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Reza Aslan On Muslim violence myths

badbrainsbadbrains Posts: 10,255
edited October 2014 in A Moving Train
This was a good watch. This guys very smart. Plz watch closely and listen to what he says.
http://youtu.be/PzusSqcotDw
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Comments

  • brianluxbrianlux Posts: 42,042
    Muslims need more people like Reza Aslan speaking for them just like Christians need more people like Jim Wallace and Atheists need more like Kurt Vonnegut Jr. I hope Bill Maher watched the video and learned something from it because, generally, I like what he has to say.
    “The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man [or woman] who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.”
    Variously credited to Mark Twain or Edward Abbey.













  • badbrainsbadbrains Posts: 10,255
    brianlux said:

    Muslims need more people like Reza Aslan speaking for them just like Christians need more people like Jim Wallace and Atheists need more like Kurt Vonnegut Jr. I hope Bill Maher watched the video and learned something from it because, generally, I like what he has to say.

    Brian, I to watch bill all the time and am always confused why he attacks Islam with vengeance, but then again he attacks all religions. He somehow seems to get his info on Islam wrong lol. And he's friends with eddie. You'd think eddie would've smacked some sense into his head by now. Hahaha
  • brianluxbrianlux Posts: 42,042
    badbrains said:

    brianlux said:

    Muslims need more people like Reza Aslan speaking for them just like Christians need more people like Jim Wallace and Atheists need more like Kurt Vonnegut Jr. I hope Bill Maher watched the video and learned something from it because, generally, I like what he has to say.

    Brian, I to watch bill all the time and am always confused why he attacks Islam with vengeance, but then again he attacks all religions. He somehow seems to get his info on Islam wrong lol. And he's friends with eddie. You'd think eddie would've smacked some sense into his head by now. Hahaha
    Eddied and Maher sharing a bowl would make one very funny video, LOL!

    Yeah, Maher really gets locked into his anti-religious thing to the point of not seeing a very big picture. I have no problem when he or anyone else points out discrepancies or hypocrisy in various religions but I don't go for generalizing and it's especially wrong to spread inaccurate information. We need to get Maher on board with AMT and we'll straighten him out, hahaha!

    “The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man [or woman] who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.”
    Variously credited to Mark Twain or Edward Abbey.













  • Drowned OutDrowned Out Posts: 6,056
    badbrains said:

    brianlux said:

    Muslims need more people like Reza Aslan speaking for them just like Christians need more people like Jim Wallace and Atheists need more like Kurt Vonnegut Jr. I hope Bill Maher watched the video and learned something from it because, generally, I like what he has to say.

    Brian, I to watch bill all the time and am always confused why he attacks Islam with vengeance, but then again he attacks all religions. He somehow seems to get his info on Islam wrong lol. And he's friends with eddie. You'd think eddie would've smacked some sense into his head by now. Hahaha
    He doesn't attack all religions equally...have you seen Religulous? He portrays hardcore Muslims as extremist...hardcore Christians as misguided rednecks...and hardcore Jews as goofy inventors. Nary a word about crazy-as-fuck Jewish settlers or anything like that. Total white washing, despite cracking jokes about Judaism at the sart of the movie and trying to disassociate himself with it. Lost a ton of respect for him over that movie.

    Great vid...shared it on fb cause I have seen soooo much islamophobic bullshit in my feed since the ISIS thing started people.
  • benjsbenjs Posts: 9,150
    Drowned Out said:

    badbrains said:

    brianlux said:

    Muslims need more people like Reza Aslan speaking for them just like Christians need more people like Jim Wallace and Atheists need more like Kurt Vonnegut Jr. I hope Bill Maher watched the video and learned something from it because, generally, I like what he has to say.

    Brian, I to watch bill all the time and am always confused why he attacks Islam with vengeance, but then again he attacks all religions. He somehow seems to get his info on Islam wrong lol. And he's friends with eddie. You'd think eddie would've smacked some sense into his head by now. Hahaha
    He doesn't attack all religions equally...have you seen Religulous? He portrays hardcore Muslims as extremist...hardcore Christians as misguided rednecks...and hardcore Jews as goofy inventors. Nary a word about crazy-as-fuck Jewish settlers or anything like that. Total white washing, despite cracking jokes about Judaism at the sart of the movie and trying to disassociate himself with it. Lost a ton of respect for him over that movie.

    Great vid...shared it on fb cause I have seen soooo much islamophobic bullshit in my feed since the ISIS thing started people.
    Especially in Religious, Bill Maher does what many comedians do: take someone from a sect, embellish their most extreme and ludicrous virtues and beliefs (usually belonging to fringe cases), treat it like a commonplace virtue/belief, and ignore the fact that it's a fringe case in an effort to make a mockery of someone else's belief. He makes me laugh, but he very clearly lives in a binary world.

