The Voice of America was once a key component of America's ideological struggle against Communism. But against a new threat it seems to be having trouble summoning the requisite backbone. In this interview with the author of a new book on terrorism, the author explains why she profiled Christian cultists and Jewish militants in a book on contemporary terrorism: "To begin with, it is only Islamist terrorists today that are causing major threats to international security. But I wanted to include the other religious traditions, because at different points in history, every religion has produced significant armies of religious killers. There is nothing unique about Islam."
It is true that every religious tradition has been used to justify atrocities. But it is also true that Islam's doctrine of jihad is unique among religions. No other religion has a developed theology, law, and tradition mandating warfare against non-believers. While Christianity developed the idea of the Crusades late in its history and discarded it long ago, jihad has been taught throughout Islamic history as a duty of the Muslim community, and is still taught today.
Even worse may be the title of the article: "How Is Religion Used by Terrorists to Produce Suicide Bombers?"
How's that again? Religion is used to produce suicide bombers? Where are the Christian, Jewish, Hindu and Buddhist suicide bombers? In the entire world today, there is only one religion producing suicide bombers, and using core beliefs of the religion to recruit and motivate such bombers. Hint: it ain't Methodism.
Where have I read this before?
Islamic Law and Islamic Terror in Palestinian Authority Ideology
http://www.pmw.org.il/new/weekly.html#article2
[links to video of quotes below]
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/INM12/message/1741
He is wrong on all counts.
Both crusades were started by the Muslims. Christians only defended themselves.
I can’t think of any wide scale religious based violence that any where approaches what the Muslims have done (about 50 million over the last 1400 years in war, atrocity, etc)
Now lets talk about the death that has been done by secular atheistic nationalism.
1. World War 1, 25 million in total.
2. World War 2, 50 million in total. Post World War 2 cleanup, 3-5 million.
3. Russia (Civil war to Communism) 55-65 million in total.
4. Asia (Chinese civil war, communism, Tibet, other Asian atrocities including Vietnam, Korea, and other communist uprisings) 100 million.
This is close to 1/4 a billion people. That is, 250,000,000 people. That is like wiping the United States clean. This is from the last century alone and was all started by ATHIESTIC Secular causes.
Christian, Buddhist, Jewish, Hindu, and all other non Muslim atrocities combined can't even compare to what secular atheism has done let alone the Muslim atrocities, which have figures as high as 50 million over the last 1400 years.
http://users.erols.com/mwhite28/warstat1.htm
Compared to Muslim or secular atheist, I’ll choose Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism, hell, I’ll even choose Wicca’s and pagans over Islam or Secular atheism.
Again, deaths caused by Muslims in last 1400 years, 50 million.
Again, deaths caused by Secular atheists in the last 100 years, 250 million.
If you are lucky, you can count 1 million non-Islam religious atrocities (not in defense) in the last 3000 years.
Consider this article fisked.
What about the Hindu suicide bombers of LTTE in Sri Lanka? Or the Shinto kamikazes during WW2? Maoist rebels in Nepal? (Incidentally, LTTE also targets Muslim Tamils and Muslim Sinhala, along with the Buddhist majority)
Infidel#11: You have to consider the fact that in the past 100 years, the world population is much higher than the 7th Century. 50 million, say during the first 300 years of Islam, could (but I'm not sure) indeed be compared with 250 million dead because of secular reasons.
Besides, I personally think that communism is pretty much like a religion. It takes the function of a religion, that why you would find a lot more fervent Commies than fervant Libertarians, Objectivists, Capitalists, Nazis, etc. Karl Marx invented Communism largely because of the incompatiblities between religion and pure socialism and the fact that his father converted his family from Judaism to Luteranism . His first essay, "Religion: The Glue That Binds Society Together"
And typical of communist dictatorships too were idolization of a certain dictator (in Russia, for example Lenin, later Stalin, in China Mao Zedong, in Cuba Fidel Castro, North Korea has Kim Jong Il). People fight under the flag of communism extremely similar to the way Islamist fight for shariah. Most of them refuse the democratic way, prefer the guerilla method. Communism was something forced upon much of its followers.
"What about the Hindu suicide bombers of LTTE in Sri Lanka? Or the Shinto kamikazes during WW2? Maoist rebels in Nepal? (Incidentally, LTTE also targets Muslim Tamils and Muslim Sinhala, along with the Buddhist majority)"
Sir, I didn't mean to say that there were no other suicide bombers. Of course there are. But Islamic suicide bombing, which occurs not only in Israel but in Russia, Kashmir, Indonesia, etc., is unique for its being grounded in religious tenets. While not all Muslims subscribe to these tenets, the fact that suicide bombing recruiters can invoke key elements of Islam when recruiting makes the practice all the more difficult to eradicate.
"Now lets talk about the death that has been done by secular atheistic nationalism"
The poster confuses makes his point by implying that these wars were "secular".
That is NOT the case.
These wars were mainly Ideological and therefore quasi religious in narure.
Nazism was a mystical neo religious entity which was as readily lapped up by the Germans as is wahhabism by the miltant muslims.
Communism sought to and did take over the minds of millions and resulted in mass murder. Another Quasi religion.
Religious killings are merely a sub division of ideological killings. The only difference is the belief in a universal deity.
but the reality behind all this slaughter is territorial .
whether the despoliation and murder of the European jews to acquire their assets
whether the advance of islam in third world countries and in the former soviet union
whether the mayhem of waring faction in the former yougoslavia
whether the Nazi invasion of Europe and Russia.
the Japanese invasion of China etc. etc
Ideology and religion are used as weapons to indoctrinate soldiers to fight territorial wars.
Man's greed is a large part of the human condition and responsible.
C