California’s San Francisco Bay area is notorious for both its inhabitants’ lack of enthusiasm for conventional religion and their hair-trigger political sensitivities.
Zomblog was consequently therefore more than a little surprised at the lack of protests, condemnations, or even public discussion of a new Islamic advertising campaign, funded by the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA), the North American branch of Jamaat-e-Islami, the fundamentalist Pakistani political party.
“No enemies to the left” seems to apply even to Islamic fundamentalism, and even in the Castro, despite the obvious problems with regarding organizations dedicated to the imposition of sharia law as being on the left.
Casual bud
Liberalism in the Western world must be practiced with caution.
In some “liberal and secular” muslim-majority countries, public information on non-Islamic religions are strictly prohibited. None on banners, newspaper, television or the radio. If there were, it will be on the rituals which are actually more of the believer’s culture rather than the religion. the of On the other hand, Islam is advertised over mass media monopolized by the government, even through medium where majority if not 100% of the audience are non-muslims. Islamic education is embedded in subjects offered at secondary schools and tertiary education, and it is compulsory.
A decade or two ago, circumstances were different. Religions enjoyed equal status though Islam was recognized as the official religion. Things are different now. None-muslims are dwindling in number due to emigration, lower birth-rate and occasionally, conversion (mostly due to socio-economic reasons though personal spiritual inclination could be a valid factor).
I am not a psychological expert but any young or feeble minds, frequently shown to similar messages especially in the public, will eventually be programmed to believe. This is “brainwashing”, just as political brainwashing done in some dictatorial regimes, by starting with the young minds.
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