Video: Debating the cause of Islamic extremism with Journalist Chris Hedges

I ask Chris Hedges whether he has changed his mind about Sam Harris and Islamic Extremism

I’ve known of the name ‘Chris Hedges’ for quite some time. Whenever I’d read a hit piece or book critical of those noticing the link between Islam and terrorism, Chris Hedges would reliably be quoted. Author and Philosopher Sam Harris appeared to be the target of most of Hedges’s ire on this issue.

One of the most frustrating aspects of this for many (and especially Sam Harris) was that almost all of Hedges’s criticisms were based on wild misrepresentations of Sam Harris’s words. This prompted a response from Sam Harris in 2011 titled ‘Dear Angry Lunatic’, highlighting the most egregious examples of this—of which there are many.

I got the opportunity to interview Chris Hedges for an hour on Attwood Unleashed recently. You can watch the full discussion here. Given the emergence of ISIS and the almost daily examples of the link between Islam and extremism, I wanted to know if Chris Hedges’s views on this issue had changed over the years. All I wanted him to acknowledge is that there is a significant link between Islam and Islamic terrorism. I believe this is possible to do without implying all Muslims (or even most) are extremists. Because that would be untrue. You can see this section below:

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