tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5273076348938263308.post6799703688929350238..comments2023-10-24T02:31:18.905-07:00Comments on insufficient respect: Standing against and standing for - in SyriaMichael Neumannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01558892758943318577noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5273076348938263308.post-22213865444670327202014-09-02T06:08:08.037-07:002014-09-02T06:08:08.037-07:00Michael, I agree with your analysis of IS. I offer...Michael, I agree with your analysis of IS. I offer the following as addendum:<br />I find it interesting that the spin of the main stream media these days is that IS is successful because they have a better business model! This is more proof of the West’s utter lack of understanding of the Islamic world and the myopia of those who worship so at the alter of corporate capitalism, they can only see the world through this filter. I am reminded of the fool who, by some quirk of tradition and happenstance was asked to select the new king. He appointed a melon because he was so fond of melons that’s all he ever thought of. In that story a melon became king. The people were happy forever after because the new king never interfered in their lives. We should be so lucky. <br />As far as secular movements go, I had many long talks with a colleague in Oman about the inherent weaknesses of secular societies. As he put it, although there may be many acts of courage by highly moral individuals in secular modernity, the societies themselves lack the gravitas to successfully oppose the rise of greed and egoism which always leads to social dissolution. A Muslim scholar noted recently that secular societies always devolve into a power struggle.<br />The emergence of IS will produce many studies and books in the future. Is the West more appalled by the success of IS or by its barbarity, which equals in intensity if not in scale our own war crimes in the region? How long before IS turns its attention to the family of Saud? Will there soon be a franchise opening in Rotterdam? Minneapolis? Certainly one can see the rise of IS as blowback from the brutal US invasions, and its support of the Israeli Crusader state. It is also, I believe, the rise of a proud people who led the world out of darkness 1400 years ago, but then allowed themselves to be seduced, then oppressed by a society which holds many values that are incompatible with their own. Competition, economic exploitation, individualism, hero worship, authoritarian social structures,— even the artificial division of time into units of our own convenience: these all run against the spirit of Islam. <br />As shocking and brutal as many acts of IS and other fundamentalist groups are, I believe that Islam has built into it irresistible moderating forces. To me Islam is more of an operating system than a belief system, and its source code is the Quran and Sunnah. Both are replete with stories and appeals for tolerance and forgiveness. The first two names of Allah are “merciful” and “compassionate.” <br />The people in the area where IS is operating, and most of the IS members themselves have long been the victims of violence, not of their own doing. A violent blowback should not be a surprise. When Muslims feel that they are once again in control of their own destiny, I believe their societies will quickly return to those inherent roots of tolerance, equality and social justice. This is no comfort to people who are in the immediate path of this violence, but in the long run Muslim peoples may have a brighter outlook than those of us in the West.<br />Gushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04862664220217199924noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5273076348938263308.post-63562286547142298672014-09-02T06:01:48.755-07:002014-09-02T06:01:48.755-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.Gushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04862664220217199924noreply@blogger.com