http://desicritics.org/ Superior South Asian bloggers on Culture, Media, Politics, Sport, Business, and Technology. en Copyright 2006 by the authors Sat, 9 Jun 2007 14:42:12 EDT http://backend.userland.com/rss BC custom software http://desicritics.org/2007/06/09/082947.php#comment-218892 People like Tariq Ramadan are part of the problem here, not the solution. Because most of the views of Islamic apologists are contradictory. They make efforts to whitewash the actual root causes of Islamic terrorism and invent new ones, like American and British occupation of Iraq, to divert the debate. Take this omnipresent view for instance: "Non-Muslims, in their effort to explain Islamic terrorism, citing verses from Quran which ask Muslims to wage war against unbelievers will further radicalise otherwise <i>peaceful</i> Muslims. Therefore, we shouldnt be surprised when the next suicide attack occurs. Therefore, we should STOP criticizing Islam." (Curiously, the fact that these verses are cited by fanatical Muslims themselves to incite violence against non-Muslims is ignored!) This view suffers from a basic fallacy. For how can a supposedly peaceful Muslim immediately become radicalized if someone points out to the violent aspects of Islam? Instead, a <i>peaceful</i> or peace loving Muslim should accept the existence of these violent aspects and make all efforts to root them out. Another fallacious view that routinely dominates public discourse on Islamic terrorism is: "Anybody who, in an effort to understand Islamic terrorism, points out to the violent aspects of Islam is being racist." This view, again is deeply flawed. Most Muslims belong to the same race as the Americans and Brits - the Caucasoid race. Most West Asian Muslims are all white skinned. So where is the question of racism? Leftist intellectuals all around the world have their own stale theories to explain Islamic terrorism: "The root of Islamic terrorism is the occupation of Muslim lands by non-Muslims, resulting in oppression and misery. This radicalizes Muslims around the world and drives these radicalized Muslims to commit violent acts against the occupiers." In fact, a (in)famous blogger at Desicritics even gave us a simple solution for Islamic terrorism - non-Muslims should vacate "Muslim lands" like Chechnya, Palestine, Iraq, Kashmir etc. and the problem will be solved. This view is completely irrational. All it does is invent an excuse for Muslims to maim and kill non-Muslims. What is happening in southern Thailand today - the jihad (called "spiritual struggle" in the manuals of the Marx-Mullah Brotherhood) in which Thai Buddhists are being slaughtered almost everyday and being driven out of their homes and villages - should disprove this theory. For which "Muslim land" did Thai Buddhists occupy and which Muslims did Thai Buddhists oppress? There are many other places in the world today, countries which have nothing to do with occupation of "Muslim lands", in which Muslims have become a menace with their silly jihad and demands for the intolerant Sharia law to be implemented. 218892@desicritics.org Sat, 9 Jun 2007 14:42:12 EDT