Imagine sipping tea with a militant Muslim and listening to how he set off a series of bombs in a crowded marketplace, trying to kill as many people as possible. Next time on To the Best of Our Knowledge, an anthropologist describes her visit to a militant training camp in Pakistan. Also, building memorials to the dead.
Anthropologist Cynthia Mahmood is among the few Westerners who's actually spent time talking with Islamic terrorists on their turf. She tells Steve Paulson some of her stories from Afghanistan and the Gulf War and disputes the conventional wisdom in her field which holds that to communicate with terrorists is to support them. Also, journalist Michael Wolfe tells Jim Fleming why Islam - Wolfe's chosen religion - is entirely compatible with American values. One of Wolfe's books is "The Hadj: An American's Pilgrimage to Mecca."SEGMENT 2:
We hear various views on bravery from Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill to "The Wizard of Oz" and Monty Python. Also, cultural historian William Miller, author of "The Mystery of Courage," tells Steve Paulson that the airline passengers who confronted the hijackers on September 11th displayed extraordinary courage, and talks about why we often draw our examples of courage from the battlefield.SEGMENT 3:
Cultural historian Ed Linenthal has written a book called "The Unfinished Bombing: Oklahoma City in American Memory." He tells Anne Strainchamps that the emotional impact of acts of terrorism is immense, widespread and enduring. He says those most affected by the Oklahoma City bombing wanted to control the decisions about the memorial's design, and that the scale of the disasters in New York will make recovery more difficult.Cassette copies are available at 1-800-747-7444. Ask for program number 01-10-21-A.
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