5 ms·

Something that isn't mentioned in the article but probably plays some role in the desire to believe that these things work in parts of the world where Islam is

by pmorici 13y ago

Something that isn't mentioned in the article but probably plays some role in the desire to believe that these things work in parts of the world where Islam is prevalent is the low stature of dogs in the religion. Since dogs are the typical go to bomb and contraband detecting technology in the world it's easy to see why a police department in a Muslim area might find a device that can detect bombs w/o the use of a dog attractive. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1029887/Muslims-searched-sniffer-dogs-despite-religious-objections-say-police.html http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1029887/Muslims-sear... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam_and_animals#Muslims_and_sniffer_dogs http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam_and_animals#Muslims_and_s...

mynameishere 13y ago
Pigs could probably do the job as well, but I think they are held in similar esteem. Maybe they should train black bears or something. Do Muslims like bears?
- learc83 13y ago
  Pigs poop a lot. They don't really handle getting in and out of cars or going up stairs well either. Their hooves tear up lawns. Ever tried to get a 150 pound pig into a minivan?.... (it's not fun, alcohol helps)
parfe 13y ago
Fairly ignorant comment you've got there. What you wrote is akin to saying Jewish men won't touch unrelated women or their own adopted children because you once met an Orthodox Jew who told you about negiah (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negiah http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negiah). Also the daily mail is full of shit. Here's some Muslims getting along just fine with their bomb sniffing dogs: http://atwar.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/12/01/as-soldiers-leave-iraq-bomb-sniffing-dogs-stay/ http://atwar.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/12/01/as-soldiers-leave-... What happened here was a man committing outright fraud and the fact you're blaming it on the religion out of your own ignorance is pretty sad.
- pyre 13y ago
  > the fact you're blaming it on the religion However misguided, the parent's comment amounts to 'Muslims are more gullible.' While that may not be true, it doesn't excuse a conman from defrauding someone just because they were more gullible than someone else, and I don't believe that the parent is trying to claim this either.
  - foobarbazqux 13y ago
    I would not be surprised to hear that conmen believe that someone who takes the more fantastical parts of scripture literally is an easy mark.
  - Someone 13y ago
    I don't think he is even trying to claim Muslims are more gullible, in general. He just claims this may be a weak spot for Muslims. In other areas, they may not have weak spots that others have.
    - DanBC 13y ago
      It doesn't explain why Americans spent so much money buying these devices. Or why a Lebanese general (that country is roughly 60:40 muslim:christian) believed it. Or why the non-muslim American inventor believed he had created a working detector. It might be connected to Muslim dislike of dogs. Or maybe it's just that conmen are conmen and can persuade people to buy junk regardless of religion.
      - VMG 13y ago
        > Or why the non-muslim American inventor believed he had created a working detector. Did he?
        DanBC 13y ago
        It's possible. That's what someone quoted by the article suggests. People can be stupid without being malicious. > Although Kelly is unequivocal about the Quadro principals’ fraudulent intent—“They were con artists,” he says—Murray feels that Quattlebaum, at least, genuinely had faith in it. “I think he did believe in it—it was his invention,” he says. Quattlebaum could have fallen victim to the ideomotor effect, the same psychological phenomenon that convinces users of dowsing rods and Ouija boards that they are witnessing the results of a powerful yet inexplicable force. In response to suggestion or expectation, the body can produce unconscious movements, causing a sensitive, free-swinging mechanism to respond in sympathy. “It’s very compelling, if you’re not aware of what’s causing it,” Murray says. Some of the people peddling homeopathy really do believe it works, and that's just as clearly nonsense.
tarikjn 13y ago
I think this is slightly misguided, dogs don't have a low stature in the religion, but sadly, many ignorant Muslim mistreat them or will make claims based on those ignorant views (as relayed by those articles). Muslims are required to wash what part of their body or clothing enter in contact with the dog saliva, but this likely a hygiene measure. It doesn't mean they are forbidden to touch the dog or its saliva in the first place. Eating dog meat is forbidden, but that doesn't mean the animal has a low stature. I haven't done research on this, but I suspect the same could be said of pigs. And using bears -- which meat is also forbidden to Muslims -- won't make people less ignorant :) http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/15/islam-on-dogs-can-you-be-_n_1885580.html http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/15/islam-on-dogs-can-y... http://www.islamicconcern.com/dogs.asp http://www.islamicconcern.com/dogs.asp
DanBC 13y ago
Americans also bought these devices and those people were not Muslim and had no particular opinion about dogs.
devmach 13y ago
Why people wants to believe it works ? Well, it has nothing to do with religion. Reason is same as using robots for manufacturing : It's cheap, fast and could be 7/24 on duty. Why these devices haven't tested properly ? Easy, corruption (, which is not condoned by any religion)
- Houshalter 13y ago
  It doesn't necessarily need to be corruption. If the device just makes random beeps or something then it's easy enough to be convinced that it's correlated with how close it is to explosives. People do not automatically think of doing a blind test and measuring the results and seeing how well it correlates with actual bombs.

