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A review by drifterontherun
Islam and the Future of Tolerance: A Dialogue by Maajid Nawaz, Sam Harris
5.0
I've been a Sam Harris fan for a while now. When it comes to atheism, spirituality, free will, lying, morality, and Christianity, he's oftentimes the most thoughtful and knowledgeable person on the subject. We can now add Islam to that last. Sam Harris has often been slammed by disingenuous "liberals" who claim that he is nothing more than a bigot who cites all muslims as being responsible for the actions of a few. Some of the regressive leftists who have engaged in this name calling are those I otherwise respect, like the Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Glenn Greenwald. Others are far more blatant and summon no respect from me at all, like out and out Islamist apologist Reza Aslan.
In this slim book, Sam Harris joins forces with former extremist (and true Muslim moderate) Maajid Nawaz in a dialogue about nothing less than the future of the world's second largest religion and what that means for the rest of us. Harris and Nawaz both address their critics on the far right and the regressive left and what they manage to accomplish in a little more than 120 pages is nothing more than a map showing us all, Muslim or not, the way forward. Harris points out, rightly, that Christian demagoguery is doomed to not only fail but further inspire jihadis and islamists while Nawaz speaks most eloquently on the harm that regressive leftists like Greenwald and Aslan are doing to the cause of moderate Muslims.
Overall, this is a helpful guide for the rest of us for many reasons, not least of which is simply explaining, clearly, the difference between an Islamist and a Jihadi. Talking about Islam - the good and the bad - as these two men do over these pages is something that has become far too rare in the politically correct world we live in. To hell with such cowardice.
In this slim book, Sam Harris joins forces with former extremist (and true Muslim moderate) Maajid Nawaz in a dialogue about nothing less than the future of the world's second largest religion and what that means for the rest of us. Harris and Nawaz both address their critics on the far right and the regressive left and what they manage to accomplish in a little more than 120 pages is nothing more than a map showing us all, Muslim or not, the way forward. Harris points out, rightly, that Christian demagoguery is doomed to not only fail but further inspire jihadis and islamists while Nawaz speaks most eloquently on the harm that regressive leftists like Greenwald and Aslan are doing to the cause of moderate Muslims.
Overall, this is a helpful guide for the rest of us for many reasons, not least of which is simply explaining, clearly, the difference between an Islamist and a Jihadi. Talking about Islam - the good and the bad - as these two men do over these pages is something that has become far too rare in the politically correct world we live in. To hell with such cowardice.