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The very Liberal Bill Maher gets it about Islam. This is a huge indication that Conservatives and Liberals may find themselves in agreement on this tremendously significant issue.
But let me back up for a minute before I transcribe some of Bill's comments. Last week in an article titled, "'What Accounts For The Almost Psychotic Aversion To Knowledge About Islam?'", I noted:
Westerners believe that all major religions are about finding happiness. They find it almost incomprehensible that there may be a widely-followed religion that is a rejection of that - that is about rejecting happiness on earth - that tells you that the only way to achieve heaven is to attack those who do not share your religion -- to attack them in every way, including through physical violence. And indeed, it is almost incomprehensible to us that there could be a religion that teaches its followers to act so brutally against their own earthly happiness. But many who practice Islam describe it as being precisely that, and practice it in exactly that way.
A perfect example of this was provided by one of Bill's guests in the clip above - I believe it's the actor, Steven Weber.
Weber: But I mean, don't those people [terrorists] represent a more extremist view, of Islam? You know? Aren't religions at first, aren't they supposed to appeal to people's moderate tastes - moderate instincts? To win them over? And then aren't they co-opted by extremists - by radical extremists?
That's exactly what I was referring to. Americans believe that all religions teach peace, love, and understanding, and help people pursue success and happiness. Weber cannot yet begin to even consider the possibility that Islam may not conform to this description.
I should note that while I do not believe that Islam conforms to this description, I do agree that this is a description of a what the word "religion" means, in the Western sense of the word. This is why former Muslims I've quoted on this site state that Islam is not a religion in the Western sense:
In the film, Islam: What the West Needs to Know, former Muslim Walid Shoebat points out that Westerners consider religion to be about a person's relationship to himself and to God. Islam is primarily a political and legal structure, and is first and foremost about man's relationship to his fellow man, specifically, the relationship of enforcing Sharia law on all fellow men.
Wafa Sultan: "...Islam should not be considered a religion, but a political ideology that applies its policy violently."
Now, here's Maher's response to Weber, transcribed from the clip:
Maher: No! They're not all alike! It was extremist to begin with. Mohammed was a warrior. The big lie is that all religions are basically alike. They all preach the same thing. Well of course the Bible is full of a lot of violence. I mean, God in the Old Testament is a psychopath - he just kills, kills, kills, for no reason, good reasons, bad reasons, he's jealous, he just wants to kill. [Laughter]. He is. He's the rifleman. [Laughter]. But he doesn't seem to aim it so much at outsiders. He wipes out the Jews except for Noah because they were bad to him or whatever. But he doesn't keep saying, as the Koran, it seems to me [....] it seems to me that in the Koran god keeps saying, if you're not one of us, you're an infidel, and burning would be too good for you.
...And they still whack people. You know, every religion has elements in it that are very mafia-like. Godfather III, a movie I liked and nobody else did, but I thought it was a good movie, was about how the Catholic church, is very much like Michael Corleone's mob family. But the Catholic church has calmed down a lot since the 14th century. But, you know, [to Hirsi Ali], there's a death threat on you. There's a death threat on people in your country that still speak out, there's a death threat on Salmon Rushdie. They still whack people, in Islam. There's still a lot of, you disagree with me, we'll settle it by getting whacked.
When someone like Bill Maher, known for his very Liberal views, gets it, there is reason to believe that word may be getting out.
