Korean Job Discussion Forums

[adventureman]

Everyone seems so keen to defend Islam as a religion of "peace, diversity, and tolerance" And yet, every time I turn on the TV or look on the Internet I see people involved with that religion responsible for shoot-outs, suicide bombings, terrorist activity, corruption, beheadings, and gruesome acts of violence.

Similar to Korea, I also find many Arabs to be overly sensitive about their beliefs and quick to blame outside powers for their own misgivings. Given our track history, there are definitely reasons for Middle Eastern countries to be weary of US foreign policy, but why can't more Muslims use their negative energy and hatred for the US and anything non-Muslim and turn it into something more positive and constructive? In almost news show involving an Arab speaker I have seen, when the journalist points out some flawed aspect of Arab nations, like lack of human rights, voting records, etc, the interviewee is quick to turn it around and say "well the biggest problem in the region is the Arab-Israli conflict and until that score is settled absolutely nothing will change in the region"

Everytime another militant is killed in Gaza by the IDF at least 30,000 Palestinians (do ANY of them have real jobs?) show up for massive protest. Why did so many hundreds of thousands of Muslims get so worked up over those Danish cartoons while ignoring the bigger issues at hand within their own countries? Are they just looking for excuses?

I remember hearing Bill Mahr say something once that many Muslims would be happier ridding a camel around in the desert and living in their tribal ways than having democracy/outside influence forced upon them. I tend to agree; when the taliban was stoning women in soccer stadiums and saddam was in power, why were there less killings and more of a semblance of order before the US invaded those countries? Sometimes it really seems their Islamic nations have not progressed to the level of sophiphistication of western societies (the same as Sub-Saharan Africa) and ill-fitted to that sort of governance.

I'll play devils advocate for a minute and ask: Why do all the other Middle Eastern countries think that "ending the occupation" will be he end-all-be-all solution to that conflict? The Palestinians themselves have proven can't even hold together a cohesive government! (look at the latest violence in territories for evidence of this)

There seems to be a strong and highly visible sect of Islam which thrives off chaos and despair.

[happeningthang]

Oh not another one of these!!!

You really can't figure it out for yourself? People like to say Islam is a religion of peace, diversity blah blah, other people like to say Islam is medieval, intolerant, terrorism rah rah rah....

Both wrong, both right. Islam encompasses around a billion people, of whom only a fifth live in the middle east, the rest scattered throughout Asia, Europe, and Africa. That's a lot of room for difference to occur and it does, to both extremes and in between.

Trying to characterise Islam by the actions of one (albeit large) group of people, makes as much sense as trying to characterise Americans by the actions of their President.

Topic is done...to death. Boring. Over.

[mateomiguel]

Its my opinion on cases of violence and destruction that the reasons don't actually matter that much. There are bad people in the world, people who want to shoot others and blow stuff up. Not just once, like muder-suicides in the US, but continuously as a way of life. So, they search long and hard for a way to get away with doing it, and seek a justification for it.

They find their justification. Some find it in Islam, some find it in genocidal cleansings in Africa, some find it in political instability, some find it in serving their oppressive communist government.

Some don't find it, and end up on a short-term killing/raping spree before being locked up or killed themselves. Or they shoot up their school and commit suicide.

I think the most fundamental misunderstanding that nice, honest people have when it comes to evil is that evil likes itself. Some people don't become radical revolutionaries because they believe in an ideal, they do it because then they get to kill people without dying themselves.

[Ya-ta Boy]

[bucheon bum]

[khyber]

let's wait for BJWD....his opinion will certainly be the watermark.

[mateomiguel]

here's a solution...

[mithridates]

[Adventurer]

My brother, adventureman, with a similar name, I believe you bring up valid points. However, you sort fall into the same trap of those you criticize by oversimplifying the situation.

You touched on many points. It is hard to address them all. I will just address the Arab-Israeli conflict because the cartoons' issue pertains to religion beyond the religious confines of the area, and Afghanistan is not Arab.

The Arab-Israeli conflict helps fuel sectarian animosities between Christians of the American South and ardent Zionist Jews, and Muslim and Christian Arabs of the Near East. The Arab-Israeli war is sans doute the raison d'etre for many fanatics of various ideologies in all places mentioned.

As far as the Palestinians not holding a government together. Bush encouraged the PA to hold an election while the Palestinians are under occupation and seige knowing that there were only two main political parties FATAH and HAMAS. When Hamas was elected, no money came to the democratically elected government, and the Palestinians sunk into abject party, and the violence ensued. You seem to ignore the reasons for the violence in simply hint at cultural savagery without any socio-economic reasons to attribute to the angst present in the territories. Try living under those conditions and having a family.

[Apple Scruff]

It's spelled "kooky", poopface.