C L O S E R

The myth of Muslim support for terror | csmonitor.com

Posted on March 19th, 2007 by martijn.
Categories: International Terrorism, Research International.

The myth of Muslim support for terror | csmonitor.com

The common enemy is violence and terrorism, not Muslims any more than Christians or Jews an op-ed by By Kenneth Ballen.

WASHINGTON – Those who think that Muslim countries and pro-terrorist attitudes go hand-in-hand might be shocked by new polling research: Americans are more approving of terrorist attacks against civilians than any major Muslim country except for Nigeria.

The survey, conducted in December 2006 by the University of Maryland’s prestigious Program on International Public Attitudes, shows that only 46 percent of Americans think that “bombing and other attacks intentionally aimed at civilians” are “never justified,” while 24 percent believe these attacks are “often or sometimes justified.”

Contrast those numbers with 2006 polling results from the world’s most-populous Muslim countries – Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nigeria. Terror Free Tomorrow, the organization I lead, found that 74 percent of respondents in Indonesia agreed that terrorist attacks are “never justified”; in Pakistan, that figure was 86 percent; in Bangladesh, 81 percent. (more…)

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The myth of Muslim support for terror | csmonitor.com

Posted on March 19th, 2007 by .
Categories: International Terrorism, Research International.

The myth of Muslim support for terror | csmonitor.com

The common enemy is violence and terrorism, not Muslims any more than Christians or Jews an op-ed by By Kenneth Ballen.

WASHINGTON – Those who think that Muslim countries and pro-terrorist attitudes go hand-in-hand might be shocked by new polling research: Americans are more approving of terrorist attacks against civilians than any major Muslim country except for Nigeria.

The survey, conducted in December 2006 by the University of Maryland’s prestigious Program on International Public Attitudes, shows that only 46 percent of Americans think that “bombing and other attacks intentionally aimed at civilians” are “never justified,” while 24 percent believe these attacks are “often or sometimes justified.”

Contrast those numbers with 2006 polling results from the world’s most-populous Muslim countries – Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nigeria. Terror Free Tomorrow, the organization I lead, found that 74 percent of respondents in Indonesia agreed that terrorist attacks are “never justified”; in Pakistan, that figure was 86 percent; in Bangladesh, 81 percent. (more…)

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Independent Online Edition > How Islamic inventors changed the world

Posted on March 19th, 2007 by martijn.
Categories: Misc. News.

Independent Online Edition:   How Islamic inventors changed the world
From coffee to cheques and the three-course meal, the Muslim world has given us many innovations that we take for granted in daily life. As a new exhibition opens, Paul Vallely nominates 20 of the most influential- and identifies the men of genius behind them. A nice article to read but a little more discussion would be helpful. Not all of the inventors in the Muslim world were Muslim, some were Christian and Jews just as in the European world Muslim scientists played an important role. Furthermore it would be more interesting I think to explore the chain of inventions, show how for example inventions from the Chinese trickled down into the Muslim world, were reproduced and changed there and then went to other places (and maybe back again). Also if we call them Muslim inventors then there should be a link made with the Islamic traditions. This is probably not so difficult certainly during a particular time but back then and now the life of Muslims does not only depend on Islam. Also other matters such as politics, competition and so on matter. We can find much of these considerations on the weblog of the exhibition for example about windmills (yes I’m Dutch…) and toothbrushes (have to go to the dentist tomorrow). (more…)

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Independent Online Edition > How Islamic inventors changed the world

Posted on March 19th, 2007 by .
Categories: Misc. News.

Independent Online Edition:   How Islamic inventors changed the world
From coffee to cheques and the three-course meal, the Muslim world has given us many innovations that we take for granted in daily life. As a new exhibition opens, Paul Vallely nominates 20 of the most influential- and identifies the men of genius behind them. A nice article to read but a little more discussion would be helpful. Not all of the inventors in the Muslim world were Muslim, some were Christian and Jews just as in the European world Muslim scientists played an important role. Furthermore it would be more interesting I think to explore the chain of inventions, show how for example inventions from the Chinese trickled down into the Muslim world, were reproduced and changed there and then went to other places (and maybe back again). Also if we call them Muslim inventors then there should be a link made with the Islamic traditions. This is probably not so difficult certainly during a particular time but back then and now the life of Muslims does not only depend on Islam. Also other matters such as politics, competition and so on matter. We can find much of these considerations on the weblog of the exhibition for example about windmills (yes I’m Dutch…) and toothbrushes (have to go to the dentist tomorrow). (more…)

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