Discussion for article #233515
Jeez, Bill, did it ever occur to you that without our little bungled invasion of Iraq, there wouldn’t be any ISIS? And don’t you think that a couple of centuries of colonialism might have something to do with the poverty and the lack of education in these countries?
13 Likes
Ummm. Maher obviously wanted Obama to say that RELIGION, per se, is the root of extremism. But religions go extremist when they have political and power positions they want to see come to pass.
Other than that, Maher has always been a bit thick, as the Brits call it, and always seems to choose the most facile analogies for his complaints.
12 Likes
Maher has this anti-religious drum and he can’t keep from banging it.
7 Likes
Bibi, – er, I mean, Bill, you’re going to call it whatever you want, because your mind can’t comprehend that there’s a strategic reason for not affording them the official imprimatur that they seek, because that mind is saturated with stereotype, bigotry, and the the self-affirming propaganda of the warmongers seeking full-on holy war.
When you hear Fox News call these murderers Islamists, I suspect you get a warm feeling in your pants, don’t’cha? It just makes you feel all vindicated, refreshed, and ready to double-down.
8 Likes
Yes ISIS is ISLAMIC. Creeping Zombie Jesus. Their ideology even predicts that after their final war with the Roman Army, Jesus will return to save them from their compound in Jerusalem. This is no shit. I am not making this up. They have already established a Caliphate, they have a Caliph, they are expanding their territory, all in the name of being true to the ‘original’ religious directives of Mohammed (peace upon him) and the Koran. They are fundamentalists who believe they are the Marquis players in bringing about the Apocalypse. This is some far out, wigged out, psychotic shit, but they are killing those who they regard as aspostates in their territory on a weekly basis like some juiced up Khmer Rouge. They think it’s a sin to join the UN because they recognize no other allegiance but to Allah, and the Koran. The world had better wake up, and wake up fast. ISIS is the very definition of religious in their vision and objectives, and they believe the Koran commands them to use terror in order to shorten the duration of their jihad. Argue about whether their interpretation of their religious tradition is correct, but don’t try to assert it isn’t ISLAMIC. They believe THEY are the true Muslims and all who do not migrate to the Caliphate and pledge allegiance are sinners or worse, apostates. The rest of us non-Muslims are to pay a tax and admit we are subdued.
1 Like
What difference does it make–to the fight–what we call them? These fights over nomenclature seem a bit silly.
1 Like
Bill Maher gives atheists a bad name. I am sick of his shit and him being the public face of atheism.
9 Likes
I like Maher and agree with him most of the time, but I think his analogy here is mistaken. Sociopaths, psychopaths and crazy people who pervert religion to manipulate others to torture and kill are using religion for purposes for which it is NOT intended. People who use guns ARE using them for guns’ intended purposes… And I’m an atheist, no fan of religion, but I understand that religion does not make the asshole.
5 Likes
I’m afraid Bill Maher is just a slightly smarter Dennis Miller. Ok a lot smarter, but still with the same self-regarding cluelessness that masquerades as truth-telling.
9 Likes
Unfortunately, I assume that most of the people engaged in this discussion have never bothered to read the Koran, which has very specific directives on how to wage war, treat the enemy, sinners, criminals, apostates, and especially, people of the Book, i.e., Christians and Jews. Oh, and the Koran is very specific on the taking of slaves. So, war, torture, and slavery are directed by the Koran in the name of advancing Islam. Read the Koran.
1 Like
Understanding the motives of the murderers is one thing. Giving them credibility is another.
And fomenting bigotry against an innocent Muslim minority is yet another. That particular inevitable consequence is a tragedy committed by an uneducated, xenophobic and increasingly fascistic American public, a public quick to endorse the unlawful invasion of a sovereign Muslim nation which provided these murderers a place to flourish. That public endorsed that invasion because they perceive all Muslims to be alike, so as long as we’re killing some of them, we’re fighting to preserve our freedom and to avenge the insult against our great Christian nation. So let’s by all means keep that up, because that prevailing attitude among Americans is so crucial to our national security.
Yeah, I agree – we better wake the hell up.
8 Likes
Is the Bible different? My point is most people Muslims and Christians, the right thinking ones, know to disregard the crazy nonsense and talk of killing and slavery in their chosen religious “Bible”. Like I said, being an atheist I am no fan of religion.
3 Likes
Read the Bible. I’ve read that, and if you think murder and carnage are a peculiarly Muslim attribute, I have to disagree.
5 Likes
I agree, and this is where we walk a tightrope. Not all Muslim theologians agree with the ISIS interpretation of the Koran. Just as there are Orthodox Jews and Fundamentalists Christians, most people agree that THEIR interpretation of the tradition and their scriptures is not the FINAL ABSOLUTE and only version. Somehow, the differences between versions of Christianity and Judaism have been assimilated and normalized in Western culture. If a group of murderous Christians emerged claiming to be called to instigate the Apocalypse, no one would be calling for all Christians to be rounded up and put in concentration camps. But our cultural unfamiliarity with Muslims makes it easier for them all to be tarred with the same brush. Which is unfortunate, and will continue to happen unless more Muslims speak up to say ISIS does not speak for me.
2 Likes
Well, I guess Maher is finally in agreement with conservatives; he’s angry with Obama for not citing Islam.
1 Like
I have actually studied 14 versions of the Bible in great detail, and you appear to misunderstand my remarks. You’re trippin.
1 Like
That isn’t the point. Is there a large movement fighting to take over territory in the name of a literal enforcement of Biblical directives? Don’t let your heat eclipse the light.
1 Like
Look, the Old Testament has advice on how to keep your menstruating women in a hut for a week a month, endorses slavery, metes out the death penalty for cursing one’s parents, and some of its luminaries were gonna kill their children or pimp their daughters because God told them to. While I think that that’s some sick shit, I do not assume that my Christian neighbors follow any of that. The Bible’s a text, as is the Koran, that if followed to the letter would engender some nasty consequences, but the vast majority of Christians don’t follow it that closely, for better or worse, and Muslims are no different in that regard.
6 Likes
This is an argument you need to have with ISIS. You can get into their territory by passing thru Turkey. You don’t have to convince ME. I want to live in the 21st century, not the 7th.
1 Like