Negotiations

Submitted by Gabriel Grosso (Italy), Feb 8, 2006 at 04:18

Of course, we cannot generalize about 1.2 billion Muslims. There are 20 million Middle-Eastern immigrants in Europe (roughly the population of a country like Australia) and 3.5 Middle-Eastern immigrants in the United States. A strong confrontation with Muslims would be counter-productive and bring the West to its knees.

The West does not stand any chance of winning such confrontation. And, then, it would be morally wrong to criminalize 1.2 billion Muslims. We don't need that. It is better to avoid confrontation because neither of us would benefit. It is time to negotiate with Middle-Eastern people and find a solution. Negotiations. That's the way out. We will not win the war on terror by criminalizing Middle-Eastern people, because that will only create more terrorists.

It is time to talk to Middle-Eastern people. We must make an attempt to talk to other cultures. Islamophobia will only produce more terrorists and assassins. Islamophobia is morally wrong. Of course, negotiations shall not be confused with surrender, appeasement and cowardice. There is no contradiction between being ready to talk to Middle-Eastern people and defending our own culture. Negotiations are a way out of the problem. If we don't succeed, we will be able to say that we have tried.

The aim of negotiations shall not be to give in, but to defend our own values. Negotiations are a non-violent way of saving the West. I reject the expression "clash of civilizations", because it plays in the hands of Islamic terrorists. There is no clash of civilizations. It is time to sit down, talk and negotiate a way out of this Cartoon nightmare.

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