By Elan Journo
The West today faces passionate and violent hostility from Muslims living in the Middle East and in Europe and America. Jihadists have engaged in murderous attacks on New York, Madrid, London-and continue to plot further atrocities. Many people blame U.S. foreign policy; the Arab-Israeli conflict—and Washington's supposedly zealous backing of Israel—is often cited as a major source of animosity.
Meanwhile, many Muslims living throughout Europe demand that Islamic precepts be elevated above the principles of secular society; prominent among these cultural skirmishes was the Danish cartoon crisis.
How should the West respond to Muslim demands for instituting Islamic laws? Is U.S. policy to blame for Muslim hostility? Are there any common denominators among these different arenas of conflict? In addressing these questions, this course examines American policies (especially in regard to Iran and to Israel), and explores the nature and origins of the cultural clash between Europe and Muslims living there.
This course was recorded at the 2008 Objectivist Summer Conference in Newport Beach, CA.
(MP3 download; 4 hrs., 31 min., with Q & A, 196.32 MB)