to discard even a cherished belief
if it does not conform to them.

Foxy wrote:

"You really need to respect the right of others Steven, to disagree with you..."

I always do. You will never find me calling for censorship of any sort.

Specifically it is not me calling for curbs on the freedom to subject ANY belief system to critique, analysis, satire and scorn.

It is not me trying to stop anybody expressing an opinion on the grounds that my feelings may be hurt.

I am not seeking to justify violence against those who differ from me.

I am not calling for cartoonists to cease and desist.

I do not regard anyone who expresses a contrary opinion as being guilty of "hate speech".

But respecting your right to disagree does not necessarily mean I respect the opinions you express. That's part of MY right to disagree with YOU.

"...learn to test things; always check your ideas against facts,
and be ready to discard even a cherished belief if it does not conform to them."

Once again, I am always ready to to change my mind if the facts do not support my opinion.

Are you?

To me the FACTS support the view that contemporary Islam is a totalitarian ideology like Stalinism. That does not mean every Muslim has murder in his heart. As I have said on a number of occasions, most Christians are not as good as their religion and most Muslims are not as bad as their religion.

Semantic arguments aside I repeat what I wrote previously. Your purported inability to see contemporary Islam for what it is strikes me as a refusal to face up to the evidence. Self-righteous humbuggery is not a valid form of argument