Comments on: The cruelest religion

By: roger in florida

roger in florida — Unknown, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

An appalling situation, but one that calls for a little bit of background. The Najibulla govt. was a left of center govt. that the US should have had no problem supporting. However Najibulla, reasoning that the USSR was more interested in supporting a modern Afghanistan than the US would be (they were next door neighbors!) appealed to the USSR for help in putting down an islamofascist insurgency. Meanwhile in the White House the US president, a man who will live forever as an example of the most crass stupidity; AKA Jimmy Carter, had a national security advisor who was a fascist Polish catholic who detested Russians and was a religous bigot and who hailed the Taliban as “The soldiers of God”. This cretin whose name was Zibigniew Brezhinski decided it was in the interests of the US to support the Taliban and provide the weapons with which they could defeat the USSR and Najibullah, and return Afghanistan to the 7th century (where any good catholic would prefer to be).
So this crap, this ignorant stupidity, this appalling situation, can be laid at the door of US policy as defined and perpetrated by the democratic party, (just like the Vietnam war).
What to do now? Nothing, there is no determination to take on and defeat this dark age fascism, our leaders (Bush, Baker, Clinton, Obama) are bought by Saudi money, corrupted to support our enslavement.
This makes me so mad!

By: Jillian Becker.

Jillian Becker. — Unknown, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Yes. That’s how it was and that’s how it is. And it makes me mad too, r in f.

The British were defeated in Afghanistan. The Soviets were defeated in Afghanistan. What chance that the US will succeed? And what would be counted as success?

By: roger in florida

roger in florida — Unknown, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Ms Becker; even if success were minimally defined as the establishment of an Iraq style “democracy” with the Afghan govt. in control of the whole country, it would probably require a commitment of at least 100 years by US and NATO. If you consider that the British empire in India went about 250 years from first trade contacts to rule by the viceroy, to independence, and did leave a subatntial cultural residue (wasn’t Pandit Nehru referred to as the first English gentleman to rule India?). Of course the British rule in India was for British advantage, not Indian, however anybody who claims that India didn’t benefit is just wrong.
But no such commitment will be forthcoming for Afghanistan. You remember the political hay made by the democrats over John McCain’s remark that US troops may stay in Iraq for 100 years? Really the problems of Afghanistan are much more intractable than Iraq’s, also there are other events coming that will make this Afghan mess seem small.

By: Mathurine

Mathurine — Unknown, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Rickets in children in Gaza probably has a lot less to do with some *adult* women there wearing niqaab than the lack of good milk. A lot of people drink powdered milk, like Nido, but now even that is beyond the purchasing ability of your average Palestinian.

Deobandis don’t have one single party line on women and education. There are advanced schools for adult women following the Deoband tradition. I know Deobandi women who attend university as well. At the same time, I know that Deoband “thought” has been used to cause the suffering of women and girls in Pakistan and Afghanistan. So there are shades, if you will, of Deobandi thought and opinion across the board.

I’m an atheist from a mixed Muslim-Christian family who lived in the Mideast. I’ve seen, first hand, and lived the detrimental impact Islam can have on a family’s daily life, and I’m a frequent visitor / reader of Islam Watch. But there’s no need to exaggerate things or just plumb make them up – the realities of Islam give us enough to work with. Former Muslims and their allies need to make integrity as our first priority.