* Sigh* I'll attempt this this once more.
Firstly - Adux, &sniper and Brokensickle have made various incorrect assumptions. The first is to treat the Muslim world as some sort of monolithic entity, it is not. The forms of Islam practiced,the nature of each Muslim State, the society, laws, customs etc. are all influenced by not just religion, but the culture of the area, the history of that nation and the internal and external dynamics that influence them.
Going back to the discussion - Adux, you were asked to validate your allegation that "Intolerance and dislike for interfaith dialog were widespread amongst Muslims, any more than other religions". My quarrel with you is over your mention of Islam speficically, and as I mentioned before, if you wish to re-characterize your argument as one that speaks of "widespread intolerance in all/most religions", most of my objections are removed.
Returning to that "specifically Islam" argument - You made two general arguments (that I could distinguish anyway)
1. You argued "widespread intolerance" on the basis of polls.
2. You argued "widespread intolerance" on the basis of the "legal codes" of most Muslim States.
Firstly, you argued that polls show widespread intolerance (and by widespread I take you mean a majority) - here are the ones
you posted:
When it comes to polls, from my first posts on this forum, I have argued that support for AQ, the Taliban and OBL, does not indicate anything concrete in terms of whether Muslims (Pakistanis in this case) support terrorism or extremism. The reasons as I argued with Chanakya, were that we do not know how many of those Pakistanis do not consider these organizations to be responsible for terrorism (people I talked to in Pakistan during my last trip there argued that the US and Israel were conducting the bombings in Iraq to kill Muslims, blame AQ and attack more Muslim countries.
Way out conspiracy theories - sure - I disagreed with them then and do now, but regardless of whether the rationale is cockamamie, the fact that these people do not look at AQ as being responsible for such acts does cast a lot of doubt on what such "general" polls tell us.
Other more direct questions in the same poll are much more revealing:
Quote:
There were a few bright spots in the poll results, however. Opposition leader Benazir Bhutto -- a relatively moderate and progressive figure, as well as a woman -- had a 63 percent approval rating.
Seventy-five percent of poll respondents said suicide bombings are rarely or never justified.
And a majority of Pakistanis said their opinion of the United States would improve if, among other things, there were increases in American aid to Pakistan, American business investments and the number of visas issued for Pakistanis to work in the United States.
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The last part, as self serving as it may be, does not come across as the attitude of an "intolerant extremist bent on destruction". It sounds pretty human to me - normal people want to improve their lives, have money, raise families in comfort. Extremists spit at anything to do with the US as the "great defiling Satan".
There was question over which poll was outdated, and I will admit I erred in posting a Pew poll that was from 2006 (vs your 2007 TFT poll). However I also posted a 2008 TFT poll that shows a huge decrease in the numbers of support for AQ/OBL/Terrorism. Here are some snapshots from it:
In the News Archive - Polls: Musharraf, al Qaeda losing support
Quote:
Significantly, if Al Qaeda were on the ballot as a political party in the February 18th election, only 1 percent of Pakistanis would vote for them. (The Taliban would draw just 3 percent of the vote.)
Favorable opinions of Al Qaeda and the Taliban in the North-West Frontier Province have dropped to single digits.
Pakistanis See their Country Moving in the Wrong Direction; Democracy and Economy Highest Priorities
Overall, 82 percent of Pakistanis see their country headed in the wrong direction.
Ensuring an independent judiciary, free elections, a free press and improving the
Pakistani economy were their most important priorities—while support for
defeating Al Qaeda, Taliban and other Jihadi groups nearly doubled as a priority
from August.
Support for Al Qaeda (jan 2008): 18 %
Support for Taliban (jan 2008): 19 %
Local Pakistani Radical/Jihadi/Extremist Groups: 6 - 24%
OBL - 24%
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This particular "latest poll" shows across the board that an overwhelming majority of Pakistanis reject extremism. That support for AQ and the Taliban is plummeting is an excellent sign, because it shows that more and more Pakistanis are beginning to realize that these organizations are not what they have attempted to sell themselves as to Pakistanis and Muslims in general.
So on the basis of polls dear Adux. I would argue that your suggestion of "widespread intolerance and dislike for interfaith dialog" is wrong.
However, in that context, I will admit that these polls do tell us much about whether Pakistanis would respect the rights of religious minorities etc. I don't believe I have come across any recent polls that study those attitudes that would be far more pertinent to the discussion at hand. However a lack fo support for extremism does indicate a positive direction.
The second argument you raised in defense of your claim later...