LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY swisscelt)

I posted this originally as a comment to an entry on challenging_god. In "The Philosopher of Islamic Terror -- by Paul Berman", t_h_mitchell wrote:

"The following [very long] article is about Islam
and the terrorism we face today.

"It's hard to call the Islamic terrorists "crazy" or "uneducated" after reading this.

http://www.futurodecuba.org/The%20Philosopher%20of%20Islamic%20Terror.htm

"I particularly liked the ending. Hope this doesn't spoil it for you:

But who will speak of the sacred and the secular, of the physical world and the spiritual world? Who will defend liberal ideas against the enemies of liberal ideas? Who will defend liberal principles in spite of liberal society's every failure? President George W. Bush, in his speech to Congress a few days after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, announced that he was going to wage a war of ideas. He has done no such thing. He is not the man for that.

"cheers,

MITCHELL"

---

More apologetics for the Islamic Jihad. Frankly, I'm saddened that the Christian Right condones such apologeia.

The point of the Islamic Jihad is not that their supporters are crazy and uneducated, nor is it an attempt at bringing "holiness and peace" to the world. Rather, it's a reaction to social inequality, and a violent protest against the fact that moral behaviour does not always lead one to the riches of this world. It's class warfare of the worst sort: That which holds the underclass as morally superior to the uberclass, and therefore more deserving of life.

That some conservative American Christians should support the underlying goals of the Islamic Jihad, if not the particulars (particularly spiritual beliefs), says much about the state of both American Christianity and American society. We in the United States have made great headways in the past few decades demonizing the rich, the secular, and those who don't subscribe to the alarmist notions coming from the Heartland. In the US, certain white, Protestant people have become alarmed at their decreasing grasp on the controls of society.

Whether consciously or not, they share a kinship with those Arabs in the Middle East who are losing control of their respective society to the global culture of the West. Both groups mistakenly blame their problems, directly or indirectly, on "Jews": The Arabic conservatives blame the Zionist movement, while the American conservatives blame the liberal institutions of the Atlantic seaboard. Both groups see a return to their former social orders and parochial beliefs as the solution to their perceived problems. Both groups, ironically, are rather powerful geopolitically: Arabic conservatives are at the helm of much of the world's oil supply, while American conservatives hold the keys to what remains the world's largest economy (in terms of GNP, gross national product). However, as both groups are witnessing a decrease in geopolitical power, they present themselves to the world as downtrodden.

So, are the Islamic Jihadists crazy? Yeah... like a fox. If they and their counterparts in America aren't careful, they'll wind up destroying one another, and a fair number of others with them. If they are careful... heaven help us all.