You are spot-on in your description of the abysmal performance of the CNN news team, Professor Cole. It reached such a low level that, were I in charge and cared about objective news coverage without jumping to conclusions, I would consider it a firing offense.
This idea that only adherents of particular religions, or individuals of particular ethnic backgrounds, have a right to discuss and interpret those religious and ethnic categories to which they belong is nonsense. It violates the very idea of intellectual freedom, exchange, and scholarship.
It is popular among certain narrow-minded circles to suggest that only Muslims can interpret Islam, only Arabs can discuss Arab history and culture, only African-Americans can discuss and interpret African-American history and culture, only Hispanics can discuss and interpret Hispanic history and culture, and on and on. This type of thinking represents the Balkanization of scholarship and really has no place in a society that values intellectual diversity and the exchange of ideas.
"There is NO penalty for apostasy in Islam. Please let me know where you get this statement from."
You obviously know little about Islam, Heba Sourour, judging from your statement, cited above. Shari'a Law most definitely calls for death in the case of apostates, and it derives its authority from the Hadith, sayings attributed to the Prophet. I have quoted below:
"Bukhari records this tradition traced back to Muhammad himself in a legal context. It gives three reasons for shedding a Muslim’s blood. One of them is apostasy. Allah's Apostle said, "The blood of a Muslim who confesses that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah and that I am His Apostle, cannot be shed except in three cases: In Qisas [like-for-like punishment] for murder, a married person who commits illegal sexual intercourse and the one who reverts from Islam (apostate) and leaves the Muslims."
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You are spot-on in your description of the abysmal performance of the CNN news team, Professor Cole. It reached such a low level that, were I in charge and cared about objective news coverage without jumping to conclusions, I would consider it a firing offense.
This idea that only adherents of particular religions, or individuals of particular ethnic backgrounds, have a right to discuss and interpret those religious and ethnic categories to which they belong is nonsense. It violates the very idea of intellectual freedom, exchange, and scholarship.
It is popular among certain narrow-minded circles to suggest that only Muslims can interpret Islam, only Arabs can discuss Arab history and culture, only African-Americans can discuss and interpret African-American history and culture, only Hispanics can discuss and interpret Hispanic history and culture, and on and on. This type of thinking represents the Balkanization of scholarship and really has no place in a society that values intellectual diversity and the exchange of ideas.
"There is NO penalty for apostasy in Islam. Please let me know where you get this statement from."
You obviously know little about Islam, Heba Sourour, judging from your statement, cited above. Shari'a Law most definitely calls for death in the case of apostates, and it derives its authority from the Hadith, sayings attributed to the Prophet. I have quoted below:
"Bukhari records this tradition traced back to Muhammad himself in a legal context. It gives three reasons for shedding a Muslim’s blood. One of them is apostasy. Allah's Apostle said, "The blood of a Muslim who confesses that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah and that I am His Apostle, cannot be shed except in three cases: In Qisas [like-for-like punishment] for murder, a married person who commits illegal sexual intercourse and the one who reverts from Islam (apostate) and leaves the Muslims."