brad jenks wrote:
<quoted text>
I agree with much of your remarks here, but ask you consider the “context” of Obama’s speech, and then try to understand the “context” of my remark calling his statements idiotic....
...I found it brimming with error.
I am not too sure if you are really clear enough. Maybe you could exactly spell out the errors you saw. And this is not an argument about Islamic arches and spires. The audience appears to be people of Egypt and the surrounding countries, not to us here. If he was speaking to a different audience other statements of contribution would be made. Like the US innovation of nuclear technology. I don't think he would not go into how evil we are because we misuse it sometimes or other countries that also contributed if he was directly speaking to US Americans. The goal was to bring good points about the culture and not the bad points. It doesn't make a good speaker to piss off your audience.
Yes, if you weren't careful to listen you might think it was fluffed to make believe that they solely did all these things. That's why you need to listen carefully. In my book any history student quoting his speech and making an assumptive statement that Islam was the most important and/or only contributor would be marked 'F'. No the Muslims (practitioners of the religion Islam) DID NOT invent the compass. Neither did Franklin. Frankly,(no pun intended) all I know about the contribution to the compass by Ben Franklin was that he used one. You didn't say that. You said that he invented it, and obviously were creating a misleading statement to try proving your point. The contributions of Ben Franklin are for another speech.
You should be careful about using misleading statements. There becomes a point were your argument will have no sound value, because it is tainted with confusion and misinformation.
There is some debate over the trade of the compass from China to Europe and if it was used before Muslims (or Arabs) did. However the compass dial and 32 point compass rose were contributions of Arab Muslims of that time in history. Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi a Muslim did contribute to algebra. So obviously he wasn't speaking of earlier, later and other cultures that also contributed to these items of study. Your "deck" analogy is much more far fetched. Now if you came up with some new and better way to build a deck, I would give that one to you. But my guess is that you only contributed to maybe building it.
To answer your question; if Bush made these same remarks? I think there would be a similar reaction. Just like the right side media did make statements on this speech. The left wing media would do the same. Why not? It's not about what they said or meant. It is purely about their dislike or hatred for that political figure. Just to speculate, Bush would have probably made a "mistake" and said they invented all these things. Kind of like Gore claiming he "invented" the Internet. Now, if Obama clearly said they invented all these things, or it was purely only their contribution; I would be in total agreement with you. But I didn't read or hear such statement.
In my opinion we are all in debt of the discoveries and innovations of mankind. Without those things we would not have the things we have now. For the record, I am not Muslim. I went to school with some Muslims and they are in fact very peaceful, open minded and understanding. Of course there are a bunch that are not and are very violent and hateful. But then again there are a bunch of Christians that I would trust my life with either.
Tell me, what exactly did the media fail to notice? What was not factual? Please elaborate.
Judge it!
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