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and even if you want to take what affleck says as the truth, liberals still make the EXACT SAME arguments about white conservative groups

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Let me first address the “racist” charge. In criticizing an ideology, one cannot be racist, hateful, or bigoted. These descriptors apply to positions held against people and not ideologies. It is perfectly acceptable in a free and liberal society to criticize, debate, mock, and reject any ideology. The contents of an ideology are not sacrosanct simply because they are couched in the cloak of a religion. If we were to refrain from criticizing religion, this would constitute adherence to blasphemy laws

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Let us move to the “but 1.5 billion people are not violent” claim. Let me draw an analogy. Most men have never committed a rape nor will they ever commit such a reprehensible and evil act. Yet most rapists are men. Rape is a very serious issue that requires that we understand its root causes even though it is a very small minority of men who should be of concern to us. That we can all point to men who do not rape does not suggest that we should not worry about this phenomenon. Pointing to the empirical fact that rape is a largely male crime is not hateful, sexist, bigoted, or man-phobic. It is a manifestation of the fact that clear-thinking people can extract statistical regularities from the world and arrive to otherwise valid conclusions.

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The picture is not pretty and it suggests that a sizeable portion (totaling in the hundreds of millions) hold views that are perfectly antithetical to the fundamental tenets along which Western values are based. So what should we do with this information? Should we refrain from having an open discussion on the matter since the majority of Muslims are indeed kind and peaceful? Should we ignore the daily carnages that are carried around the world in the name of the faith even though most people of that faith are not actively engaging in violence? How should we go about tackling this issue if we are increasingly being told that the mere hint of a criticism of that faith is unacceptable as it is “racist and gross” (to use Ben Affleck’s words)?

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Finally, by virtue of my ethnic origins, I can attest that I have known and been friends with countless people of the Muslim faith who are indeed lovely human beings. Ben Affleck lives in Southern California. I grew up in Lebanon and Arabic is my mother tongue so I do not need Ben Affleck to confirm this reality for me. That said this has absolutely nothing to do with people’s fundamental right to point to aspects of that faith that necessitate scrutiny. Sam Harris and countless other true liberals are at the forefront of that discussion. This hardly makes them hateful bigots. Rather, they are courageous defenders of Western liberal values. Those who disagree with them are free to rebut their positions in an open and free exchange. However, to repeatedly seek to stifle their voice by accusing them of the vilest descriptors is dishonest and shameful.

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Bill Maher criticizes liberals again

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90% of Egyptian women have their clitorises removed. They aren't even allowed to enjoy sex.

All in the name of this sicko religion.

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