    As for Reza Aslan... there's an articulate man whose message I can get behind. I shared it on my wall as well.
    '05 - TO, '06 - TO 1, '08 - NYC 1 & 2, '09 - TO, Chi 1 & 2, '10 - Buffalo, NYC 1 & 2, '11 - TO 1 & 2, Hamilton, '13 - Buffalo, Brooklyn 1 & 2, '15 - Global Citizen, '16 - TO 1 & 2, Chi 2

    EV
    Toronto Film Festival 9/11/2007, '08 - Toronto 1 & 2, '09 - Albany 1, '11 - Chicago 1
  • brianluxbrianlux Posts: 42,042
    Drowned Out said:

    badbrains said:

    brianlux said:

    Muslims need more people like Reza Aslan speaking for them just like Christians need more people like Jim Wallace and Atheists need more like Kurt Vonnegut Jr. I hope Bill Maher watched the video and learned something from it because, generally, I like what he has to say.

    Brian, I to watch bill all the time and am always confused why he attacks Islam with vengeance, but then again he attacks all religions. He somehow seems to get his info on Islam wrong lol. And he's friends with eddie. You'd think eddie would've smacked some sense into his head by now. Hahaha
    He doesn't attack all religions equally...have you seen Religulous? He portrays hardcore Muslims as extremist...hardcore Christians as misguided rednecks...and hardcore Jews as goofy inventors. Nary a word about crazy-as-fuck Jewish settlers or anything like that. Total white washing, despite cracking jokes about Judaism at the sart of the movie and trying to disassociate himself with it. Lost a ton of respect for him over that movie.

    Great vid...shared it on fb cause I have seen soooo much islamophobic bullshit in my feed since the ISIS thing started people.
    Yeah, saw Religulous 4 or 5 years ago. I honestly don't remember that much detail but seems to me he pretty much slammed all religions. But his anti-religious attacks on his shows over the years do seem to bias more against Muslims than others.

    It's important to discern when attacks on religion are unwarranted and at the same time be aware that there are aspects of all religions that are at the very least, questionable and sometimes dangerous. I'm not every going to be so politically correct as to not criticize those things I see as questionable or dangerous but I surely believe in checking one's own unwarranted biases.

    I think it's important to remember Maher is a comedian and a shit stirrer. So was George Carlin and although I find I'm more aligned with what Carlin had to say overall, I disagreed with some of his stuff as well. I'm a huge fanboy of Edward Abbey but there were things that he said that I strongly disagreed with and old Ed had no problem with you disagreeing as long as you were thinking critically and could put together an intelligent argument. My advice is take what works, learn from a wide range of sources, be open minded, think critically, develop a good, intelligent argument for things you hold strongly to and take your hat off to no man. I like much of what Maher says but sometimes, especially regarding his anti-Muslin stance, I think he's full of shit. I'm sure I'm full of shit sometimes. Life is at least partly about reducing your level of shit.

    “The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man [or woman] who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.”
    Variously credited to Mark Twain or Edward Abbey.













  • rr165892rr165892 Posts: 5,697
    brianlux said:

    Drowned Out said:

    badbrains said:

    brianlux said:

    Muslims need more people like Reza Aslan speaking for them just like Christians need more people like Jim Wallace and Atheists need more like Kurt Vonnegut Jr. I hope Bill Maher watched the video and learned something from it because, generally, I like what he has to say.

    Brian, I to watch bill all the time and am always confused why he attacks Islam with vengeance, but then again he attacks all religions. He somehow seems to get his info on Islam wrong lol. And he's friends with eddie. You'd think eddie would've smacked some sense into his head by now. Hahaha
    He doesn't attack all religions equally...have you seen Religulous? He portrays hardcore Muslims as extremist...hardcore Christians as misguided rednecks...and hardcore Jews as goofy inventors. Nary a word about crazy-as-fuck Jewish settlers or anything like that. Total white washing, despite cracking jokes about Judaism at the sart of the movie and trying to disassociate himself with it. Lost a ton of respect for him over that movie.

    Great vid...shared it on fb cause I have seen soooo much islamophobic bullshit in my feed since the ISIS thing started people.
    Yeah, saw Religulous 4 or 5 years ago. I honestly don't remember that much detail but seems to me he pretty much slammed all religions. But his anti-religious attacks on his shows over the years do seem to bias more against Muslims than others.

    It's important to discern when attacks on religion are unwarranted and at the same time be aware that there are aspects of all religions that are at the very least, questionable and sometimes dangerous. I'm not every going to be so politically correct as to not criticize those things I see as questionable or dangerous but I surely believe in checking one's own unwarranted biases.

