…where our new ruling class (by acclamation!) stands:
Madeline Albright: “Islam is maybe the most democratic religion because there is nobody between you and God. So I do not think that is something that can be used as reason not to have Muslim democracies.
Albright – Jewish, as I recall, not that it matters – must have missed that whole “Protestant Reformation” bit.
At any rate – it seems Islam is used for exactly that reason – there is exactly one stable Moslem democracy (Turkey), two deeply flawed democracies with huge numbers of Moslems (India and Indonesia), and a few more that show signs of promise (Senegal and, to an extent, Mali).
The return to prominence of Madeline Albright, who under Clinton (eww) was the worst Secretary of State since Warren Christopher, a woman who’s always treated American Exceptionalism as an inconvenient hurdle, is one of the great tragedies of Obama’s win.
Mitch, in the past you’ve noted Mali as a model, today, it seems you use them in a bit different light because it suits your purpose.
Every time you righties choose to demonize Islam, you lose the argument. There are hundreds of millions of moderate muslims, regardless of the prevailing government in which they happen to reside, including more than a hundred million in India. The instability of Indonesia has far more to do with corrupt/dictatorial tactics of their minority (but ultra-powerful) chinese ethnic Indonesians than anything else.
These kinds of simplistic comparisons are exactly what leads to catastrophic policy like our conduct in Iraq from 2003-2006. We (ok wiat, I mean Republicans) are so ignorant of the underlying problems that we look like (and act like) arrogant fools in other cultures.
Albright is silly to say ONLY Islam has no intercessor, clearly Protestant faiths don’t believe in the intercession of saints, and, as you say, Judaism (not Jewish) doesn’t either. I’m not sure you’d win an argument with Albright on international knowledge, she may have indelicatley, or inartfully said something – but still, it’s not worth calling out that kind of comparison anyway (on her part).
Islam is plagued (and that’s the right term) by a lack of central religious authority and guidance. As such, anyone with a prayer rug can call themselves an Imam, and not suffer the wrath of the church for preaching out and out heresy, but suggesting that Islam prevents democracy is assinine. There are more Atheistic Democracy’s than theere are Christain, and certainly more of South America (and Central America) is Christian and dictatorial, so the same finger you are pointing can be pointed at Christianity. The point is, I think religion is abused, not just Islam, but the roots of dictatorship are economic, not religious. In that, both Albright, and you, are dead wrong.
In my humble opinion
She converted. You can have her!
Mitch, you forgot Malaysia.
“Every time you righties choose to demonize Islam, you lose the argument.”
Peevee, feel free to push your support for a culture that mutilates girls over at your Penisblog.
I would hope everyone else around here, even AssClown, would demonize a culture engaged in female mutilation. You sure are one sick SOB, peev.
Peev said: “Every time you righties choose to demonize Islam, you lose the argument.”
Peevee, feel free to push your support for a culture that mutilates girls over at your Penisblog.
I would hope everyone else around here, even AssClown, would demonize a culture engaged in female mutilation. You sure are one sick SOB, peev.
This ranks right up there with your comment about the last nail in the coffin of the idea of Israel.
Banal Peev.
“Ther are hundreds of millions of moderate Muslims.” Maybe. But no moderate Islam.
jimf — no, that’s not the case. Sheikh Palazzi, for example, preaches not only Islamic moderation, but a moderate Islam; see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdul_Hadi_Palazzi .
If you’re going to argue that the Sheikh is an outlier, I won’t disagree, alas.
jimf – what joelr said. Also, Aga Khan’s Ismaili sect of Islam is moderate.