10.13.2007

Essays on Islam: Rules of Engagement

UPDATE:: Hang tight--the translator is almost through wif' ironin' out the cracker-speak. Meanwhile check out some of the sources an' articles down in the hollow: http://porkrindhollow.blogspot.com/





Howdy to all ya'll.


"Islam is systemically evil."


When Aunty said that a few weeks ago it brought a firestorm of responses. (see Belgium: Police Violently Beat Politicians ) I'se been challenged to lay out why I say that violence is intrinsic to Islam. What I did not say is that all Muslims is evil/violent. The comments were to the system of Islam, not individual Muslims.

(wee note: The coming essays will not be in cracker-speak. I done found me a translator)



My point was that the West cannot afford
to miscalculate about what Islam is, and
what its adherents intend in regard to jihad
toward the West. Citizens need to know what Islam is,
what it teaches, what it's own vision of itself holds.



A regular blogger in this community who took exception to the statement that Islam is inherently flawed and asked fer some background on Islam---The first of three installments on Islam will be posted on Monday,22nd.

Seems clear around here that a fair discussion is hard to achieve due to us'uns needing some history and context on this tough topic. So Aunty went off ter consult and git some info that mayhap enhance our effort to understand what Islam is an' isn't.

This is added to my own experience with Islamic folks I'se encountered in international fora since 1997 (yes, before 9/11).

Essentially, some of us'uns is quick to label others with "bigot" whenever Islam is weighed on its merits or demerits. Aunty tried to make the point that the term "bigot" requires a prejudice that is unwarranted or based on lack of knowledge http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Prejudice



Not all prejudices are unwarranted. But to call a person a bigot is to be a bigot unless you can disprove the content of the message and show the messenger is in ignorance on the topic.

If a criticized facet of Islam can be shown to be accurate, then to dismiss the messenger of that accurate statement as a bigot is small minded and does not speak to the content of the message.


I'se trustin' that all who wanna engage here on the topic of Islam are at root good folks who do wanna have an exchange based on content, not on personalities. To that end, here are some guidelines:




1. Assume good will on the part of other posters --a difference of opinion is not evidence of ill
will.

2. Respond to the content of the comments, not to the personality of the poster.

3. Refrain from foul language, but feel free to make strong points to support your comment.
(To describe a groups such as Hamas as "murderous" is to use a strong descriptor, and is
legitimate, while to describe Hamas as " !------ murderers" is uncouth. We's cracker folks
around here, but we ain't uncouth.)

4. Resources and Sources are provided at Aunty's Pork Rind Hollow. Some of yore intended
comments might be answered there. Check before you react.

5. Each essay will stay up at least a week; ya'll is invited to take yore time, read the
supplemental material, research other sources --the goal is a higher level exchange based
on facts, data, history--a few well thought out comments is more productive than a flurry of
reactions and reactions to the first reactions.

6. Each essay session will be more fruitful if we'uns confine comments to the outline of the
specific essay. The three essay topics are:

Islam: What is It? How Did it Develop? What Does It Teach?
Islam and the West: Some History 700-2007 A.D.
Islam and Christianity: Distinctive Differences

Try to retain the focus; doan bring up Crusades in the first essay, save it for the second essay
whar' history wif' the West is the topic.

7. Ever'body is welcome. Aunty likes all stripes of folks, an' ya doan have ter be a
conservative to yak on the Back Porch. The goal is to learn, not emote. Emotions are
natural to a discussion of important topics, but in this limited space we can accomplish more
if we stick to research and save emotions for another forum. We can have a disagreement,
but let's keep it to "my research is better'n yore research", and avoid "my emotion is more
passionate than yore emotion."


Ya'll will find an online Qur'an and a glossary and other resources here: http://porkrindhollow.blogspot.com/

Please take a moment and read the prior post, "Prelude: The Social Contract." It locates the Western source of freedom and is crucial to grasping the enormous difference between the Islamic perception of Man and his rights and the Western understanding of Man and his rights.

I'se aware this ain't simple bloggin', an' mayhap dern few will invest the effort. Thas' fine too. But if some of ya'll is reading but not commenting, please leave a "I'm lurking" note.

Thanky to all.

33 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi. Have you been to Saber Point?
He has posted this:

"Holland is tolerant again" it bragged. Obviously the writer had never read the observation of Thomas Mann, a German social critic whom the Nazis opposed, that

"Tolerance becomes a crime when applied to evil."