    I think it's important to remember Maher is a comedian and a shit stirrer. So was George Carlin and although I find I'm more aligned with what Carlin had to say overall, I disagreed with some of his stuff as well. I'm a huge fanboy of Edward Abbey but there were things that he said that I strongly disagreed with and old Ed had no problem with you disagreeing as long as you were thinking critically and could put together an intelligent argument. My advice is take what works, learn from a wide range of sources, be open minded, think critically, develop a good, intelligent argument for things you hold strongly to and take your hat off to no man. I like much of what Maher says but sometimes, especially regarding his anti-Muslin stance, I think he's full of shit. I'm sure I'm full of shit sometimes. Life is at least partly about reducing your level of shit.

    Brian,please use all caps when using the word "STUFF" when used in the same sentence as The great MR.Carlin.Lets show some respect.lol
  • benjsbenjs Posts: 9,150
    rr165892 said:

    brianlux said:

    Drowned Out said:

    badbrains said:

    brianlux said:

    Muslims need more people like Reza Aslan speaking for them just like Christians need more people like Jim Wallace and Atheists need more like Kurt Vonnegut Jr. I hope Bill Maher watched the video and learned something from it because, generally, I like what he has to say.

    Brian, I to watch bill all the time and am always confused why he attacks Islam with vengeance, but then again he attacks all religions. He somehow seems to get his info on Islam wrong lol. And he's friends with eddie. You'd think eddie would've smacked some sense into his head by now. Hahaha
    He doesn't attack all religions equally...have you seen Religulous? He portrays hardcore Muslims as extremist...hardcore Christians as misguided rednecks...and hardcore Jews as goofy inventors. Nary a word about crazy-as-fuck Jewish settlers or anything like that. Total white washing, despite cracking jokes about Judaism at the sart of the movie and trying to disassociate himself with it. Lost a ton of respect for him over that movie.

    Great vid...shared it on fb cause I have seen soooo much islamophobic bullshit in my feed since the ISIS thing started people.
    Yeah, saw Religulous 4 or 5 years ago. I honestly don't remember that much detail but seems to me he pretty much slammed all religions. But his anti-religious attacks on his shows over the years do seem to bias more against Muslims than others.

    It's important to discern when attacks on religion are unwarranted and at the same time be aware that there are aspects of all religions that are at the very least, questionable and sometimes dangerous. I'm not every going to be so politically correct as to not criticize those things I see as questionable or dangerous but I surely believe in checking one's own unwarranted biases.

    I think it's important to remember Maher is a comedian and a shit stirrer. So was George Carlin and although I find I'm more aligned with what Carlin had to say overall, I disagreed with some of his stuff as well. I'm a huge fanboy of Edward Abbey but there were things that he said that I strongly disagreed with and old Ed had no problem with you disagreeing as long as you were thinking critically and could put together an intelligent argument. My advice is take what works, learn from a wide range of sources, be open minded, think critically, develop a good, intelligent argument for things you hold strongly to and take your hat off to no man. I like much of what Maher says but sometimes, especially regarding his anti-Muslin stance, I think he's full of shit. I'm sure I'm full of shit sometimes. Life is at least partly about reducing your level of shit.

    Brian,please use all caps when using the word "STUFF" when used in the same sentence as The great MR.Carlin.Lets show some respect.lol
    Why do I never feel at home on vacation? I DON'T HAVE ALL MY STUFF.
    '05 - TO, '06 - TO 1, '08 - NYC 1 & 2, '09 - TO, Chi 1 & 2, '10 - Buffalo, NYC 1 & 2, '11 - TO 1 & 2, Hamilton, '13 - Buffalo, Brooklyn 1 & 2, '15 - Global Citizen, '16 - TO 1 & 2, Chi 2

    EV
    Toronto Film Festival 9/11/2007, '08 - Toronto 1 & 2, '09 - Albany 1, '11 - Chicago 1
  • Last-12-ExitLast-12-Exit Posts: 8,661
    I had to stop watching after 3 minutes because those assholes wouldn't let the guy finish his fucking point. I hate Don Lemon and that other woman.
  • brianluxbrianlux Posts: 42,042
    benjs said:

    rr165892 said:

    brianlux said:

    Drowned Out said:

    badbrains said:

    brianlux said:

    Muslims need more people like Reza Aslan speaking for them just like Christians need more people like Jim Wallace and Atheists need more like Kurt Vonnegut Jr. I hope Bill Maher watched the video and learned something from it because, generally, I like what he has to say.

