Cate
Pretty much invincible
Pourts makes a good point - we're not talking about Islam here, but about violent radical Islam, which has as much relation to the real thing as Fred Phelps does to Franklin Graham. There are millions of Muslims all over the world causing no trouble at all and living their religion quite peacefully, just as there are millions of Christians all over the world who have never pissed me off, but in both cases, it's the violent fundamentalists who make the news.
I was thinking about Jordan lately. It's been home to, participated in, or been screwed over by the Iraqi Revolution, the Six Days War, the Black-September-y conflict in the late 60s/early 70s with the fedeyeen, the Arab-Israeli War, and a bunch more conflicts I can't even remember. It's got no real natural resources, a population beginning to grow larger than the country can support, accusations of corruption in the monarchy, and is majority Muslim.
It's also 47th in the entire world for literacy, one of the few safe tourist spots left in the Middle East, and a country where women can drive, work, head households, and wear or not wear a hijab as they choose and where the queen goes around in sleeveless tops without being stoned to death. It tends toward pro-Western foreign relations and has been a significant mediator in conflicts between Israel and Palestine. And this is with 60 percent of the population made up of Palestinian Arabs; 92 percent of the population is Sunni Muslim.
That's the comparison we need to be making, not Christian-versus-Muslim. The difference between Iraq and, say, Spain is that they're totally freaking different. The difference between Iraq and Jordan is - what? The people? The government? Sunnis vs. Shias? Oil vs. no oil? One country is a growing leader in women's rights in the Middle East; the other is a growing leader in people getting blown up at the grocery store. So there's your puzzle. One of these things is not like the other, but the different ain't Allah (may his exploits in Vegas forever remain in Vegas).
I was thinking about Jordan lately. It's been home to, participated in, or been screwed over by the Iraqi Revolution, the Six Days War, the Black-September-y conflict in the late 60s/early 70s with the fedeyeen, the Arab-Israeli War, and a bunch more conflicts I can't even remember. It's got no real natural resources, a population beginning to grow larger than the country can support, accusations of corruption in the monarchy, and is majority Muslim.
It's also 47th in the entire world for literacy, one of the few safe tourist spots left in the Middle East, and a country where women can drive, work, head households, and wear or not wear a hijab as they choose and where the queen goes around in sleeveless tops without being stoned to death. It tends toward pro-Western foreign relations and has been a significant mediator in conflicts between Israel and Palestine. And this is with 60 percent of the population made up of Palestinian Arabs; 92 percent of the population is Sunni Muslim.
That's the comparison we need to be making, not Christian-versus-Muslim. The difference between Iraq and, say, Spain is that they're totally freaking different. The difference between Iraq and Jordan is - what? The people? The government? Sunnis vs. Shias? Oil vs. no oil? One country is a growing leader in women's rights in the Middle East; the other is a growing leader in people getting blown up at the grocery store. So there's your puzzle. One of these things is not like the other, but the different ain't Allah (may his exploits in Vegas forever remain in Vegas).
