The trouble with an irrational Middle East
9/16/2006
The trouble with Islam and an irrational Middle East
I don’t know how it is with you but I am getting really tired of the display of supine, spiritless and yet insincere, apologies displayed by so many people who say something in public that doesn’t please the world of Islam.
The latest example is the Pope’s straightforward and historically accurate statement that the Prophet Mohammed encouraged his followers to spread their new faith with the sword if necessary. Unfortunately.
The more radical and impressionable part of the Middle East irrupted in insults and venom at the address of Christianity and the West in general, fully expecting the Pope to apologize for his statement.
I hope and expect that he will not do so. Why should anyone apologize to the people who constantly insult the West about all the ills in the world while they themselves have done nothing in 500 years to improve it, not even the lives of their own people. Whatever improvements have been made in the Middle East during the last 80 years or so, with few exceptions, are the result of oil money flowing into the region after the West found and produced the oil bonanza. The river of oil money resulting from these Western initiatives were essentially given to them.
Unfortunately, this money has been the life blood of the growth of Wahhabism which doctrine has grown thousands of Madrassas where most young people learn to memorize the Koran but very little else. They end up basically illiterate and unequipped to help improve the socio-economic conditions of the region they inhabit. As a matter of fact, the Wahhabi dogma doesn’t want “improvements” of local conditions. In fact, it prefers to go back to the local primitivism of the 7th century of the Christian era.
Thousands of young Islamists are totally frustrated by a mode of life that represses their normal emotional and social growth and at the same time learning that their condition is really caused by the Great Satan, the Western World, USA # 1. As a result they cannot cope with the temptations which many aspects of western life and the media show them. Thence it is only a small step to radicalism and terrorism, well financed and meant to provide supreme political power for the self-serving leaders, using whatever means will get them to ruling the world soonest. I kid you not, that’s their objective.
A-bombs, poisons, epidemic diseases would really help.
Yet, these people, and particularly many of their elites, really like the West for its many attractions, educational, economic and emotional. Many of them also really like to live it up in the fleshpots of the West which makes them just a big bunch of religious hypocrites.
And now these people demand that we apologize for saying some things that are true, but may not be agreeable to them?? Who is kidding whom? They are constantly insulting us and never apologize for anything. Many of them are just a rude, uncivilized mass of useless and very dangerous people. Unfortunately, there are also very educated and perfectly rational Muslims, but they are keeping a rather low profile in many countries. Any wonder that our war in Iraq is not a simple affair!!!
Against this background, it is not only incumbent upon us to defend our own civilization, which while not perfect, is certainly a promising, tolerant and productive, civilization, it is also necessary to realize that we are in a real but un-conventional war with these radical people. It is likely to be a long drawn out affair which will test our mettle to the utmost, create divisions among our own people about the need and wisdom of fighting and sacrificing, but if history is any guide we just have no choice. No choice whats-o-ever.! Unless you want to surrender to the barbarians, which is really what the Islamic radicals are----BARBARIANS.
The Wahhabi cult of death inspires boys, girls, men and women to blow themselves up and kill as many infidels as possible. This random killing of innocent people doesn’t take real courage, it just takes some Semtex, an old van and a warped, maniacal intent to self-destruct. Couple that with the open, vulnerable western societies we inhabit and you, as a radical Islamist, have a first class opportunity to add your corpse to the many previous murderers of innocent people.
Notwithstanding the fact that we consider all this sort of thing murder and mayhem, many “leaders” in the Middle East consider it admirable, well done guys!! We are dealing with really sick people and as a result we should allow our government a lot of leeway with their overt and covert methods of trying to find these people before their murderous plots erupt in our own streets again. Let the government tap telephone conversations and check any suspicious bank and other financial transactions they deem necessary and squeeze the culprits they do catch as much as necessary to find out what they possibly know about other terrorists or their plans for the future. I would say, go for it Mr. Bush.
And when all is said and done, let’s stop apologizing and instead provide some history lessons to the Middle East every time they have a problem. And do they have a problem. Unless and until they come to terms with the very undesirable aspects of their religion there is little hope for a renewal of their way of life that would allow them to join the rest of the world in a cooperative and productive fashion.
Hence, the fanaticism that is still tolerated by the governments of many Middle Eastern countries does not bode well for the future. We have a long way to go.
