Current American Policies Create & Fuel Terror.

Terrorism is always wrong. All violence and harming of one group by another is wrong. Allowing people to preach hatred against another group is always wrong. Allowing the world to operate in such a weird way where some have so much more than they can use, while others starve of malnutrition, die from diseases that could be treated, die in wars that could be interrupted; these are the tragedies of our times and they are wrong. I do believe that some terrorists have acted from legitimate anger at these situations. They see western interests tolerating or creating situations of poverty & instability, and to some degree their analysis is correct. However violence is always wrong. September 11 is just one of many violent actions that have occurred over the years but it shocked all of us to see such large buildings in the middle of New York being destroyed.

The fight against terrorism will never be won unless there is also a fight against world poverty

If the world wants to appease the militant Islamic crusade, then the west needs to be seen to confronting all corruption and poverty.  It won’t necessarily stop the extremists who hate all the good aspects of western culture like freedom, equal treatment for people regardless of gender, sexual orientation, religion or other belief. But it will mean that the majority of people in Muslim nations will support peace & prosperity for all. Currently large groups particularly in Palestine are willing & committed to terrorism because they feel like the west particularly America is committed to injustice & poverty and don’t care about them but only about Israel. As we have seen this is a very dangerous way to have people thinking but when large sections of countries support violent actions it makes me think not that these people are bad but rather how confused they are and how our leaders need to be seen to be doing something about poverty & injustice. Then we will not be seen as the enemy against ordinary Muslims in these countries. There may always be a group of extremists in all nations trying to wage war & hatred and these people need to be stopped by their local government. But when rank & file rallies behind violence, serious problems exist in how that society, and to some degree the whole world operate. Rwanda is a classic case in point. Trouble had been brewing there for a long time and the world leaders knew it, but did nothing to prevent it, even to stop it when it was happening. Better education, learning respect for other groups & breaking down barriers, adequate provision of resources and effective world leadership in alliance with local leaders would have prevented such an event.

Conservatism on the rise

Tolerant of minorities but not of intolerant attitudes

Many liberal countries have experienced the anger of Muslims over the recent cartoons. This is a difficult issue for many westerners to think about as we are so used to everything being a free for all in our societies. Anything can be parodied. We have probably all experienced some putdown of a group that we belong to & we grudgingly accept it as free speech. But should we? Should people have to put up with having their beliefs or identities ridiculed? Yes & No. Yes because it can stop us being so precious and acting like we are the only group or religion that matters (for that I love South Park). And No, because people should not want to hurt other peoples feelings. But the issue is more complicated than that... If we only stand up for our own rights or our own group but not for others then it is kind of karmic because these kinds of things become more common. What about adapting to the country you live in? But as the world becomes smaller do we need to be aware that we can more easily reach those who may find our comments offensive. What about when someone’s lifestyle is considered offensive to a religion such as being gay? Some religious groups thought AIDS was a way to get rid of gay people (funny that such Christians talk of love while abandoning some of the flock). In Amsterdam a gay politician was murdered for suggesting that foreigners (Muslims) were a threat to the Dutch culture of tolerance. At the time he was written off as a right wing racist. But an extremist Muslim did murder him and some Muslims in Netherlands have tried to impose their gender roles and moral codes onto others. What about Sharia law and stoning women to death for adultery? That is considered acceptable to many protesting at these cartoons. In protests in Nigeria against the cartoons many Christians were murdered including a priest with two children. Another person had a tyre thrown over them, doused with petrol & set alight. Because the religion has been parodied, it is OK to murder people? Under the Taliban in Afghanistan, Muslims destroyed Buddhist statues thousands of years old. So much for respecting other people’s religion. Of course we need to be mindful that that was Islam at its extreme and hopefully most Muslims do not subscribe to attacks on different faiths or lifestyles.

I suspect that as the West permeates its lifestyle around the globe, with its good & bad aspects(I define good as freedom to be yourself and bad as greed, rampant consumerism & disconnection from community), it becomes a threat to traditional lifestyles and religions. I find the strict roles & dress of Muslim women questionable to say the least, yet we are told to be tolerant of difference. I believe men need to show control, not women hiding their appearance. Its like that tired out thought “she was asking for it because she was wearing a mini skirt & low cut top”. I believe the west has already progressed in many ways towards accepting difference and freeing men & women in roles and now it needs to be the same in Islamic regions. Some countries like Jordan are moving ahead in this regard.