I felt that The March of the Penguins had those same movie flaws...maybe what the movie is really about is how Emperor Penguins are in a constant pimp vs. pimp power struggle. Seriously, though--it is a great movie.
ha, I left aht bit out. early morning, no coffee, blah blah.
Aslan's thesis is not a new one. His idea is that the conflict between the West and Islam is not a clash between civilizations, but rather an internal struggle between fundamentalists (or, more specifically, violent Jihadists) and moderate (or at least non-violent) Muslims. Also, a subtext is the debate over whether Islam should be seen as essentially egalitarian or as an authoritarian, static set of rules for all aspects of life.
In that way, the most extreme anti-Muslim tendency won't be convinced - they don't believe in moderate Muslims in the first place.
The thesis as you state it seems to be living itself out in Iraq today (literally violent Jihadies [amusing spelling error... Jihadies! Sounds almost cute] v the non violent public.
I don't think I've encountered the word egalitarian used as an alternative to authoritarian before. It confused me thoroughly, though I think I see your meaning now.
I think I was paralleling egalatarian with static rather than authoritarian, but I suppose it works both ways of sorts.
The interesting thing about the debate is that both sides tend to look at the umma in Yathrib (which became known as Medina) as a model for Islamic society. The moderates tend to emphasize the spirit of egalitarianism in Muhammed's social teachings (ie Muhammed increased the rights of women and emphasized equality in a way that was a drastic departure from contemporary Arab society) and the fundamentalists stressing the literal teachings themselves.
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Aslan's thesis is not a new one. His idea is that the conflict between the West and Islam is not a clash between civilizations, but rather an internal struggle between fundamentalists (or, more specifically, violent Jihadists) and moderate (or at least non-violent) Muslims. Also, a subtext is the debate over whether Islam should be seen as essentially egalitarian or as an authoritarian, static set of rules for all aspects of life.
In that way, the most extreme anti-Muslim tendency won't be convinced - they don't believe in moderate Muslims in the first place.
Reply
I don't think I've encountered the word egalitarian used as an alternative to authoritarian before. It confused me thoroughly, though I think I see your meaning now.
Reply
The interesting thing about the debate is that both sides tend to look at the umma in Yathrib (which became known as Medina) as a model for Islamic society. The moderates tend to emphasize the spirit of egalitarianism in Muhammed's social teachings (ie Muhammed increased the rights of women and emphasized equality in a way that was a drastic departure from contemporary Arab society) and the fundamentalists stressing the literal teachings themselves.
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