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Islam and extremism
Apr. 7th, 2009 11:02 pm"Every religion has its share of extremists," said the speaker at a lecture I attended today, arguing against the idea that Islam is particularly supportive of extremism or terrorism. It's a common platitude, especially around here. The audience nodded along.
I can understand the desire to defend Islam from such accusations, but this particular defense always seems a little feeble to me. Every religion? Really? Where are the Shinto extremists, then? Where are the Tibetan Buddhist suicide bombers? The Baha'i jihadis?
It seems to me that proponents of Islam have to come up with a better story of why 90% of organizations involved in suicide bombings self-identify as Muslim. There are a number of explanations out there (including the one in that article) that don't hinge on Islam itself being responsible. Some of those explanations might be interesting to hear about and discuss. But "every religion has its share of extremists"? -- that's just a cop-out.
So what do you think: are there circumstances in which it's fair to hold a religion responsible for the misbehavior of its adherents? If so, what are those circumstances?
I can understand the desire to defend Islam from such accusations, but this particular defense always seems a little feeble to me. Every religion? Really? Where are the Shinto extremists, then? Where are the Tibetan Buddhist suicide bombers? The Baha'i jihadis?
It seems to me that proponents of Islam have to come up with a better story of why 90% of organizations involved in suicide bombings self-identify as Muslim. There are a number of explanations out there (including the one in that article) that don't hinge on Islam itself being responsible. Some of those explanations might be interesting to hear about and discuss. But "every religion has its share of extremists"? -- that's just a cop-out.
So what do you think: are there circumstances in which it's fair to hold a religion responsible for the misbehavior of its adherents? If so, what are those circumstances?
