Following numerous requests I have reprinted a cleaned up version my original
post. Feel free to use this in anyway you see fit. Jack
Why?
A number of would-be pundits have come forward with the idea we may have
caused the events of Sept. 11th. For decades American's foreign policy has
rained down death and destruction on innocent people around the world, they
say, and that the victims of US aggression just hit us back.
We've heard this argument about US aggression before, often in certain
insulated educational institutions where a very liberal socialist agenda
results in some unusual and unique opinions being spoken as fact. Despite
the reality, this kind of wrong thinking is causing us some self-doubt where
unity and clarity belong.
I suppose those false allegations are confusing to many of us because they
are backed up by the plaintiffs detailed half-truths spewn forth as facts and
they are not very easy to refute, for most of us, when we are confronted.
We’re more likely taken by surprise and only able to say, "Gee, that doesn't
sound right!" However, if one did take the time to examine the issues, study
those wild allegations of US evil and alleged acts of genocide, they would
find something very different than what is being preached. It's all right
there in history too. Taking the libs and anti-Americans to task you would
find some of those genocide accusations include things like dropping the
atomic bomb on Japan that ended WWII, saving an estimated 1,000,000 US and
allied casualties. You would also find that our involvement in Vietnam and
Korea is another one of their genocide stories. And Agent Orange, (a
defoliant) was their example of chemical warfare. Getting pretty silly isn't
it? Those same people call our "trade embargo of war related items" to Iraq
yet another example of genocide! Don't laugh, it's true and now we begin
to see how perverted their thinking is how disenfranchised they are from the
mainstream, not to mention from reality and facts.
In Iraq case, food and humanitarian items were never restricted... never!
What a crock, what liars they are!
I wont get into every radical's moronic belief of what constitutes US
aggression, but let me simply point out that for as many actions as the
United States and the UN have taken against Arab and Islamic communities, we
have also balanced it with many forms of support and workable ideas for
peace. We’ve coaxed along a lot of Mideast peace talks, especially between
Palestinians and Jewish leaders for decades. One of our more dramatic
actions for peace in the Muslim world was our multinational participation in
the Kosovo region. This was to stop a war of genocide against a Muslim
population by ethnic Christian militias. Another example of our will to
support Moslems would be found in our relationship with the Taliban in
Afghanistan. They are fundamentalist regime that took over for the
Mujahadeen, we collectively supported them in their fight with the Soviet’s.
We should have many friends in Afghanistan, but we are hated instead. I
could go on with many more positive policies for Moslem causes, a list that
should somewhat cancel a few of those perceived transgressions. Such as
acknowledging Israel's right to exist, but that one too terrible to forgive
according to some.
However, the bottom line is simply this, those claims of US bullying leading
to the instigating of the massive attack on Sept. 11th fall woefully short of
the truth! And it comes nowhere close to justifying it. So you must wonder,
why? What could have provoked such a maniacal suicide attack?
Shortly after the formation of Islam we see the most radical branch of Islam
began as a counter revolutionary force within the Nation of Islam. They were
against the regional Arab aristocracy, which we would now call the Sunni and
those now still opposing would be known as the Shiites. Sunni and Shiite are
on opposite ends of the Moslem world, a case of the tolerant verses the
intolerant.
In the beginning the Shiite was generally separated from the middle and
upper-class Moslems by their low economic and educational levels and the
rabble greatly resented the wealthy for obvious, if not just reasons.
Because of this class distinction they were easily turned by their own
fundamentalist leaders into an angry mob seeking revenge and justice! In a
rather short time those poor, but numerous believers of Islam were united by
a new vision in which they were self proclaimed as the more righteous, the
more worthy and the army of retribution in God’s name.
They believed their nation’s morality was gradually being destroyed by those
they characterized as greedy, the landowners and powerful rich. Those were
the rulers in the Nation of Islam and they rose up to challenge their enemy
and kill them! Please note this was long before any US foreign policy or
western influence existed.
The first great battle to be fought was at the Plains of Kerbala where the
fundamentalist (we now call Shiite) Army led by the son of Mohammed, Husayn
ibn 'Ali ('a) (also spelled Hussain) met the professional and much larger
Yezid Army. When Mohammed's son realized they were greatly mismatched and
had no real chance against such a force, he and a few of his followers rode
out to battle them in a suicidal gesture while his own ragtag army watched in
awe, waiting perhaps for some divine intervention. God did not intervene and
Husayn ibn 'Ali was of course killed. To the outrage and horror of his
followers, his head was paraded around on a pike.
