Who is stirring up the drivers?

Submitted by Ed Halper (United States), Oct 16, 2006 at 22:00

It now turns out the Muslim cab drivers were operating under a minority religious view. The obvious question is who stirred them up? One could speculate that they go to the same mosque or perhaps to a couple of mosques. The Imam should be closely scrutinized, and if circumstances warrant, deported.

This is not the story of immigrants trying to hold on to their religion in a foreign land. It is a story of ignorant and gullible Muslims being manipulated by unscrupulous leaders intent on exercising power. We need to look carefully at these leaders, and we need to appreciate the community dynamics that prevent dissent.

Perhaps the real lesson is that just living in the US is not enough to teach Muslims about democracy. Accustomed to taking orders without doing their own thinking, these people are going to need some special attention if they are going to integrate into the US. The same can be said of Muslims abroad whom we are expecting to adopt democratic values.

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