    Brian, I to watch bill all the time and am always confused why he attacks Islam with vengeance, but then again he attacks all religions. He somehow seems to get his info on Islam wrong lol. And he's friends with eddie. You'd think eddie would've smacked some sense into his head by now. Hahaha
    He doesn't attack all religions equally...have you seen Religulous? He portrays hardcore Muslims as extremist...hardcore Christians as misguided rednecks...and hardcore Jews as goofy inventors. Nary a word about crazy-as-fuck Jewish settlers or anything like that. Total white washing, despite cracking jokes about Judaism at the sart of the movie and trying to disassociate himself with it. Lost a ton of respect for him over that movie.

    Great vid...shared it on fb cause I have seen soooo much islamophobic bullshit in my feed since the ISIS thing started people.
    Yeah, saw Religulous 4 or 5 years ago. I honestly don't remember that much detail but seems to me he pretty much slammed all religions. But his anti-religious attacks on his shows over the years do seem to bias more against Muslims than others.

    It's important to discern when attacks on religion are unwarranted and at the same time be aware that there are aspects of all religions that are at the very least, questionable and sometimes dangerous. I'm not every going to be so politically correct as to not criticize those things I see as questionable or dangerous but I surely believe in checking one's own unwarranted biases.

    I think it's important to remember Maher is a comedian and a shit stirrer. So was George Carlin and although I find I'm more aligned with what Carlin had to say overall, I disagreed with some of his stuff as well. I'm a huge fanboy of Edward Abbey but there were things that he said that I strongly disagreed with and old Ed had no problem with you disagreeing as long as you were thinking critically and could put together an intelligent argument. My advice is take what works, learn from a wide range of sources, be open minded, think critically, develop a good, intelligent argument for things you hold strongly to and take your hat off to no man. I like much of what Maher says but sometimes, especially regarding his anti-Muslin stance, I think he's full of shit. I'm sure I'm full of shit sometimes. Life is at least partly about reducing your level of shit.

    Brian,please use all caps when using the word "STUFF" when used in the same sentence as The great MR.Carlin.Lets show some respect.lol
    Why do I never feel at home on vacation? I DON'T HAVE ALL MY STUFF.
    I never have that problem because like I said, I'm sure I'm also full of STUFF. hahaha!

    Back to the thread topic. I think of myself as a spiritual person but not a religious person and I have zero interest in being part of a religion but some of the closest people in my life are religious and I respect that and don't see any reason to criticize those religions outside of specific incidences of religious wars, oppression etc. Generalizing is just not useful.

    “The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man [or woman] who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.”
    Variously credited to Mark Twain or Edward Abbey.













  • badbrainsbadbrains Posts: 10,255
    Last-12-Exit said:

    I had to stop watching after 3 minutes because those assholes wouldn't let the guy finish his fucking point. I hate Don Lemon and that other woman.

    Last12 u have to finish watching it. It's good my man. He puts them in their place.
  • Last-12-ExitLast-12-Exit Posts: 8,661
    badbrains said:

    Last-12-Exit said:

    I had to stop watching after 3 minutes because those assholes wouldn't let the guy finish his fucking point. I hate Don Lemon and that other woman.

    Last12 u have to finish watching it. It's good my man. He puts them in their place.
    That woman is a fucking moron. She obviously was not listening to anything that guy had to say. He made a lot of sense. What a great interviewing technique that broad has. She must have learned that from Fox news.

    The only thing that would have been better is if he had said "I use this term seriously regarding your interviewing skills, it's stupid."
  • Jason PJason P Posts: 19,138
    I get his point but he is actually doing what Bill is doing. Bill is painting the religion based on Pakistan and he is painting based on Turkey based on examples in the interview.

    The matter at hand is that the evil actions of a few will overcome the peaceful actions of the majority. It's up to the majority to dispatch the few. If Muslims want the majority of the world to change their overall perception on their faith, then they have to figure out how to solve a pretty bad problem that only seems to be getting worse.
  • badbrainsbadbrains Posts: 10,255
    Jason P said:

    I get his point but he is actually doing what Bill is doing. Bill is painting the religion based on Pakistan and he is painting based on Turkey based on examples in the interview.

    The matter at hand is that the evil actions of a few will overcome the peaceful actions of the majority. It's up to the majority to dispatch the few. If Muslims want the majority of the world to change their overall perception on their faith, then they have to figure out how to solve a pretty bad problem that only seems to be getting worse.

    There's what 40,000 members of is? And how many Muslims in the world? I dnt believe it's the whole world that looks at Islam in a negative view. I believe it's the people who allow themselves to be manipulated by the media and governments of the world who view it in a negative way.
  • benjsbenjs Posts: 9,150
    edited October 2014
    Jason P said:

    I get his point but he is actually doing what Bill is doing. Bill is painting the religion based on Pakistan and he is painting based on Turkey based on examples in the interview.

