[ExI] Pigeons offend Islam

[David Lubkin]

Adrian wrote:

>More seriously, is it now time to acknowledge that the Islamic State 
>is not Islamic?

Who are you to say that it isn't? Who is anyone?

No one gets to speak for all Christians, all Jews, all Buddhists, all 
atheists, or all Muslims. Even where there is a titular head, such as 
the Pope or the Dalai Lama, that's most often just for a 
denomination. Not the religion as a whole. And plenty of people think 
themselves good Catholics and act in contravention of official Church 
doctrine or the word of the Pope.

Is it not the fallacy of No True Scotsman to say that the Islamic 
State is not Islamic?

My approach is to assume that a self-definition I'm presented with is 
true, excluding absurdities. If you tell me you're Islamic or a 
musician, I'll adopt a working assumption that you are. If you tell 
me you're Thomas Edison or a jelly bean, I'll assume you aren't.


-- David.