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To: rotundusmaximus
I agree with most of what you said although I disagree with your conclusions. You state, "no one seems to look for the source of their hatred and what drives them to act the way they do". You blame the source of their hatred on Islam and the teachings of the Koran. I disagree. This is not a religious issue as much as it is a political issue. Religion in this case is being used to further political gains.

This is very obvious with Iraq. Iraq was a secular government. Why was "God is Great" added to the Iraqi Flag in 1991? Did the government have a great religious conversion? No, it was done to further political goals. Saddam is still using Islam. Look at his dress when he was brought to court in Iraq. He is deliberately adopting a 'Muslim' look to gain sympathy. This is something he never had before. Why are the beheadings taking place in Iraq? If it was for religious reasons, they would not be demanding ransoms. They would not be offering payments to common folk to attack US soldiers. This is all about using religion to further political goals.

I have read enough of the Koran to know it is not for me. The same can be said about portions of the Bible and the Torah. Everything can be taken out of context and used as someone sees fit. Islam does not have a monopoly on hate. The difference between Christianity and Islam at this point is Islam is being actively used by people in positions of power, many secular, to further their political will. This has been done in the past with Christianity also and it can be argued that it is still happening in places. (I do not wish to get into a debate on the history of Christianity or Judaism.)

For me, this all boils down to the question, why are mainstream Arabs living inside of Israel not blowing themselves up like the suicide bombers? It is definately not because of a lack of ability or materials. I am not an expert on Israel, but my guess is because they don't suffer the same desperation that those in Gaza do.

In Thailand you have problems in the south with Muslim terrorists. The provinces in question are also some of the poorest areas in Thailand. They feel that they are ignored by the government because they do not fit into 'normal' Thai Buddhist society. There are also Muslims in other provinces in Thailand that do not resort to terrorism. Again, why?

It is much easier to blame Islam than it is to try to find the real causes of the problems. It is also easier to say that a bomb will fix problems that can only be fixed through education and the removal of poverty. Yes, war is 100% necessary and some people do need to die for there to be peace. The problem is it is only part of the solution.

417 posted on 10/08/2004 11:27:16 AM PDT by killjoy (Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain)
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To: killjoy
It is much easier to blame Islam than it is to try to find the real causes of the problems.

Why don't you read this, and get back to us--

 

Answers for Anti-Israeli, anti-Jewish Propaganda
 alphabetized "Israel" topics on FR, taken from this topic:

420 posted on 10/10/2004 1:27:51 AM PDT by backhoe (Just a Keyboard Cowboy, ridin' the Trackball into the Dawn of Information...)
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