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Politics : Idea Of The Day -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Skywatcher who wrote (47112)	10/20/2004 6:18:47 PM
From: IQBAL LATIF	Respond to of 50167

Bush would Accept Islamic Iraq Bush fundamentalizes the Middle East President Bush has said that he would "accept" an "Islamic Iraq," according to AP. If free and open Iraqi elections lead to the seating of a fundamentalist Islamic government, "I will be disappointed. But democracy is democracy," Bush said. "If that’s what the people choose, that’s what the people choose." Given that Bush has ensconced the Christian right in many of his administration's policies, I suppose we should just check with Iyad Allawi as to whether "if free and open American elections lead to the seating of a fundamentalist Christian government," he would be willing to "accept" that. Really, the president cannot help patronizing the Iraqis. A while ago he talked about them taking off their "training wheels," as though high-powered Iraqi physicists, lawyers and physicians were somehow reduced to little children just because the US has 138,000 troops in their country. I think it can be fairly argued that the Bush "war on terror" has actually spread Islamic fundamentalism. (Bush coddling of Ariel Sharon's harsh policies in Palestine has also contributed). Since Bush began acting aggressively in the region, the United Action Council of (often pro-Bin Laden!) fundamentalist parties in Pakistan has come to power by itself in the Northwest Frontier Province, in coalition in Baluchistan, and has 17% of the seats in parliament! Despite Pakistan's unwarranted reputation for "fundamentalism," in fact most Pakistanis are Sufis or traditionalists who dislike fundamentalism, and the latter parties seldom got more than 2-3% of seats in any election in which they ran. Until Bush came along. In Iraq, a whole series of Muslim fundamentalist parties-- al-Da`wa, the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq, the Sadrists, the Salafis, and now al-Qaeda, have been unleashed by Bush. They seem likely to win any election held in Iraq, since the secularists remain disorganized. In the parliamentary elections in Afghanistan now slated for spring 2005, the Taliban or the cousins of the Taliban are likely to be a major party, benefiting from the Pushtun vote. We could go on (a similar story of new-found fundamentalist strength could be told for Indonesia, e.g.) The real legacy of Bush to the Muslim world will likely not be secular democracy, but the provocation of Muslim publics into voting for the Muslim fundamentalists on a scale never before seen in the region. But then since Bush wants to subvert the separation of religion and state in the United States, with his theologically (!) driven stem cell policy and his hand-outs to cults like the Moonies, at least he is being consistent when it comes to his Middle East policy. posted by Juan @ 10/20/2004 06:36:28 AM

To: Skywatcher who wrote (47112)	10/21/2004 6:06:19 PM
From: IQBAL LATIF	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 50167

Your 'Kerry' has a lot of support; US Muslims unhappy with 'war on terror' By Our Correspondent WASHINGTON, Oct 20: More than one-third of American Muslims believe that the US war on terrorism is really a war on Islam, according to a survey report released this week by researchers at Georgetown University. Thirty-eight per cent of American Muslims polled said they believed the US-led invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, and the tensions with Iran and Syria; reflected a foreign policy that was targeting Islamic countries and Muslims. An additional 33 per cent of Muslims interviewed said they believed the United States was fighting a war on terrorism, and 29 per cent said they were not sure. The telephone survey of 1,846 randomly chosen Muslims was conducted in August and September by Zogby International for the Project on Muslims in the American Public Square, a project of Georgetown's Centre for Muslim-Christian Understanding. The poll follows up a study conducted two months after the September 11 attacks, which found that 67 per cent of American Muslims believed that the United States was fighting a war on terror. An additional 18 per cent of Muslims said the US war was against Islam, and 16 per cent said they were not sure. The survey also shows a massive shift in the political outlook of the American Muslims since the last presidential election. In 2000 a plurality supported President George W. Bush over Vice President Al Gore, but now 76 per cent said they supported Massachusetts Senator John Kerry and just 7 per cent support Mr Bush. "The results of this survey are truly astonishing for American Muslims. There has been a sea-change in political alignment and outlook since 9/11," said Dr Zahid Bukhari, director of the project. "The political realignment in the Muslim community is unprecedented in all of American history." The political realignment in the American Muslim community seems to come from several factors, including a higher emphasis on domestic policy and high opposition to both the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. A higher percentage of Muslims than other subgroups believe that America is not moving in the right direction