What do you believe about Muslims and Islam?

[Sofiyya 1,687]

?

The toss about terms "the west" and "the Muslim world" are nebulous and without specificity, inferring that there are two separate, diametrically opposed worlds, and that most Muslims occupy "the Muslim world". They do not.

[^_^ 5,021]

The toss about terms "the west" and "the Muslim world" are nebulous and without specificity, inferring that there are two separate, diametrically opposed worlds, and that most Muslims occupy "the Muslim world". They do not.

Do 90% of Muslims live in Western countries, as the term Western is popularly understood (N America, Europe)?

Edited August 24, 2010 by Legacy member

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

The toss about terms "the west" and "the Muslim world" are nebulous and without specificity, inferring that there are two separate, diametrically opposed worlds, and that most Muslims occupy "the Muslim world". They do not.

The terms "west" and "east" are outdated, as Europe is no longer the geopolitical center of civilization. I see confusion amongst many folks, when I live on the west coast of the US, but on the eastern rim of the Pacific Ocean.

[Usui Takumi 1,562]

The toss about terms "the west" and "the Muslim world" are nebulous and without specificity, inferring that there are two separate, diametrically opposed worlds, and that most Muslims occupy "the Muslim world". They do not.

I think Iran's leadership would have something to argue about that lol. Which I suppose is another issue, you have nations IMO basically taking Islam hostage to further their own agenda much like Spain, France, England etc did 700 years ago.

By the way has anyone seen the latest "unmanned bomber"? Congrats to Iran for developing a V1 lol.

[^_^ 5,021]

[Sofiyya 1,687]

Do 90% of Muslims live in Western countries, as the term Western is popularly understood (N America, Europe)?

I'm not speaking in popular terms. Sociologists, historians, philosophers have expanded the concept more broadly to include parts of Asia, Eastern Europe and Israel. "The West" never had real boundaries, and "the Muslim World's" boundaries were too limited. The paradigm for each is shifting.

Mapping the Global Muslim Population

Edited August 24, 2010 by Sofiyya

[^_^ 5,021]

I'm not speaking in popular terms. Sociologists, historians, philosophers have expanded the concept more broadly to include parts of Asia, Eastern Europe and Israel. "The West" never had real boundaries, and "the Muslim World's" boundaries were too limited. The paradigm for each is shifting.

Fine, so we shift the West eastward until it includes 90%.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

I think Iran's leadership would have something to argue about that lol. Which I suppose is another issue, you have nations IMO basically taking Islam hostage to further their own agenda much like Spain, France, England etc did 700 years ago.

By the way has anyone seen the latest "unmanned bomber"? Congrats to Iran for developing a V1 lol.

You mean the "Ambassador of Death"?

[Obama 2012 1,714]

Fine, so we shift the West eastward until it includes 90%.

[Usui Takumi 1,562]

You mean the "Ambassador of Death"?

Is that its official name lol?

[Sofiyya 1,687]

Fine, so we shift the West eastward until it includes 90%.

East and West are Cold War concepts. Get with the 21st century, bro. Orientalists no longer rule the lexicon.

[Kathryn41 3,205]

Thread closed for review

*******************************************************

I've read through this thread and removed a number of direct personal attacks, a few outright 'hate' posts and several 'derailment' or 'baiting' threads.

That being said there are a lot more posts I would really like to remove, but the OP requested honest responses from both sides of the spectrum. It is hard to determine where personal opinion crosses the line and becomes bigotry - a few of the posts I have left cross that line in my opinion, but I have left them up as the discussion as positions on both sides were requested, and 'most' of the participants has been thoughtful and relatively civil and self-contained.

I am going to re-open this thread for now but will keep it under review. It it degrades into an exchange of insults and personal attacks or more of the obvious 'hate' type of posts appear, it will in all likelihood be closed.

I appreciate your consideration in keeping the discussion civil.

Edited August 24, 2010 by Kathryn41

[Kathryn41 3,205]

Non mod comment

I have always been grateful to Islam for collecting and developing great libraries of the works written by ancient Greek and early Roman authors, poets, historians, playwrights , etc.. during the earlier centuries of the last Millennium. It is because the earlier Muslims had the intellectual curiosity to collect and preserve these works that we actually have them with us today - the works of Solon, Aeschylus, Thucydides, Herodotus, Plato, Euripides, Sappho, Alcibiades - many, many, many names of great creative talents from two of the greatest Western civilizations we have known - as the early Christian church systematically sought out and destroyed every piece of writing that was not part of Christianity 'theology' creating a virtual Dark Age in Europe. We speak of our democratic societies having their foundations in the democracy of Ancient Greece. We would have no knowledge of that democracy or Ancient Greece if it were not for Islamic scholars who saved these writings for us.

[William33 110]

TOS violation post removed.

[ready4ONE 5,400]

For me it is an exercise in semantic and logical jujitsu to try and divorce Islam from it's roots in the Middle East. How Islam is practiced where it has spread is largely a function of the manner in which it spread. Areas where Islam spread by conquest trend towards a more radical, militant version as a rule. Areas where Islam spread by contact, say by trade generally practice a more open and peaceful version.

Regardless of the above there is more often than not an element of Radical Islam either in the majority persecuting moderate Muslims and non-Muslims alike, or playing the role of terrorist underdog always with an eye to gaining control where ever Islam is to be found. These are the folks who concern me, threatening our national security and the security of many if not most other nations on the planet.

There is no Islamophobia in the above, merely a statement on the situation we find in the world today.