Reza Aslan: US War on Terror 'Validated' Jihadists

Complete video at: http://fora.tv/2009/05/12/Reza_Aslan_How_to_Win_a_Cosmic_War

Author Reza Aslan says the U.S. validated jihadists' worldviews "by adopting the same religiously polarizing rhetoric" after 9/11. "We've validated their identity." Aslan argues that a War on Terror cannot be won or lost.

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In his new book, the acclaimed writer of No god but God and Middle East analyst for CBS News Reza Aslan lays out, for the first time, a revolutionary assessment of the social movement behind al-Qaeda and like-minded militants throughout the Muslim world.

He argues the the goals and aspirations of Jihadists are so impossible to achieve in this life that they have been forced to transform their earthly struggle for power and influence into a metaphysical conflict between Good and Evil -- what he calls a Cosmic War.

Surveying the global scene, Aslan explores why religion is once again becoming the supreme marker of identity in nearly all parts of the globe.

In doing so, he launches a revolution in the way we understand -- and confront -- radical Islam. How do you win a cosmic war? Refuse to fight one. - First Congregational Church of Berkeley

Reza Aslan is a writer and scholar of religions. Born in Iran, Aslan is currently a research associate at the University of Southern California's Center on Public Diplomacy. He was a visiting assistant professor of Islamic and Middle Eastern studies at the University of Iowa and the Truman Capote Fellow in Fiction at the Iowa Writer's Workshop. A frequent commentator on television, radio, and in print, Aslan is a graduate of Santa Clara University, Harvard University, and the University of Iowa. He is the author of No god but God: The Origins, Evolution and Future of Islam and How to Win a Cosmic War: Why We're Losing the War on Terror.

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[blackiron60]

And now Obama can't break free (if he truly ever wanted to) of this mentality of cosmic war, and America is trapped even though Bush is gone.

[franksvenatra]

Yeah. I just think if he really wanted to scale things back, he could.

[13livefree13]

@msiddiqui135 The objects of the Crusade was to refill the coffers of the Catholic Empire so yes evil Pope and they used the Muslim occupation as an excuse as to why God had justified such an act. Add in the complete forgiveness of all your sins if you and your kingdom joined up, no wonder it was so popular at the time.

[Celtic450]

@msiddiqui135 You muslims were invading the Byzantine Empire. All that land was East Roman. The Arabs come from Arabia. They destroyed the indigenous peoples' and civilizations. The Crusades were in response to muslims killing christian pilgrims. Muslims are invaders everywhere from medina. Medina wasn't even muslim in the beginning. religious fanatics.

[msiddiqui135]

@Celtic450 Crusader was a defensive war? whom are you fooling. the war wa fought in muslims countries. who was the invader? Muslims fought the war to defend thier land. crusader were just a bunch of blood thirsty thugs instigated by the evil Pope using the name of God.

[Celtic450]

@msiddiqui135 As I told you, but then you are a muslim, there are more aborigines now than there was in 1788. It was illegal to murder an Aborigine and you were hung but your just another anti white racist piece of shit. The crusades were a defensive war against muslim aggression. You muslims better start treating indigenous peoples of Europe with respect or we are going to park our tanks in Mecca.

[msiddiqui135]

@Celtic450 Oh, ya...Local aborigines in 2 entire continent of Australia and North America were wiped out due to disease. You just changed the history. What about crusades and inquisition, maybe Aliens did it. The bloodshed in Iraq and Afghanistan,Vietnam, South America is due to US invasion.Read Wiki leaks for more details. The balcks and latinos are still mistreated. As long as you dont treat people of all racs and religion as equals and stop invading other countries for oil.

[Celtic450]

@msiddiqui135 There are no more Jewsin the middle east. They were removed in a genocide by the Arabs. Google Danny Ayalon. The English didn't murder aborigines. The Aborigines were wiped out by diseases and unlike you Arabs/muslims we respect the indigenous people and give them more opportunities than you arabs gives the copts or Berbers. There are more aborigines than there was in 1788. You are just another ignorant arab. The thousands of muslims killed by other muslims in iraq.

[msiddiqui135]

@Celtic450 I million jews removed by Arabs? where do you get this information? It 10 million Arabs removed from Plaestine and living as refugees.? It you guys who eliminated the entire popultaion of real local australians. It is people who wiped out the local population from 2 of the 5 continenets of the world (Australia and North America). Read wikileaks to see how hundreds of thousandwere killed by Bush, howard and Blair.

[msiddiqui135]

@JavaClick where do you get this information from? It is US which is trying for world domination. Others are just fighting against freedom and to liberate themselves from occupation.

[soloman81]

If it isn't completely about religion, then religion has nothing to do with it. This is what Reza Aslan seems to think. He's not an honest thinking person in my opinion at all. Whether or not we fight extremists, they will still fight. They don't need that kind of validation from us. They believe they have all the validation they need already, and you're a liar if you say religion has nothing to do with it.

[JavaClick]

He is correct that no religion or people is 100% evil.

He is correct that no religion or people is 100% good.

He is mentally deficient if he truly believes that means that all religion and people are therefore equivalent.

They are not equivalent. Muslims have murdered more than 80,000 people since 9/11. Jews and Christians categorically condemn such acts regardless of perpetrator or victims, Muslims support it when it is a Muslim who is the suicide bomber. Suicide bombers are ALWAYS Muslim