Karen Armstrong on Bill Moyers "in this context secluarism doesn't seem the benign privilege that it has been for you and me it feels like an assault"

Everyone interested in understanding Islam and Muslims distaste for what we think of as benevolent Western foreign policies should listen to Karen Armstrong on Bill Moyers tonight. MOST OF ALL LISTEN TO HER LAST PORTION OF THE TALK!! In which she discusses secularism (and I think implies democracy) in the Middle East.

She does an amazing job of explaining that many Muslims do not take to secularism and democracy bc it has always been imposed violently and suddenly today and throughout history. Usually what happens on the ground there is not democracy but dictators talking about democracy (Nasser, Mubarak.)

Here are some quotes - some words might be slightly off.

"They have experience secularism as an assault."

"We had the chance for it (secularism, modernism, democracy) to trickle down slowly...It was forced upon them."

She gave examples of Ataturk's forceful sudden removal of Islam (still has some negative implications on Turkey today), how the Shah's troops tore off women's veils and ripped them to pieces and shot the peaceful demonstrators at the mosque before the revolution.

MOST IMPORTANTLY recounts how Sunni extremism was born in the context of torture in Egyptian prisons, where men were tortured and executed for handing out pamphlets (ie Qtub)...so this is going on, from his jail cell these men heard Nasser vow to secularize Egypt...secularism didn't seem so great...

"...in this context secularism doesn't seem the benign privilege that it has been for you and me it feels like an assault..." (I love this line.)

What do Muslims like about West? Freedom
What do they fear about West? Disrespect for Islam. When they hear uneducated comments on Islam. (See my pose on the forum held at AU on Islam and the Media..never any experts on Islam included on news programs on Islam...ridiculous.)

Where is the burden?
We have our part. They have their own.
Survey 35 Muslim countries: Just 7% said 9/11 justified, for political reasons.