    The matter at hand is that the evil actions of a few will overcome the peaceful actions of the majority. It's up to the majority to dispatch the few. If Muslims want the majority of the world to change their overall perception on their faith, then they have to figure out how to solve a pretty bad problem that only seems to be getting worse.

    Honestly, there seems to be a trend in almost any cluster of society: extremes are loud, but moderates are just that (moderate), and typically have pacifist opinions (especially in the religious world). As a pacifist, I know from personal experience that it's very hard to break past the notion that inaction and pacifism aren't synonymous. As many here have said, the bastardized version of Islam that IS claims to stand for is not the Islam that the moderates know, love, and believe in. So, I'd say it's time to end this divisiveness, and stop calling for Muslims to advocate the abolishment of IS: it is no more or less of an obligation of any of ours (as moderate non-Muslims) to give a shit than a moderate Muslim.
    '05 - TO, '06 - TO 1, '08 - NYC 1 & 2, '09 - TO, Chi 1 & 2, '10 - Buffalo, NYC 1 & 2, '11 - TO 1 & 2, Hamilton, '13 - Buffalo, Brooklyn 1 & 2, '15 - Global Citizen, '16 - TO 1 & 2, Chi 2

    EV
    Toronto Film Festival 9/11/2007, '08 - Toronto 1 & 2, '09 - Albany 1, '11 - Chicago 1
  • Drowned OutDrowned Out Posts: 6,056
    edited October 2014
    Jason P said:

    I get his point but he is actually doing what Bill is doing. Bill is painting the religion based on Pakistan and he is painting based on Turkey based on examples in the interview.

    The matter at hand is that the evil actions of a few will overcome the peaceful actions of the majority. It's up to the majority to dispatch the few. If Muslims want the majority of the world to change their overall perception on their faith, then they have to figure out how to solve a pretty bad problem that only seems to be getting worse.

    So do you think the US would let other muslim countries deal with the IS as they see fit? Syria has been fighting them for a couple years now....do you think the US would allow the Syrian air force to do air raids on IS positions in Iraq? Or would they let Iran do so? Of course not...because they want control of the outcome.
    And he isn't doing what Maher did....he is pointing out that the problems are country or region specific, explaining that you can't point to any one country as THE definitive example of Islam. In realizing this, it takes the blame from Islam (as it should), and points it at cultural practices. I don't think all Christians live like Menonites, so why can we group all Islamic people together?
    brianlux said:

    Drowned Out said:

    badbrains said:

    brianlux said:

    Muslims need more people like Reza Aslan speaking for them just like Christians need more people like Jim Wallace and Atheists need more like Kurt Vonnegut Jr. I hope Bill Maher watched the video and learned something from it because, generally, I like what he has to say.

    Brian, I to watch bill all the time and am always confused why he attacks Islam with vengeance, but then again he attacks all religions. He somehow seems to get his info on Islam wrong lol. And he's friends with eddie. You'd think eddie would've smacked some sense into his head by now. Hahaha
    He doesn't attack all religions equally...have you seen Religulous? He portrays hardcore Muslims as extremist...hardcore Christians as misguided rednecks...and hardcore Jews as goofy inventors. Nary a word about crazy-as-fuck Jewish settlers or anything like that. Total white washing, despite cracking jokes about Judaism at the sart of the movie and trying to disassociate himself with it. Lost a ton of respect for him over that movie.

    Great vid...shared it on fb cause I have seen soooo much islamophobic bullshit in my feed since the ISIS thing started people.
    Yeah, saw Religulous 4 or 5 years ago. I honestly don't remember that much detail but seems to me he pretty much slammed all religions. But his anti-religious attacks on his shows over the years do seem to bias more against Muslims than others.

    It's important to discern when attacks on religion are unwarranted and at the same time be aware that there are aspects of all religions that are at the very least, questionable and sometimes dangerous. I'm not every going to be so politically correct as to not criticize those things I see as questionable or dangerous but I surely believe in checking one's own unwarranted biases.

    I think it's important to remember Maher is a comedian and a shit stirrer. So was George Carlin and although I find I'm more aligned with what Carlin had to say overall, I disagreed with some of his stuff as well. I'm a huge fanboy of Edward Abbey but there were things that he said that I strongly disagreed with and old Ed had no problem with you disagreeing as long as you were thinking critically and could put together an intelligent argument. My advice is take what works, learn from a wide range of sources, be open minded, think critically, develop a good, intelligent argument for things you hold strongly to and take your hat off to no man. I like much of what Maher says but sometimes, especially regarding his anti-Muslin stance, I think he's full of shit. I'm sure I'm full of shit sometimes. Life is at least partly about reducing your level of shit.

