"War on terror"

[Sunday_10pm]

I really don’t know where and by whom this little catchphrase was conceived, but it confused me when I first heard it, and it still confuses me now.

Terror: Syn: Alarm; fright; consternation; dread....

How can anyone conceivably fight a war against terror?

Now I’m sure someone can tell me exactly how many anthrax letters there were, but I know it was only a handful: However, the situation was hyped to the point where people feared for their lives when they opened their mail. Who created that atmosphere?

And if we take “terror” to mean “terrorism”, that war cannot really be won in the conventional sense, but rather ended. And this is not how to do it...

America is currently sponsoring the Pakistani government on the condition that they close down “madrassas”. These are schools run by local volunteers, many of whom teach fundamentalist Islamic views. They are not funded by the Pakistani govt. So how can they close them down if they are running independently of the govt? The only way is to simply ban them. This pisses almost everyone in Pakistan off, because madrassas constitute a large part of the education system. I simply cannot understand what the American govt. thinks it will achieve doing this. These people and their views are not going to go away just because their schools are closed down.
They are throwing wood on the fire.

And I use the term “them” rather than “us” because even though we are united with America, the vast majority of the hatred and resentment expressed by these people does seem to be focussed on America.

 

[Moses25]

Thanks for the exposure, Sunday. 😀

 

[amk714]

I really don’t know where and by whom this little catchphrase was conceived, but it confused me when I first heard it, and it still confuses me now.

Terror: Syn: Alarm; fright; consternation; dread....

How can anyone conceivably fight a war against terror?

Now I’m sure someone can tell me exactly how many anthrax letters there were, but I know it was only a handful: However, the situation was hyped to the point where people feared for their lives when they opened their mail. Who created that atmosphere?

And if we take “terror” to mean “terrorism”, that war cannot really be won in the conventional sense, but rather ended. And this is not how to do it...

America is currently sponsoring the Pakistani government on the condition that they close down “madrassas”. These are schools run by local volunteers, many of whom teach fundamentalist Islamic views. They are not funded by the Pakistani govt. So how can they close them down if they are running independently of the govt? The only way is to simply ban them. This pisses almost everyone in Pakistan off, because madrassas constitute a large part of the education system. I simply cannot understand what the American govt. thinks it will achieve doing this. These people and their views are not going to go away just because their schools are closed down.
They are throwing wood on the fire.

And I use the term “them” rather than “us” because even though we are united with America, the vast majority of the hatred and resentment expressed by these people does seem to be focussed on America.

As long as there are religious fanatics and other crazies out there, the war on terror will NEVER end. We can only fight it with all the resources we have, which haven't been used in the best way, I'm afraid. And the media have hardly helped, as they are the ones who created the atmosphere of mass hysteria after the anthrax letters were mailed. I agree that the madrassas should be banned, although how that's going to happen remains to be seen. And the hatred and resentment is toward anyone who disagrees with the terrorists' warped views. America is simply the most visible target.

 

[shark]

explanation

The attempts to close down the madrassahe are an attempt to stop the teaching of radical Islam, which is where the terroristic parties get their inspiration.When you stop teaching the kids things,they are alienated to it,and tend not to learn it as well.As proof,look at schools in the US no longer teaching proper spelling, math,the theory of creationism,etc. Many of the kids today can't spell for shit,can't do math without a calculator, and only hear of creationism at home or church classes.It's the same idea.

Concerning your first few paragraphs,I do agree.They confuse me,too.

 

[Haltickling]

Madrassahs

Just a little background info: Madrasahs are often the only schools where kids from Islamic countries can learn at least writing, reading, and basic maths, especially outside of the big cities. I’m sure that the British installed a proper educational system in Pakistan, but the population there has tripled since the Empire left.

Education is traditionally an exclusive task of the mosques, and most Islamic countries don’t see the need to install other systems. Madrasahs are largely financed by donations (which all Muslims have to give), only the teachers receive a minimal salary from State. So if they close the madrasahs, they’ll take away the education for those kids who need it most: The children of the poor, uneducated people. The kids from rich families can afford to go to good, western-style schools. Result: The gap between rich and poor increases. Another good soil for terrorism.

I agree that many madrasahs teach a radical version of Islam, and they certainly are a breeding station for further extremism. I agree that it should be the individual states’ duty to provide other ways for education, or at least control what gets taught at madrasahs. But that won’t happen as long as so many Islamic states are ruled by dictators who have no interest at all to change their present situation.

A few positive infos: An increasing number of Islamic states have banned Mullahs from teaching anything else but the Qur’an. They are actually quite secular, like Turkey, Malaysia, Tunisia, and Morocco. Others are some kind of socialistic, like Algeria or Libya. But countries like Saudi-Arabia, Iran, or Afghanistan still rely on the old system.

Just a few facts…

 

[amk714]

Hal, thanks for posting about the madrasahs. So are you saying that instead of closing them down, we should get rid of the dictators of the Islamic states? If you are, then I agree, that sounds good to me. Saddam and the rest should go! 😡 😀