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I just finished SOTG, and thoroughly enjoyed it. It was another one of those "can't put it down" reads.
Page 271 has Peter making some comments about Muslims that truly struck a chord for me. It was something to the effect that the reason Muslims are having so much trouble is that "Islam never truly learned how to be a real religion". This was a reference to their refusal to tolerate non-believers, and the Koran's justification for war against non-believers.
Basically, it was saying that until they take Alai's advice and allow all people the freedom to choose not to be Muslim, even if they were once a Muslim, Islam will not be able to co-exist in the world.
I have a particular interest in this in that I was recently selected by the US Army to change MOS to become a 48G (Foreign Area Officer - Middle East). After I finish this tour in Japan I'll go to language school to study Arabic. I also have a Master's in International Relations with an emphasis on Asia, including the Middle East.
The question is, does Peter's voice reflect OSC's? And, does this view have real weight to it? I can truly see both sides of this question.
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I know I've heard it said many times, especially by OSC, that the character is not the writer. Similarly, the character's voice is not always the writer's voice.
Posts: 23 | Registered: Mar 2005
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posted
If you assume that social responsibility is one of the hallmarks of a "real" religion, and tolerance is one of the hallmarks of social responsibility, then OSC's at least half-right. And, yeah, Peter's speaking for OSC, here, based on some of Card's non-fiction essays.
Posts: 37449 | Registered: May 1999
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