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Missing the wood for the trees

Reader comment on item: [Ra'ed Mansour al-Banna:] The California Suicide Bomber

Submitted by Ghulam Muhammed, Mumbai (India), Apr 6, 2005 at 00:57

Wednesday, April 06, 2005

I think that Pipes is missing the wood for the trees. He seems to believe that one should take care of the pennies while the pound will take care of itself. I have read the his version of TIME story with equal abhorrence wondering as to how and why Ra'ed turned militant. However, I am convinced that he was sincere in his pursuit of happiness and a good career, when he opted to travel to the US. I also believe there is no put on, when he praises the people of the US when he wrote back home. Somewhere his innocence got abused. That point has to be focused, by studying his persona as much as the forces that interacted on him, forcing him to react in a different way that would have been his normal lifestyle specially at his stay in the US...

It is wrong to err on the side of misjudging all Muslims, rather than taking chances with any of them. It is more like the Pharaoh's solution of murdering all first-born, to take out the possibility of one Moses, remaining alive to wreck destruction on his empire. It is strange that Pipes has not taken lessons for his own reading of the holy books and early history. Apparently, the rot was in the affairs of Pharaoh and nothing wrong with the message of Moses. The same dilemma is faced by the rulers of the present day America, who are quick in ordering slaying of all first-born, but not prescient enough to look within themselves to find if they themselves could do something positive to set a better example for others. American society is obsessed with war. And it is the doing of a very small but very influential group that has deeply ingrained Masadic tendencies, that is ruining the whole American society. Observe the TV programs, the films, the cartoon series, the electronic games --- all geared to violence. No surprise as to why others are reacting to their 'innocent' existence! The world has better memories of the US. All is lost even before 9/11 and Iraq. The cold war, that pitted two super-powers, has robbed rest of the world, of any peace and squandered their human and material resources, by forcing them to take sides. We must start noticing the wider picture that is there but invisible to the shortsighted. The new world cannot remain predatory and peaceful at the same time. Something has got to give.

Ghulam Muhammed, Mumbai
Submitting....

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Reader comments (35) on this item

Title Commenter Date Thread
How Terrorists Could Use the California Values Act to Evade Detection [107 words]JamesMay 26, 2018 00:06243091
Answer to Mumbai [323 words]Arlinda DeAngelisApr 26, 2005 08:1721821
Why does this not happen in other religions? [146 words]Yldaed SurivApr 15, 2005 15:0921684
How much Islam is responsible for creating terrorists [27 words]A.AhmedApr 13, 2005 11:4721624
The article [323 words]AllenApr 10, 2005 11:2121504
The problem with that formula [127 words]Emmanuel PApr 8, 2005 13:3721486
1How come the family did not know about their son? [623 words]N. KhalediApr 7, 2005 21:5921477
Fodder for a teddy boy [196 words]Donald OApr 7, 2005 21:1721476
Why does a normal Muslim turn into a terrorist? [20 words]Ayesha A.Apr 7, 2005 13:0221468
Honesty [79 words]S.C.PandaApr 6, 2005 05:5421428
Missing the wood for the trees [417 words]Ghulam Muhammed, MumbaiApr 6, 2005 00:5721418
Looking for new recruits [451 words]JohnApr 5, 2005 15:4321375
Australian model: Sure, but.... [150 words]JB TantApr 5, 2005 14:2121370
Preview of things to come......... [228 words]Warren BaconApr 5, 2005 12:5621368
The guy was a crackpot... [378 words]Nabil AhmadApr 5, 2005 12:0221366
Friend or Foe?? [211 words]Rebecca E. MouldsApr 5, 2005 12:0121365
Probably recruited while still in Jordan [88 words]Richard ConoboyApr 5, 2005 11:2021363
Strange Biography [152 words]WernerApr 5, 2005 00:0521353
1Why are Muslims so obsessed with "honor"? [98 words]Funk Soul BruhvaApr 4, 2005 23:2921351
Apropos muslim immigrants who become jihadists [218 words]Gabriel RinzlerApr 4, 2005 22:5221350
So what if someone who hated us passed through? [217 words]Peter J. HerzApr 4, 2005 21:5921348
Jihadis [59 words]Donald W. BalesApr 4, 2005 19:5821347
To Error is Human, to Kill is Martydom [69 words]Chris KApr 4, 2005 19:5221345
Or, perhaps, a distraught man? [198 words]G. LobeApr 4, 2005 18:5821343
The case for immigration control: the Australian model [188 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
Octavio JohansonApr 4, 2005 17:5021341
The Australian immigration-system [18 words]JAFeb 18, 2006 19:2121341
Australian immigration policies [58 words]KevinJan 2, 2009 20:1121341
Great Details and Analysis [79 words]AlexApr 4, 2005 17:1721338
What are we looking for? [91 words]Marcy GlanzApr 4, 2005 16:5921337
The California Suicide Bomber and Cognitive dissonance [126 words]Stan FuttermanApr 4, 2005 16:0521335
Credibility [126 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
David PintoApr 4, 2005 15:5721334
Another brick in the wall [89 words]Darwin BarrettApr 4, 2005 15:5721333
Islam a Jihadist religion [194 words]Gloria StewartApr 4, 2005 15:1621331
SLEEPERS'S TACTICS [192 words]Marcos BerensteinApr 4, 2005 14:5321329
Where are the real America Moslims? [31 words]JP ArcherJun 1, 2006 12:5021329

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