Malice
Member
In reading a lot of threads on this forum about how to fight terrorism in the long term, it seems a lot of people are of the opinion that change from within the structure of Islam is the answer.
At my college we have a student group where we watch shows like the Daily show in order to coerce people into having some sort of interest in current events. Pretty backhanded way of doing things isnt it? We then take some of the issues in the show and read some real news stories and discuss the issues.
Anyway, John Stewart had an author on and he was talking about how Osama bin Laden is sort of the de facto leader in a revolution of the religion that most westerners arent aware of. Apparently, in the past, only clerics and "real" muslim church officials had the right to interpret the Koran, issue religious edicts like Jihad and so forth.
bin Laden apparently is encouraging a different perspective, a more individualistic veiw of Islam that has much more room for individual opinion on what the Koran means and more room for non-cleric like himself and other terrorists to issue edicts of religious war and "negotiate" on behalf of the Muslim war (like offering a truce in Iraq).
This seems to me a LOT like the Christian Reformation that rejected the idea that only Priests could read the bible, interpret it, preach it, speak on behalf of the Christian world, and so forth.
Is this the kind of change from within some THRs speak of?
Discuss?
At my college we have a student group where we watch shows like the Daily show in order to coerce people into having some sort of interest in current events. Pretty backhanded way of doing things isnt it? We then take some of the issues in the show and read some real news stories and discuss the issues.
Anyway, John Stewart had an author on and he was talking about how Osama bin Laden is sort of the de facto leader in a revolution of the religion that most westerners arent aware of. Apparently, in the past, only clerics and "real" muslim church officials had the right to interpret the Koran, issue religious edicts like Jihad and so forth.
bin Laden apparently is encouraging a different perspective, a more individualistic veiw of Islam that has much more room for individual opinion on what the Koran means and more room for non-cleric like himself and other terrorists to issue edicts of religious war and "negotiate" on behalf of the Muslim war (like offering a truce in Iraq).
This seems to me a LOT like the Christian Reformation that rejected the idea that only Priests could read the bible, interpret it, preach it, speak on behalf of the Christian world, and so forth.
Is this the kind of change from within some THRs speak of?
Discuss?