Here is a complete transcript of the discussion. It goes on for much longer than the video clip.
For easy reference:
WS = Wafa Sultan, our woman from the video
IK = Ibrahim al-Khouly, counter point Muslim fundamentalist
FQ = Faisal al Qassem, interviewer/moderator.
aqoul.com/images/wafa_sultan.pdfThis was originally broadcast on al-Jazeera TV. While we all see this as the shining light of reason, but the actual reason for broadcast is most likely to show Muslims just how bad it can get if you're lax enough to allow women luxuries like reading and thinking. The intended audience I'm sure was horrified beyond measure to hear her words. Its amazing how differently two groups of people can perceive the same words. Surely there is a large number of average people out are "Muslim" because they are required to be, not because they truly believe it. Perhaps her words will give them some hope that they are not alone.
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What we have here is not just a clash of civilizations. Different civilizations will have different ways of governing and value systems, but are still working towards fulfilling the most basic goal of any group of people; feeding and sheltering itself with increasing success. But the Islamic extremists are exhibiting a fundamental difference in ways of thinking and regarding other people.
We try to negotiate and reason with these Islamic extremists, but fail because we don't have any common ground to work from. We're sickened by their actions and wonder, "how could one human do something like that to another?" The answer is simple; they don't. They're not doing anything to other people, at least not in their minds. In order to believe that some group must be 100% destroyed, you must believe that they are DIFFERENT than you. They truly and completely believe that non-Muslims aren't "people" at all. Would you have any sympathy for rats in your house, or lay as many traps as you could?
Muslim women might qualify as "people", but only as long as they remain useful and not too much hassle to have around. As soon as that's no longer true, then they loose their lofty status of "sub-citizens" and fall to a position lower than your average infidel.
I would submit that what they have does not qualify as a "civilization" at all. It is not self-perpetuating, and makes no advancements. It is a dead-end way of life that produces nothing. It doesn't even have a true economy. Its continued existence is simply
financed by a continuous influx of foreign money in the form of oil receipts.
Their biggest reason for being a failure as a "civilization" or "way of life" doesn't lie (in my opinion) with their insistence that everyone else must die. Its real failure is rejecting the value of women. Contrary to what liberals and feminazis may tell you, men and women really are different. Its more just than a biological technicality that allows for reproduction.
God designed us to compliment each other and have different strengths and weaknesses. We approach each issue from different perspectives and then contribute to all-encompassing solutions. Neither men nor women can thrive without the other. That's the way its supposed to be. God has given us the natural desire to seek relationships that produce success (however you wish to measure it) at a level greater than the sum of each.
No group of people that consciously, purposefully, and systematically rejects God-given human nature and has no ability to view others as "neighbors", can ever flourish.