    I know he's a comedian and a shit stirrer....but Religulous was intended as a serious documentary with an overtone of showing how goofy religion is in general - so somewhat comedic. But if I remember correctly, the parts about Islam portayed it as violent, and there wasn't much in the way of laughs during that part.....when it came time to skewer Judaism, he made it all about how goofy orthodox jews are for not using technology one day a week....showed some dude with a toaster that didn't use power or something, if I remember correctly. After theme park Jesus and the truck stop chapel, it was probably the lightest part of the movie....when it is one side of the most volatile religious dispute on the planet. I mean....it's pretty much career suicide to criticize Israel or Judaism, so I can see why he'd pussy out....look at what Ed had to deal with over vague comments....it wouldn't be fun to make pointed ones while in the public eye. But still....dont' make the fucking movie if you can't be impartial. Or better yet, grow a pair and dig in.
  • brianluxbrianlux Posts: 42,042
    Drowned Out said:

    Jason P said:

    I get his point but he is actually doing what Bill is doing. Bill is painting the religion based on Pakistan and he is painting based on Turkey based on examples in the interview.

    The matter at hand is that the evil actions of a few will overcome the peaceful actions of the majority. It's up to the majority to dispatch the few. If Muslims want the majority of the world to change their overall perception on their faith, then they have to figure out how to solve a pretty bad problem that only seems to be getting worse.

    So do you think the US would let other muslim countries deal with the IS as they see fit? Syria has been fighting them for a couple years now....do you think the US would allow the Syrian air force to do air raids on IS positions in Iraq? Or would they let Iran do so? Of course not...because they want control of the outcome.
    And he isn't doing what Maher did....he is pointing out that the problems are country or region specific, explaining that you can't point to any one country as THE definitive example of Islam. In realizing this, it takes the blame from Islam (as it should), and points it at cultural practices. I don't think all Christians live like Menonites, so why can we group all Islamic people together?
    brianlux said:

    Drowned Out said:

    badbrains said:

    brianlux said:

    Muslims need more people like Reza Aslan speaking for them just like Christians need more people like Jim Wallace and Atheists need more like Kurt Vonnegut Jr. I hope Bill Maher watched the video and learned something from it because, generally, I like what he has to say.

    Brian, I to watch bill all the time and am always confused why he attacks Islam with vengeance, but then again he attacks all religions. He somehow seems to get his info on Islam wrong lol. And he's friends with eddie. You'd think eddie would've smacked some sense into his head by now. Hahaha
    He doesn't attack all religions equally...have you seen Religulous? He portrays hardcore Muslims as extremist...hardcore Christians as misguided rednecks...and hardcore Jews as goofy inventors. Nary a word about crazy-as-fuck Jewish settlers or anything like that. Total white washing, despite cracking jokes about Judaism at the sart of the movie and trying to disassociate himself with it. Lost a ton of respect for him over that movie.

    Great vid...shared it on fb cause I have seen soooo much islamophobic bullshit in my feed since the ISIS thing started people.
    Yeah, saw Religulous 4 or 5 years ago. I honestly don't remember that much detail but seems to me he pretty much slammed all religions. But his anti-religious attacks on his shows over the years do seem to bias more against Muslims than others.

    It's important to discern when attacks on religion are unwarranted and at the same time be aware that there are aspects of all religions that are at the very least, questionable and sometimes dangerous. I'm not every going to be so politically correct as to not criticize those things I see as questionable or dangerous but I surely believe in checking one's own unwarranted biases.

    I think it's important to remember Maher is a comedian and a shit stirrer. So was George Carlin and although I find I'm more aligned with what Carlin had to say overall, I disagreed with some of his stuff as well. I'm a huge fanboy of Edward Abbey but there were things that he said that I strongly disagreed with and old Ed had no problem with you disagreeing as long as you were thinking critically and could put together an intelligent argument. My advice is take what works, learn from a wide range of sources, be open minded, think critically, develop a good, intelligent argument for things you hold strongly to and take your hat off to no man. I like much of what Maher says but sometimes, especially regarding his anti-Muslin stance, I think he's full of shit. I'm sure I'm full of shit sometimes. Life is at least partly about reducing your level of shit.

