Our misguided attempts to bring Western-style democracy to those impoverished masses in the Middle East has, and always will be an abject failure. Western ethics, morals and laws have no place within a society which subjugates women, practices draconian punishments for minor infractions, upholds poligamy and calls for the death of those who leave Islam. The more we insist in insinuating our beliefs, the more we alienate those we claim to be helping. It is a vicious circle, where we end up losing whatever good we tried to build.
Afghanistan is just the most obvious recent example. Wew are hated, not because of our presence, but because we stand for everything Islam decries: freeedom, democracy, human rights and justice in law. We will never learn, even when we are told to our faces how much we are hated.
From The Washington Post Feb 17 by Joshua Partlow and Habib Zahori
Under the weathered blue dome of Kabul's largest mosque, a distinguished preacher, Enayatullah Balegh, pledged support for "any plan that can defeat" foreign military forces in Afghanistan, denouncing what he called "the political power of these children of Jews."
Of course, it is always the Jews fault.
Across town, a firebrand imam named Habibullah was even more blunt.
"Let these jackals leave this country," the preacher, who uses only one name, declared of foreign troops. "Let these brothers of monkeys, gorillas and pigs leave this country. The people of Afghanistan should determine their own fate."
Sura 7 verse 166.
Every Friday, Afghan clerics wade into the politics of their war-torn country, delivering half-hour sermons that blend Islamic teaching with often-harsh criticism of the U.S. presence. In a country where many lack newspapers, television or Internet access, the mosque lectures represent a powerful forum for influencing opinion.
The raw frustration voiced in these sermons is periodically echoed by President
Hamid Karzai in his somewhat more diplomatic criticism of the West. Although cast in tones of prayer and contemplation, the messages from the mosques pose a serious and delicate problem for President Obama's counterinsurgency strategy: how to respect the sacredness of Islam without conceding the propaganda war.
And just how well will this work for you, Obama?
Read it all
Afghanistan is just the most obvious recent example. Wew are hated, not because of our presence, but because we stand for everything Islam decries: freeedom, democracy, human rights and justice in law. We will never learn, even when we are told to our faces how much we are hated.
From The Washington Post Feb 17 by Joshua Partlow and Habib Zahori
Afghan imams wage political battle against U.S.
KABUL - For the U.S. government, and for the 100,000 American troops fighting in Afghanistan, the messages delivered last Friday could hardly have been worse.Under the weathered blue dome of Kabul's largest mosque, a distinguished preacher, Enayatullah Balegh, pledged support for "any plan that can defeat" foreign military forces in Afghanistan, denouncing what he called "the political power of these children of Jews."
Of course, it is always the Jews fault.
Across town, a firebrand imam named Habibullah was even more blunt.
"Let these jackals leave this country," the preacher, who uses only one name, declared of foreign troops. "Let these brothers of monkeys, gorillas and pigs leave this country. The people of Afghanistan should determine their own fate."
Sura 7 verse 166.
Every Friday, Afghan clerics wade into the politics of their war-torn country, delivering half-hour sermons that blend Islamic teaching with often-harsh criticism of the U.S. presence. In a country where many lack newspapers, television or Internet access, the mosque lectures represent a powerful forum for influencing opinion.
The raw frustration voiced in these sermons is periodically echoed by President
Hamid Karzai in his somewhat more diplomatic criticism of the West. Although cast in tones of prayer and contemplation, the messages from the mosques pose a serious and delicate problem for President Obama's counterinsurgency strategy: how to respect the sacredness of Islam without conceding the propaganda war.
And just how well will this work for you, Obama?
Read it all
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