Some Dutch have long been tolerant of evil. They were tolerant of the Nazis who occupied Holland during World War II; some of them turned in the Franks, which resulted in the deaths of three family members in a concentration camp. No doubt some Dutch citizen wanted to curry favor with the tyrants in the hope they would kill him last. Today some Dutch citizens want to curry favor with Muslim fanatics through appeasement and looking the other way when the innocent are murdered."

JP (lurking)

Anonymous said...
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Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Ottavio (Otto) Marasco said...

Hi there!
Just wanted to tell ya that I was a lurkin. Will be back again soon but for know its bedtime, it's nearly 2 in the mornin over here ...and thanks muchly for visiting my small world at AI...

Infinitesimal said...

Thar is an ol' lady that we know,
Whose blog caused a riotous scene-o,
She learned to post links,
about how Islam stinks,
But asks that we not be too Emo.

Tapline said...

Hi, just lurking around...thanks for the visit to my blog....will be back...interesting read......

Paul Champagne said...

Glad I stumbled across you back porch Aunty. I think I just might set a spell and lissun up to some of them thar Islamic essays.

Sorry if my craker-speak isn't up to par.

Aunty Belle said...

Hey hey all ya'll!

Thanky fer yore notes--delighted to see each of ya'

Contessa, youse a hilarious poet---by Sugar, ay can be all emotional as much as ya like--on the FRONT Porch!!Save yore thinkin' fer Back here.

He American Interst--so pleased to see ya--wow, I rellay loved yore site--may filch from it here and there--with credit of course!

AN' Tapline, howdy do--lurk all yer like--see that post on Belgim iffin' ya wanna see how hogh the emotional quotient got--hoo-whee! Please came back soon.

Hidy do Mr. Champagne--wow-- I could use a sip right now--an' yore cracker speak is right fine---however, I promise, them essayas ain't gonna be Cracker--I found me an academic type to translate..but not to high brow.

Love seein' all ya'll!

h said...

There was an old Lady who lived near the Swamp. Her head she did shake and her feets she did Stomp.

She was tempted,yes tempted, to do a Gator C H O M P.

Cause the debate was chaotic and going topic astray on one of the finer blogs down our way.

Where the boys are the squarest and the girls are the fairest and...

Anyway, at first I didn't like the idea of RULES but having evaluated them more carefully, I like em.

BRING IT ON!

Stogie said...

Aunty, I am looking forward to your essays on Islam. Knowing you, they will be interesting, factual and expertly argued.

sparringK9 said...

aunty i busted up my neck and have to let a sturgeon get in thar and repair it. i wont be able to type for weeks after friday jes wanted you to know i am lurking too...say a lil prayer for me friday morning if you wouldnt mind.

Aunty Belle said...

Aw, She-puppy, I'se hatin' ter hear that. Lawdy, chile' you the top top of my list.

Cain't type fer 4 weeks--why mayhap thas' a blessin'; enforces doawn time. Sugar, you jes' c'mon down to mah hollow an' Aunty will take care of ya!. Promise to keep ya in fish in grits.

Aunty Belle said...

Aurtfulsub, ya doan like rules? Yeah, I hear that, but ya' know--I'se jes' tryin' ter keep thangs on topic.. I'll be looking fer ya'...I'se on the road, but will get the first essay up on Monday.

HEY Stogie--ooh, youse a sight fer sore yes round here-- ya home from France? Looky, I'se gonna need yore hep I think, so doan be a stranger.

Aunty Belle said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
darkfoam said...

i be lurking off and on..
but no opinion comments. i just read and think my thoughts to myself.

Ardlair said...

I am just out of the venezuelan wilds and don`t care much about anything other than mosquitos. in caracas for a while now. then wilds again. so i might read it one day.................adios muchachos

Aunty Belle said...

Foamy, I get that, Honey.
(BTW, did ya see that post a few back whar' I was hopin' you'd check the translation from the German?)

Caramba! Venezuela? Entonces, cuidado, mi amigo. Sr. Puerco Espín, buen viaje, y vaya con Dios. Su Tia es aqui cuando quiere habla con una persona que comprende mucho de su corazon.

darkfoam said...

belle,
i'll check it out. i've been afflicted with a severe case of the 'crud' these past couple of weeks...but am getting over it.

sparringK9 said...

aunty, i lived. and can type after all! and will have TIME to read read and read some more. i like the rules of engagement and continue to marvel at your patience and generosity. looking forward to the posts.

Aunty Belle said...

