September 14, 2006

Two views of Islam.
posted by HawthorneWingo 17 years ago
  • The second article on Al-Qaeda is quite fascinating. Although the conventional view is of some evil monolith, the article suggests the terrorist group is a little more fractious than that. Al-Qaeda's timeframes targets a drop-dead date around 2020. For us that is. One can't help thinking they're a little bit overoptimistic. Also it would be interesting to draw parallels between it and other millennialist movements. Knowing that they are millennialist makes them somehow less of a threat. They may cause mayhem in the short term, but the associated dogmatism usually ends up messing them up in the long run.
  • Sigh. More stuff to print out and then find time to read. Along with the recent Martin Amis essay there's just too much on this topic. Maybe I'll be able to post a rational response on Monday.
  • Whoa, that Martin Amis essay is far-ranging, colorful and well worth the read. It rambles a bit but puts in some pretty pointed remarks about religion, Iraq and surprisingly, feminism as the key to the war on Terror. Thanks NE.