--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Sal Sunshine <salsunsh...@...> wrote: > > On Nov 22, 2009, at 1:54 PM, do.rflex wrote: > > > >> Alright, at the risk of being so labelled, I'm > >> going to quote from one of Sam Harris' books, > >> The End of Faith, in which he starts out by describing > >> a seemingly ordinary day in the life of a seemingly > >> ordinary young man, as he boards a bus: > >> > >> "The young man takes his seat beside a middle-aged couple smiles. > >> With the press of a button he destroys himself, the couple at his > >> side, and twenty others on the bus. The nails, ball bearings, and rat > >> poison ensure further casualties on the street and in the surrounding > >> cars. All has gone according to plan. > >> The young man's parents soon learn of his fate. Although saddened to > >> have lost a son, they feel tremendous pride at his accomplishment. > >> They know that he has gone to heaven and prepared the way for them to > >> follow. He has also sent his victims to hell for eternity. It is a > >> double victory. > >> > >> These are the facts. This is all we know for certain about the young > >> man . Why is it so easy, then, so trivially easyyou-could-almost- > >> bet- > >> your-life-on-it easyto guess the young man's religion?" > >> > >> > >> While the passage is chilling enough, IMO, the real > >> kicker I think is the second paragraph, in which > >> his friends, neighbors and even his parents celebrate his final > >> "victory." > >> > >> I suppose you could label Harris a bigot too, > >> altho he never mentions the young man's religion, > >> or much of anything else about him, > >> it being clearly unnecessary. > >> > >> I think Vaj has Islam as it is practiced today > >> in much of the world pinned down, and all > >> these attempts to label him and discredit > >> what he's said are pathetic. Nobody ever > >> denied there are terrorists in most faiths, > >> but in no other *today* has it been so > >> accepted and even glorified. > >> > >> Anyway, I thought things were getting a bit > >> dull this morning and that Vaj might like a > >> break, so have at it. :) > >> > >> Sal > >> > > > > Nobody can tell me that 1.3 billion human beings are predisposed by > > their religion to condone what that boy in Harris' story did. > > Of course not all are, flex, just many. > Still doubtful? On page 126 he puts up > the results of a poll he took asking respondents > in 12 Muslim nations if suicide bombing in defense > of Islam is ever justified. The results are > scary. In 10 of those countries, an overwhelming > majority believe that yes, it is justified. Only > in Pakistan (where you have a tie) and Turkey > (with a mere 20% believing it) do you not > have a majority. And as Harris points out, even > if all the countries were as relatively benign as > Turkey, it would still be a major problem. > > I'm sure you could find fault with the poll, or ask > how it was conducted, etc. But it looks pretty > straightforward to me. > > Sal >
I'd like to see that poll, Sal.
