I won't discuss the terrorists; for they are beyond redemption. However, I will discuss certain people who never fail to surprise us after every massacre. The massacre that Egypt witnessed on Friday took the lives of 88 innocent people and caused hundreds of casualties, yet these individuals continue to analyze the tragedy in a manner that can only be described as vindictive. They speak of conspiracy theories, and throw baseless accusations at Israel, the United States, President Bush, and even the incumbent governor of Sharm El Sheikh. These accusations are just dialog for the deaf and an escape from bitter reality that we face everyday fighting terrorism in all our countries. Why can't we admit that we are trying to move forward, but that Al Qaeda is blocking all the exits in this horrifying present? I may be harsh in my comments on some of my fellow journalists in Egypt, but harshness sometimes comes out of love and fear for their future, for I have similarly been harsh on my colleagues in Saudi Arabia when similar attacks happened there. I implore you please stop the justifications, and stop running to closed doors. Al Qaeda had struck Egypt long before the war on Iraq, it has previously attacked the Egyptian embassy in Pakistan and I guarantee you Israel had nothing to do with it. It's unforgivable seeing terrorism and calling it anything else, seeing terrorism target the Egyptian economy and its people and blaming it on an external conspiracy.Tariq Alhomayed, Editor-in-Chief of Asharq Al-Awsat
One of the things that we don’t talk about in the West very often is that there is a struggle within Islam between moderates and extremists that has been waging for decades (i.e. Iran). The fact that Islamic terrorist bombings throughout the world have also targeted fellow Muslims and this indicates that the targets are not just Westerners or Christians, but Muslims that don’t fit into a particular mold.
I fear, however, that the US bungling of the War on Terror (now officially retitled this past week as the Global War Against Extremism), such as the debacle at Abu Graib will alienate the moderates.
I’m definitely not in the “we need to go nuke Mecca’ crowd. I agree that there is a struggle within Islam between moderates and extremists, but what worries me is that the extremists in Islam have both significant numbers and notable supporters. It is not as if the west is without its own extremists, but groups like the KKK and Fred Phelps are marginalized because the very broad middle is quick to condemn the extremes - on both sides.
What I do find interesting is the paradox from the left which demands that we acknowledge that the 19 hijackers from 9/11 who killed thousands do not really represent Islam; all the while insisting that the acts of a few prison guards in Abu Graib who humiliated a few dozen inmates represent all Americans and justify future Islamic extremism.
Oh, and by the way, it is good to see you again, Szd!
http://king-of-fools.com/blog/trackback/1912/PmC5ctKY/