Len,

>>As I asked before, please name by name the one Islamic-run country that you consider (in your opinion) to be THE MOST 'advanced'. What is the name again? <s>
>
>A game I'm not prepared to play - as you said earlier, we would just end up arguing about the definition of advanced. Every different culture will have it's good points & it's bad points, so whichever country I pick, I'm sure that you could find reasons why, from your point of view, that country was not advanced. Similarly though, I'm sure that someone living in that country could successfully argue that his country/culture is so much more advanced that America in it's final throes of "self-inflicted hedonistic overdose"

Then IMO you have no basis in being able to make a 'good/bad/ kind of determination, do you? If you will not stand up and say "This is bad and that is good" then you cannot claim IMO to be a moral authority of good or bad You've refused to define the words and terms.

>
>Somewhere recently I read an article that very eloquently put forward the view that "human rights" is a concept rooted in Westernised cultures & other cultures have a different set of ethics which are equally valid. I'll try & find a reference for you.

I'd like that. There is a huge philosphical and logical foundation for most all of this. Most people simply are ignorant in the 'links' and so they take positions without thought in many cases...