The police were under pressure from this Muslim mob, including clerics, asking for Asia to be killed because she had spoken ill of the Prophet Mohammed.
Weigh carefully what this quote says and means. There is no mention of religious fanatics, fundamentalists, Islamists, Al Qaeda, Wahhabi etc.
It is regular folks, described as “Muslim mob, including clerics”, baying for blood. Regular folks, like you, me and, of course, the Rage Boy:
So, going a few days back to that uninspired and overused:
I made clear that America is not, and never will be, at war with Islam. Instead, all of us must work together to defeat al Qaeda and its affiliates, who have no claim to be leaders of any religion –– certainly not a great, world religion like Islam.
Does anyone want to reconsider? No? OK, I shall do some homework of my own then…
Cross-posted on SimplyJews
We may not be at war with Islam, or at least a substantial chunk of it, but Islam, or at least a substantial chunk of it, is at war with us.
The way it goes, Alex, we weren’t at war with Islam, only with a minuscule fraction of extremists like AQ.
Now, as you say, a smaller, but still substantial, chunk of Islam, is at war with us.
Somehow I suspect that sooner or later we’ll find ourselves facing a united front of most Muslims.
Too bad we’ll come unprepared to this party…
America has been diligent in supporting military dictators (on the Latin American model) in Pakistan, in Indonesia. “They’re easier to work with” has been the common wisdom. One side effect, though, has been the surgical removal of a – love ’em or hate ’em – Marxist opposition. And there’s *always* going to be an opposition of some sort, right? It’s only human nature. These days it’s taking on a religious aspect. And the geopolitical scene – owing to the vicissitudes of Time and Chance – undergoes modifications: yesterday’s “freedom fighter” (to be supported with American tax dollars) is today’s drone casualty (more American dollars, yet they’re the same jihadis infected by puritanical theology). It takes a fair percentage of Pakistan’s GNP to support its 2 million strong army and, naturally, it’s been at the expense of basic human services. Guess who’s been filling in the blank? Saudi-built madrassas. Poor families – in some provinces more than others – will send their kids there for some degree of literacy and, well, to be *fed*. Since 1947, there has been general Paki hostility towards Hindus for primarily nationalist reasons (and India has responded in kind with the formation of a radical Hindu party [a concept i’m still fitting my mind around]). The innovation of these Wahhabist madrassa is to lead Pakistani children to hate great swathes of their heritage, including Sufism. Sufi shrines have been targeted in recent years as well as the expected suicide attacks on the Shia minority. The military – taking a page from the CIA playbook – saw the jihadis as useful shock troops, encouraging them in Kashmir, but all they managed to accomplish was the antagonism of that region’s Sufi majority. One solution to .. de-radicalizing the northwest frontier would be to allow Pakistan a *zone* of influence within Afghanistan, a condition they enjoyed between the Soviet withdrawal and the American occupation. Trouble with Pakistan is they’ve been hooked on American military aid since the Cold War. That was always the extent of Washington’s interest: “how can you help us fight our enemies?” Osama bin Laden – a figure that Ms Bhutto believed was dead – is referred to within Pakistan’s military circles as “the goose that lays the golden egg.” With the theory of al-Qaeda – organized like General Motors with bin Laden as CEO – issuing memos/corporate directives from Paki territory, the dollars will continue to flow, enabling senior military officers to enjoy the lavish lifestyle to which they’ve become accustomed.
.. in any case, I’ve made no secret of my prejudices: the center of the poison is Saudi Arabia. The concept of “al-Qaeda on the Arabian Peninsula” is hilarious. Sure, such an organization exists, but to the House of Saud, the only factor that makes them terrorists is their opposition to the Saudi royals (why? is it the cocaine and Russian hookers?). The filthy rich Saud Gang is cool with all the other stuff: jihad everywhere *except* Saud territory, hatred of Christians, Jews, Shia, Sufis, the Casual Sunni Majority, basically everyone who doesn’t toe their narrow, narrow line.
Pablo,
I wouldn’t argue the points of history and the reasons the current disposition of forces looks as it does. Still, my point is that it looks as if confrontation between Islam, which is getting more and more militant and “xenophobic” and other forces (I am not sure I am able to predict which ones) is getting close.
Besides, my point was that the attempts to limit the accusation of extremism to a tiny fraction of Islamic world is a sort of spiritual Valium, intended as political soporific.