The trouble with Islam and an irrational Middle East
I don’t know how it is with you but I am getting really tired of the display of supine, spiritless and yet insincere, apologies displayed by so many people who say something in public that doesn’t please the world of Islam.
The latest example is the Pope’s straightforward and historically accurate statement that the Prophet Mohammed encouraged his followers to spread their new faith with the sword if necessary. Unfortunately.
The more radical and impressionable part of the Middle East irrupted in insults and venom at the address of Christianity and the West in general, fully expecting the Pope to apologize for his statement.
I hope and expect that he will not do so. Why should anyone apologize to the people who constantly insult the West about all the ills in the world while they themselves have done nothing in 500 years to improve it, not even the lives of their own people. Whatever improvements have been made in the Middle East during the last 80 years or so, with few exceptions, are the result of oil money flowing into the region after the West found and produced the oil bonanza. The river of oil money resulting from these Western initiatives were essentially given to them.
Unfortunately, this money has been the life blood of the growth of Wahhabism which doctrine has grown thousands of Madrassas where most young people learn to memorize the Koran but very little else. They end up basically illiterate and unequipped to help improve the socio-economic conditions of the region they inhabit. As a matter of fact, the Wahhabi dogma doesn’t want “improvements” of local conditions. In fact, it prefers to go back to the local primitivism of the 7th century of the Christian era.
Thousands of young Islamists are totally frustrated by a mode of life that represses their normal emotional and social growth and at the same time learning that their condition is really caused by the Great Satan, the Western World, USA # 1. As a result they cannot cope with the temptations which many aspects of western life and the media show them. Thence it is only a small step to radicalism and terrorism, well financed and meant to provide supreme political power for the self-serving leaders, using whatever means will get them to ruling the world soonest. I kid you not, that’s their objective.
A-bombs, poisons, epidemic diseases would really help.
Yet, these people, and particularly many of their elites, really like the West for its many attractions, educational, economic and emotional. Many of them also really like to live it up in the fleshpots of the West which makes them just a big bunch of religious hypocrites.
And now these people demand that we apologize for saying some things that are true, but may not be agreeable to them?? Who is kidding whom? They are constantly insulting us and never apologize for anything. Many of them are just a rude, uncivilized mass of useless and very dangerous people. Unfortunately, there are also very educated and perfectly rational Muslims, but they are keeping a rather low profile in many countries. Any wonder that our war in Iraq is not a simple affair!!!
Against this background, it is not only incumbent upon us to defend our own civilization, which while not perfect, is certainly a promising, tolerant and productive, civilization, it is also necessary to realize that we are in a real but un-conventional war with these radical people. It is likely to be a long drawn out affair which will test our mettle to the utmost, create divisions among our own people about the need and wisdom of fighting and sacrificing, but if history is any guide we just have no choice. No choice whats-o-ever.! Unless you want to surrender to the barbarians, which is really what the Islamic radicals are----BARBARIANS.
The Wahhabi cult of death inspires boys, girls, men and women to blow themselves up and kill as many infidels as possible. This random killing of innocent people doesn’t take real courage, it just takes some Semtex, an old van and a warped, maniacal intent to self-destruct. Couple that with the open, vulnerable western societies we inhabit and you, as a radical Islamist, have a first class opportunity to add your corpse to the many previous murderers of innocent people.
Notwithstanding the fact that we consider all this sort of thing murder and mayhem, many “leaders” in the Middle East consider it admirable, well done guys!! We are dealing with really sick people and as a result we should allow our government a lot of leeway with their overt and covert methods of trying to find these people before their murderous plots erupt in our own streets again. Let the government tap telephone conversations and check any suspicious bank and other financial transactions they deem necessary and squeeze the culprits they do catch as much as necessary to find out what they possibly know about other terrorists or their plans for the future. I would say, go for it Mr. Bush.
And when all is said and done, let’s stop apologizing and instead provide some history lessons to the Middle East every time they have a problem. And do they have a problem. Unless and until they come to terms with the very undesirable aspects of their religion there is little hope for a renewal of their way of life that would allow them to join the rest of the world in a cooperative and productive fashion.
Hence, the fanaticism that is still tolerated by the governments of many Middle Eastern countries does not bode well for the future. We have a long way to go.
posted by Schaesberg at 9:40 AM
