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Politics : America Under Siege: The End of Innocence -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Lola who wrote (8857)	10/28/2001 3:26:21 PM
From: CountofMoneyCristo	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 27666

Muslims should consider it an insult that these terrorists call themselves Muslims. Muslims the world over have had an historic opportunity to show their religion is one of peace and tolerance, and that they intend to do something about those who murder in the name of their great faith. And you know what? They have not done so, not at all. Saudi Arabia, the home of "The Two Holy Places," has not done anything to support this war on evil. In fact, they have undermined it. Only this past week did they say anything at all, evidently out of fear of an enormous backlash of American public opinion against them. I think right now Americans and their friends need to face facts: Islam is no longer a peaceful religion, and a majority of Muslims across the globe support terrorism as a weapon of choice. I translated this article a few weeks ago, sent it to the editors, and it was subsequently published in The Washington Post: washingtonpost.com This was an open letter to Muslims, asking them to speak out against extremist violence. Up until recently, I believed there might be a moderate wing of Muslims that would come forward. I had truly hoped this was the case, but the silence in response to this sensitive plea has been nothing less than deafening. Why? Now I know: because a majority of Muslims not only agree with but greatly admire Osama bin Laden and his methods. Enough time has passed; we now know about Muslims across the globe. Whoever believes Muslims are peaceful people should then answer why they have done nothing to fight evil perpetrated in their own name. Silence is equivalent to acquiescence. I think the answers are clear to all. Maybe it is now time that we all get our heads out of the sand, and immediately: THIS IS A WAR AGAINST A HATE-FILLED SO-CALLED RELIGION KNOWN AS ISLAM AND ITS ADHERENTS WHO WISH TO DESTROY AND CONQUER THE CIVILIZED WORLD. Whatever Islam was before - and it has a great history of achievement and peace - it is no longer so at the present time because it has been overrun by murderers. Perhaps it is a harsh judgement; so was calling the Nazi leadership a murderous gang of genocidal maniacs, but that did not change the fact then that it was completely true. It strikes me that today people have a hard time facing reality. They simply don't want to believe there is true evil out there. The leaders of Islam have made clear their agreement with Osama bin Laden, and they have also made clear that they seek to murder all Americans and other "infidels." Why are these open threats being dismissed? Mein Kampf was likewise dismissed early in the last century. Leading Islamic figures in Egypt and Saudi Arabia only this past week preached hatred and murder against Americans publicly. Why ignore these statements? Why persist in a position not supported by the evidence, that Islam is peaceful and tolerant, and that a majority of Muslims seek the quiet life we do? It is simply not supported by the facts. It is disingenuous and perilous spin. We had better not succumb to this feckless brain-washing if we are to win this war. It's time for some strong words, and stronger action right now. It is very unfortunate that right now Americans remain arrogant, dismissing the terrorists and their millions of faithful as a dangerous but not powerful movement. They are very dangerous. If they smuggle nuclear materials into a major Western city we will find that out to our universal regret. I hope it does not come to that, but I do fear if within the next 12 months a major move is not made against the Middle East, the center of this evil hatred against advanced, tolerant, free and open society, then matters will only grow far worse. The fact is, Afghanistan is a sideshow. If we want to root out terrorism, then we should start with the Gulf States, first stop: Saudi Arabia. Olivier L. F. Asser