Was the Global War on Terror a success?

[Bobfripp]

This Pew Research article is a bit dated (2013) but it has some enlightening, but also depressing, information on the world of Islam. Some Muslim countries have some very backward views on religion, culture and society (e.g.. Egypt), while some are not so backward (e.g., Turkey).

The World’s Muslims: Religion, Politics and Society

A new survey report looks at attitudes among Muslims in 39 countries on a wide range of topics, from science to sharia, polygamy to popular culture. The survey finds that overwhelming percentages of Muslims in many countries want Islamic law to be the official law of their land, but there is...

www.pewresearch.org

Chapter 1: Beliefs About Sharia

According to the survey findings, most Muslims believe sharia is the revealed word of God rather than a body of law developed by men based on the word of

pewrsr.ch

Should note that the Pew polls were not conducted in Saudi Arabia or Iran. I'm not sure why, but might be because Pew was denied access.

 

[ZenMode]

This Pew Research article is a bit dated (2013) but it has some enlightening, but also depressing, information on the world of Islam. Some Muslim countries have some very backward views on religion, culture and society (e.g.. Egypt), while some are not so backward (e.g., Turkey).

The World’s Muslims: Religion, Politics and Society

A new survey report looks at attitudes among Muslims in 39 countries on a wide range of topics, from science to sharia, polygamy to popular culture. The survey finds that overwhelming percentages of Muslims in many countries want Islamic law to be the official law of their land, but there is...

www.pewresearch.org

Chapter 1: Beliefs About Sharia

According to the survey findings, most Muslims believe sharia is the revealed word of God rather than a body of law developed by men based on the word of

pewrsr.ch

I'd bet the polling is better today than over a decade ago, but the polling you posted is truly flabbergasting and equally concerning. @Batt Boy hinted that 99% of Muslims aren't anything to be concerned about. It's true that only a small percent of Muslims are willing to strap on a bomb today and blow themselves up, but the support for such actions shows that it's a lot more than 1% that we need to be concerned about, or at least those who appreciate and want to live in a civilized society, because not all Muslims use violence. Islamists will use the power of government to implement freedom-crushing religious views.

 

[gtyellowjacket]

This Pew Research article is a bit dated (2013) but it has some enlightening, but also depressing, information on the world of Islam. Some Muslim countries have some very backward views on religion, culture and society (e.g.. Egypt), while some are not so backward (e.g., Turkey).

The World’s Muslims: Religion, Politics and Society

A new survey report looks at attitudes among Muslims in 39 countries on a wide range of topics, from science to sharia, polygamy to popular culture. The survey finds that overwhelming percentages of Muslims in many countries want Islamic law to be the official law of their land, but there is...

www.pewresearch.org

Chapter 1: Beliefs About Sharia

According to the survey findings, most Muslims believe sharia is the revealed word of God rather than a body of law developed by men based on the word of

pewrsr.ch

The scary part is when that sort of thing is used to justify a war. I remember hearing all those heartbreaking stories about Afghan girls not being able to go to school and being forced to wear a burka and even getting killed for some backwards reason.

But over 200,000 people died in that conflict, most of them after Al Qaeda was crippled. Many more than that had limbs amputated or will have PTSD for the rest of their life. Weighing the trade-offs of all those dead and damaged people versus millions of women forced to wear a burka (many of them probably want to wear a burka) is something we never do.

 

[finesse]

I'd bet the polling is better today than over a decade ago, but the polling you posted is truly flabbergasting and equally concerning. @Batt Boy hinted that 99% of Muslims aren't anything to be concerned about. It's true that only a small percent of Muslims are willing to strap on a bomb today and blow themselves up, but the support for such actions shows that it's a lot more than 1% that we need to be concerned about, or at least those who appreciate and want to live in a civilized society, because not all Muslims use violence. Islamists will use the power of government to implement freedom-crushing religious views.

That last line sounds like our incoming cabinet.

 

[Batt Boy]

My experience, both with the ones I fought and those that I didn't, is that they aren't much different than us. Just bad fortune to be born where/when they were. Again, my experience only and the bulk of it was in the Gulf, East Africa or Afghanistan. Never in the Levant other than King Faisal Air Base and there we were only training.

 

[Geisterfahrer]

I’m certainly not ready to count all the American lives lost in Iraq as a “W” just yet.

 

[ZenMode]

That last line sounds like our incoming cabinet.

Even uninformed and otherwise ignorant people can get things right once in awhile.