 |
| 8-yr old Ruqyay in Sydney talking about killing enemies |
Why, then, are all these protests and all this violence happening? Is it a reaction to American Foreign Policy? Or to Western intrusion and cultural 'corruption' of Muslim culture? Some people say it is a disparate cry for help, like a child throwing a temper tantrum, because of appalling conditions throughout the Muslim world.
I don't buy it. Those explanations are to simplistic and conveniently "politically correct" for me. I think the truth is right there for all to see, but like the tree that can not be seen because of the forest, no one sees it. Or, more accurately perhaps, no one wants to see it. Let me try to bring it into focus for you a little. Let's look at resent events:
Just 2 days ago rioting Muslims burned Buddhist Temples in Bangladesh, a hand grenade was thrown into a church in Kenya (killing and injuring a dozen worshipers), people were attacked and beaten while leaving a church in Nigeria, and several Coptic Christians were beaten on the streets of Cairo. That does not include mass protests in at least two cities in Pakistan and a protest by ethnic Muslims in Western China (details are hard to come by but it certainly had nothing to do with Western policies or the video).
In the last week of September alone:
09/29/2012 (Yala, Thailand) - Mujahideen shoot a 72-year-old man to death.
09/29/2012 (Narathiwat, Thailand) - A 42-year-old Buddhist woman is machine-gunned by a Muslim extremist while riding.
09/29/2012 (Yala, Thailand) - Muslim 'separatists' shoot a married woman in the back as she is riding a motorcycle with her husband.
09/29/2012 (Lahore, Pakistan) A Protestant Bishop is beaten outside his church
09/28/2012 (Karachi, Pakistan) - A prayer leader is sprayed with bullets by sectarian rivals.
09/28/2012 (Yala, Thailand) - An elderly couple is slain outside a plantation by Muslim militants.
09/27/2012 (Hadramout, Yemen) - Three children are torn into pieces by al-Qaeda bombers.
09/16/2012 (Gujranwala, Pakistan) A 14 year old Christian girl is kidnapped, forced to convert to Islam and forced to marry a Muslim man.
Is it beginning to become a little clearer? The problem is religion. Yes, poverty and ignorance fuel the fires. Yes, historical exploitation has made things worse. And, yes, new found freedoms, with the fall of totalitarian governments, has given the problems new voice. But all of it can ultimately be traced back to religion. All of it.
Throughout the world, Imams interpret the Koran, each putting their own spin on the written words. In many cases those interpretations include 'justification' for violence in defense of Islam. In Madrases (Islamic religious schools) children are taught to hate Jews and that Western presence in Muslim countries is a continuation of the Crusades.
And what about "Moderate Muslims"? Well, just yesterday there were protests, right here in America, calling for laws restricting freedom of speech and making it a crime to insult Islam. Not a crime to insult other religions, mind you. A crime to insult Islam. But those same "moderate Muslims" did not protest the attacks on Americans in Libya or call for an end to the violence in Cairo. They want us to throw people into jail for saying anything offensive to Islam.
It's all about religion! All of it! It always has been, right from the beginning in the 7th century. We need to stop making excuses because of economic conditions, or Geo-Politics, or any other such nonsense. We can not fight what we do not understand -and for some reason we Westerners can not get it into our heads that the plain and simple truth is that -it is all about religion.... When we get that into our thick skulls we can begin to find ways to resolve these problems -or at least take steps to protect ourselves better.
Live Long and Prosper...
5 comments:
us. vs them---you have fallen into the extremist trap---the "they are different than us---we are better" mindset of both the western and muslim extremists....
This may be due to ignorance about Islam---if so, as a muslim perhaps I can be of help....on the other hand if it is because you are prejudiced---there is no way forward from there.....
If you have questions---or are curious about Islam...let me know.....
No, I have not 'fallen into a trap" -I have pointed one out. If any of my facts are incorrect, please point them out. If you have another explanation for these killings and burning of a Buddhist temple, I'd very much like to hear them.
As for prejudice. No, I am not. My best friend is a Muslim. Calling someone prejudice because they say things you don't like or don't agree with is a cheap trick that is all too often used. It undermine your credibility, it does not strengthen it. It also limits civil discourse.
fact---Yes, there are more to the "facts" than the simplistic conclusions you have drawn....I can give you more background but I am still uncertain if it will be worth discussing ......
prejudice---if we change the wording how will it sound? re-read the passages you wrote with the new changes....
Is it beginning to become a little clearer? The problem is Blacks. Yes, poverty and ignorance fuel the fires. Yes, historical exploitation has made things worse. And, yes, new found freedoms, with the fall of segregation, has given the problems new voice. But all of it can ultimately be traced back to Blacks. All of it.
....or.......
Throughout the U.S., lawyers interpret the constitution, each putting their own spin on the written words. In many cases those interpretations include 'justification' for violence in defense of democracy.(Manifest Destiny). In churches children are taught to hate muslims and that Western presence in Muslim countries is a continuation of the Crusades.
do you see it?.....
Very cleaver! Substitute words to make the comments appear prejudicial. The problem is that it does not change the facts. In each case all of this violence and all of these killings, which continue even as we write these comments -are supposedly "justified" as happening in defense of Islam by the very perpetrators themselves.
That fact may be hard to defend, but it is still a fact -and one which your kind of sidestepping word play tries to cover and hide.
But, the entire point of my blog was that it is still a fact, which must be recognized (and admitted) before real resolutions to the problems can be found.
Thankyou for at least acknowledging that what I wrote was prejudicial...at least that is a start. Prejudice is hard to see in ourselves---but it is a human problem. Those who have loyalty to someone, something also have prejudice against someone/thing. The trick is in overcoming the prejudice without sacrificing the loyalty....
You are right that killing is a fact---there are two ways to look at facts---see an event in all its spectrum and then come to a conclusion---or selectively see facts and come to a conclusion. When one sees only facts that are favorable to a presumed bias---the conclusion becomes incorrect or even false.
Take the example of what happened in Bangladesh....Recently, Buddhists in Burma---(which is a neighbor of Bangladesh) massacred rohingya muslims and harrassed others who tried to flee out of the country. The rohingya are said to be of South Bangladesh origins though they have been in Burma for generations. Because of persecution by the Burmese many fled to southern Bangladesh----South Bangladesh is where these recent temple burnings happened.)---It seems the consequences of hate/prejudice in one country spilled over its borders into another country.....
There are more to the "facts" in the cases of Yemen and Thailand also.....
It is not my intention to defend/justify killings/violence either by the Buddhists or the Muslims,---neither Burmese nor Bangladeshi.---But reality is always more complex and grey than simplistic and black/white....That is the nature of our world.
Just as I cannot defend violence in the name of revenge for the Burmese and Bangladeshi---I cannot allow it for the U.S. either. A Bangladeshi and a Burmese are the same Human beings as the American and the moral criteria applied to one group of people must apply to all people if one is to deal with humanity in justice......
Post a Comment