Science Versus Religion

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Is Criticism of Islam Racist? Are Most Muslims Peaceful?

In the Facebook Group for Front Range Objectivism, a reasonable person posted the following remarks:

Fabulous discussion last night [at an event where some Front Range Objectivists spoke]. However, I was truly disturbed to meet some among us, who are influential in the Objectivist community, who express prejudice against Muslims in general. I was hoping this kind of racism was going away, but it appears to be alive and well. We alienate reasonable people who might otherwise ally themselves with us when we make statements about all Muslims being terrorists. Yes, there are Muslims who are subversive terrorists. Unfortunately we have one in the White House right now. But we don't do ourselves any favors by stating that the Koran itself promotes terrorism, and that anyone who is a Muslim wants the world to be run by Sharia law. If you look carefully at the Bible, there are lots of dated and outrageous statements which no good Christian would incorporate into their lives today.

I have been fortunate to have many Pakistani Muslim friends, who are American citizens, who are patriots. Most if them are conservatives, too, and quite closely aligned with the Objectivist philosophy. They are disturbed and alienated by the kind of prejudice I heard last night. And they are voting with their votes and their substantial campaign donations. So am I.

Those themes are common, and I wanted to lay out my own view. So here's my reply, slightly edited. I could have done better, rhetorically speaking. Still, I think that I articulated my own position reasonably well.

Islam is a chosen religion, not a race. So it's not "racism" to criticize Islam or Muslims, any more than it's racism to criticize Christianity or to regard theocratic Christians as a major threat to liberty in the America. It's not proper to discriminate based on race, because race is unchosen, and has nothing to do with moral character. Religion is chosen, and has a huge impact on a person's character, values, and actions. A person should be judged for his chosen religion, not given a free pass.

As for how many Muslims are jihadists -- or support that -- that's another question. Given that Muslim violence against "the infidel" and others is not strongly and loudly condemned by Muslims in the US (and elsewhere), but instead often excused, condoned, and urged on, I can only regard most Muslims as either active or passive supporters of violent jihad. In contrast, that's not true of Christians in America. While the political views of most Americans are influenced (for the worse) by Christianity, most American Christians oppose attempts to impose sectarian dogmas by law, and they deplore violence. That's because Christianity, unlike Islam, has been tempered by the Enlightenment. (Alas, that's disappearing slowly...)

Muslims opposed to violent jihad are disobeying the explicit commands of their religion. If that's their true view, however, then they ought to stand up and say that, particularly given the barbaric acts of their fellow adherents. But they're almost entirely silent. Hence, the rest of us are entitled to assume that they really don't have a huge problem with fellow Muslims blowing up Jewish children, murdering daughters for being too western, executing gays, stoning rape victims, killing apostates, and so on.

Of course, if you know particular Muslims who support American values... that's AWESOME. However, just as with Christians, those Muslims ought to abandon their religious beliefs, because they're wholly incompatible with any concern or respect for individual rights.

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9/11 "Day of Service and Remembrance" Embraces Islamic Creed

Day of Service and Remembrance Should Honor The Selfishness of Our Heroes

In Michelle Obama's letter to Americans about the second annual Day of Service and Remembrance on September 11 she writes "On the anniversary of this tragic day in our history, I hope you will join me in honoring all those who put the needs of others before their own by serving in your community."

This sickeningly saccharine sweet "Gee Thanks" to our American heroes is nothing less than a tacit endorsement of the very creed of our enemies: sacrifice.

Cut to: Michelle Obama's inspiration for what she calls "selflessness": "the brave men and women of Flight 93 who sacrificed their own lives to save the lives of others..."

United Flight 93 had been diverted by hijackers to Washington, D.C. Through cell phone calls, some passengers and crew learned about the World Trade Center and Pentagon bombings and decided to storm the cockpit to retake control of the plane they realized was also to be used in a terrorist attack. What you hear in those various cell phone calls are not dutiful proclamations of sacrifice for others, but the intent "to do something now" along with fearful and devoted goodbyes to loved ones. From transcript,

"I need to go," she said. "They're getting ready to break into the cockpit. I love you. Goodbye."..."They're doing it! They're doing it! They're doing it!" Then the line went dead.

Cut to: Michelle Obama's source of inspiration to serve: "....to the first responders who rushed without hesitation to help those in need...."

See the iconic Pulitzer-prize winning photograph of three New York firefighters raising the American flag upon the smoldering ashes of the World Trade Center and ask yourself, "what might have been in the hearts of those first responders, whose job it is to rescue?"

Cut to: Michelle Obama's source of inspiration to serve: "to the young men and women who chose to join our Armed Forces following the attacks..."

Recruitment in the Armed Forces "hit the ceiling" after 9/11, coinciding with a sustained increase in Americans' patriotism (defined by the Oxford American dictionary as "having or expressing devotion to and vigorous support for one's country.")

Zoom In: Our 9/11 American heroes were not being "selfless." They were being deeply "self-ful." Their most precious values--loved ones and home--were in the midst of an unprecedented attack. Shame on you, Michelle Obama, for glorifying the death-inspiring creed of selflessness while America is at war for its very existence against Totalitarian Islam.

