Sunday, July 31, 2011

Questioning Belief

This is by way of a further comment on the two anonymous comments which I allowed to appear on the entry for 24 July. I was asked to consider some 'articles' on a particular website apparently devoted to 'understanding Islam' and say what I made of them. Well, there's not much to say really. The material was simplistic in the extreme (pun intended) and that's about it.

I'd rather take this opportunity to point out that there's something inherently untrustworthy about any source claiming to understand any mode of thought that then seeks to discredit it. Indeed, if any of my students are reading this, please note that it's a useful rule of thumb regarding any Internet-based source that if it's obviously attacking something - a religion, a mode of thought or set of ideas, an individual, an institution - it needs to be read with particular care and scepticism. That's not to say all such material is flawed, but it's healthy to read it as if it is.

And for those of my particular religious persuasion: selamat berpuasa to you all.

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