    I know he's a comedian and a shit stirrer....but Religulous was intended as a serious documentary with an overtone of showing how goofy religion is in general - so somewhat comedic. But if I remember correctly, the parts about Islam portayed it as violent, and there wasn't much in the way of laughs during that part.....when it came time to skewer Judaism, he made it all about how goofy orthodox jews are for not using technology one day a week....showed some dude with a toaster that didn't use power or something, if I remember correctly. After theme park Jesus and the truck stop chapel, it was probably the lightest part of the movie....when it is one side of the most volatile religious dispute on the planet. I mean....it's pretty much career suicide to criticize Israel or Judaism, so I can see why he'd pussy out....look at what Ed had to deal with over vague comments....it wouldn't be fun to make pointed ones while in the public eye. But still....dont' make the fucking movie if you can't be impartial. Or better yet, grow a pair and dig in.
    Yeah, Maher has definitely done better work. But rather than discuss Maher, I think we'd all agree that the bigger issue here is religious profiling. For better or for worse, I think it is imperative that more Muslims speak out and represent who they are as a whole and do as much as possible to disprove the bigots. That's what badbrains has done with this thread. The same is true with Christians- they need more people like Jim Wallace who is a great spokesperson for the peaceful community of Christians who follow a doctrine based on love, peace and giving. It's what people like Dave Foreman have worked hard to do to get people to understand the difference between sabotage and terrorism in addressing direct action environmental activism. In all of these things, groups need strong spokespersons to set the record straight and to encourage others outside their group to support those efforts.

    “The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man [or woman] who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.”
    Variously credited to Mark Twain or Edward Abbey.













  • Jason PJason P Posts: 19,138
    I'm not a master of combining quotes, so here is my replies to all below. Also, please note that I'm not like this lady ....

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfilaKrnAhQ

    Badbrains - 40K is just ISIS; Militant extremism is spread throughout the middle east and now into northern africa. Total number may be small but the foot print they cover is huge.

    Benjs - US bombs aren't going to stop militant extremism. If the majority of muslims don't stop this bastardization of the faith, then we are screwed.

    Drowned out - I agree that the US likes to control things. I agree that he is stating that you can't point to any incident to generalize, but as stated above a small majority that is messing up shit over a huge footprint is going to outweigh the good.
  • benjsbenjs Posts: 9,150
    Jason, I am adamantly opposed to US bombs as a response to militant extremism in the region, sorry if my statement conveyed anything but that.
    '05 - TO, '06 - TO 1, '08 - NYC 1 & 2, '09 - TO, Chi 1 & 2, '10 - Buffalo, NYC 1 & 2, '11 - TO 1 & 2, Hamilton, '13 - Buffalo, Brooklyn 1 & 2, '15 - Global Citizen, '16 - TO 1 & 2, Chi 2

    EV
    Toronto Film Festival 9/11/2007, '08 - Toronto 1 & 2, '09 - Albany 1, '11 - Chicago 1
  • mickeyratmickeyrat Posts: 38,604
    edited October 2014
    He's smacked down talking headless folks on Fox too. I like him. Patient and intelligent.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwWbPpFZ31s
    Post edited by mickeyrat on
    _____________________________________SIGNATURE________________________________________________

    Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
    you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
    memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
    another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
  • dignindignin Posts: 9,336
    badbrains said:

    This was a good watch. This guys very smart. Plz watch closely and listen to what he says.
    http://youtu.be/PzusSqcotDw

    Great find badbrains.

    Same guy who owned FOX News over a year ago.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jt1cOnNrY5s
  • brianluxbrianlux Posts: 42,042
    mickeyrat said:

    He's smacked down talking headless folks on Fox too. I like him. Patient and intelligent.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwWbPpFZ31s

    Thanks for posting this, mickeyrat. I really like Aslan's ability to firmly hold his ground yet remain strong and clear. It's ridiculous how that Fox interviewer just dismisses him outright with nothing but preconceived notions and obvious bias behind her weak and pathetic arguments. I also like how Aslan makes clear his credentials in a way that said slightly differently could sound like major ego boasting- but he's not. He knows his stuff (yes, rr, STUFF LOL) and he shows great poise and confidence. Definitely will check out his book.
    “The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man [or woman] who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.”
    Variously credited to Mark Twain or Edward Abbey.













  • badbrainsbadbrains Posts: 10,255
    Awesome guys, ya this guys real smart. I believe he's a professor at cal state riverside in religion so he knows his shit.
  • benjsbenjs Posts: 9,150
    I'll be honest.. That second interview was just plain obnoxious to me. I blame three parties for that: first and foremost, his publicist who probably forced his hand to go on Fox. Next, that fairly useless interviewer who didn't even have the common courtesy to actually learn about the person she was interviewing. Unfortunately, understandably frustrated, all he could do was to continue to tout his credentials, but that level of ego is repulsive to me. I'm glad I watched the first video first, where he expressed a far greater level of humility, and was thankfully allowed to share his knowledge instead of tragically being forced to defend his right to speak and educate for the vast majority of the time.
    '05 - TO, '06 - TO 1, '08 - NYC 1 & 2, '09 - TO, Chi 1 & 2, '10 - Buffalo, NYC 1 & 2, '11 - TO 1 & 2, Hamilton, '13 - Buffalo, Brooklyn 1 & 2, '15 - Global Citizen, '16 - TO 1 & 2, Chi 2

