This is a nice piece from a muslim woman that really brings much of this into perspective. It really slams the notion that the US is "creating" terrorists.
[/align][/align][/align]By IRSHAD MANJI[/align]
Published: August 16, 2006[/align]
New Haven
LAST week, the luminaries of the British Muslim mainstream " lobbyists, lords and members of Parliament " published an open letter to Prime Minister Tony Blair, telling him that the "debacle" of both Iraq and Lebanon provides "ammunition to extremists who threaten us all." In increasingly antiwar America, a similar argument is gaining traction: The United States brutalizes Muslims, which in turn foments Islamist terror.
But violent jihadists have rarely needed foreign policy grievances to justify their hot heads. There was no equivalent to the Iraq debacle in 1993, when Islamists first tried to blow up the World Trade Center, or in 2000, when they attacked the American destroyer Cole. Indeed, that assault took place after United States-led military intervention saved thousands of Muslims in Bosnia and Kosovo.
If Islamists cared about changing Iraq policy, they would not have bothered to abduct two journalists from France " probably the most antiwar, anti-Bush nation in the West. Even overt solidarity with Iraqi suffering did not prevent Margaret Hassan, who ran a world-renowned relief agency in Baghdad, from being executed by insurgents.
Meanwhile, at least as many Muslims are dying at the hands of other Muslims as under the boots of any foreign imperial power. In Sudan, black Muslims are starved, raped, enslaved and slaughtered by Arab militias, with the consent of an Islamic government. Where is the "official" Muslim fury against that genocide? Do Muslim lives count only when snuffed out by non-Muslims? If not, then here is an idea for Muslim representatives in the West: Go ahead and lecture the politicians that their foreign policies give succor to radicals. At the same time, however, challenge the educated and angry young Muslims to hold their own accountable, too.
This means reminding them that in Pakistan, Sunnis hunt down Shiites every day; that in northern Israel, Katuysha rockets launched by Hezbollah have ripped through the homes of Arab Muslims as well as Jews; that in Egypt, the riot police of President Hosni Mubarak routinely club, rape, torture and murder Muslim activists promoting democracy; and, above all, that civil wars have become hallmarks of the Islamic world.
Muslim figureheads will not dare be so honest. They would sooner replicate the very sins for which they castigate the Bush and Blair governments " namely, switching rationales and pretending integrity.
In the wake of the London bombings on July 7, 2005, Iqbal Sacranie, then the head of the influential Muslim Council of Britain, insisted that economic discrimination lay at the root of Islamist radicalism in his country. When it came to light that some of the suspects enjoyed middle-class upbringings, university educations, jobs and cars, Mr. Sacranie found a new culprit: foreign policy. In so doing, he boarded the groupthink express steered by Muslim elites.
The good news is that ordinary people of faith are capable of self-criticism. Two months ago, 65 percent of British Muslims polled believed that their communities should increase efforts to integrate. The same poll also produced troubling results: 13 percent lionized the July 7 terrorists, and 16 percent sympathized. Still, these figures total 29 percent " less than half the number who sought to belong more fully to British society.
Whether in Britain or America, those who claim to speak for Muslims have a responsibility to the majority, which wants to reconcile Islam with pluralism. Whatever their imperial urges, it is not for Tony Blair or George W. Bush to restore Islam"s better angels. That duty " and glory " goes to Muslims.
Irshad Manji, a fellow at Yale University, is the author of "The Trouble with Islam Today: A Muslim"s Call for Reform in Her Faith."
Location: On an Island in the west coast of New England
Posts: 13,133
RE: Muslim Myopia
Muslims...don't know any and don't want too. If that makes me narrow minded then I guess that is just the way it will be. I don't hate them..don't understand them but don't want to either.
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Too busy with fishing to spend much time here.
An interesting development, (Interesting to me anyway):
I posted the article on a Muslim web-site I joined about 4 months ago.
I posted the article along with the web-link provided from the original post on this thread, as written, with a single line from me.
I italicized the entire article and added several lines of blank space between the article and my one line of commentary, to ensure every one knew what, was the original article and what, was my commentary.
I left my one line of commentary plain text.
The line of commentary I added was simply this
"I suppose there will be the ".but they".."
LOL the posting of that article resulted in my receiving a life-time ban from that site.
The article is considered (by of the mod.s on that site, with the exception of the mod that happened to be the one that cleared the article.) to be un-Islamic.
(An interesting side note, the mod that approved the article, is the only mod that happens to be an American)
I thought the article simply re-enforced what I have been saying on that site for the past, almost 4 months, If Islam is to reform, then that reform must come from Islamic communities and countries.
I cleared the posting of the article with one of the mod.s that happened to be on-line. I checked today""permanent lifetime ban for me and the thread was removed and deleted.
I will attempt the experiment again on a different Muslim message board and see what the results are.
As an aside". I am having a tough time finding an Islamic message board without the posting clause "NO posting of un-Islamic material allowed" or something very close to it.
I still agree with Tazman, Muslim folks are by and large, peaceful, good people, it just seems that it doesn"t take but a few of the other kind, to be a real danger to my Grandmother as she may be on a trans-Atlantic flight.
Any way, I just thought you all might find this interesting, I will try again on another Islamic message board and see what happens.
I have read over this post a second time, there might be some questions asked.
I was a fine up-standing member of the board with no warnings of any kind. I had received 340 positive responses to all the different things I had posted (480 posts). I had received 1 negative one (They call them "Rep Points").
I was not a trouble maker.
What I have found interesting is the level of denial of problems in the Muslim countries that result from Muslim actions.
It is not all to be blamed on the West and Israel.
I suppose we are, in the West, the same way. I just hope not to the same degree.
Any way, it has been interesting.
I will keep you up-dated on the results of the next attempt\experiment.
Thanks
Mr-Pirk
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Muslim Myopia
