Extremist…. Christians?

From 9/11 to 7/7 to the Palestinian rocket attacks, extremist Islamists have been an easy focal point for opposition disinterested in the political and often humane agendas sought after by terrorists. It is a bitter irony lost on most that many of these killers have themselves lost families, homes and livelihoods at a result of bombs paid for by our taxes!

Whilst this in no means justifies terrorism in any shape or form, it draws an important distinction between fundamentalists there and in the West. When religious extremists in Ireland felt oppressed, exactly the same thing occurred, and that was christians, not muslims! So clearly religious extremism and oppression or threats (real or supposed) are a deadly combination, and the IRA, Al Qaeda, Hamas and Hesbollah are all representative of that. However, when you combine this combination of extreme views and a real or imagined threat to your freedom, are there any other examples of what in the prior cases had been dubbed to be terrorist activities? Sadly, to me the answer is yes.

If you turn to America ‘land of the free’ and ‘home of the brave’, you can also see extremism, not just in fringe groups such as the followers of pastor Terry Richards, whose burning of a koran resulted in several deaths in Afghanistan just this week, but also in the mainstream of politics, for example with Sarah Palin, who could potentially even be their next president! If these are the people broadcast to the muslim world, in the same way Osama Bin Laden and other muslim extremists were broadcast on our tv’s, is it any surprise that terrorism is still such a real threat?

Whilst people may state 9/11 and 7/7 as examples of unprovoked acts of extremism against our population, the reality is that our governments have over the course of history sanctioned, ignored, supported and even funded some absolutely abhorent regimes, and whilst those inciting misguided youths into acts of terrorism are also in themselves dangerous men, their power to attract followers stems from economic and social hardships, which are then passed on to a real or imagined scapegoat. For an example of this at it’s worst, nazi Germany is a perfect example, Where Hitler’s NSDP swept to popularity during a period of economic decline, and went on to commit some of the worst attrocities in recorded history.

The moral of this is that suffering begets suffering. In order to change the world we need to change attitudes, and no amount of million pound bombs, IED’s or suicide vests will change this. It seems it is not the religion that is the problem, but extremism and oppression in all shapes and forms, something which religion has in fact preached against, although these teachings have not necessarily been enacted!

“Do unto others as you would have others do unto you” Matthew 7:12

“What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbour; that is the entire Torah; the rest is commentary” Talmud

“Even as the fingers of the two hands are equal, so are human beings equal to one another. No one has any right, nor any preference to claim over another. You are brothers.”
Final Sermon of Muhammad