Mon Dieu! On avait traduit mon petit mot below into francais.
Religious roots of terrorism?
To fight, I must perceive a distinction between myself and my enemy. This distinction may be on that basis of any attribute I can think of - skin colour, dwelling place, economic status, or belief.
The reason that religious belief is such a strong determinant of conflict is that to believers, religion defines their existence not just in time, but for all eternity. This sometimes gives them superhuman courage, as when martyrs chose death by burning rather than to deny their beliefs.
It is the exclusivistic aspect of religious belief that fosters religious violence. If I believe God has chosen my group above all others, I can go and kill others with His blessing. If I believe that the same God is present in each and every human being that I meet, then I cannot abuse or kill them. So the question is, are there three warring gods, Allah, JHVH and God, or are these just three different names applied by three different cultures to one and the same great transcendent Entity?
Might it not be helpful if the leaders of the Abrahamic faiths met and meditated on this question in silence for a day or so before trying to answer it?
Thursday, January 27, 2005
Wednesday, January 26, 2005
What the Newsmen Don't Tell You
At last! Got a page up on what the media leave out. Been meaning to do it for days.
Monday, January 24, 2005
Terrorism Scrutonised and the Trouble with Cats
Soon after 9/11, Bush was ascribing the attacks to the fanatics' jealousy of the western way of life. More recently, the philosopher Roger Scruton has been retailing this view on the openDemocracy site.
He argues that since the targets of terrorists are more successful than the terrorists, their motives can be ascribed to simple jealousy and resentment.
There is an underlying reason for this success, however, since the terrorists' targets are economically and politically dominant. Look at the actual examples of recent and current "terrorist" campaigns. The inverted commas are there because some may object to the label being applied to some campaigns. Many Americans, for instance, back the IRA. Ironically.
The Palestinians, the IRA, Basque, Chechnyan, Tamil Tiger separatists and Iraqi insurgents all share the common feature of a desire for self-determination for their people. In Rwanda, the Hutus were attacking the dominant Tutsis. Al-Q'aeda have as one of their goals the removal of US bases from the soil of Saudi Arabia. The Acheh militants presumably want the same - although i have never seen a "news" item covering their aims.
Resentment may be present, but there is a cause for the resentment, namely domination by an identifiably different (yes, successful) set of people. Self determination is an important aspiration for all peoples, and if it is denied, the result is resentment and violence. Resentment is not the disease, Professor Scruton: it is an emotion caused by the perception of living in a non-free (non-free, Dubya - get that!?) subject status. Domination and oppression is the problem, and to correct it we need good governance.
The trouble with cats is that if you try to point something out to them, they come over and sniff your finger.
He argues that since the targets of terrorists are more successful than the terrorists, their motives can be ascribed to simple jealousy and resentment.
There is an underlying reason for this success, however, since the terrorists' targets are economically and politically dominant. Look at the actual examples of recent and current "terrorist" campaigns. The inverted commas are there because some may object to the label being applied to some campaigns. Many Americans, for instance, back the IRA. Ironically.
The Palestinians, the IRA, Basque, Chechnyan, Tamil Tiger separatists and Iraqi insurgents all share the common feature of a desire for self-determination for their people. In Rwanda, the Hutus were attacking the dominant Tutsis. Al-Q'aeda have as one of their goals the removal of US bases from the soil of Saudi Arabia. The Acheh militants presumably want the same - although i have never seen a "news" item covering their aims.
Resentment may be present, but there is a cause for the resentment, namely domination by an identifiably different (yes, successful) set of people. Self determination is an important aspiration for all peoples, and if it is denied, the result is resentment and violence. Resentment is not the disease, Professor Scruton: it is an emotion caused by the perception of living in a non-free (non-free, Dubya - get that!?) subject status. Domination and oppression is the problem, and to correct it we need good governance.
The trouble with cats is that if you try to point something out to them, they come over and sniff your finger.
Sunday, January 23, 2005
Armgeddon outa here
Can Bush really be considering an invasion of Iran? Seymour Hersh in the New Yorker thinks he is. Even Jack Straw thinks it would be a bad idea - though it is significant that the Bliar has not yet pronounced upon the matter.
Only a madman would even consider it. So maybe Bush will invade. After all, it is Dubya's Christian dooty to bring on Armageddon.
Meanwhile, Rumsfeld has thought the better of attending the Munich Conference on Security, because if he did, he could be arrested as a war criminal. The question is - will any of the official media carry this story?
Only a madman would even consider it. So maybe Bush will invade. After all, it is Dubya's Christian dooty to bring on Armageddon.
Meanwhile, Rumsfeld has thought the better of attending the Munich Conference on Security, because if he did, he could be arrested as a war criminal. The question is - will any of the official media carry this story?
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