Islam Archives - the patient investor

August 21, 2016

Political correctness: the demise of debate | On Line Opinion

By Louis O’Neill:

Frequently I find myself holding what one might consider a politically incorrect opinion, such as having scorn for Islam, disagreeing with myths peddled by the third wave feminist movement or finding no legitimacy in the claims of the black lives matter movement.

As a result my adversaries are more than ready to deviate from the laws of discourse, veering off into ad hominem, red herring or appeal to emotion fallacies…..

To disagree with the wage gap myth should not equate to being misogynist. One who believes that the doctrines of Islam and tenets of Sharia Law cannot peacefully run alongside a secular, democratic society should not be labelled “Islamophobic” or xenophobic.

To suggest that black-on-black crime is a cause for increased police confrontations in African American communities should not equate to being a racist. To comment that the institution of marriage is aimed at incentivising long-term heterosexual relationships as they are most conducive to a positive upbringing for a child, should not be tantamount to homophobia.

We are amidst an era of ideological fascism, incited by the left-leaning media, celebrities and television which has begun to pervade every crevice of popular thought……

Source: Political correctness: the demise of debate – On Line Opinion – 19/8/2016

October 14, 2014

The Islamic State: Linking extremism to ill-treatment of women

From David Rothkopf:

Each year, the World Economic Forum produces a Global Gender Gap report. In 2013, it tracked 136 countries on the education, economic empowerment, health, and political empowerment of women. Consider the world’s hot spots for extremism. Some, like Somalia, Libya, and Afghanistan, don’t even make the list. But of those that do, Nigeria ranks 106, Bahrain is 112, Qatar is 115, Kuwait is 116, Jordan is 119, Turkey is 120, Algeria is 124, Egypt is 125, Saudi Arabia is 127, Mali is 128, Morocco is 129, Iran is 130, Syria is 133, Pakistan is 135, and Yemen is dead last at 136……

Not only do countries that treat women badly do badly economically, politically, and socially, but countries in which extremist ideologies have taken root frequently treat women worst of all. In each case they have twisted their religious and cultural inheritances to promote practices that are abhorrent and indefensible, or they simply fail to recognize the rights or the promise of the women and girls among them. This has been taken to extraordinary extremes by groups like the Islamic State. In its slickly produced online English-language magazine, Dabiq, the group defends its enslavement of Yazidi girls and women and the taking of them as concubines by arguing that the practice is a “firmly established aspect of the Sharia.”

I have no doubt that extremism fosters the ill-treatment of women. The more vexing question is: what fosters extremism? Poverty, politics or religion? Fareed Zakaria suggests that the common denominator is religion.

October 14, 2014

Fareed Zakaria: Let’s be honest, Islam has a problem right now – The Washington Post

Fareed Zakaria writes:

Islam has a problem today. The places that have trouble accommodating themselves to the modern world are disproportionately Muslim.

In 2013, of the top 10 groups that perpetrated terrorist attacks, seven were Muslim. Of the top 10 countries where terrorist attacks took place, seven were Muslim-majority. The Pew Research Center rates countries on the level of restrictions that governments impose on the free exercise of religion. Of the 24 most restrictive countries, 19 are Muslim-majority. Of the 21 countries that have laws against apostasy, all have Muslim majorities.

There is a cancer of extremism within Islam today….

September 20, 2014

How To Inoculate Angry Teens Against Islamic Extremism

Maajid Nawaz used to be a recruiter for an extreme Islamist group in the United Kingdom. NPR’s Scott Simon speaks with Nawaz about how the recruiting process works, and how it can be thwarted.

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