TERRORISM IS IN THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER
There is no Muslim Uncle Tom here!Anthony Mundine was right in 2001 when he commented on 9/11.
Many, Muslims or otherwise agreed with him but dare not speak out because of the prevalent atmosphere then. Why did a group of nobody decided against an obvious teaching of the Quran not to take innocent lives, and flew what were obviously suicidal missions; another prohibited act.
It was not just a spur of the moment anger nor a masochistic display of arabian manhood.
It is the culmination of centuries of Western hegemony on Muslim lands and the interference on the rights of Muslim men, women & children to lead a life of their choosing in their own countries.
From the times of the Crusaders, European armies have gobbled up territory after territory in the Muslim world.
European military triumphs were perceived to be directly related to Europe's allegiance to Christianity whereas the Muslims subjugation was attributed to a backward and fatalistic religion; reinforced by the Muslims equivalent of Uncle Tom during the era of colonialism.
These Muslims Uncle Toms are still seen today, apologising for what is perceived as Muslims aggressions, and glorifying themselves as self appointed Muslim spokepersons.
This sense of being at odd with Islam is best highlighted by the words of Field Marshall Allenby who stood on the steps of the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem after World War 1 and proclaimed," Today the crusades have come to an end."
And no lesser a person than the Nobel laureate British author & poet, Rudyard Kipling himself describing the mission of Christian Europe to civilise the Muslims as " the white man's burden."
What he failed to mention was that Europeans had invaded and conquered its restive subjects using raw power and maintained its precarious rule through fear and reprisal, dismantling traditional political and religious institutions along the way.
Afghanistan & Iraq are modern demonstrations of raw power in action.
In fact such methods, reinforced to the tribal groups that raw power is the modus operandi of control.
The West may have temporarily won the war of physical confrontation. But the war for the hearts and minds of the local Muslims will never be won.
How can you fight a group who sees a win-win situation in their fight against injustices? They beat you in battles, they won. You killed them and hence they died as martyrs with automatic entry to Paradise. Yes, they won again.
400 cops to arrest 4 alleged terrorists in Melbourne?
Raw power? You betcha.
Until the Christian West acknowledged that it is their past and continuing injustices to Muslims in their own land that is fuelling the so called " act of terrorism," we will never know peace.
The sight on TV of an Iraqi girl in hijab no older than 12 years coming out of her own house with both arms raised and menacing guns pointed at her and her family by US soldiers was enough to make anyone joining the queue to become a "terrorist."
But we are intelligent individuals who recognised our "impotence."
Others off course do not have our self-control and hence the proliferation of such perceived " terrorist activities."What will a tiger do, if one continue gobbling up its hunting ground ?
It becomes hungry and will attack humans.
Why would a threatened person act any differently?
No we are not encouraging violence here.
Just pointing out the futility of raw power.
Put your feet in the shoes of others and see their side of the coin. Just because you like meat doesn't mean that others can't be vegetarians.
Regardless we still call Australia home. There may not be many Muslims around, but there is a lot of Islam in practice.
The government should realise that Zionism & Israel have their own agenda. And it's not necessarily in our best interests to blindly support them.
Christians may think they are closer to the Jews than to the Muslims; or the Jews vice versa about the Christians. But if they analyse their history unblinkered, it's obvious that the Muslims have been more just to both of them than they were to each other.
But we are digressing.
Terrorism against those who have given you a home when you have fled the injustices in your original homeland is uncalled for. It's feelgood chest beating with counterproductive consequences.
The solution is political involvement. Get involve at all level. It's politics that change the direction of the country. Australia is a fair-go country. In recent years, a chinese businessman who can hardly articulate in English became one of the most popular Lord Mayor of Melbourne.
Last time I look, there are roomfulls of articulate Muslims with charismatic personality.
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This page is dedicated to Uri Avnery, the Israeli founder of Gush Shalom, and the tireless defender and supporter of Palestinian Human Rights.
