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Some of you might be getting the same e-mail letter
THIS IS THE ORIGINAL e-mail: > > TWISTED LOGIC - POOR OLD MUSLIMS - THEY GET INSULTED - WE GET BEHEADED > > The Pope says that jihad violence is against God's nature, and officials > fear that in response, Muslims enraged by this insult will commit... Jihad> violence. > > Muslims murder 3,000 innocents in New York and expect no criticism. > Muslims murder 202 tourists in Bali and expect no criticism. > Muslims murder 333 schoolchildren and their teachers in Beslan and expect no criticism. > Muslims murder 292 innocents, mainly Kenyans and Tanzanians at two US > Embassies and expect no criticism. > Muslims murder 241 US and 58 French peacekeepers in Beirut and expect no criticism. > Muslims fire 4,000 Katyusha rockets into Northern Israel killing over 50 innocent civilians and expect no criticism. > Muslims murder 52 in London and 191 in Madrid and expect no criticism. Muslims murder 200 in Mumbai and expect no criticism. Muslims behead Western hostages in Iraq, Buddhist monks in Thailand and Christian schoolgirls in Indonesia and expect no criticism. Muslims murder 500,000 in Darfur and expect no criticism. Muslims regard Jews as 'sons of pigs and monkeys', and vow to nuke Israel and expect no criticism. Muslims force women to wear hideous sacks, stone to death women for getting raped and for leaving the home unescorted, engage in honor killings of sisters and daughters for unapproved dating, and expect no criticism. Muslims danced in the streets and handed out sweets to their kids to celebrate the 9/11 atrocity, and still expected no criticism. Since 9/11 Muslims have killed over 26,000 and wounded over 50,000 in terrorist attacks worldwide since 9/11 and expect no criticism. Since 9/11 Muslims have committed terrorist attacks in Afghanistan, Algeria, Bangladesh, Belgium, Chad, Chechnya, Dagestan, Denmark, East Timor, Egypt,England, Eritrea, Ethiopia, France, Germany, India, IIndonesia, Ingushetia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Jordan-Iraq, Kabardino-Balkans, Kenya, Kosovo, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Mauritania, Morocco, Netherlands, Nigeria, Pakistan, Gaza-Palestinian Authority, Philippines, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Scotland, Somalia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Syria, Tajikistan, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Arab Republic, United States, Uzbekistan and Yemen, and still expect no criticism. > Muslims have carried out over 5,800 fatal terrorist atrocities since 9/11, and countless thousands since Islamic conquest began in 623 AD and expect no criticism. But if a Pope dares to tell the truth about Islam or Danes publish cartoons about Mohammed, then let the outpourings of Islamic hate and outrage begin. And, by some twisted reach of logic, the arrogant bastards demand the Pope issue an apology. > > ----------------------------------------------------- THIS WAS MY "REPLY TO ALL" RESPONSE...
Terrorists did those things. The fact that they did them based on their sick and twisted interpretation of their religion is irrelevant. There is no justification for those actions in Islam or in any other philosophy.
The vast majority of Muslims are not terrorists. And that's a good thing, because there are a BILLION of them. So, let's keep it that way.
The Pope didn't do anyone any good when he insulted the entire Muslim religion instead of focusing in the real problem, which is terrorism and extremism.
Sure, from our point of view, Muslims seem a bit overly touchy about statements like that from the Pope. But anyone who knows the history of the Crusades should realize that the Benedict XVI was opening up old wounds. And what good did that do?
We need to stay focused on the FUTURE in our dealings with the mainstream Muslim world. THAT is what serves our interests. It's the terrorist nut-balls who have the most to gain by keeping Muslims focused on crap that happened in the Middle Ages.
Some people in the Bush administration want to turn the war on terrorism into a war between Islam and Christianity. And, apparently, the Pope sees things that way, too. But, there is no military solution to the historical rift between the Muslim and Christian worlds. And the more we do to encourage mainstream Muslims to see us as something other than their enemies, the better off we'll be.
In fact, even the war on terrorism isn't best fought with armies most of the time. That war is best fought with covert and clandestine operations and the tools of law enforcement. Only occasionally (such as in Afghanistan) will the fight against terrorism require actual military engagement.
But what is Bush doing? He is neglecting Afghanistan in favor of fighting a war in Iraq which-- in terms of fighting terrorism -- was not a priority in 2003.
We would have been much, much better off finishing the job in Afghanistan and keeping Iraq contained. If we'd done that, we wouldn't be draining our national treasury trying to impose "freedom and democracy" on a backward country that doesn't want it, while also providing a "cause célèbre" for the Jihadist movement.
And while Bush struggles to figure out goals in Iraq, Afghanistan is falling apart. The Taliban (the group that actually harbored al Qaeda) is making a comeback and the situation is so frustrating that Republican leaders are suggesting that we make peace with them!
We need some new ideas. We need a new approach.
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My mom was pissed that I "embarrassed her" by hitting "reply to all." But maybe she will stop sending me this crap after this.
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