Let's Talk Politics

Hasty generalization of Sam Harris:

1. "The treatment of women in Muslim communities throughout the world is unconscionable.
" (Bombing our Illusions from the Huff) The facts are that the vast majority of Muslim women enjoy as much freedom as women in America, Turkey, for example has had more female heads of state that the USA. Countries like Indonesia 224M Muslims, Malaysia 20M Muslims, Bangladesh 148M Muslims, Morocco 34M Muslims, Senegal 15M Muslims, Turkey 80M Muslims, Uzbekistan 27M Muslims, Algeria 41M... I am only listing a few of the Muslim majority countries when women have protections and freedom. This does not count the millions in European, Asian, North American countries that are not majority muslim.

2. "The truth is that religion, as we speak of it – Islam, Christianity, Judaism – is based on the claim that God dictates certain books." (Fly Fishing for Sharks) This is only true of fundamentalists which are a minority of each of these religions.

3. "Religious moderation is the product of secular knowledge and scriptural ignorance." (The End of Faith) I do not feel like taking the time to quantify this, but I would be willing to bet that religious moderates know their respective texts better than the fundamentalists. Regardless, to state that Religious moderates are ignorant of scripture is a generalization that would make any academic shudder.

4. "Theology is now little more than a branch of human ignorance. Indeed, it is ignorance with wings" (The End of Faith) Much theology today is a historical study of texts and the religion based upon empirical evidence. Fundamentalists generally have little use for Seminary or Theology.

5. "We should profile Muslims, or anyone who looks like he or she could conceivably be Muslim, and we should be honest about it. And, again, I wouldn’t put someone who looks like me entirely outside the bull’s-eye" after all, what would Adam Gadahn look like if he cleaned himself up?) But there are people who do not stand a chance of being jihadists, and TSA screeners can know this at a glance. (In Defense of Profiling) OK, this is just crazy Trump sounding sh*t. Forget the Bill of Rights, what does a "Muslim" look like?

6. "A hatred of infidels is arguably the central message of the Koran" (Sleepwalking Toward Armageddon) This one isn't a hasty generalization, it is simply incorrect.

"The facts are that the vast majority of Muslim women enjoy as much freedom as women in America, Turkey, for example has had more female heads of state that the USA."

That example does not carry the point. Pakistan has had more female heads of state, too.

Pakistan is very tribal. Most areas of Pakistan provide considerable freedoms and protections for women.

However, this is all irrelevant. To make the blanket statement that "the treatment of women in Muslim communities throughout the world is unconscionable", Is a hasty generalization and hyperbole and further demonstrates Sam's ignorance of religion. He sells lots of books though.

Basically a moderate of religion is not a fundamentalist or literalist.. Do they believe in hell? ..not in the literal sense.

But this is not the point. The point is A moderate in religion does not have tolerance at their core, especially where it concerns radicals.

This is just one of hundreds of examples that I could give you of Sam's ignorance of religion.

Regarding context, I gave you the documents that these quotes were taken from. Look it up. If you read The End of Faith, you should know that those quotes are not out of context. In fact, these quotes are the core of his religious stance.

Here's the deal, I don't believe Sam Harris is a great mind and I have substantiated it here. Maybe if he would write books about neuroscience he would be appreciated more as a true academic since that is his field. However I think he just wants to make money and be an atheist celebrity. Unfortunately he is not so smart in religion. Much like Bill Maher.&

Moderates are not tolerant of literalists. Thos is not a tenant of moderates. Moderates are moderate as opposed to being a literalist.

How much you have heard or read is irrelevant. I have read/heard enough to make these points that you have not disputed, other than to basically say nuh-uh.

You claim my quotes are out of context.. well put them into context for me (not by creating a possible context, but by going to the sources I provided). I provided these sources btw as a source of context.

If these criticisms have been rebuffed by him, rebuff them yourself. Go watch some of his debates with Reza Aslan.

Predictably, you turn to ad hominem attacks when you have no argument.

Regarding the tenents of moderates, there are none except they are not extremist. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moderate

My beliefs are my own. We have had this, or similar arguments long before I knew who Reza was and I have made this argument before I knew you.

I have wrote two of the quotes from my own underlined text from my copy of "The End of Faith". The other quotes were from text that can easily read in their entirety. Look them up. I gave you the source.

My definitions are not as hoc. They are accepted definitions and necessary to have a worthwhile debate. I want you to understand what I mean when I say "religion", "fundamentalist", "moderate"... etc, and they do not change.

I do not blame you for crawfishing on this one as your position is weak.