LA Times Op-ed: Islam gets concessions; infidels get conquered

[Coco]

In the spirit of the rabbi's daughter's letter to her father I thought this moving Op-ed piece in the LA Times should also be discussed.
Might Makes Right?

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Herein lies the conundrum. When Islamists wage jihad — past, present and future — conquering and consolidating non-Muslim territories and centers in the name of Islam, never once considering to cede them back to their previous owners, they ultimately demonstrate that they live by the age-old adage "might makes right." That's fine; many people agree with this Hobbesian view.

But if we live in a world where the strong rule and the weak submit, why is it that whenever Muslim regions are conquered, such as in the case of Palestine, the same Islamists who would never concede one inch of Islam's conquests resort to the United Nations and the court of public opinion, demanding justice, restitutions, rights and so forth?

Put another way, when Muslims beat infidels, it's just too bad for the latter; they must submit to their new overlords' rules with all the attendant discrimination and humiliation mandated for non-Muslims. Yet when Islam is beaten, demands for apologies and concessions are expected from the infidel world at large.

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But perhaps Muslims cannot be blamed for expecting special treatment, as well as believing that jihad is righteous and decreed by the Almighty. The West constantly goes out of its way to confirm such convictions. By criticizing itself, apologizing and offering concessions — all things the Islamic world has yet to do — the West reaffirms that Islam has a privileged status in the world.


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Mr. Ibrahim brings up some pretty interesting points. Anyone care to refute?

[iron81]

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Anyone care to refute?

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I do.

To a large extent, I consider who conquered who hundreds or thousands of years ago a sunk cost. Every square inch of this earth has been conquered at one time or another.

The fair thing to do is to analyze who is suffering right now and what we can do about it. The Palestinians are in terrible shape: their economy in tatters and their nation split by a fence and pockmarked with foreign checkpoints. Israel does not suffer this fate. Therefore, the correct thing to do is to give the Palestininans a real state. The the people living in nations conquered by Muslims generally like having their governments dominated by Muslims. The same cannot be said of the Palestinians living in occupied territory.

[Poofler]

If everyone honestly believed the conflict would be solved by a Palestinian state, maybe it would happen. I think Israel has little reason to believe that it would stop at that.

[Coco]

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Anyone care to refute?

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I do.

To a large extent, I consider who conquered who hundreds or thousands of years ago a sunk cost. Every square inch of this earth has been conquered at one time or another.

The fair thing to do is to analyze who is suffering right now and what we can do about it. The Palestinians are in terrible shape: their economy in tatters and their nation split by a fence and pockmarked with foreign checkpoints. Israel does not suffer this fate. Therefore, the correct thing to do is to give the Palestininans a real state.


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So, if Israel can just wait 150 more years, then it would be ok for them to rule Israel and not have a Palestinian state. Time does not make right. The problem with the west is they live in a different world than the Middle East. The whole point of the article is that in the Middle East Might Makes Right, while we as westerners feel bad for the downtrodden.

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The the people living in nations conquered by Muslims generally like having their governments dominated by Muslims. The same cannot be said of the Palestinians living in occupied territory.

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WOW. Is this the politics forum or the Laughs and Links forum? This blanket statement is probably the most ridiculous thing I have read in weeks on ths board.
Please point out some actual places where I can learn how great it is to be under Islam's rule! I'll start you off.
The Buddhists of Afgahanistan Agree

The Sudanese are having a blast!

[The once and future king]

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The Buddhists of Afgahanistan Agree

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Seeing you are accusing the forum of being uninformed you can tell me when was the last time there was a significant buddhist population in Afganistan. Hint (is over 600 years ago).

Saying that Muslims were harsh to Buddhists in Afganistan is like saying Christians were harsh to pagans as the time frame is very similar.

[DVO]

Try smuggling a bible, or starting up a church, in Saudi Arabia....and see how that goes. Is that recent enough?

[The once and future king]

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Try smuggling a bible, or starting up a church, in Saudi Arabia....and see how that goes. Is that recent enough?

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LOL, How on earth does this relate to what happens when Muslims invade a country which is what the op is about. As far as I know Saudi Arabia hasnt ever been invaded by Muslims.

[DVO]

So the Taliban blowing up Buddhist temples in the last 15 years doesn't count?

[The once and future king]

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So the Taliban blowing up Buddhist temples in the last 15 years doesn't count?

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count as what? There have been no buddhists in Afganistan for centuries.

[Coco]

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The Buddhists of Afgahanistan Agree

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Seeing you are accusing the forum of being uninformed you can tell me when was the last time there was a significant buddhist population in Afganistan. Hint (is over 600 years ago).

Saying that Muslims were harsh to Buddhists in Afganistan is like saying Christians were harsh to pagans as the time frame is very similar.

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Where am I accusing the forum of being uninformed? Please point it out to me because I can't find it at all-- but I will freely admit that there aren't many (if any) buddhists in afghanistan and retract that statement. The fact that the Taliban destroyed those statues is definitely an incorrect response to the statement that people living under Muslim rule like it.

That being said, I can point out the persecution of non-Muslims in many if not ALL Muslim countries. The two I have pointed out-- the Sudan and Pakistan-- have yet to be addressed by anyone who claims the people living under Muslim rule enjoy it-- sheer ludicrousy.