Many thanks for your reply. I agree with your sentiment. Every needless human death in our global economy is a waste of potential prosperity for all to whom that person is connected. Each Iraqi death perpetuates an imperative for vendetta which takes the deceased’s whole family & social network farther from a peaceful, stable condition in which foreign & domestic investors would be willing to place their confidence.

Each American death in any of our current overseas conflicts is a horrible waste as well, but I think those who are still sticking with this rare and, yes, wobbly-off-mission thread were hoping for less of a gnashing of teeth conversation, which influences no one’s thinking and leaves us nothing to talk about, and more of a books-inspired talk about how attitudes can be formed toward a threat to global security that far too many voting taxpayers fail to take seriously.

The first step we could take together away from both shrill and dismissive is to read words as if they meant what they say. I find no indictments, above, of “all” Muslims, and no one here knows cathy, or you, personally. cathy’s husband, to me, is the evocation of some words on a screen that she puts there, and I have no reason to disbelieve her when she says he’s a good man.

That quotidian discussion, though, does not change the facts of our national security and foreign policy conversation, about which the above mentioned reading is but a small sample: Islam is the common requirement among mass-murder franchises who threaten global security.

I do find several posts above where people who read books are trying to apply what they’ve read to the task of parsing out the mass-murder franchisees, who require Muslim membership, from all followers of Islam. I also find several crucial unaddressed questions, the most timely of which is “where is the broad-based internally-generated Muslim condemnation of terror tactics?” Even the under-reported Open Letter to His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI signed by 38 Islamic authorities, fails to condemn violence, and defines “jihad” to include the use of “force” when necessary, whenever that is. In other words, the Grand Muftis of Turkey, Egypt, Russia, Syria, Kosovo, Bosnia and Uzbekistan, are leaving an open doctrinal loophole for terrorists as recently as October 12th.

To your points, Lilly and cathy, I also find no advance of the discussion based on geopolitical interest; no national security-oriented acknowledgement of the centrality of religion and energy to our current foreign policy (the unifying theme of those 21 books that started all this).

One very excellent thinker who is actually writing about attainable, sustainable solutions to these issues, which involve nothing that could be construed as Abrahamist-bashing, is:
The Natural Advantage of Nations: Business Opportunities, Innovation and Governance in the 21st Century

who discusses several refreshingly industry-minded and economically rigorous energy migration tactics which could be adopted immediately, at:
http://www.rmi.org/

I sign off, still hopeful to think together, and still standing by.

Religion is the root of all evil.

As a Christian, I believe that Jesus would weep for what is, supposedly, being done in his name.

Y’all gotta STOP and remember the Golden Rule!!

Note from the Wicked Witch of Publishing ™: Amen to that, but try selling the Golden Rule to someone who considers you an infidel whose head must roll. 

Just like in Christianity where you find the fanatics, who during the Crusades thought it was fine to kill in the name of Christ. Now we find fanatic Muslims who are hellbent on killing in the name of Allah.

We got past the Crusades…mainly because there wasn’t a lot of worldwide damage they could inflict on horses with spears and swords. But now we have the “fanatical” element of Islam that can literally destroy this world and this country in their quest to rid the world of infidels.

And let’s make no mistake about it. As citizens of the USA, you, your husband, and your children are at just as much risk from these people as any other color American. When the World Trade Centers fell I will bet you a dollar to a dougnut that there were a lot of Muslims who also died that day.

In Iraq right now, it has degraded to basically civil war…That is Sunni Muslims killing Shite Muslims, because of a difference in religious phylosophy. That is Muslim insurgents…mostly from other countries…killing Iraqi Muslims for trying to live in a democratic society.

If there were more level-headed Muslims that spoke out against the fanatical factions there might be less of a problem with other people appearing to blame all Muslims. But I don’t see the ground swell of Muslim public opinion trying to divert, subvert, or generally squash, what is clearly a global problem.

Anyway–I do respect people’s right to free speech–the debate just caught me off guard. And you’re right, it’s with a big “M”–just my bad grammar mistake.

Thanks again for your reply.

I understand what you may have thought you were promoting, but given the discussion that has ensued, I’d think you’d be more cautious next time. Because of beliefs like this, Muslims (with a capital “M” or not) are being harmed and killed in THIS country. These people could be MY children. And shame on anyone who allows and instigates a discussion such as this in a time where ignorance is still so widespread that people are being killed simply for their nationality. This discussion has had virtually nothing to do with books and to imply otherwise is simply not true. Yes, I feel passionately about this. You would as well if you were me. My husband is a secular Muslim who hasn’t even seen the inside of a mosque in years, except for when his mother died a few months ago. Yet people on this site have classified all Muslims as extremists–allowing that sort of behavior and thought to be perpetuated on this site puts my children and millions of other Muslim children living in this country at risk. THINK before you spread your views. Until now, I have enjoyed and respected your views and your blog.

Note from the Wicked Witch of Publishing ™: Cathy, I am really glad to have you weigh in on this subject, particularly because you have a unique perspective as a woman/wife/mother who is married to a muslim (small “m”). I’m just sorry you didn’t weigh in earlier! I try and print all emails as long as they are not libelous or nasty ad hominem attacks.

Note from the Wicked Witch of Publishing ™: When I refer to Muslim (with a capital “M,” I am referring to an “adherent of Islam” of the militant variety. The books I (and others) mention in this posting are listed here to inform and educate. You cannot always judge people individually because people are not always what they appear to be.

All it would take is two or three suitcase nukes to turn this country into a veritable wasteland. The only thing that is protecting us now is the diligence of of our own Homeland Security.

http://www.religioustolerance.org/isl_numb.htm

Salman Rushdie estimates that 10-15% Muslims are of the militant kind.

Yeow! That’s a lot of people with a bad attitude toward everyone, but themselves.

I would answer you but that would take the debate off onto a whole new tangent.

The subject here is terrorism and it militant Islamic connections.