by pmorici 13y ago

mynameishere 13y ago

Pigs could probably do the job as well, but I think they are held in similar esteem. Maybe they should train black bears or something. Do Muslims like bears?

learc83 13y ago
Pigs poop a lot. They don't really handle getting in and out of cars or going up stairs well either. Their hooves tear up lawns. Ever tried to get a 150 pound pig into a minivan?.... (it's not fun, alcohol helps)

parfe 13y ago

Fairly ignorant comment you've got there. What you wrote is akin to saying Jewish men won't touch unrelated women or their own adopted children because you once met an Orthodox Jew who told you about negiah (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negiah http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negiah). Also the daily mail is full of shit. Here's some Muslims getting along just fine with their bomb sniffing dogs: http://atwar.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/12/01/as-soldiers-leave-iraq-bomb-sniffing-dogs-stay/ http://atwar.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/12/01/as-soldiers-leave-... What happened here was a man committing outright fraud and the fact you're blaming it on the religion out of your own ignorance is pretty sad.

pyre 13y ago
> the fact you're blaming it on the religion However misguided, the parent's comment amounts to 'Muslims are more gullible.' While that may not be true, it doesn't excuse a conman from defrauding someone just because they were more gullible than someone else, and I don't believe that the parent is trying to claim this either.
- foobarbazqux 13y ago
  I would not be surprised to hear that conmen believe that someone who takes the more fantastical parts of scripture literally is an easy mark.
- Someone 13y ago
  I don't think he is even trying to claim Muslims are more gullible, in general. He just claims this may be a weak spot for Muslims. In other areas, they may not have weak spots that others have.
  - DanBC 13y ago
    It doesn't explain why Americans spent so much money buying these devices. Or why a Lebanese general (that country is roughly 60:40 muslim:christian) believed it. Or why the non-muslim American inventor believed he had created a working detector. It might be connected to Muslim dislike of dogs. Or maybe it's just that conmen are conmen and can persuade people to buy junk regardless of religion.
    - VMG 13y ago
      > Or why the non-muslim American inventor believed he had created a working detector. Did he?
      - DanBC 13y ago
        It's possible. That's what someone quoted by the article suggests. People can be stupid without being malicious. > Although Kelly is unequivocal about the Quadro principals’ fraudulent intent—“They were con artists,” he says—Murray feels that Quattlebaum, at least, genuinely had faith in it. “I think he did believe in it—it was his invention,” he says. Quattlebaum could have fallen victim to the ideomotor effect, the same psychological phenomenon that convinces users of dowsing rods and Ouija boards that they are witnessing the results of a powerful yet inexplicable force. In response to suggestion or expectation, the body can produce unconscious movements, causing a sensitive, free-swinging mechanism to respond in sympathy. “It’s very compelling, if you’re not aware of what’s causing it,” Murray says. Some of the people peddling homeopathy really do believe it works, and that's just as clearly nonsense.

tarikjn 13y ago

I think this is slightly misguided, dogs don't have a low stature in the religion, but sadly, many ignorant Muslim mistreat them or will make claims based on those ignorant views (as relayed by those articles). Muslims are required to wash what part of their body or clothing enter in contact with the dog saliva, but this likely a hygiene measure. It doesn't mean they are forbidden to touch the dog or its saliva in the first place. Eating dog meat is forbidden, but that doesn't mean the animal has a low stature. I haven't done research on this, but I suspect the same could be said of pigs. And using bears -- which meat is also forbidden to Muslims -- won't make people less ignorant :) http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/15/islam-on-dogs-can-you-be-_n_1885580.html http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/15/islam-on-dogs-can-y... http://www.islamicconcern.com/dogs.asp http://www.islamicconcern.com/dogs.asp

DanBC 13y ago

Americans also bought these devices and those people were not Muslim and had no particular opinion about dogs.

devmach 13y ago

Why people wants to believe it works ? Well, it has nothing to do with religion. Reason is same as using robots for manufacturing : It's cheap, fast and could be 7/24 on duty. Why these devices haven't tested properly ? Easy, corruption (, which is not condoned by any religion)

Houshalter 13y ago
It doesn't necessarily need to be corruption. If the device just makes random beeps or something then it's easy enough to be convinced that it's correlated with how close it is to explosives. People do not automatically think of doing a blind test and measuring the results and seeing how well it correlates with actual bombs.