The faith-based thugs of Oakland's Your Black Muslim Bakery. - By Christopher Hitchens - Slate Magazine
Last year my father suggested I read, and loaned/bought a copy of Hitchen's book:
[URL = "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Letter_to_a_Christian_Nation"] Letter to a Christian Nation[/URL]
Which was an intersting read, presents the atheists side pretty well. But this recent example of his work suggests that Hitchens is subsiding to simple anti-religious demagoguery. Doesn't mean that his basic point is good:
"Now, again, I am just asking, but what if this racket had been named the White Christian or Aryan Nations Cookie Parlor? (Motto and mission statement: "Don't F*** With Us.") "
But the remainder of his point: 'because they claim to be Muslim's they can get away with anything' is poorly presented, letting his anger against Islamic Fundamentalists get the best of him.
Note that Letter to a Christian Nation was written by Sam Harris in response to letters regarding his previous book, The End of Faith: Religion, Terror, and the Future of Reason (both available at Penrose Library; there is a list of several related books at the end of Letter to a Christian Nation). Christopher Hitchens has written a similar book entitled God is Not Great, How Religion Poisons Everything (on order at Penrose Library).
ReplyDeleteOops, my bad, should take the time to research before posting. ALthough I think Hitchen's work is cited numerous times in Harris' book.
ReplyDeleteI wrote the previous comment before reading the Hitchens' article. After having read it, I am forced to disagree with my beloved son, Mike. I think that he presented a good example of one of the main points that Harris, Dawkins, et al, make, namely, that an unqualified respect for religion can and does contribute to violence in the name of religion.
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