London calling--long reply

[Kate Armstrong]

Bravo, Jon! And bravo to Paul, Funda, Masud, and the other listserv 
members who have the courage and grace to hold and contribute to this 
very public conversation. Our minds, our hearts, our spirit are so 
deeply engaged here.

Appreciately,
Kate

"The best way to predict the future is to create it now, together."


On Jul 11, 2005, at 5:29 AM, Jon Harvey wrote:

> 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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