Brief Summary
This video features Noam Chomsky discussing his views on Sam Harris, islamophobia, and the global war on terror. Chomsky dismisses Harris's views as "hysterical slander" and argues that islamophobia is a serious problem that undermines the West, leading to counterproductive strategies like the "global war on terror." He advocates for a rational and humane approach to dealing with terrorism, emphasizing understanding the roots of the problem rather than simply resorting to violence.
- Chomsky dismisses Sam Harris's views as "hysterical slander."
- He considers islamophobia a serious problem that undermines the West.
- Chomsky advocates for a rational and humane approach to dealing with terrorism.
Chomsky responds to Sam Harris's preference for Ben Carson as president due to Carson's perceived understanding of the threat from "Jihadi terrorists." Chomsky dismisses Harris's views as "hysterical slanderous charges" and asserts that he is more concerned with Jihadi terrorism than Harris. He emphasizes the importance of understanding the roots of terrorism rather than simply reacting with aggression. When asked about the rise of islamophobia and whether figures like Harris are guilty of anti-Muslim bigotry, Chomsky states that while he doesn't believe this is true of Dawkins, it may have been true of Hitchens in his later years, and that Harris's statements often appear that way.
Chomsky addresses the problem of islamophobia, comparing it to anti-Semitism but noting that islamophobia is currently a more significant issue. He argues that islamophobia harms both Muslims and the West, leading to harmful proposals like carpet bombing. He critiques the "global war on terror" as a sledgehammer approach that has only expanded the problem of terrorism. Chomsky points out that the global war on terror, initiated 15 years prior, has only served to spread terrorism across the globe, from Afghanistan to Iraq to Libya.
Chomsky advocates for a rational and humane approach to dealing with terrorism, citing experts like Scott Atran and William Polk. He argues that a rational approach is necessary for both humanitarian reasons and for the security of the West.
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Transcript
Full transcript of “Noam Chomsky - New Atheists, Islamophobia, and the War on Terror”. Click a timestamp to open the video at that moment. Need another video? Use the YouTube transcript generator.
0:00 if I mention to you the neuroscientist and liberal atheist author Sam Harris who you've had an online debate with he says he'd rather Republican candidate Ben Carson who said a Muslim shouldn't be president and has compared Syrian refugees to dogs he said that Harris has said he would rather Carson be president of the United States than you because Carson apparently gets the threat from so-called Jihadi terrorists that you don't what's your response to Sam Harris who claims to be a liberal uh I don't bother with Sam Harris this is he his he specializes in hysterical slanderous charges against people he doesn't like that's of no interest to me am I not concerned with Jihadi terrorism I'm much more concerned with it than he is I've
0:45 been that's why I say you don't just scream at it you look at the roots you try to figure out how to deal with it you respond to it I don't take him seriously I don't see any point in talking about it but uh well some people would say the point about talking about it is we live in an environment where islamophobia is on the rise in the United States across the West there are some who say that the new atheists people like Sam Harris Richard Dawkins the late Christopher Hitchens uh were islamophobes are islamophobes guilty of an almost obsessive anti-muslim bigotry uh which is worrying in the current climate do you share that view um I I don't talk about them first of all I don't think it's true of Dawkin it might have been true of Hitchens in his later years uh Harris I assume denies it but when I read what he says that's what it looks like
1:30 however the problem of islamophobia is of course serious just like the problem of anti-Semitism is serious this is much worse islamophobia now for one thing it is undermining us if islamophobe apart from what it's doing to decent honorable people who are subject to denunciation physical attacks uh uh blocking of the possibilities for decent life what's happening to Syrian refugees and so on apart from all that it's harmful to the West islamophobia leads to proposals like let's carpet bomb them that let's hit him with aing just take a look at what it's led to in the last 15 years there's been what's called a global war
2:16 on terror when it began and there's been one device to deal with it Sledgehammer smash them up don't find out what's going on smash them up what's happened 15 years ago it was com it was confined to a tiny tribal area in Afghanistan now it's all over the world every time you hit it with a sledgehammer you expand it every single time Afghanistan Iraq uh Libya everywhere can you learn something from that shall we say okay let's smash them up again because they all want to kill us yeah that's one reaction another reaction is the sane reaction which you do hear from people like who know
3:01 something about the topic like Scott atran or like William P well-known middle east expert long experience in the US government has pretty much the same proposals you have to deal with situation rationally if you want to be first of all Humane but even concerned with your own security
