Happened to see hidden away in last Sun. paper these excerpts from Le Nouvel Observateur, of whose rep. I know nothing. Pithy closing observation about US strategy.

"There is indeed a religious war under way, but it is within Islam itself, said the French weekly LNO. Islamic clerics and intellectuals, who until now were afraid to take on the fundamentalists, are beginning to openly question the theology of Islamic extremists. In part, that is because they are beginning to understand that they - and not the cosmopolitan societies of North America and Europe - are the primary targets of the radical fundamentalists, who reject any modernization of the faith.

Sunni theologian Tariq Ramadan (who is Arab) said: "What matters now is that Muslims abandon their fear that self-criticism plays into the hands of the West." The Iranian (Persian and Shiite) philosopher Dariush Shayegan said, "We have sanctified the Sharia (Islamic laws). But the Sharia keeps our society from moving. It is time for us to break the taboos."

Algerian writer Boualem sansal said the Koran offers "hundreds of verses" to foster hostility toward women. Indo-Pakistan writer Ibn Warraq said, "It is time for moderate Muslims to honestly question the principles of their faith. To admit the role of the Koran in propagating violence. To start seeing this text for what it is: a human text, containing serious moral, historic and scientific errors."

The biggest mistake the West could make in this budding religious war, according to the newspaper, would be to play into the hands of the extremists by falsely characterizing the conflict as being between Christian and Islamic values.

-Andrew Reding

Perhaps the West could take another look at its manuals - for similar flaws and consequences? Int'l conference on detoxifying all manuals intended to dehumanize opponents (whatever the topic) under heading: There is Only One Species and it is capable of fucking up the entire planet, anytime next - Us. All.


A.