Taking people's beliefs SERIOUSLY
Submitted by Forgiven on September 21 2001 16:28:30
In reply to Bomb them with butter, bribe them with hope submitted by Bach on September 19 2001 11:04:00
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The expectation that the rulers of Afghanistan can be bribed by a few material trinkets is a cute one - but seems IMHO - to fail to take what they believe seriously. They are serious in their belief that how we in the West live is deeply corrupt, and that they have a duty before 'Allah' to bring us under Islamic law. It would appear in that context to be deeply insulting to offer them material goods; indeed all that it is likely to do is to prove to them that we can be easily bullied. It is similar in its logic as suggesting that George Washington could have been restored to support of British rule of North America if the tea tax had been removed. Islam is in in fundamentalist form a deeply imperialist religion; in its early years it swept along North Africa and into Spain and was only repulsed at the gates of Paris. Although many Muslims these days have abandoned that strand of Islamic thought, it is a consistent line in their theology; unlike Christianity, there is no suggestion in the Koran that 'My kingdom is not of this world' - instead there is a duty to carry out 'Jihad' to achieve the present rule of Islam. The only debate is what 'jihad' means, and what are legitimate methods. It's a cute thought; as so often I wish it were a valid solution, but in practice it is non-starter. |
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