Did you forget the Taliban?

[.]

I think my attitude is actually the opposite of fear. I think it’s not even necessarily an ‘American’ attitude I have. I have a very limited scope of knowledge in this regard. And I don’t know any different

[Strega]

You know, Belle, if more people said, “I don’t know any different” it would be a huge step forward for the species 🙂

I’ve learned that there’s a lot more to learn than I’ll ever be capable of learning, and that’s just as regards day to day wisdom.  Forget anything larger!

I do, however, feel that better brains than mine will be needed to come up with proposals to end this terrorist aspect of human behavior.  I can only try to understand the harder things – the things that people do to cause fear and harm, for example.  I can try, so I do try.

• This reply was modified 8 years, 5 months ago by Strega.

[.]

@Strega I’m actually studying it in school:) And I feel like honestly some people are unreachable

[Strega]

@bellerose What are you studying?  What’s the content and purpose of the course you are doing?

[.]

I’m getting my masters of Science in psychology with an emphasis in forensic psychology. The class I’m taking right now just happens to be “Theories of Criminal Behavior ” 🙂

[Strega]

How interesting, Belle!  That sounds like a fascinating course.  I’m guessing it’s dealing with ‘western’ criminals but still, an interesting subject 🙂

[.]

@Strega it is fascinating! It’s not only applicable to western culture. For example right now serendipitously I’m reading about victimology, which talks about how some people are more vulnerable and also why some people hurt others.

[.]

…terrorism is part of that category

[Strega]

@bellerose I’d be interested in reading some snippets of the stuff you’re studying, if you care to post any.

And back on the subject of Islam and Muslims, I read about the Egyptian massacre a day or two ago, where there was a bombing at a mosque that killed over 250 people including 27 children.  The mosque was a known Sufi one.    So I wondered what the hell Sufis were – and a bit of googling took me to information that they are the spiritual practitioners of Islam (I cringed when I read that it was the good old British colonials who separated out these as a separate sect, which they aren’t, or weren’t originally). There is an interesting wiki article comparing the Sunni and Shi’ite sects of Muslim adhesion, and the more I read, the less I discovered I knew.

The more we know and understand, the better we can try to use our knowledge to address the horrendous terrorist attitudes.

[Simon Paynton]

I don’t know @strega, according to my information, the Sufis are an ancient and honorable sect.  They’re the hippies of the Muslim world, and of course, Isis fucking hate them.  Rumi is the famous Sufi poet I believe.  I’ve got a lot of time for his stuff.

[Reg the Fronkey Farmer]

One day, in the 1990’s when I was low on cash I gambled £20 on a horse called “The Whirling Dervish”. It came it a 33/1.

Then I found out that a Whirling Dervish was a Sufi dancer.

In Egypt this week ISIS killed over 300 Sufi Muslims. To them they are heretics and as “bad” as us Infidels.

[Simon Paynton]

@strega if you’re interested in Sufism, this book comes recommended, and it’s only cheap.

The Garden of Truth: The Vision and Promise of Sufism, Islam’s Mystical Tradition

I just bought it from the magic shop that lives on my desk, using some of the magic money that the government gives me every two weeks for doing nothing.

[Simon Paynton]

I have a book, “What is Sufism?” by Martin Lings, it’s interesting, but there’s only so many times you can read about “the One”, “the Infinite” before your eyes glaze over.

I gather that Sufis see existence as a sea, and each of us is like a wave on the sea.  It would be nice if I could get a lively explanation of the rest of what they believe, but I don’t know any Sufis.

[Simon Paynton]

I think Sufis are basically into the hardcore Jesus end of things, which is reflected in their back-to-basics prosocial behaviour and disdain for society’s rules.  In the past I think they have had some extreme dogmatic ideas, and you feel a bit sorry for them, such as “no-self” and “self-mortification” – doing anything for yourself is sinful.  That’s not going to do anybody any favours.  But that was hundreds of years ago.

[Author]

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