A Mullah's view of violence and terrorism....

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My Iranian husband's father is a mullah who conducts prayers every Friday, and who can't say as many as ten words without mentioning "Allah", as God is called in the Koran, or "Khoda", as God is called in the Iranian language. His religion is not Shia Islam, the religion of most Iranians, it is Sunni Islam, the religion of most Arabs, and what the Taliban claims is their religion.

For more than 20 years Iran has been at war, first with Iraq, and then with their own people, and my father-in-law has seen two of his own sons and a million other sons killed, and seen his country reduced to an economic disaster and global outcast.

He despises Osama Bin Laden, and everything he stands for. I have never seen my father-in-law angry except when talking about Saddam Hussein and Osama Bin Laden. His God is an advocate of peace, albeit with certain rules of conduct which are at variance in many ways from the rules most of us in America live by.

The thing is, despite the fact that Osama Bin Laden and the Taliban claim the same religious branch as my father-in-law, they have nothing in common regarding their views toward God and life. And I refuse to believe that my father-in-law is the only authority on the Koran in the Middle East to feel this way. My feeling is that the actions of the Taliban and Osama Bin Laden have nothing to do with religion, and everything to do with power --the same old world domination agenda every other tyrant in history has succumbed to. To me, this is as plain as the nose on my face, especially knowing the views of not only my father-in-law, but my husband and countless other Middle-Easterners. But when you are poor and weak, and the only viable way to feed your family and "be somebody" is to join the devil, it's no wonder many do. I can't really blame them, but I'm all admiration for those who refuse to.

Well, I've gotten off the subject a little, but oh well. For every guy like the one who wrote earlier about supporting Bin Laden, trust me, there are many more who don't, but who don't have the computers to say so.

-- Leslie A. (lesliea@mm2k.net), October 01, 2001

Answers

Domination of others is always about power. Religion, regardless of the sect, is a very convenient tool to use against the ignorant.

-- Joe (CactusJoe001@AOL.com), October 01, 2001.

Hi Leslie, thanks so much for the post, it sounds like you have a wonderful father-in-law. I have watched alot of hours of news the last few weeks and have come to the conclusion that, the great percentage of followers of the terrorist are exactly like gangs here in the US. I suppose it makes most of the followers feel like they belong to something and gives them some power, just like most gangs. After all that I have learned about Islam in the past few weeks, it makes me mad that these terrorist would hide behind and distort such a fine religion. You know, on the bright side, maybe this whole mess will ultimately bring better understanding between us all and that would be the best way to defeat the terrorists!

-- Annie (mistletoe@kconline.com), October 01, 2001.

Belief is a powerful tool, regardless of what the belief is. It is obvious that the actions of the terrorists are motivated by hate and perverted religion.

Perhaps some good will come from all of this, it sure has put a spotlight on the very poor conditions in Afghanistan.

Americans should be proud of not only their citizens, but of their government. The U.S. could have easily "charged in", but instead appear to be cautiously thinking things through.

-- Dawg (Dawg@not.com), October 01, 2001.


If nothing else, it has brought Muslims and Christians (along with other American religions) closer together. I know more about Islam now than I did a month ago, and I can bet I'm not the only one. By seeing our Muslim friends and fellow Americans speaking out so vehemently against this masquerade of Islam belief hiding tyrannical power mongering, we have all learned a little more about our "strange- looking" neighbors, and thus feel more comfortable with them and their ways. That is always for the good.

-- Soni (thomkilroy@hotmail.com), October 01, 2001.

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