    EV
    Toronto Film Festival 9/11/2007, '08 - Toronto 1 & 2, '09 - Albany 1, '11 - Chicago 1
  • oftenreadingoftenreading Posts: 12,845
    Drowned Out said:

    badbrains said:

    brianlux said:

    He doesn't attack all religions equally...have you seen Religulous? He portrays hardcore Muslims as extremist...hardcore Christians as misguided rednecks...and hardcore Jews as goofy inventors. Nary a word about crazy-as-fuck Jewish settlers or anything like that. Total white washing, despite cracking jokes about Judaism at the sart of the movie and trying to disassociate himself with it. Lost a ton of respect for him over that movie.

    When will we start to discuss the problem of the radical Buddhists?
    my small self... like a book amongst the many on a shelf
  • benjsbenjs Posts: 9,150
    One more... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HL6E4eMX-4k

    I love some of the things he says when asked how, as a historian, he can still believe in religion.
    '05 - TO, '06 - TO 1, '08 - NYC 1 & 2, '09 - TO, Chi 1 & 2, '10 - Buffalo, NYC 1 & 2, '11 - TO 1 & 2, Hamilton, '13 - Buffalo, Brooklyn 1 & 2, '15 - Global Citizen, '16 - TO 1 & 2, Chi 2

    EV
    Toronto Film Festival 9/11/2007, '08 - Toronto 1 & 2, '09 - Albany 1, '11 - Chicago 1
  • brianluxbrianlux Posts: 42,042
    oftenreading said:

    Drowned Out said:

    badbrains said:

    brianlux said:

    He doesn't attack all religions equally...have you seen Religulous? He portrays hardcore Muslims as extremist...hardcore Christians as misguided rednecks...and hardcore Jews as goofy inventors. Nary a word about crazy-as-fuck Jewish settlers or anything like that. Total white washing, despite cracking jokes about Judaism at the sart of the movie and trying to disassociate himself with it. Lost a ton of respect for him over that movie.

    When will we start to discuss the problem of the radical Buddhists?
    Radical Buddhists, eh. I think that might be an oxymoron, LOL!

    Actually, come to think of it, I've got a couple of books by guy who maybe could be considered a radical Buddhist, Brad Warner. Warner play bass in the hard core punk band, Zero Defex and went on to write two great Punk Zen books, Hardcore Zen and Sit Down and Shut Up. Good stuff worth checking out, especially the first book which ends with this funny joke:

    How many Zen master does it take to screw in a light bulb?

    The plum tree in the garden!

    “The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man [or woman] who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.”
    Variously credited to Mark Twain or Edward Abbey.













  • brianluxbrianlux Posts: 42,042
    benjs said:

    I'll be honest.. That second interview was just plain obnoxious to me. I blame three parties for that: first and foremost, his publicist who probably forced his hand to go on Fox. Next, that fairly useless interviewer who didn't even have the common courtesy to actually learn about the person she was interviewing. Unfortunately, understandably frustrated, all he could do was to continue to tout his credentials, but that level of ego is repulsive to me. I'm glad I watched the first video first, where he expressed a far greater level of humility, and was thankfully allowed to share his knowledge instead of tragically being forced to defend his right to speak and educate for the vast majority of the time.

    I'm generally not a fan of people touting their credentials either, Ben, but what I heard most here was, "Hey, I'm not just some Muslim writing about Jesus. This is part of what I do." I think he was much more restrained than most of us would have been under the circumstances. Also, I'm glad he was on Fox. How best to reach those least likely to hear what you have to say!

    “The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man [or woman] who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.”
    Variously credited to Mark Twain or Edward Abbey.













  • Thirty Bills UnpaidThirty Bills Unpaid Posts: 16,881
    oftenreading said:

    Drowned Out said:

    badbrains said:

    brianlux said:

    He doesn't attack all religions equally...have you seen Religulous? He portrays hardcore Muslims as extremist...hardcore Christians as misguided rednecks...and hardcore Jews as goofy inventors. Nary a word about crazy-as-fuck Jewish settlers or anything like that. Total white washing, despite cracking jokes about Judaism at the sart of the movie and trying to disassociate himself with it. Lost a ton of respect for him over that movie.

    When will we start to discuss the problem of the radical Buddhists?
    That one sent me for a loop too.
    "My brain's a good brain!"
  • IdrisIdris Posts: 2,317
    CNN did a follow up to that interview, it should be on YouTube.
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