Day of Service and Remembrance Serves Obama's Political Theology, Not Our Heroes

From the press release:

The September 11 National Day of Service and Remembrance is the culmination of a seven-year effort started by 9/11 family members and support groups to establish the service day as a way to honor the victims and heroes of 9/11 and to rekindle the spirit of unity and compassion that followed the attacks...September 11 also marks the end of the summer phase of President Obama's United We Serve initiative and its transition to a long-term, sustained effort.

In proclaiming the day of remembrance last year, President Obama said, "Working together, we can usher in a new era in which volunteering and more service is a way of life for all Americans. Deriving strength from tragedy, we can write the next great chapter in our Nation's history and ensure that future generations continue to enjoy the promise of America."

This sounds a whole lot like Black Liberation Theology politics explicitly endorsed by pre-and post-Presidential Obama, a subject I have addressed in earlier posts.

Remembering September Eleven

First of all, on September 11, 2001, almost 3000 Americans didn't just "(lose) their lives," as our First Lady writes. They were viciously murdered by Islamists intent on destroying this country. Her minimizing and evasion of this truth is a profound dishonor not only to those who were killed and to their grieving families, but to all Americans who are the ultimate target of Totalitarian Islam.

Secondly, the heroes and soldiers fighting the war against Islamists are not merely "serving" altruistically for the welfare of others. They are fighting these killers' atavistic doctrine for a most personal self-interested purpose: to protect the sacred values of American individual rights and liberty and for very personal reasons of protecting their fellow soldiers whom they bond with in battle and the people they love back home.

The words of one soldier, Christel Ables, in 2004 brings to life why he serves in Iraq, an official military front for the War on Terror:

I am new to the army...I come from a long line of soldiers. My father, Robert Ables is an Iraqi war veteran. I found out a month ago that I will be going as well in just a few months. I was scared out of my mind, as I had been keeping up with all the news since the war started. I talked to my dad about the war. He was there just before, during, and after the initial bombing of Iraq. I will never forget what he told me. He said, "Honey, you would be silly not to be scared...Remember that courage is not the absence of fear, but the willingness to face it. It is in my opinion that every soldier is already a hero. I was in charge of a platoon, and one thing we did was go around and let everyone tell the story of why they joined. Most answers were for college money, for opportunity, to see the world... but one soldier told me something I rarely hear. He said that he lived in New York when 9-11 happened. His whole world died. His wife worked in the trade center, and his 11-month-old son was there at day care. They didn't make it out alive. He had no one to live for. His parents died when he was 17. He decided that he could live for his country and continue to fight for the freedom that his father and grandfather fought for him." With a hug and a good night, I went into my room and reflected on what my father said. He was right you know... I AM scared, but I am also ready to fight for my country, and for everything that our veterans fought for before my time.

Michelle and Barack Obama defile what America truly stands for by embracing the ideal of sacrifice, the very creed of the America-hating Islamic terrorists who immolate human life and values in the service of "Allah."

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The Soft-Spoken Genocidal Muslim at UCSD

This video -- particularly the last few seconds -- contains the most chilling exchange I've ever watched. It's David Horowitz drawing out a soft-spoken female student from UCSD... who also happens to be a Jew-hating, Hitler-admiring, lustfully genocidal Muslim.



She ought to be expelled from the university, as a threat to safety. No professor should be willing to have her in class, nor should any student be willing to sit in the same room as her.

If she's not a citizen, she ought to be expelled from the United States -- immediately -- as a threat to national security. If she is a citizen, she ought to be closely watched by the government for any sign of or association with terrorists, then charged and imprisoned accordingly. Anything less -- which is what I expect, sadly -- would be a shameful failure to defend America against its sworn enemies.

(Via Adam Mossoff, who said, "This girl is so soft-spoken about expressing her support of global genocide of Jews, it's like watching a clip from the Nuremburg trials in which the Nazis plainly described their atrocities as if this was no different to them from describing a trip to the beach (and it wasn't).")

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Finally: A Victory for Abortion Rights and Church-State Separation

It only took jurors 37 minutes to convict Scott Roeder of murdering physician Dr. George Tiller, who performed late-term abortions. The judge previously was going to allow a defense of voluntary manslaughter, which applies when a defendant thinks his killing is justified (which Roeder claimed). But the judge reversed himself because of the fact that abortion is legal in Kansas, leaving the jury with two alternatives: convict on murder or acquit.

Defense attorney Mark Rudy, in a ludicrous and pathetic appeal to the jury said, “No one should be convicted based on his convictions.” One small detail: a civilian is free to speak their convictions, he just can’t use force against another person because of his beliefs. Beliefs are not sacred. Potential beings (fetuses) are not sacred. But living humans are.

Finally we can celebrate a justice based on the right principles: the rule of law, the right to abortion, and upholding the separation of church and state by not permitting religious beliefs to be a defense for terrorist acts.

Scott Roeder can just sit in his prison cell with his Bible and his convictions and rot the next few decades away.

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