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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group

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To: carranza2 who wrote (216652)2/6/2007 5:33:39 PM
From: one_less  Read Replies (1) of 281500
 
"That they exist in combination makes the obstacles almost insurmountable, IMO"

Like you I see the primary obstacles as cultural. Unlike you I don't see them as a conflict with democracy. I am glad you see them as almost insurmountable, because almost is usually where hope resides.

What I see leaking through as greater cultural obstacles are the fears and prejudices of the extremists on both sides of Middle Eastern vs Western; which are common fears from polar perspectives.

Example:

Middle Eastern: We fear they will force our daughters to drink, dance, gamble, have wild illicit sex etc.

West: We fear they will deny our daughters the right to drink, dance, gamble, or have sex with a partner of their choosing.

West: We fear they will impose archaic punishments on our daughters for conduct we view as culturally normal.

Middle Eastern: We fear they will interfere with our parenting and guidance of our daughters to live according to our moral teachings.

Reality: There are over ten million Muslims living in North America, a larger number living in Western Europe tending to multi-generational. How real are these fears? These people are not disconnected with their cultural roots and a lot is happening to influence their home lands in a positive and progressive way.

You can find horrible acts committed in the name of Islam and there is definitely a problem with radical extremists with large followings and real threats of Global war. I see that as a distinctly separate problem, but one that could find its roots in a failed Iraq.

Extremists like the SI Death Cult group exploit fear to promote anomolies of culture as a threat to Western
Civilization IMO. They like to find some abused person immigrating from a village in Africa, who's converted to Christianity to exemplify the other Billions of Muslims.
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