Offering constructive criticism to the social cripples in our midst since early 2005.

[Spanky]

Originally posted by Sidd Finch
Tony Blair has called for an international conference on stopping Islamic extremism.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050720/...itain_bombings


I don't know if this is the way to go about it, but in general I think Blair has the right idea -- engaging, and challenging, Muslims to speak out against terror.


A week or so ago I joined several of the more conservative folk here in criticizing the notion that terror naturally grows from poverty. It doesn't. Rich countries and rich individuals support terror, too. The cannon fodder may come from poor countries and communities, but even that is not always the case. And terror tactics never really found root in the poorest of the poor communities in Africa and elsewhere.

Ultimately, terror tactics are a matter of culture. Decades of talking about killing the infidel, all Americans/westerners/ whatever are mortal enemies, applauding Arafat for his high-profile terror tactics, and so forth -- and the end result is that Muslims, especially young male muslims who like the idea of a blaze of glory -- see terror as legitimate. (In a similar vein, after a few years of the right wing in this country ranting about the government's "jack-booted thugs," broadcasting the importance of "head shots," and generally painting government as the enemy of the people, some came to see bombing a federal building as a legitimate response.)

And, ultimately, terror won't stop unless the communities in which it grows reject it -- loudly and emphatically. And without any caveats ("Oh, what about all the children that Israel kills?" or "Oh, but you have to understand the frustration of muslim youth.")

One reason -- in my view, one key reason -- that the murder rate in this country dropped so precipitously was that black community leaders started speaking out against the violence in their communities. Without trying to justify or rationalize it, and without equivocating.

Until the imams do the same, the cannon fodder will keep on lining up. I long for the day when major cities see Islamic anti-violence or anti-terror marches.

2.