London calling--long reply

[Jon Harvey]

Paul

Thank you for your comments and support.

I think the core problem is that certain groups of people (and Moslems are
by no means alone in this) regard other groups as being of less value. To my
mind a person dying in Fallujah, London, New York, Jerusalem or the West
Bank - are all of equal value - no life is worth more than any other. I look
forward to a time when the women and men of religion throughout the world,
of all religions, unaninmously condemn all acts of violence - be they acts
that kill people, maim or mutilate people, impoverish people or push people
to despair - instead of (as many of them do) excusing acts of such violence
in names of 'war', 'the market' or distorted ideas of 'freedom' (which are
often code for 'my freedom to have licence over your life..')

All violence is wrong. Any religion which actively or tacitly supports such
violence is not a religion I can support. In this sense it is not a Moslem
problem - it is a World problem, I believe.

Peace be with you

Jon
  -----Original Message-----
  From: EVERETT813 at aol.com [mailto:EVERETT813 at aol.com]
  Sent: 09 July 2005 01:34
  To: only.connect at virgin.net; OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
  Subject: Re: London calling--long reply


  Jon,

  Just as it is for me, personally, peace is an inside job.  Until the
Muslim societies do what Mr. Friedman talks about in the below editorial, we
are going to be in this assymetrical warfare, tacitly supported by Muslim's
the world over.  Remember the Palestinians dancing in the streets when 9/11
occurred?  That attitude toward the West hasn't gone away.  Muslim societies
MUST make this terrorism a totally unacceptable response to real or imagined
grievances, just as North Ireland's courageous ladies are beginning to do
there.  Just as the West did when it intervened in Kosovo, on the side of
the Muslims there.

  Peace is an inside job.  There is no peace where expansionist Muslim
societies rub up against others of different beliefs in many parts of the
world.  There is a bad litany of religious violence all over Africa, Asia
and SE Asia where others believe differently than the Muslim's do.  The idea
that religion can be spread by violence is what must also be confronted by
the Muslim leadership itself.  The world is NOT going to become Muslim, no
matter how much Osama and his ilk think it should be.  Or, the folks in
Sudan think it should be.  Or, in Indonesia.  The rest of the world will
fight back.  If it gets really grim, tens of millions will die.
Huntington's theses will have been proven true, to the great detriment of
the world's peoples.

  So, the solution is for the Muslim folks to decide they aren't the only
Way to God around this planet (true of the right wing Christian folk, too,
but they aren't out blowing up themselves, initiating slaughters like in
Darfur, Nigeria, etc.) and decide that want to live in harmony and peace
with their neighbors, who just happen to believe differently than they do.
I'm sure the majority of them do want peace and harmony.  But, the truth is,
many don't.  Those who do had better start speaking out and saying so in
loud words that have the impact like the fatwa issued against Salman
Rushdie, who had to go into hiding to save his life.

  These are un-PC comments, I realize, but they are reflections of what I
see in the world where Muslim's dominate or are trying to dominate.  The
recent reports by the UN, done by Muslim scholars, give strong evidence that
some people do see that their societies are the creators of their own
problems.  Only one example: disenfranchisement of women in nearly all those
societies (but not all, I realize, Turkey a real exception) for education,
choice of husband, choice of whether or not to have a family, female genital
mutilation, etc.; a whole half of their population repressed in ways we
can't even comprehend.  They detail these kinds of repressive practices.
And the lack of societal hope because of their dictatorial governments,
which the West has supported and condoned, to their detriment, too.

  Peace is an inside job, everywhere.

  Paul Everett


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