MUSLIM ANGER AND VIEWS

Some 80% of our population identify themselves
as "Christian." Basic to that religion (as it is to
Judaism also) is the command "to love your neighbor
as yourself." It seems clear that that would involve
several things, at least: 1) walk a mile in his moccasins.
2) loving means listening and learning: how can it be
otherwise? 3) continually seek understanding,
reconciliation, and restoration of fellowship.

Moderate Muslims (still by far the vast majority in
the Muslim world (MW) are gradually becoming ever
more convinced that Osama may be right in his
claims that the West, led by the U. S. and Israel, are
out to destroy Islam. To us that sounds preposterous,
like the ravings of a mad man. But how else is the MW
to understand the continuing destruction of the
Palestinians, their culture, and livelihoods, by the
Israelis, with our help?

We have given Israel over $100 billion in the last
50 years. (If you doubt that, google "U. S. aid to
Israel." That's what I did.) With it, Israel continues
its ruthless occupation and systematic destruction.
(Over 10,000 homes destroyed in the West Bank,
and more than 100,000 olive and citrus trees chain-
sawed or bulldozed. See what can be accomplished
with your tax dollars!?) By the way, in the eyes of
the MW, we are joined at the hip with Israel. What
they do, we are doing.)

Anyway, we are wreaking similar destruction in Iraq.
We are well along in destroying its economy, culture
and infra-structure. Its educated middle class has
been mostly killed or fled. The MW world sees this
every night on al Jazeera. We see very little of it
here, particularly the extent of and damage from
aerial bombardment. Fallujah, once Iraq's third
largest city has been 60% destroyed, mostly from
the air.

Our removal of Saddam unleashed a savage civil
war (still largely denied by our admin.) with no end
in sight. Saddam, we were told, was aiding and
abetting terrorists. And of course he was: he was
helping both Hamas and Hezbollah, both of whom
originated in Israel's oppression and suppression
of the Palestinians. That was the extent of his
involvement with terrorism.

Saudi Arabia was also helping those same terror
organizations, but we weren't bent on attacking
them, we were enabling them by buying their oil!
There was zero chance Saddam was aligned with
al Qaeda in any way (as was falsely claimed by the
U. S.) He was bitterly hated by bin Laden, who
called him an apostate. By bin Laden's twisted
understanding of Islam, he not only was forbidden
to have dealings with an apostate, he was to kill
him, if he could!

Yes sports fans, we are now in a world-wide
struggle with terrorism that had its origins in the
U. S. backed Israeli destruction of Palestine.
There is very little left to or for the Palestinians,
as Jimmy Carter eloquently and accurately
reports in his book on apartheid there. We
removed Saddam because he had WMD, and was
a threat to Israel, and was helping terrorists there.
We are now preparing to attack Iran for the same
reasons: it's a threat to Israel, seeking nukes, and
aiding Hamas and Hezbollah! It's ironic, because
Saddam and Iran were such bitter enemies, and
both must be destroyed for the same reasons:
to protect Israel!

The Muslim world says (rightly) this is insane!
Why don't we just get Israel to withdraw its
150,000 soldiers and 200+ illegal settlements
from the West Bank, as Israel has over and over
agreed to do, and as the majority of their people
say they want to do? This is what Jimmy Carter
(a real Christian, by the way) is advocating, also.

Muslims all over the world oppose terrorism,
and trace it's fundamental cause among them to
Palestine. Hezbellah pioneered the use of suicide
bombers in Lebanon in attacks against U. S.,
Israeli, and civilian personnel. A Hezbollah
terrorist drove a pick up truck loaded with
explosives into the U. S. Marine barracks in
Beirut, killing more than 400 Marines. This was
over 20 years ago. Now it's happening in Iraq,
Afghanistan, Pakistan and other parts of the
world.

King Abdullah of Jordan says the main cause
and core of Muslim terrorism is the Israel/
Palestine conflict. (Gen. Musharff in Pakistan
has said the same thing.) He (the King) says
further that it will be extremely difficult to deal
effectively with terrorism until this main cause
is settled justly and fairly. Here is the King,
speaking for himself and hispeople:
"Yet we do not act in a vacuum. Our
country, our region, and the world, are all
affected by the prospects for peace. One
critical step is to insure zero tolerance
towards those who promote extremism.
Jordan has worked with the international
Muslim community to oppose extremist
interpretations of Islam. Jordan wants true,
moderate, traditional Islam to replace
fundamentalist, radical and militant Islam,
everywhere in the world, for every single
Muslim. In November of 2004 we issued
the Amman Message, which sought to
clarify the true nature of Islam -- what it
is, and what it is not. Then, last July, over
180 scholars met in Amman. They
represented 45 countries, and were
supported by fatwas from 17 of the world's
greatest Islamic scholars. Together, they
achieved, for the first time in history, a
unanimous consensus on a number of
critical issues: First, the declaration
recognized the legitimacy and common
principles of all eight of the traditional
schools of Islamic religious law. Second,
it defined the necessary qualifications and
conditions for issuing fatwas. This exposes
the illegitimacy of the extremist fatwas
justifying terrorism, which contravene the
traditional schools of Islamic religious law
and are in clear violation of Islam's core
principles. Third, the declaration
condemned the practice known as 'takfir'
(calling others apostates) -- a practice that
is used by extremists to justify violence
against those who do not agree with them."

That will do it for today. I'd be interested in
hearing from you. If you want more info on
the Israeli occupation, see Tanya Reinhart:
Israel/Palestine. She was a prof. at Tel Aviv
Univ. and columnist for Israel's biggest paper.
(She is recently deceased.) You can get the book
on Amazon, in paper back.

jgoodwin004@centurytel.net