I’m a westerner and I don’t drink alcohol or wear skimpy clothes. I don’t eat pork (or any other meat for that matter, unless you count unfertilized chicken eggs as meat). I don’t show sex (or anything else, for that matter) on tv.
Your last statement is an utter falsehood and can only be based on complete ignorance. There are plenty of religious groups which not only do not hold that those outside their group are sinners but preach that each person has their own virtue.
So, in short, next time you start a statement with “In fact,” follow it with a fact instead of an utterly bigoted comment.
p.s. Malaysia is an officially Islamic country; its government has Islam as the country’s official religion. Quite a few people there, not Westerners, mind you, do not cover their hair. Quite a few people there wear what many in other countries would consider to be skimpy attire. The women of that country wallk freely.
Then that’s what you should’ve said at the outset instead of saying it was all of us in the West. And FTR, I seriously doubt Osama’s all that devout. Just look at his track record.
Look. The terrorists don’t care about the fact that we drink and smoke and do all kinds of non-Muslim things. They are not trying to steal our American way of life or take over the US. It’s about POWER. What they want is to establish new or strengthen existing Islamic fundamentalist theocracies all over the Middle East. America and the West are a threat because of our direct involvement there. People see American freedoms and they begin to question why can’t they decide what to wear or who to pray to or even if to pray at all.
Terrorists worry that American cultural influences will undermine Islamic totalitarianism.
They worry that American financial influence will force Islamic leaders to adopt a more moderate position.
And they worry that American military might protects us from them.
msmith537: Correct! IIRC, some of those terrorists who carried out the attacks on September 11, 2001 drank booze and smoked before they carried out the attack. They were even cavorting with “skimpily dressed” women! That just helps to prove my assertion that it’s not Islam they’re interested in–it’s just killing.
I keep bumping into this assertion so often and from so many sources. Including people who write for magazines and such, but they always make the assertion as if it’s a given.
I’m not suggesting it’s untrue, but has this claim ever really been verified by any reputable authority at or near the time it was supposed to have happened? Hell, I’ll settle for a reasonably reliable source.
As far as researching the motivations of those who wish harm on the USA and its allies, a UK Muslim group is throwing a 2nd anniversary celebration conference on 11 September for what it describes as the Magnificent 19 Here
The press releases covering two recent bombing events are quite interesting, but I believe it would be even more interesting to read the papers presented at this seminar in order to gain greater understanding and insight into their motivations.
Osama is a billionare so that would make him “eccentric”, not “looney”.
You never see Osama or Arafat or Hamas’s leadership getting fitted for bomb belts or driving exploding trucks. For them it is about power. Maybe they have some warped sense of patriotism or religeous devotion. Maybe not.
But there are always people who are angry about something- whether it’s Israelis living on their land or jobs being exported to China or whatever. The people who lead these terrorist organizations find these angry people and warp religeon or nationalism so as to focus their rage against some unwitting target. “You know who’s fault it is that you have to live like this? America’s! Now here’s your chance for revenge!”