I do not understand why we are so desperate to exculpate an ideology which, at the very least, lends itself too easily to a messianic authoritarianism and viciousness. There may be much in Islam which is agreeable — a respect for the elderly, a commitment to charity, a certain high seriousness, self-discipline and so on — but many of its tenets are simply antithetical to much that we believe in and cherish.
There is such a thing as “intellectual poisoning”, and the above quoted and cited piece tells a part of the process.
I elaborate on “Social Grammar” in the Coins and Terms section here — and probably I will break out topics into separate sections quite soon:
My hypothesis and theory is that a) there is such a thing as the development of “social grammar” accompanying language uptake, b) that it is part of the learning of a language and subsequent navigation of a related language culture, and c) it has gravitational sway on formulations associated with perception and expression.
This goes back to attitude-behavior studies and theories, formulating as the basis for attitude the possession of one more beliefs and their valence (good thing / bad thing) and the intensity of the valence.
Attitude f/ belief x (affect x intensity)
And some beliefs are either more primary or more powerful than others, so multiple aligned and competing beliefs may form a mosaic with a center of gravity: deeply rooted but inexplicable, irretrievable, and indefensible beliefs and belief systems that nonetheless determine subsequent speech and behavior over time.
Jews bad / Christians bad / Muslims bad / Hindus bad / Atheists good — whatever the message, I think the child gets the drift and outline of it before uttering his first sentence: “Not mother’s milk,” I have often said: “Mother’s tongue.”
I’ll have more to say on the formation of attitudes and their expression in language after the Jewish Sabbath.
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