Zardus, no harm no foul. FX, Sorry for the potty mouth, please accept my apologies.
To the point: normally I wouldnt waste the time to debunk garbage, but I'm in a generous mood today. I'll just make this simple point: The original post would have one believe that the dirty, murderous Islamic hordes are about to descend on us god-fearing Christian Americans like a plague of Koran-toting, suicide-belted Cicadas. Now I misused the term "racist" in my initial response, since Islam spans any number of racial and ethnic categories... so I don't know how to properly categorize it.. though "ignorant" as a general category seems to be appropriate. The vast, vast, vast majority of Muslims live from day to day just like the vast, vast, vast majority of non-Muslims do.. Making a living, providing for their families, and just trying to live a good life. Now, that's not to say that radical Islam doesn't exist and there aren't some nasty political operators running around with guns and Korans.. but I'd point out there are just as many radical Christians running around with guns and Bibles.. and radical Jews running around with guns and Torahs. No one has a monopoly on crazy. But to paint all Muslims with a broad brush, a horde of crazies about to wipe out Truth, Justice and the American Way is just ridiculous. >From a theological point of view, The Prophet Mohammed himself recognized Jesus as a prophet of God, and admonished his followers to heed his teachings as well as the legacy of Abraham. In that respect, Muslims regard Christians and Jews alike as spiritual brothers and sisters, travelling similar paths. Radical Islam in the modern sense is a relatively recent development - we don't need to dredge up centuries-old battles for the Holy Land to discover the causes of Radical Islam's current rise. We can turn the page to Afghanistan and Pakistan (by way of Langley, VA) circa 1979-1988. I recommend WaPo editor Steve Coll's account in "Ghost Wars" (currently in print).. a detailed and thorough accounting of the guns and money the CIA threw at Islamic operators like the Muslim Brotherhood and, later, Osama bin Ladin in the 60's, 70's and 80's in order to fight off Soviet influence in the Middle East, and finally eject Soviet troops from Afghanistan. Not that people like Osama bin Ladin reflect the views of mainstream Islam.. he's a maniacal political operator using Islam as a cover. (Kinda like a David Koresh Gone Wild. I'd never assert that Koresh and other fundies represented the Christian Hordes, for example..) Anyhow, the long and short of it is, we reap what we sow. You give a maniac a bank account and weapons, you get terror. You give someone like Ariel Sharon carte blanche to terrorize a civilian population, well people are going to get pissed off. Unfortunately most of those people identify as Muslim and, well, they're responding accordingly. I don't think very many Palestinians dream of world domination.. there are a few Bad Apples to be sure, but generally most wqould be happy not living in constant fear, poverty and repression. Same goes for the civilian populations of Saudi Arabia, Egypt and many other places where we help prop up repressive governments. ---- You are receiving this because you are subscribed to the list named "UnivCity." To unsubscribe or for archive information, see <http://www.purple.com/list.html>.
