Tok Presentation Betty

Justification of Muslims Opposing Americans Heeyoung Betty Park

Real life situation 



Anti-Islam film posted on YouTube infuriates the Muslim world Thousands of protesters on US embassy across the Middle East, North Africa, and Asia

Knowledge Issue: To what extent do Economics and History play roles in justifying whether the Muslims have a right to oppose the Americans?

Historical Reasons 

How can we use historical knowledge and deductive reasoning to justify the aniti-American feelings of the Muslims?

PalestinianIsraeli Issue

Palestinian-Israeli Issue ▪ “To catch the Jewish vote in the US, President Truman in 1946

demanded that the British admit one hundred thousand Jewish refugees to Palestine, in violation of British promises to the Arabs.” (Time Magazine 1951 “Man of the Year” issue)

Arab’s response: regarded Israel as a US creation and the US as enemy ▪ Israelis-Arab War: million of refugees

▪ Israel violates international law under US’s protection

US Support for Despots and Dictators •Saddam Hussein of Iraq (Iraq-Iran War) •The Shah of Iran •Hosni Mubarak of Egypt •Zia-ul-Haq of Pakistan •Sukarno of Indonesia •Suharto of Indonesia •Hafez al-Assad of Syria (US ally in the Gulf War)

Support for Despots and Dictators ▪ Western powers: promoted democracy and human

rights

▪ Under US-supported dictatorships, millions of people

were suppressed

US: hypocrites ▪ US’s counter claim: containment more important

during the Cold War

Mujahedeen Were Used and Abandoned

Mujahedeen Were Used and Abandoned ▪ US funded Afghan insurgents, mujahedeen, against

Soviets

▪ After war, governments didn’t want insurgents back

home

Bitterness and a vacuum; others, like bin Laden and the Taliban, stepped in.

War Against Iraq

War Against Iraq ▪ No Weapons of Mass Destruction found ▪ Saddam Hussein: secular

▪ Logical fallacy of Special Pleading: double

standards with N. Korea and Iraq

▪ Violating UN resolution

Deductive Reasoning: Reasoning from general to particular

Conformational Bias: People tend to remember only evidence that supports their beliefs and to forget evidence that goes against them.

Relativism: There is no such thing as absolute truth that exists in an objective way independent of what anyone happens to believe is true.

Reasons Relating to Economics 

How can we use economical knowledge and effects of emotions to justify the opposition felt by the Muslims against Americans?

Internal Problems in the Muslim World

Internal Problems in the Muslim World 50% women are illiterate

Unemployment is higher than any other portion of the Third World Gini Index > 30 in average

Psychology Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Language & Media ▪ The most vocal Muslims are the radicals and extremists who get maximum

attention and media coverage (study done at Duke University and University of North Carolina)

▪ “Death to America!”: appears that Muslims are thirsting for blood, but it only

represents less than 5% of Muslims

▪ Plays an important role in shaping our attitudes, to fuel flames of hatred in this case

Emotions ▪ Rationalizations: if we have particular emotional attitude about something, we may

manufacture bad reasons in order to justify it Americans criticize the gender inequality in Muslim states

I accept that there is gender inequality I try to treat women equally

Feelings of tension

I am a Muslim male

I continue to treat women unequally

I question the evidence

Scapegoat