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Reza Aslan: God, Globalization & Ending the War on Terror

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US War on Terror 'Validated' Jihadists Says Reza Aslan

04 min 32 sec

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Author Reza Aslan says the U.S. validated the jihadists' worldview "by adopting the same religiously polarizing rhetoric" after 9/11. "We've validated their identity."

He argues the War on Terror cannot be won, or lost.
Reza Aslan: Bush Was Right, Democracy Answer to Terrorism

05 min 36 sec

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"We have to actually have the nerve to support these Islamist groups, if they are willing to take part in the political process," says author Reza Aslan of organizations like Hamas.

"George Bush was right. Democracy turns out, is the answer."
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54 min 01 sec

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Previous FORAtv comments:

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AaronSDavis

Posted: 01.24.11, 07:29 PM

These are merely "stated aims" which we (and probably they) know are unattainable. For all intents and purposes, Al-Qaeda want a never ending war. This is what energises and motivates them. Is Bin Laden really stupid enough to beleive he can impose a world caliphate on us...I dont think so. Same goes for Hamas and the destruction of Israel.Hamas leaders dont really believe that guff.

Sami

Posted: 09.12.10, 03:03 AM

Did he say Al-Qaeda doesn't want anything? How can any supposebly knowledgeable person say that in front of others and expect not to be laughed off stage, we know exactly what they want - an Islamic caliphate in the middle east completely free of non-Muslim influence and the destruction of Israel.

iching

Posted: 09.10.10, 10:58 PM

Reza Aslan is a Muslim apologist that is rather misleading. He talks about the BJB of India, Jews of Israel, evangelical Christians etc. and likens them to the Talibans. The reality is that in ALL Islamic countries, Muslims who convert to other religions pay a heavy price, very often they are executed or have to flee for their lives. DURING CHRISTMAS MANY CHURCHES IN INDONESIA ARE BURNED DOWN. THE CHRISTIAN WORLD DON'T GO BERSERK DESTROYING MOSQUES IN RETURN. BUT WHEN A PASTOR OF A SMALL CHURCH IN THE USA TALKED ABOUT THE BURNING OF KORAN, MUSLIMS ALL OVER THE WORLD GOES CRAZY. THE REACTION SHOWS THE VERY VIOLENT NATURE OF MUSLIMS.

browser111

Posted: 06.25.10, 06:27 PM

quotes: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbary_corsairs In 1786, Thomas Jefferson, then the ambassador to France, and John Adams, ambassador to Britain, met in London with Sidi Haji Abdul Rahman Adja, a visiting ambassador from Tripoli. The Americans asked Adja why his government was hostile to American ships, even though there had been no provocation. They reported to the Continental Congress that the ambassador had told them "it was written in their Koran, that all nations which had not acknowledged the Prophet were sinners, whom it was the right and duty of the faithful to plunder and enslave," from Times of London: Hamas, as its charter and political literature make clear, does not want an end to Israeli occupation. It wants the end of Israel. That is because Hamas is part of a pan-Islamist movement with global messianic ambitions. Creating a Palestinian state in Gaza and the West Bank is not its aim. A branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas dreams of world dominion for its version of Islam rather than a mini-state in 5,000 square kilometres of barren land in a geopolitical backyard. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/com...cle5477420.ece

browser111

Posted: 06.25.10, 03:24 PM

Mr. Aslan, like all muslims, is called on to jihad. Jihad is not as he claims a recent 20 year old phenomenon. The US Navy was created to fight against jihad-ing Barbary pirates ("to the shores of Tripoli"). Mr. Aslan is a soft jihadist, semantically dividing and perhaps conquering some ... all these groups are so different ... how can you treat them the same ? This idea that Hamas and others are "nationalist" and thus can be negotiated with is nonsense. Hamas, in fact, has declared that they don't want an independent Palestinian state. They want the world-wide Islamic caliphate. We thought Vietnam was an international struggle against Communism and now we view it as a nationalist struggle. We are now making the mistake (and Aslan is trying to help us make that mistake) of thinking that these struggles are nationalist. Afghanistan is not really a nationalist struggle. Once we let the Taliban succeed we might loose Pakistan. Then it will be the 'Stans. Islam's goal is international. Instead of depending on a muslim to explain Islam and jihad please do some reading yourself. (The Quran tells muslims to be deceptive to infidels) Book suggestion: http://www.amazon.com/Sword-Prophet-.../dp/1928653111

Mark Sullivan

Posted: 12.11.09, 10:05 PM

The Arab world does not give a whit about the Palestinians. The Palestinians are mascots for the very regimes that use "the West" as the bogeyman for all of the poverty, backwardness and failure of their states while they count all of their oil riches and do nothing to propel their societies forward. There IS a Palestinian state - Jordan. The Jordanians, however, do not want their downtrodden brothers and sisters in their country. They will trot their representatives out to speak, inconsolable about the evil Israelis, but they have perpetuated this Arab-created and maintained Palestinian refugee problem going for 60 years. The Arab world is not the largest population of Muslims. Most Muslims are not Arab. Europe has abondoned the war on terror because their exploding Muslim immigrant populations burn cars, slaughter film makers and blow up buses and trains to make their point. This is not a "War on Terror" for Europe as it is for us - with a distant enemy. It has become a civil war for many European nations. This is why they do not fight back.

heygbradio

Posted: 11.12.09, 09:56 PM

"Islam-ists" do not prescribe to the true Islam and that is that everyone who is not a Muslim is 'the infidel' and must die. Plain and simple. That is the teaching of the Quran and it is very blunt. I would like to have heard more on the differences in Islamic belief systems that exist. The Al-Qaeda regime seems to be holding the true teaching of the Quaran, yet few people address this fact.

Calorus

Posted: 11.03.09, 05:59 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by TreeLuvBurdpu Insightful. I think he should have also mentioned that the Jihadists are at war with free trade and personal freedom. He touches on some of the ways the US has miscalculated the true intentions of the Jihadists. I think that only an American could make that statement. Jihadists are completely accepting of personal freedom within their view of it - i.e. Patricentrically. The Jihadist movement frequently points accusing fingers and the American supported dictators throughout the Middle East with respect to their repression of personal freedoms of their citizenry. Forget the GWB speech ("They hate us for our freedom") it's a duplicitous lie. They no more hate you/us for your freedom than you'd hate the man who stole your car for his. They may very well hate us for what we choose to do with our freedom, however. But that's very different - and the key to this is authoritianism and libertarianism. A Libertarian may disagree vehemently with what you do, but as long as it does not affect anyone but you, it's your own business. An authoritarian opposes the action regardless of its sphere of influence, and will aim to prevent it whether it only affects willing parties or not. The Jihadists, like the American Christian right, are firmly Authoritarian, whether the issue is homosexuality, abortion, drug usage or anything else, both sects firmly instist that they have the right proscribe your actions based on their religion and beliefs, in spite of the effects of the actions being extremely limited.

Farid Machfudz

Posted: 06.22.09, 09:31 PM

I just make a speculation. America will become more soft in Obama regime, and it will weaken Israel lobby and we can see what is really what they want to do to this world.

MTGRAY

Posted: 05.30.09, 05:05 PM

Why do the israel front continue on using the United States for it's agenda and not the peoples of America.

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