Re: Islam and Terrorism

I do not contest your definition of Islam as a religion of peace.

What I will address is that terrorism has come upon the world scene
with all the affrontery to human decency that fascism did in the
1930s.
I do not say that fascism had some inherent connection to Italians or
Germans.
But it germinated in those two countries, particularly in Germany, and
became the virulent, vicious scourge which sparked a war that took
millions of lives and caused unimaginable suffering.

In that respect, terrorism is becoming the 21st Century's fascism.

We might similarly speak of Japanese emperor worship, or of Stalinist
gulags, and the horrors they ultimately came to inflict.
In each case, we do not say that being Japanese, or being Russian (or
Georgian) was the root cause.  But we do ask why these ideologies
found fertile ground where they did, and not elsewhere.  Could bushido
philosophy have motivated Americans to rape Nan-king, China?  It was
something in the Japanese culture which enabled this.  Changing the
Japanese culture (after World War 2) has made all the difference in
pacifying that nation, and making it democratic.

As the phenomenon of terrorism, even suicidal terrorism, rampages upon
the world scene, we must look to the culture from which this emerges,
and ask what changes need to be made in that culture to remedy this
evil.
There is no doubt that it emerges primarily from a culture in which
Islam is the dominant religion, in which children and women can be
murdered for "family honor," and where dictatorships, not democracy,
rule.

The texts of Islam seem to contain both admonitions for mercy, and
incitements to violence.  So does the Bible.  But the Bible has a New
Testament in which the Savior emphasizes turning the other cheek. 
Perhaps the Koran needs a school of thought to emphasize its advocacy
of peace and mercy, and to oppose the madrassas which teach anger and
violence.

But this must occur hand in hand with a general cultural shift in
attitude about "family honor."  Nothing good can come of a culture
which murders its children for the sake of vanity (I do not term it
honor), which is then the more willing to strap bombs to its children
and sacrifice them to the cause of murdering other children.

And also, the persecuted people must be freed from dictatorship. 
People who have no freedom, who cannot petition their governments, who
cannot replace their governments, will tend to vent their anger at the
most convenient target, especially an external target which they can
label a "great satan."

The violence of terrorism must be confronted by all the resources at
our disposal, just as we confronted Hitler and Hirohito in world war
2.

But if we are to avoid the carnage of global war, the people of Islam
must seize the initiative.  They must oppose the madrassas, oppose
"honor" killings, and establish democracies.

That is no small task, and it can only be done by the people who
preach Islam as a religion of peace.
================

[EMAIL PROTECTED] (SMNASD) wrote in message news:<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>...
> (1)
> Islam, a religion of mercy, does not permit terrorism. In the Quran,
> God has said:
> God does not forbid you from showing kindness and dealing justly with
> those who have not fought you about religion and have not driven you
> out of your homes. God loves just dealers. (Quran, 60:8)
> 
etc