Thursday, October 11, 2012

Bali--ten years on--extremism at its worst

Today is the day to remember the tragic events of ten years ago when so many Indonesians, Australians and people from other countries lost their lives. The culprits behind this attack have all either lost their lives or are in prison. That does not make it any easier for those who lost their loved ones.
The world in 2012 is no safer from the ravages of acts of terrorism and no amount of military action by the USA and its allies will make it so. If the causes that feed terrorism are not addressed then we will continue to witness acts of violence against the West and anyone perceived to be supporting the USA.
We will have more Afghanistans and we will equally be unable to win those wars. The USA and its allies will throw huge resources at the terrorists and the Muslim world will be unable to control those elements within their societies that are willing to lay down their lives for their cause.
The sad fact remains that ‘moderates’ do not undertake extreme measures to protect their faith of maintain ‘order.’ History, both from the point of view of Christendom and the Islamic world has shown us that such struggles do not result in lasting peace.
Islam is supposed to be a tolerant religion, just as Christianity in its moderate form is, but both religions (and others) contain elements that are hell-bent on following a pathway that threatens world peace. That they are fed by despotic regimes and inequality for many of the populace is a given fact. That is where the USA should look carefully at its foreign policy. That policy in itself is a root cause for much of the hate that fundamentalist groups use to wage the wars of hate.
If the majority of people in both religions communicate and create deeper understandings and tolerance, then only that will bring some hope. But will the majority speak up---? ---- Like that wonderful young Pakistani girl did? I wish that could be so.

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