<HTML><FONT FACE=arial,helvetica><HTML><FONT COLOR="#000000" FACE="Geneva" FAMILY="SANSSERIF" SIZE="2"><BR>
In a message dated 7/8/05 11:10:06 PM, chris.corrigan@gmail.com writes:<BR>
<BR>
<BR>
<BLOCKQUOTE CITE STYLE="BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px solid; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px" TYPE="CITE"></FONT><FONT COLOR="#000000" FACE="Geneva" FAMILY="SANSSERIF" SIZE="2">I don't usually weigh in on stuff like this, and I'm sure others will tan your hide for it, but Paul, I have to stand in front of the rash generalizations you are making about "Muslims."<BR>
</BLOCKQUOTE></FONT><FONT COLOR="#000000" FACE="Geneva" FAMILY="SANSSERIF" SIZE="2"><BR>
<BR>
Sorry, Chris, I don't regard those as "rash generalizations", Friedman is correct, NO high order Muslim from any Muslim nation has issued a fatwa on bin Laden and his followers. By that I mean someone of the stature that issued the fatwa against Salman Rushdie for publishing a book they deemed defamed Muhammad. The Muslim Islamic cleric leader of Iran. <BR>
<BR>
And, of course, you are correct. There are millions of Muslims who abhor what is happening. They want peace, too. They want a life of freedom, economic security, etc., why else would they leave their repressive homelands to come to the Western nations? Friedman's point (and mine) is unless IMPORTANT people of the leadership of Muslim nations start to speak out in loud, consistent tones that such is not part of the Koran (Ch. 5, v. 32; ch. 17, v. 33 according to an Immam I heard on the news tonight) </FONT><FONT COLOR="#000000" FACE="Geneva" FAMILY="SANSSERIF" SIZE="2"><I>and their societies begin to isolate and negate these people,</I></FONT><FONT COLOR="#000000" FACE="Geneva" FAMILY="SANSSERIF" SIZE="2"> we are in for a very bad time, indeed.<BR>
<BR>
You may be enlightened, but I will predict that if this goes on, and gets worse, large numbers of people will not be acting in an enlightened manner. We all know about the 'tipping point'. It happens in societies, too. It CAN happen here. Imagine the reaction of even a very large minority to a WMD incident in a major Western nation. It won't be pretty.<BR>
<BR>
Finally, there is much that can be done to avoid Huntington's Thesis, but it takes a long time, a long time, and will take something along the line of Martin Luther's 95 Theses within Islam before we will see a genuine rapproachment between the globalizing West and the Islamic world. I believe we need to see the world as it is, not as we wish it was, and take steps accordingly.<BR>
<BR>
Sincerely,<BR>
<BR>
Paul Everett<BR>
<BR>
</FONT><FONT COLOR="#000000" FACE="Geneva" FAMILY="SANSSERIF" SIZE="2"></FONT></HTML>
*
*
==========================================================
OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
------------------------------
To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options,
view the archives of oslist@listserv.boisestate.edu:
http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html
To learn about OpenSpaceEmailLists and OSLIST FAQs:
http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist