On "radical Islam"...

Jambo and I talked for a bit last night, and I wanted to take some of that and add to what Ryan said.

Jambo was comparing our fight with radical Islam to our fight with Communism. Both called for the eventual global domination by their individual ideologies, and both proved to be thought-processes that were completely incompatible with alternative societies and cultures. Communism only took about a century to show it couldn't work in the forms that it had taken, while Islam (in general) has been breeding conflicts and aggression for the last 1,399 years... and they have been doing it with EVERY SINGLE society and culture they have encountered. Every single one.

I can't count how many times I have heard people say that Islam is "at war" with Christianity, and has been since the Middle Ages. I disagree, but only on the context of the statement. If Islam were actually "at war" with Christianity... the conflicts now known as the Crusades would either still be going on, or one of the religions would have been wiped out. While I do not argue that the troubles in the Middle East can certainly be linked to the struggles between Muslims and Crusader Christians... that is NOT the struggle we see today. Today, we see Islam (in general) carrying on the constant struggle to erase Israel from the face of the globe.

BUT, this is only ONE region. Let's look at the very recent past in places where Islam has "butted heads" with OTHER religions and cultures.

The Indian sub-continent. Modern Pakistan exists because Muslims (in general) could not co-exist with Hindus. The 40 years of violence and terror that has marked the relationship between India and Pakistan is ample evidence of the level of hatred and distrust that results from that kind of religious intolerance.

Indonesia. The 86% Islamic majority of Indonesia has a long and storied history of repression and violence against the 10% Christian/Hindu minority, and has become, in the last decade, a haven for international radicals that breed terrorism and violence abroad.

East Africa. Muslim minorities have long been the root of violence in countries and cultures such as Somalia, Ethiopia, and Eritrea. Places where the Muslim population is the majority (Sudan and Chad jump to mind), we see examples of some of the worst cases of human rights violations in the last 200 years.

The Caucus and Trans-Caucus regions. The only thing that kept the violence and bigotry that I am trying to demonstrate from having a century-long history here was the USSR. Since the Soviets fell apart, we see how true my point is... violence and terror as instruments of government and policy in such places as Chechnya, Turkmenistan, Khasikstan, Georgia, Armenia, Moldavia, et al.

The Balkans. I'm not even going to list this region's problems... just think back to the early 90s.

THESE are the examples I am using of the history of Islamic interaction with other religions and cultures... and these are only the most recent. These are the fruits of islolationist, fundamentalist Islamic interpretation and teaching... warfare, violence, destruction and genocide.

Comments?