In the past 5 years, beginning very soon after 9/11, I have attempted to read as much as I can about Islamic/Middle Eastern religion, culture, art, architecture, history, etc. And I can say that I’ve learned a great deal, and it’s been a worthwhile endeavor. But I think that I can honestly say, on the other hand, that I am becoming a little resentful of the amount of preoccupation its seemed to demand of me. I have many interests that have received short shrift as a result of the demands of the project. There are a lot of other places and cultures in this world that are worthy of study. There are other beauties, there are other troubles. There are things that require more of my contemplation in my own faith, for example. There are novels and travelogues I’d like to read, and movies that I’d like to see. There’s a lot of Western history that I’d like to catch up on. Lots of fascinating archaeological stuff to dig into.
I’m not saying that it’s not important for me to try and keep up, and yeah, I remember when The Clash (thanks, docob) sang, “I’m So Bored with the USA.” I’ve just reached a point of saturation with the subject that has me a bit nauseated.
How many of you have reached a point of Islamo-Burnout?
Comment by docob on 9/29 @ 5:37 pm #
I remember when the Sex Pistols sang, “I’m So Bored with the USA.â€Â
Please pardon a pedantic old punk, but that was The Clash. =)
Comment by The Sanity Inspector on 9/29 @ 5:42 pm #
Just imagine how schooled in things Islamic you’re gonna get if the jihadists win.
Comment by BJTexs on 9/29 @ 5:46 pm #
Yeah, Dan, I probably haven’t helped with “War and Peace” sized commentary about the Wide, Wide World of Islamists. I tend to be a bit of an “Obsessive Amateur Scholar.” Went through the same thing with JFK conspiracies in the early nineties.
Drives my friends and family nuts and REALLY makes me popular at cocktail parties…not!
Comment by Dan Collins, aka UnderGawd on 9/29 @ 5:48 pm #
Inspector–
Hey, man, it’s not as though I’m giving up taking a keen interest in how the GWOT is prosecuted, I’m just saying I’m jealous of the amount of time that I’ve devoted to looking into Islam/the Middle East.
Comment by Major John on 9/29 @ 5:49 pm #
I was full o’ Islam back in the late 1980s. But that was when I was slogging through a BA and then an MA in History. Ottomans, aiee!
Comment by The Sanity Inspector on 9/29 @ 6:07 pm #
As for curiosity, respect, and admiration for other cultures, that’s also a Western thang, which will vanish if the West vanishes. I was appalled when the Grand Mosque of Samarra was blown up, sparking the current civil war in Iraq. And do you think they’ll be any gentler with our monuments?
Comment by Nishizono on 9/29 @ 6:11 pm #
b-b-b-b-but all that study and you still dont know anything about islam but what u get from robert spencer and jihaadwatch.
sad.
Comment by Vladimir on 9/29 @ 6:11 pm #
I’ve been wondering when someone else would express that sentiment. My feelings about this are very similar. Have you tried to read “From Babel to Dragomans” ? It’s a long road and there’s no turning back.
This may lighten your load…
http://foxybronx2.free.fr/foxy21.html
Comment by The Sanity Inspector on 9/29 @ 6:22 pm #
Dan, I get you; the time & brainpower allotment that The Jihad has made on us is a real nuisance. Even Steyn has said, in interviews, that he has to back off of writing about it sometimes, else he’d go nuts.
Nishizono, multiculturalism as regarding The Jihad may have become a suicide pact, but we are not signatories to it. The jihadists would blow up the airliner or train or bus you’re on as soon as anyone else’s. So, as civilized people, we respect the achievements of the Islamic Golden Age, but are resolved to resist the encroachments of jihad and shariah into our lives.
Comment by Austin Mike on 10/2 @ 3:46 pm #
Step back, take a walk in the sunshine, go to a new restaurant for a change, ask someone close to you out for a ride on a ferris wheel, the Islamist terrorist threat will still be around when you get back.
Oh, and could you pick up a gallon of milk while you’re out? I hear the little fella went all crazy with the Kix this morning – mixed half a box with all the Grape Nuts AND the left over chocolate covered donut holes – and used up the last drops of milk on the mess during breakfast, before heading out to steal a truck….
Comment by ThePolishNizel on 10/2 @ 8:00 pm #
Nishi, what’s to know? That muhammed was a murdering, raping extortionist? That, thank God, the majority of islamic adherents don’t subscribe to his actions but unfortunately a far too great a number really do? You’re a funny one. I’ll grant you that. However, humor, when trying to be serious, is pretty sad.
Comment by LISA FARQUE' on 3/1 @ 4:40 am #
ACTUALLY THIS IS KIND OF PERSONAL FOR THIS VENUE, BUT ARE YOU THE DAN COLLINS THAT WENT TO THE UNIVERSITY OF OREGON IN THE 1970′S WHO LIKE THE CROSS CULTURAL EXPRESSIONS OF THE ARTIST MUCHA?
Comment by Dan Collins on 3/1 @ 7:16 am #
No, Lisa, but thanks for asking.
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