Finally, the New York Times published a valuable, insightful piece on ISIS and Islam. It’s written by an author called Mustafa Akyol and is a lot better than any of the usual pieties on the subject. Highly recommended.

8 responses to “A Good Article on ISIS and Islam”

  1. Amelia Avatar
    Amelia

    The article says the exact opposite of what you say, though. :))))))))))

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    1. Clarissa Avatar

      That’s precisely why I like it.

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  2. cliff arroyo Avatar

    Interesting, jibes with what I’ve read before, that the current fashion for head coverings for muslim women is a very modern reactionary fashion (essentially a rejection of modernity).

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2015/12/21/as-muslim-women-we-actually-ask-you-not-to-wear-the-hijab-in-the-name-of-interfaith-solidarity/

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    1. Clarissa Avatar

      Great article! Thank you for the link. I will use it the next time my university gets into the idiotic hijab – wearing activities.

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  3. danmillerinpanama Avatar

    If you have not yet read Ayaan Hirsi Ali’s book Heretic, you might find it interesting and enlightening.

    She urges reformation of Islam by reversion to Islam as Mohamed preached it during his relatively peaceful, tolerant stay in Mecca. Later in Medina, his status as a powerful warlord changed things dramatically. She has hopes for the future but does not expect to see such changes during her lifetime.

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    1. Clarissa Avatar

      I heard her speak on television. She is a very impressive person.

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      1. danmillerinpanama Avatar

        It’s rare that I find anything even remotely encouraging about Iraq.

        However, this article reports that Iraq’s first Miss Iraq competition since 1972 was recently held, despite death threats to some of the young women. The winner stated,

        “I want to prove that the Iraqi woman has her own existence in society, she has her rights like men,” Shaima Qassem Abdulrahman told NBC News. “I am afraid of nothing, because I am confident that what I am doing is not wrong.”

        None of the contestants in the article’s photographs wore hijabs or other traditional Islamic garb.

        The article does not mention Sharia law, applied by the Islamic State as well as by fundamentalist countries such as Saudi Arabia. However, that’s what voids women’s rights and requires that in public they be dressed with appropriate “modesty.”

        Will this sort of thing spread? I very much hope it will.

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        1. Clarissa Avatar

          “Will this sort of thing spread? I very much hope it will.”

          • I do, too! This is the kind of thing that needs to be supported instead of the stupid hijab-wearing activities on American campuses.

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