There is no There There.

I'm told there are over one BILLION Muslims in the world.  That's about one fifth to one quarter of the earth's population.  Wow!  That's an impressive number.

That would represent a lot of disparate nationalities, languages, cultures, income and educational levels.  Anyway you look at it, there are a lot of competing forces at play.  Is there anyway in the world to call them monolithic?  Have they ever done anything in concert before?  Well yeah, two things come to mind.  One:  be offended by the existence of Israel.  Two:  not get over it.  Otherwise, there's just too many of them to be thought of as a single entity.  Just because there are a lot of angry Muslims out there, it does not conversely mean that all Muslims are angry.  At least not about those stupid cartoons.  The violence and outrage you're watching on television right now is television.  Remember that.  The truth may be close and it may be far away.  Just for the record, none of the Muslims I deal with on a regular basis seemed particularly bothered by the cartoons, at least not enough to join in any riots.

In reading around the Blogosphere, the Wingnuts are all but calling for a new crusade, while my side of the dial is taking a pretty absolutist position of defending the cartoons as an absolute right of self expression while not dealing with the actual anger of many Muslims in the world, ranging  from Europe, Africa, throughout the Mid and Far East.  We need to remember that not all Muslims are fundamentalists anymore than all Christians are.  It's just that it's always the real noisy ones that get on television.

I believe there is a cultural war taking place.  I see the arrayed armies differently than Most.   I see it as a struggle between enlightenment and superstition.  My side -- equality, same sex marriage, tolerance, ending hunger, reversing the warming effect, making good wine, writing good poetry -- represent Enlightenment, and those crazy Muslims in the streets, Republicans, Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, Pope Benedict, and other Christian fundamentalists, along with George Bush represent Superstition.

Which side are you on? 

Comments

[wanda]

Just call me lady enlightenment. I'm on your side sugah!

[Tulip]

it ain't superstition, homes.