Maverick Philosopher

Footnotes to Plato from the foothills of the Superstition Mountains

Category: Islamism

  • On Islam and Toleration (Peter Lupu)

    In his post titled A Mosque Grows near Brooklyn Bill made the following statement: “Muslims aren't very 'liberal,' are they?    They are intolerant in their attitudes and their behavior. Now the touchstone of classical liberalism is toleration.  Toleration is good, but it has limits.  (See the posts in the category Toleration.)  So why should we…

  • A Mosque Grows Near Brooklyn

    Here.  Where is the money coming from? Sarah Palin calls the building of this mosque an "unnecessary provocation."  As opposed to what, a necessary provocation?  But don't let Palin's infelicitous language distract you from the serious point she is making.  It is indeed  a  provocation, and the Islamists are testing us to see how far…

  • Dissecting Leftism and Jihad Watch

    Leftism and Islamism are the two main threats we face.  (Sorry, Al, your global warming is about as much a threat to us as your marital cooling.)  Both threats are totalitarian and  the threat is 'synergistic' inasmuch as leftists tolerate and enable militant Islam, which is obviously inimical to their modus vivendi, all the while…

  • Gaza, Iran, and the Left’s Double Standard

    Here.

  • Madrid Gay Pride March Bans Israelis over Gaza Flotilla Raids

    Welcome to the bizarro world of the Left.  Analysis in What Explains the Hard Left's Toleration of Militant Islam?

  • Helen Thomas Disgraces Herself

    Good riddance to this superannuated leftist gasbag.  Former mayor of NYC, Ed Koch, delivers a just and fitting verdict: Helen Thomas, 89, who is of Lebanese descent, claims to be a professional journalist. As such, she is subject to professional standards. Her statement that Jews should “get the hell out of Palestine” and go back…

  • What Explains the Hard Left’s Toleration of Militant Islam?

    From 1789 on, a defining characteristic of the Left has been hostility to religion, especially in its institutionalized forms. This goes together with a commitment to such Enlightenment values as individual liberty, belief in reason, and equality, including equality among the races and between the sexes. Thus the last thing one would expect from the…

  • Jihadist T-Shirt

    On the front: Islam: a religion of peace since A.D. 622. On the back: Say otherwise and we'll blow you up.

  • Toleration and its Limits

    Henry V. e-mails: I have a question. Is there a technical philosophical term for the case when a principle, applied consistently, leads to its own negation? I have in mind the example of the principle of civic tolerance, that when consistently applied to groups such as Muslims who wish to see Sharia law instituted in the…

  • The Danger of Appeasing the Intolerant

    Should we tolerate the intolerant? Should we, in the words of Leszek Kolakowski, . . . tolerate political or religious movements which are hostile to tolerance and seek to destroy all the mechanisms which protect it, totalitarian movements which aim to impose their own despotic regime? Such movements may not be dangerous as long as…

  • The Ambiguity of Islam

    James V. Schall here reviews Samir Khalil Samir, 111 Questions on Islam.

  • Political Correctness Can Be Deadly: The Case of Nidal Malik Hasan

    A militant Muslim lets out with the jihadist battle cry Allahu Akbar! (God is great!), mows down 43 unarmed fellow soldiers, and liberals and leftists refuse to call him what he is, an Islamist terrorist.  The Left stands revealed in its moral cowardice and political correctness for all to see.  Charles Krauthammer's Explaining Away Mass Murder…

  • ‘One Man’s Terrorist is Another Man’s Freedom Fighter’

    Often and thoughtlessly repeated, 'One man's terrorist in another man's freedom fighter' is one of those sayings that cry out for logical and philosophical analysis. Competent analysis will show that clear-thinking persons ought to avoid the saying. Note first that while freedom is an end, terror is a means. So to call a combatant a…

  • Postscript to The Real Culture War: The Schizoid Left in Cahoots with Islamists

    A reader thinks I  was "too charitable" in The Real Culture War. I wrote: But this minor culture war, as heated as it has become recently, is, despite its importance, as nothing compared to the major war between the West, with its Enlightenment values, and militant Islam. The reader  responds: Since the Enlightenment side of this culture war…

  • The Real Culture War

    Please study the following photographs.  They depict adherents of the 'religion of peace' making such statements as: Behead those who insult Islam; Freedom go to hell; Be prepared for the real holocaust.       There is a sort of 'culture war' going on between liberals and conservatives in the West. But this minor culture…