Well, it has been cancelled, but similar trends occur in the U.K., all a sign that Moslem communities require insularity in order to thrive for more than a generation or two in the west:


http://www.danielpipes.org/blog/482

So, even Christians are called to be "in the world but not of the world" I believe, this is just one way these Muslims try to incarnate that ideal within there own religion..as much as they can. I guess I miss the significant import of this.

This is in some ways no different than so-called Christian theme parks that conservative evangelical Christians create as a cultural alternative to the secular consumeristic culture of contemporary America. In some ways I empathize with both these Muslims and these so-called evangelicals: there is much in modern American culture to be disgusted and embarrassed about..just as there is much to be grateful for I should add.

Devinath

One wouldn't know, Devinath, whether a person entering such a Christian theme park was really a Christian or not; besides, it is one thing to arrange for one's own church or relgious organization in a private setting, and quite another to use a public, secular setting for religious purposes. Not against the law, of course, but I think you miss the point of how Moslems require insularity in order to perpetuate their mysoginist culture away from native lands. France, for instance, has outlawed the veil in public schools as this behavior maintains that insularity. U.S. states insist Moslem women unveil to take their driver's license pictures. Such confrontations with religion are mainly a problem for Moslems who have a decidedly different world view that the west is recently realizing it cannot afford to support.

"Not against the law, of course, but I think you miss the point of how Moslems require insularity in order to perpetuate their mysoginist culture away from native land."

No, I got your point quite well. I am only pointing out a parallel between your point and what some Christian groups have tried to do such as the Christian la la land of Jim and Tammy Baker or even more toned down efforts such a Christian rock concerts, etc. It tougher to distinguish from the more secular versions simply because, in many respects, they are Americans who have grown up in this culture.

However, the similarity is in motivation and intent: trying to being separate and pure while living admidst a sinful and irreligious culture. Quite frankly, in terms of mentality and even tone, a Pat Robertson and Shaun Hannity have more in common with Mr. Whackominejad in Iran than they would like to admit: perhaps theologically and even ideologically miles apart, but in terms of turning the world into black/white, us/against them, good/evil (and guess who is good), and the anger..the anger..goodness, it's papable and the similarity, in my own mind, unnerving.

So, all I am saying is that the real menance is neither just Islam or Christianity, but the fundamentalist mindset that cannot tolerate ambiguity or dissent, a mindset which is fear based and at heart, unsure of itself. And the more it is challenged, the more it engages in what has been called a "fixation of belief"..a form of cognitive denial that does not allow for any form of, like I said, ambiguity or shades of grey. And this is where the need for "insularity" arises, both geographically and mentally.

Devinath

Yes, there are parallels between the most extreme Christian fundamentalists, like Pat Robertson, and Iran's thug-in-chief, the main difference being that most Christians, even many of evangelical persuasion, would take exception to Robertson's strict eschatological vision where it would infringe on sovereignty of reason and sovereignty of the individual for non-Christians; whereas Islamists in Iran and elswhere would hardly tolerate seperation of religion and state. This bears upon Christianity's credal tolerance, from its beginning, for that seperation, and Islam's forging of religious and political identity as inexorable to its purpose.

So fundamentalism in Christianity has less internal appeal where infringement of basic human rights is concerned, distinguishing it from Islam in crucial ways. Hence the great difficulty moderate Moslems have in persuading Islam's majority that it can do without political hegemony.