depends on who you listen to

Submitted by Abdul Rahman Reijerink (Australia), Jul 14, 2006 at 06:49

Dear Cristina,

you say "when you mention Terrorism today most people's first thoughts are Muslims because they are the ones that are terrorizing."

All you do is reveal your privileged position when you say that. Yes, in the "west" we are being terrorised by a bunch of people who claim to be muslims, in other non-western countries too.

But what about all the people who are too poor to have an opinion worth listening to? The millions strangled by debt that our banks feed their dictators (ie "we" meaning our banks and states who prop up their undemocratic regimes for "our" financial benefit). What about the people of Latin America whose quest for democracy is being ruthlessly opposed by the US for venal financial reasons, whether we agree with who they choose as their leaders like Chavez, is irrelevant, that is the nature of democracy.... it is their business not ours. All the dictators that have been propped up in that region (by the US et al) in the last few decades is hideous. Don't call that ancient history, the mothers of the disapeared still grieve, still don't know what has happened to their sons and daughters, and in some cases it is still ongoing (ex: Columbia).

The people of Bougainville are still reeling from a decade long war that my government prolonged AGAINST THE WISHES OF THE PROXY POWER Papua New Guinea in a desire to achieve total victory as opposed to a mutually agreeable negotiated settlement, all in the name of big business mining interests. What about the millions oppresed by unfair trade rules called "free" trade but that is really only in one direction, who are terrorised by hunger and homelessness if they work and worse if they don't? Who here even bothered to remeber the matryrs to democracy slaughtered in view of the cameras for all the world to see on their 17th anniversary.... or are you all cheering and lining up to buy Chinese manufactured goods so the blood of those brave young men and women is worthless? Or maybe you want quick organ transplants from pesky falun gung practioners, call up your local Chinese embassy and ask for some real cheap [now verified by a third party]!

Ask those people if it is Islam and muslims oppresing them, I think you will find that they might answer that it is alleged Christians worshipping the allmighty dollar/Euro or Chinese oligarchs drinking the blood of the people.

As Harrak says, oppression and violence are a part of the human condition. they all use their ideology to justify it. They are not fundamental to Islam.

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