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Strawman? Hardly.


Statement:  and those suicide bombers seem quite exclusive to the theology.


My response: Hardly. Remember the Kamakazi fighters of the Japanese? Dying for a cause is not new nor is it unique to Islam extremists.


A simple and direct refutation of a Bewitched's statement.





I would argue that religion simply provides the rationale for an action that those same people would likely undertake anyway because of their emotional and cultural make up.  The same sort of make up, for example, that allows people to sacrifice themselves or others for a cult, for nationalism, or for a political ideology.  Their actions had far less to do with religion then it did with their particular cultural attribute of obedience - to their nation, to authority, to the Emperor and the willingness of some of them to kill themselves for it.  What you seemingly ignore in both these examples is:


  • the vast majority of the Japanese were not Kamakazi - not willing to sacrifice themselves in this particular way yet they considered themselves staunch supporters of the Emperor.
  • the vast majority of Muslims are not suicide bombers nor do they support such actions yet they consider themselves Muslim.


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