Misunderstanding Islam as the cause of the terrorism

Submitted by Rachel Garber, Philadelphia (United States), Sep 11, 2007 at 15:15

What is so profoundly pathetic and also very scary about Rabbi Eric Yoffie's statement regarding the lack of knowledge about Islam (and I've heard this excuse made by many other people as well) is the apologist attitude, and naivety of the speakers. I don't know diddley squat about Buddhism, nor I suspect do many Americans, or French or British for that matter, yet I don't see them bombing towns and villages, killing people who convert from their religion to another religion as the Muslim's do. When Martin Scorsese made the movie a few years ago, "The Gospel According to St. Matthew" if I recall, Catholics were very upset, called it sacrilegious, and wrote letters-to-the-editor, but I didn't hear of anyone threatening Scorsese's life, or worse killing him as was done to Theo Van Gogh. When Mel Gibson made his movie, the "Passion of Christ" we Jews were in an uproar, but I didn't hear any rabbis calling for his death as I've heard Muslim clerics do, about things they believe are disloyal to,or disrespectful of their religion.

A reading of "Because They Hate", by Brigitte Gabriel, a Lebanese Christian who survived the early war in Lebanon (in the 1970s), and whose parents are now buried in Israel, would go a long way toward dispelling benighted notions about the Muslim world's desire to be understood. They don't want to be understood, they want the world to be all Muslim, that is their "raison d' etre". If people don't believe that, think about this, why is it that a large percentage of American Muslims don't support the war in Iraq? Why,because they are anti-war, no because we are at war in a Muslim country. Talk about divided loyalties. Why is it that Muslims conveniently forget the war in Somalia, in which American soldiers, many of whom were NOT Muslim, gave their lives.

Why is it that Kofi Anan as head of the UN consistently refused to condemn the enslavement of, and slaughter of the people of Darfur. Because they were Christians being killed by the Muslim militia. Yet the fence went up in Israel to keep out terrorist, and Anan found time to condemn Israel for trying to protect her citizens.

We all talk a good game of let's have peace in the Middle East, let's not blame all Muslims, let's try to understand their point of view. This is all just empty talk, because we don't have honest people,on the other side of the debate, they say one thing for Western consumption, and another to their own people.

Regardless of what one thinks of gays in the military, and I realize this is a hot button issue, but I think we did our military a great disservice by getting rid of so many of them, who just happened to be Arabic interpreters. Talk about cutting off your nose to spite your face. Just where did anyone think we were going to suddenly get a bunch of straight Arabic interpreters.

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