Radical Islam Gains a Seductive New Voice

[drdon326]

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/10/26/weekinreview/26ROHD.html?pagewanted=all&position=

The acceptance of such conspiratorial views may strike Americans as despicable or even laughable, but they reflect the influence of Islamic radicals on the worldviews of millions of Muslims. Conveyed with ease and authority via the Internet and satellite television, anti-American and anti-Semitic conspiracy theories abound, not only in Muslim countries but across the world.

Many of these theories are spread by radical groups that adhere to an ideology loosely known as political Islam. Stridently anti-Western and antimodern, political Islam portrays itself as the strongest ideological counter to democracy and capitalism.

Radical Islamists do far more than simply declare that President Bush and Israel, for example, are evil. Political Islam is a sophisticated mixture of fundamentalism and nationalism that can foment acts of violence against Western targets. But for its followers, it is a romantic liberation movement — a militant ideology with Marxist echoes that combines Islam's powerful call for social equality with a critique of Western corporate imperialism and the corrupt Muslim elites who benefit from it.

The growing voice of political Islam suggests that the United States faces a much more nebulous enemy in its war on terrorism than a movement of religious zealots. It is an ideology that persuades some alienated young Muslims, whether deeply religious or not, to join what they see as an epic struggle against an evil empire.

....................................................................

interesting article.....

[bluesoul]

1. Oh my

And NYTimes is supposed to be liberal? No wonder ...

[IndianaGreen]

2. Blah, blah, blah, blah.... more crap from the NY Times

The NY Times lost all credibility last year with its vociferous attacks on antiwar demonstrators and its unabashed support for the PNAC agenda.

Add to that the fact that this ragsheet, in addition to being a mouthpiece of the globalist ruling class, also provides a platform for the racist writings of Tom Friedman, and we have more than enough reason to ignore the NY Times altogether.

[drdon326]

5. lol

When you dont like the message, blame the messenger.

I see youre still in mourning over the end of the Soviet Union.

[IndianaGreen]

6. If we had a Soviet Union

we wouldn't be in Iraq today. For that alone, I pray for another USSR.

[drdon326]

9. Yeah....

I miss Joe and Vladimir also......true progressives who were
really misunderstood.



eosarcasm

[IndianaGreen]

17. Joe was an authoritarian bureaucrat

Lenin on the other hand was a true progressive. Lenin gave Soviet women full equality and the unrestricted right to abortion, something that American women have yet to achieve in 2003.

I'll take Lenin any day!

[Character Assassin]

20. What a stunningly truncated and simplistic understanding of Lenin.

Lenin on the other hand was a true progressive.

Yeah. Unrestricted rights to abortion really counterbalance his murderous, bloodthirsty lust for power and the deaths that he caused.

Good call.

[drdon326]

22. Oh sure......

if you really want to get technical.


eosarcasm

[Muddleoftheroad]

10. Be careful what you wish for

For you may surely get it.

[IndianaGreen]

19. Bring it on!

Israel might become more democratic if it were to adhere to Lenin's dictum that religion must remain a private matter insofar the state is concerned:

Religion must be declared a private affair. In these words socialists usually express their attitude towards religion. But the meaning of these words should be accurately defined to prevent any misunderstanding. We demand that religion be held a private affair so far as the state is concerned. But by no means can we consider religion a private affair so far as our Party is concerned. Religion must be of no concern to the state, and religious societies must have no connection with governmental authority. Everyone must be absolutely free to profess any religion he pleases, or no religion whatever, i.e., to be an atheist, which every socialist is, as a rule. Discrimination among citizens on account of their religious convictions is wholly intolerable. Even the bare mention of a citizen's religion in official documents should unquestionably be eliminated. No subsidies should be granted to the established church nor state allowances made to ecclesiastical and religious societies.

Socialism and Religion (1905)
V.I. Lenin

http://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1905/dec/03.htm

[Character Assassin]

21. An empty quote to anyone familiar with who spoke it.

Religion must be declared a private affair. In these words socialists usually express their attitude towards religion. But the meaning of these words should be accurately defined to prevent any misunderstanding. We demand that religion be held a private affair so far as the state is concerned. But by no means can we consider religion a private affair so far as our Party is concerned. Religion must be of no concern to the state, and religious societies must have no connection with governmental authority. Everyone must be absolutely free to profess any religion he pleases, or no religion whatever, i.e., to be an atheist, which every socialist is, as a rule. Discrimination among citizens on account of their religious convictions is wholly intolerable. Even the bare mention of a citizen's religion in official documents should unquestionably be eliminated. No subsidies should be granted to the established church nor state allowances made to ecclesiastical and religious societies.

Socialism and Religion (1905)
V.I. Lenin

Pity that nothing even remotely resembling the attitude and policies described in the above quote ever actually became reality in the worker's paradise.

[thebigidea]

7. try to keep that in mind the next time you're posting re: Al-Jazeera

[IndianaGreen]

16. Al-Jazeera is staffed by former BBC Middle East bureau correspondents

and unlike the NY Times, it is not a puppet of Wall Street. The fact that most of the oligarchies in the Middle East have banned Al-Jazeera, is proof that it is an effective news organization.

The supporters of Israel's settlement policies oppose Al-Jazeera because it portrays the occupation in its raw ugliness, rather than ignoring it altogether as the American press does.

[Muddleoftheroad]

18. Not of Wall Street

But someone pulls their strings nevertheless.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

3. Bush is only helping groups like this

Doesn't anyone in the Administration realize how repugnant Boykin's remarks are to non-Christians? I'm a native born American whose family has been here since 1620,and I was ticked off by what he said. I can imagine what Muslims in other parts of the world think.
Bush's unflinching loyalty to Sharon and anything he does makes it easy for radicals to recruit those who are already dissatisfied with the way their lives are going.

Is he that stupid that he doesn't realize this, or does he just not care?

[mikehiggins]

13. Damn, that's a hard question

"Is he that stupid that he doesn't realize this, or does he just not care?"

All of the above?

[Name removed]

4. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Name removed]

8. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[DarkPhenyx]

11. Might be that part of the "Radical Islam" movement we are seeing...

...is in reaction to the "Radical Judeo/Christian Movement" and the "Radical Americanism Movement" that we see spreading through large segments of the population here at home. Damn, now that's a radical thought isn't it? Unfortuantely most people can't see it.

[bluesoul]

12. Yeah

Or the radical lessons of people like Boykin and similar religious nutcases..

[edzontar]

14. I personally think Bush IS evil.

Sharon too.

Does that make me a radical Islamist?

No.

I'm an atheist, actually.

[bluesoul]

15. Atheists

Me too ;)