yod wrote:The problem is not "muslims" though the people who are the problem are overwhelmingly muslim. Somehow we need to isolate the extremists from the peaceful ones. If an American President, any American President ever uttered the words, "War on Islam" we would lose that war in a matter of weeks, if not days. We're talking about 1/4 of the world's population and they would be motivated, unified, and fueled by an existential fear of us....caused by us giving in to our own fear. The percentage of muslims who are a problem is small, but the sheer numbers of muslims in the world make that a large number of extremists. In the past it wasn't a problem but in today's world it only takes a few motivated people to wreak a lot of havoc in a society.
Do you remember who launched the first real air attacks against ISIS? It was the Jordanian (muslim) King Abdullah. We absolutely do have (muslim) allies in the war on ISIS, and even against Iran. However, in the middle east you don't raise your head higher than the trenches, or you'll lose it. It's easy to "stand up" to extremists from the western hemisphere, but quite a bit more complicated if you're living in the middle of it.
An extremist mullah knows how to manipulate the fear of muslims who feel isolated in western society, just like an unscrupulous politician or preacher knows how to manipulate the fear of a westerner who feels threatened by people they don't understand.
There is a lot more fear and insecurity coming from the Islamic world than the west (for now), but it's the same ignorance driving it.
GW Bush was right when he said this will be a very long war, maybe a few generations. We create more enemies and prolong the fight when we give in to fear, and we only win this war by showing that our convictions are based on what is good and right for every person. We have been stereotyped in the arabic world by what they've seen from Hollywood and it will take time to prove that we aren't as sick a society as we are portrayed in the movies.
I'm Planetguy and i approve this post!
well said, ted. there's not one thing i disagree with nor find fault with. but the haters gotta hate. and those who need scapegoats will have their scapegoats. those who make across the board generalizations about a race of people or try to put every follower of any religion into one neat little bag and tie a bow around it...there's no talking to them. they loves having them a target to hurl their bag of hatred at (just like the jihadists).
these same christians, who unlike the characters in THEIR holy book....lookie, they DON'T have slaves....and don't have sex w 13 yr olds. hmmmm, i guess they're not following the bible to the letter but instead are interpretting it and keeping it relevant to current day times.
so why is it so hard to understand that it's possible to follow the koran and islamic faith while making similar adjustments.
the idea that what.... the 1.6 BILLION muslims ALL want non followers dead???? sorry, you guys that believe that $hit have been brainwashed and are poisoned by your own dark hearts and souls to believe such silliness.
you need to get out in the real world and your heads out of your butts.
thanks again for that excellent post, ted. (even if you are preaching to the choir and those w deaf ears)