Hey Foamy...hope youse on the mend Baby Doll. The English translation is froma German newspaper account--it is in the post on "If ya want peace doan't fear war", about half way down the comments with an AB post that begins "oops..."

She-Puppy!!! Yea! Youse still wif us--Aunty would storm heaven iffin' they took our Pup!! (heaven knows what Aunty is like when riled...smile)

But now Sugar, ya' knows not ter tempt fate (or heaven) so take it real real easy!.

Anonymous said...

Sr. Puerco Espín ?

Aunty Belle said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Aunty Belle said...

"A number of porcupines huddled together for warmth on a cold day in winter; but, as they began to prick one another with their quills, they were obliged to disperse. However the cold drove together again...."
(Schopenhauer/ Studies in Pessimism)

Ottavio (Otto) Marasco said...

Hello Aunty,

Just wondering if you read my essay, "From radical to liberal Islam? See:
http://americasinterests.blogspot.com/2007/07/from-radical-to-liberal-islam-is.html

You may use for fodder...

Anonymous said...

hello? HELLOOOOOOOO?

Infinitesimal said...

HOORAY for Amigos!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Infinitesimal said...

hey auntie, thanks for the how do at my last post, i was down for a few days with a persisting migraine, and i got a diagnosis, but i don't like it. so i am refusing it. haha, i say NO! that ain't me....

so no need for SOS here, just let me finish my master's degree so that i can relax and become a painter....

too bad i never liked art classes.

Enemy of the Republic said...

As usual, I come to the party when everyone has gone home.

I don't see the enemy as Islam per se; the Koran is a beautiful book and I've known many Muslims who exude love and even pray for my family. I teach the Koran as part of my program and spend time with Muslim students who often explain contradictory portions; I own a Shite Koran and most of my students are Sunni, so we look at it as how both sides see the passages. It makes for interesting discussion.

I know all the political agendas and I will read your earlier posts. Whatever your views may be, you should always be treated with respect. Your blog, your rules. If people don't like what you say, they can move on. It's that simple.

I can only share my own experiences and ideas.

Aunty Belle said...

Infini, ah, Sugar...hope it ain't as ya' worry it could be. Keep me posted.

Hello EOTR! I'se jes' real pleased to see ya', and welcome *all* views to the discussion--As I noted earlier, I'se anxious that this be a "thinkin'" discussion, not a "feelin" discussion. (See PorkRind Hollow for a list of references & resources) Youse a professional, so I knows you'll bring so much--really lookin' forward to your contributions. I doan like to make rules fer blogs--but in this one case (essays on Islam )we might make more progress with guidelines that keep the focus on the content rather than on personalities of those who comment.

AN' I should say again, Aunty does not "hate" Muslims a'tall. Like many of us'uns, I too have Muslim friends and colleagues that I respect.

There is much backstory here--iffin' ya have time and interest, please glance over the Social Contract post, and maybe even Habits of the Mind (9.16)Again, EOTR, I'se so pleased to have ya visit and hope ya will contribute.

Enemy of the Republic said...

I never sensed any hate from you. I just threw that in for good measure about my friends. I do believe we have to make a distinction between the faith itself and the politicization--radical Islam is a political movement that is responsible for much carnage and repression. And I know the arguments against Christianity as well; I agree with many of them, and often feel embarrassed as a Christian by their behavior. I once mentioned on a blogsite (and got slammed) that radical Zionism led to much death in the West Bank and Lebonon--I was called a racist and all that. I have learned that there are buzz words one writes on a blog and they ignite passion and disdain--that is where conversation is better, but we don't have that medium. So I try to make my views as articulate as possible. Any religion can be politicized, and if it supports murder, then it is the political system that must be attacked, not the faith. It becomes hard to make that distinction--this is why I use terms like radical. God seems to be telling everyone how to live these days, yet no one can get along. Where's the sense in that? That is why (and I know you've written this) one must give to Caesar what is Caesar and give to God what is God's. I would be lost without that bit of scripture.

Infinitesimal said...

that give to Caesar what is Caesar's and give to God what is God's was an excellent way to answer a trick question.

moi said...

Howdy, and thanks so much for popping in to Moi's blog. I'm enthusiastically reading and looking forward to the essays and the comments.

Herein lies Moi's interest: Please take a moment and read the prior post, "Prelude: The Social Contract." It locates the Western source of freedom and is crucial to grasping the enormous difference between the Islamic perception of Man and his rights and the Western understanding of Man and his rights.

Anonymous said...

Waited and waited. Get it going girl.