Before his death the Imam Hussain gave a rousing speech to his believers,
urging a form martyrdom found only in jihad (holy war) to rekindle the true
spirit of Islam. Here are a few excerpts from his death speech, "Death is
better than disgrace and disgrace is better than the fire of hell... I see
death as a blessing and life with tyrants as the most disgusting state one
can be in"
Thus began the spirit of martyrdom and jihad (holy war against the decadent
rich and powerful ). Modern day followers of Husayn ibn 'Ali are following
the example of Kerbala, martyring themselves for God and for the rewards
promised them in the after- life. These radical fundamentalist Shiites
embrace the more obscure passages in the Koran just like some our own
homegrown fundamentalists have done, tossing snakes, but at least not tossing
bombs!
What began at Kerbala so man centuries ago placed us in harms way when in
modern times issues important to the United States collided with a fanatical
religious movement mixed to a lesser degree with politics. As a wealthy and
powerful nation built upon Christian principles we were a tremendous affront
to everything the Muslim zealots held holy. Our current societal flaws from
our alcohol to sexy movies only affirms their take of a demonic nation, unfit
to exist in their world. Our very lifestyle had touched a scorpion’s nest
and warranted out death by thinking of those extremists.
The Muslim zealots of course only represent a small portion of the Muslim
community, but they have pronounced our nation "The Great Satan" and declared
holy war on our citizen’s many years ago. A theme not unpopular among
Muslims, although on a small fraction choose to do anything about it.
When the Koran (Qur'an) was written it commanded the faithful to kill the
infidels(meaning any non-Muslims), in loose translation it said that if they
came upon such infidels and they fled then they should hunt them down and
kill them. Now also consider the very name "Moslem or Muslim" means to be
member of the Nation of Islam. They are by namesake one who "surrenders to
God's will." In other words to do God's will according to the dictates of
certain religious leaders. This is a powerful tool in the hands of fanatics.
As the war takes its toll, a few of our misguided try to understand and make
sense of the zealots actions against us. But they are all too quick to
dismiss a hateful, bigoted agenda aimed at our very lifestyle as one of the
keys reasons for killing indiscriminately I suppose because of our own
contemporary values on justice and reason. This has led to this self-doubt
and a finding by those already predisposed to hate us, that the root cause of
all this trouble is something we did as a government.
We may have done wrong things too, we're only human, but those half-truths
upon which the great lies and misconceptions are founded is yet another
perverted, biased opinion told as fact. The wrongs some feel we may have
done, albeit in the name of peace and national security, have far less to do
with Sept. 11th than the 1000 years of hatred that emboldens today's
terrorist. That hatred was formed by Muslim law, perverted by the radicals
to serve their own ends.
We support Israel's right to exist and seek ways to find peace with the
Palestinians and her Arab neighbors. To the zealots, this is an unpardonable
sin. America is the greatest nation on earth and for them it carries too
much influence, therefore we are a prime target. Our Israeli policy is an
outrage to those zealots and this is reason enough for them to kill us.
Worse yet, we are different from them in many ways and the bigots exploit
that by making us into non-human things!
We are a free and open society, our women are not required to wear veils and
enjoy equality as afforded by law. They (Muslims) hold not wearing a veil is
a serious, arrestable offense. I wonder what the punishment would be for a
thong bikini … death? Go to spring break at any number of western beaches
and the extremist end of Muslim law would have our kids locked away for
decades for their felonious conduct! Even in the moderate Muslim world,
possession of a Playboy magazine carries a long prison term, longer in
Afghanistan and Iran naturally. A prostitute here would get a few days in
jail and a small fine. Muslim fundamentalist would have her beheaded. Petty
thieves would have a hand cut off, adulterers could be killed, and it's
guaranteed death if the adulterer was a woman, men tend to fair better. Fail
to honor a call to prayer in Iran or Afghanistan and the religious police,
patrolling in vehicles, will beat you on the spot and take you into custody.
But in their minds we are the barbarians; we are the blight on the world and
an affront to Islam for our lack of perfection; for embracing freedoms that
lead to prosperity and sometimes-immoral choices. Total up our sins and then
add the most egregious sin of all, our support for the right of Israel to
exist and it is clear why the zealots throw themselves at us in suicidal
attacks.
Our lifestyle, our prestige and our support of the Jews have made us all
targets of a massive political and religious front. Too many of us fail to
understand this because we think in more tolerant, rational terms, absent the
mindset of this fundamentalist fanaticism. This murderous fanaticism that
drives people to do bizarre and evil things in the name of God, as holy
warriors for a greater glory they can have only in death.
When we seek answers to this tragedy in New York and Washington D.C., it is
right that we look inward and examine who we are and what we do. However, it
is also right that we look at the enemy who caused this pain and suffering
and know them for who they are. If we do this, we will come to know the
logic of Jonestown could just as well be applied to the attack of Sept.
11th. And this my friends is far, far removed from any State Department
misdeed or foreign policy gone wrong. The world and we know who the real
enemy is now and it is zealotry married to evil and in the name of God.
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