My point whenever you attempted to draw that distinction was that you seemed to neglect the fact that a strict, medieval interpretation of Islam is the MOST CREDIBLE interpretation of the religion.

Again, I draw the comparison with Nazism. Mein Kampf has many passages that could easily be interpreted as benign, legitimate polemic on the best way for societies and nation states to be organised. And there are many people around the world who share the same views but who would not hesitate in denouncing the more nefarious parts of the book. We may have political disagreements with such people but we would not claim to hate them.

And yet I don’t think I can imagine you standing up for Nazism as a broad ideology in the same way you do for Islam. And for me that's a double standard, Clive.



Quote Originally Posted by Peter View Post
There has indeed been a major breakdown of communication. Throughout our conversations about thisyoudescribedanyattempt on my part to distinguish between interpretations of Islam as a 'straw man' or a red herring. My point from the start was that Ibelievedthat the problem was with a strict, medieval interpretation of Islam which was (a) relatively recent in its popularity and (b) a clear response to the Muslim diaspora through the western world. THis was a significant aspect of my argument that attempting to blame the entire religion was wrong and ignored other hugely significant factors. You never, at any point, allowed this argument.

Now you are distinguishing between the benign and the non-benign and accepting that ISlam can, in many,many instances, be harmless

If you do indeed accept this, then we can leave it there. Well, lets face it, it is going to keep coming up again in different forms but we can certainly leave this specific part of the conversation.

I dont think anybody finds the radical fundamental form of Islam acceptable or appropriate, particularly in Britain.

Based on the above, I hereby formally withdraw my accusation of bigotry and I thank you for your time.