A comparison of Palin and Muslim fundamentalism

Juan Cole, writing for salon.com, asks a pertinent question and then provides the proper answer:

"What's the difference between Palin and Muslim fundamentalists? Lipstick."


Cole argues that Palin, because of her religious beliefs and theocratic worldview, is closer to Muslim fundamentalists than she is to our nation's Founding Fathers.

"On censorship, the teaching of creationism in schools, reproductive rights, attributing government policy to God's will and climate change, Palin agrees with Hamas and Saudi Arabia rather than supporting tolerance and democratic precepts."

Cole then gets into specifics, detailing how Palin's views stack up in relation to fundamentalist Muslim views.

For example:

When mayor of Wasilla, Palin "inquired of the local librarian how to go about banning books that some of her constituents though contained inappropriate language. She tried to fire the librarian for defying her. Book banning is common to fundamentalisms around the world, and the mind-set Palin displayed did not differ from that of the Hamas minister of education in the Palestinian government who banned a book of Palestinian folk tales for its sexually explicit language."

When Ms. Palin was running for governor, she said that "creationism should be taught in public schools, at taxpayers' expense, alongside real science. Antipathy to Darwin for providing an alternative to the creastion stories of the Bible and the Quran has also become a feature of Muslim fundamentalism. Saudi Arabia prohibits the study, even in universities of evolution ... "

Cole also discusses, in detail, the issues of abortion, Palin's belief that her way is God's way, and global warming, comparing Palin's views with those of Muslim fundamentalists.


You can read the entire article here.