enigma, here is an excerpt of a previous post with the reasons I think some extreme Muslims hate us and want the destruction of Israel.
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IMO, here are some key facts regarding the Middle East conflict;
There are groups on both sides of the conflict that have a vested interest, either for money or political power, that don’t want peace. This is the true enemy IMO.
Your statement that “Evidently you have not read all the teachings of Islam to see where they teach killing others is good” is not correct. Islam teaches that the killing of the unjust can be good. Your statement is an indicator to me of the lack of leadership among the vast majority of moderate Muslims. They should be expressing outrage at those that attempt to usurp the true meaning of Islam. Islam preaches peace and justice.
Muslims can’t understand why an America that claims to be fair and to protect the weak, is not defending Palestine from an Israeli invasion generations ago. In their eyes this is hypocritical and unjust, and consequently against their religion.
Americans can’t understand why Muslims that claim to be tolerant and just, have tried to destroy the Jewish people. The same Jewish people that the world has persecuted for thousands of years and tried to exterminate in the Holocaust.
IMO, some initial actions that will allow the Arab League and President Bush to succeed where others have failed. Primarily because they tried to dictate, not communicate.
Religious and political leaders in the Arab world should continue to remind the entire Muslim world of Islam’s historic tolerance of other religions. Islam was tolerating other religions before my western ancestors had even thought up things like the Inquisition.
Western leaders should let the entire Muslim know that we respect Islam, and would if necessary, fight to protect Islam and the Islamic holy places against crusaders, just as we fight for the safety of Jews. America was founded on freedom of religion, and even our currency says “In God we trust”.
The entire world needs to know that the scapegoat is the weapon of choice for the weak leader, and only the strongest leaders can forge a lasting peace.
I think Al-Jazeera and the western media is one of the conduits to peace, although I think some in the media on both sides need to tone down their rhetoric. Maybe an exchange of some of the major players would be conducive to the journalist’s quest for truth.
IC
(FYI, just so I don’t get incorrectly labeled. IC is a descendent of Presbyterian ministers in America more than 100 years before the American Revolution.)
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