polite_gandalf wrote on Jul 12
th, 2013 at 9:41am:
Soren wrote on Jul 12
th, 2013 at 12:16am:
It's not relevant what you did 800 years ago, or only very marginally. What's relevant is what you are doing now. Now you are buggered thanks to your consistent efforts - but you want to be excused on the grounds that you were not buggered 800 years ago.
Ridiculous. I didn't live 800 years ago, nor you. By arguing with me you make it look as if you were buggered by me, for 800 years. But you have been buggered by yourselves for 800 long years.
You are just deflecting from your responsibility by arguing with me, the Jews, the Americans, everyone. But it is you who have buggered yourselves for the last 800 years.
What has happened for the last 800 years? And how will you - will you? - change whatever it was that made you bugger yourselves and everyone you have come into contact with for 800 years?
And don't look at me, it is YOUR culture and your responsibility. What are you doing about it?
(I am speaking French for the sake of brevity, you understand, not out of personal malice.)
Two points:
1. You brought it up first. *YOU* were the one claiming the muslims deserve no credit for the golden age. Relevant or not, I'm going to set the record straight when presented with such blatant untruths. Especially when your own evidence says what you claim is complete rubbish. Here's some advise, if you think something is irrelevant to the discussion, don't bring it up - and especially don't make claims about it that simply must be refuted.
2. I think it is important to acknowledge the achievements of the past as a way of addressing the problems of the present. Its proof that if it could be done before, it can be done again. It counters prevailing myths (held by both muslims and non-muslims) that work against the chances of a future revival - like the belief that islam is inherently against learning and exploring new ideas.
Yes - let's sum up the old boy's position, shall we?
- The Muselman is backward and inferior now because he's always been backward and inferior. Always. Absolutely. On stilts.
- Okay, so he mightn't have
always been backward and inferior, but he is now, and that's the important thing.
- The Muselman bases his religion on lies. Of course he's backward and inferior. His whole worldview is based on a mirage.
- Yes, the old boy might have told a few porkies too, but it was the Muselman's fault. Lie with dogs and you get fleas, innit.
- The Muselman can't reform or mend his ways. It'll never happen. Never ever.
- Well, sure he's giving it a go now, but it'll never work. Islam and liberal democracy are incompatible.
- Okay, so it might work in some places, but look at Pakeestan.
- Mainstream Islam is essentially violent. Always. Absolutely. If they were keen on eradicating terrorism, they'd speak out against it. They never do this. Never ever.
- Oh yes, a few imams might come out to condemn protests and beheading signs, but why don't they stop it?
- Okay, so they might have stopped it on that one occasion, but why didn't they stop it before?
- Muslims cut and run. Instead of reforming their own societies and getting rid of their dictators, they move to the West. If they were so keen on democracy, they'd go back home and fight for it.
- Okay, so many do this, but they're not fighting for democracy, they're fighting for theocracy.
- Okay, so they might be fighting for democracy and not theocracy, but the theocrats will win every time.
- Okay, so the mullahs might not have won this time, but democracy will fail before long. It has to. Muslims
want theocracies.
- Right, so they may not actually want theocracies, but they'll get them. Maybe not yet, but soon. Never ever, remember?
- Their backwardness and inferiority goes back to their history. They were always backward and inferior. Always. Absolutely.
- Okay, so they ruled civilization for a few hundred years while the West went through the Dark Ages. So what? It was an aberration. The Muselman is backward and inferior now because he's always been backward and inferior. Always. Absolutely. On stilts.
Etc, etc, etc.
This is the old boy game, a game that has been going on here for years. It consists of one axiom: always, absolutely, never ever. You can point our the inconsistency in such a view, but you're always returned to this point. The Muselman will always be backward and inferior because he has always been backward and inferior, and that's just the way it is.
But it isn't.
It is. The old boy said so.