The personality of Mohammed -

Submitted by ron thompson (United States), Feb 14, 2006 at 15:37

This piece is very infomative - I've seen similiar comments from a 1940 source. It is astonishing to me that the personal psychology of a violent, intolerant desert Arab who died almost 1400 yrs ago colors - and defines in the Al Queda and other terrorist types - the religious personality of a billion people alive today!

One reason I say this is that many different personalities, often engaging - soemtimes not, resonate in the Old testament
(a few in the New T), but Mohammed's personality alone permeates and suffuses Islam and the Koran, and seems to evoke numberless 'soul-brothers' among all the shouting and threatening mullahs, imams, and ayatollahs we see on TV.

His nastiest attribute (I don't have the quotes in front of me) may have been to tell all 'believers' that when any 'infidel'
disagreed with them, they were always actively, malignantly disrespecting them. He entirely rejected any idea of honorable,
respect-worthy disagreement.

Thus it seems to me it is his personality that is being manifested by the angry Moslem mobs - mediated by the collective personality of thousands of intolerant clerics taking their inspiration (quite correctly) from the "Message" of Mohammed.

If this is true, then all the voices that are 'agreeing' that the Moslems are LEGITIMATELY "offended" by the cartoons are
unconsciously fueling the flames of unforgiving Moslem anger. Of course those who challenge the mobs and their leaders
on the 'merits' of their outrage and violence will further stir them up too.

So what to do in this classic 'double-bind' situation?

Well, I think the West has first to drop the attitude of some huge tiny-brained dinosaur which STILL doesn't realize
that a deadly threat to its vital interests is building, even if it is still (I think) rather far from being an imminent threat. In place of the confused and masochistic attitude that the Moslem world has a legitimate grievance, it should be considered that Europe and
the United States, in a measured, self-controlled, articulate way, are still not nearly indignant enough at an out-of-control religion
which claims a right of absolute intolerance for itself, while insisting that it is the West which is 'attacking Islam' if it challenges, criticizes, or - heaven forbid - pokes fun at it in any way.

Oddly, for the last two weeks, Europe has reversed roles with the US, and seems more aware of this threat of unanswered aggression,while all the major media outlets of the US, print and tv, still refuse to print those cartoons. It is past time for the most far-seeing leaders, in and out of office, from all non-Muslim areas of the World to consider some sort of a United Front against the menacing, and also self-destructive, attitudes, actions, and almost unbelievable pretensions that were already clear to some
in this prescient 1946 paper.
Ron Thompson

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