MR Medical Breakthrough: Genetic Difference Between Muslims, West Identified
Ladies and gentlemen, we've got it. We've discovered what's causing the Clash of Civilizations and it's our unfortunate duty to tell you that it's inherent and biological. From the birth of philosophy 2,500 hundred years, the ability to understand Western ideas has required a nuanced understanding of irony - an irony gene, so it were. Intelligence is obviously a trait that's selected for across cultures, and its most common visible manifestation as knowledge requires the ability to wrap your mind around the way that thought and ideas are structured. So Westerners developed an irony gene.
Muslims, it looks like, not so much:
My friend Lorenzo Vidino, counterterrorism expert and author of al Qaeda in Europe, sent the above photo and this note:
Attached is a picture of the Pope that is circulating in Qaeda-friendly chat rooms and websites. Lovely (and predictable) that they call for his beheading.
The script in red calls for the Pope's beheading. The rest of the translation:
"Swine and servant of the cross, worships a monkey on a cross, hateful evil man, stoned Satan, may Allah curse him, blood-sucking vampire."
Courts in the United States have been "encouraged" to take down solemn statues of Mohammed as law-giver because Muslims said the representation was offensive and interfaith clerics agreed with them. Let's see how these representations of the man who is first among the equal princes of the Church play out among the moderate, sensitive Muslims that we've been hearing about (not that they're not out there - we just don't think they'll take a stand). This is just awesome:
Dr Bari said: "It's certainly a welcome step that the Pope recognizes the hurt that his speech caused. "He quoted the words of the emperor who made very derogatory remarks about the Prophet, and his inclusion has caused enormous hurt. "We feel it has undermined confidence in the Vatican." He continued: "For the restoration of good ties between Muslims and the Vatican, we feel it's important that he repudiates the views of the emperor. "What we want to see is a clear indication that he himself does not in any way share the emperor's bigoted assessment of the Prophet Mohammed."
Because seriously, if there's one thing that the last two days have demonstrated, it's that the 14th century Emperor in the story was dead wrong when he imputed to Muslims a tendency to defend Islam through threats and violence.
Jawa is unimpressed with the photoshop work on the let's-kill-Benedict snuff porn going around Muslim boards. LGF has more pictures of Muslims demonstrating an... er... underappreciation of irony.
PS - We don't believe in genetic differences between Muslims and Westerners across the mean. Don't be stupid. This is like the joke that Iran made about curing AIDS, except actually meant to be funny. Actual results will vary.
UPDATE: Opps. uno mas:
Pope Benedict XVI was last night facing angry demands from Muslims that he apologise for a speech in which he appeared to say the concept of jihad was "unreasonable" and quoted a medieval ruler who said Muhammad's innovations were "evil and inhuman". Protests swept across the Islamic world and the furore threatened a scheduled visit by the Pope to Turkey... Representatives of the two million Turks in Germany, where the comments were made, also expressed deep annoyance. The head of the Turkish community, Kenan Kolat, said they were "very dangerous" and liable to misunderstanding.
Peaceful people always describe insults to them as "very dangerous". It's part of the definition of "peaceful". Or is it the opposite (we just read the NYT editorial again, so up is down and that sort of thing).
Muslims, it looks like, not so much:
My friend Lorenzo Vidino, counterterrorism expert and author of al Qaeda in Europe, sent the above photo and this note:
Attached is a picture of the Pope that is circulating in Qaeda-friendly chat rooms and websites. Lovely (and predictable) that they call for his beheading.
The script in red calls for the Pope's beheading. The rest of the translation:
"Swine and servant of the cross, worships a monkey on a cross, hateful evil man, stoned Satan, may Allah curse him, blood-sucking vampire."
Courts in the United States have been "encouraged" to take down solemn statues of Mohammed as law-giver because Muslims said the representation was offensive and interfaith clerics agreed with them. Let's see how these representations of the man who is first among the equal princes of the Church play out among the moderate, sensitive Muslims that we've been hearing about (not that they're not out there - we just don't think they'll take a stand). This is just awesome:
Dr Bari said: "It's certainly a welcome step that the Pope recognizes the hurt that his speech caused. "He quoted the words of the emperor who made very derogatory remarks about the Prophet, and his inclusion has caused enormous hurt. "We feel it has undermined confidence in the Vatican." He continued: "For the restoration of good ties between Muslims and the Vatican, we feel it's important that he repudiates the views of the emperor. "What we want to see is a clear indication that he himself does not in any way share the emperor's bigoted assessment of the Prophet Mohammed."
Because seriously, if there's one thing that the last two days have demonstrated, it's that the 14th century Emperor in the story was dead wrong when he imputed to Muslims a tendency to defend Islam through threats and violence.
Jawa is unimpressed with the photoshop work on the let's-kill-Benedict snuff porn going around Muslim boards. LGF has more pictures of Muslims demonstrating an... er... underappreciation of irony.
PS - We don't believe in genetic differences between Muslims and Westerners across the mean. Don't be stupid. This is like the joke that Iran made about curing AIDS, except actually meant to be funny. Actual results will vary.
UPDATE: Opps. uno mas:
Pope Benedict XVI was last night facing angry demands from Muslims that he apologise for a speech in which he appeared to say the concept of jihad was "unreasonable" and quoted a medieval ruler who said Muhammad's innovations were "evil and inhuman". Protests swept across the Islamic world and the furore threatened a scheduled visit by the Pope to Turkey... Representatives of the two million Turks in Germany, where the comments were made, also expressed deep annoyance. The head of the Turkish community, Kenan Kolat, said they were "very dangerous" and liable to misunderstanding.
Peaceful people always describe insults to them as "very dangerous". It's part of the definition of "peaceful". Or is it the opposite (we just read the NYT editorial again, so up is down and that sort of thing).
