Corrections re Bin Laden

[Guest guest]

Hi All!

 

My time is limited right now and in any case this will be the last time I write

on this subject. So I have to give a conglomerate answer.

 

1. I did not defend bin Laden or say that he was nobly fighting for the poor. I

certainly condemn what he is doing with all my heart. But the picture I

presented was the image he has in the Middle-East - the poor countries there see

him as their hero. The richer ones, incliuding Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and other

emirates are not his supporters. But even the people of Egypt - a very moderate

country - seem to believe in his goodness.

 

My point was that this big support makes his organization very strong and that

just "punishing" him will not put an end to the terror. One can - or should-

punish him but something has to be done that will really deal with the problem.

 

The common criminal wants to gain something, but is not ready to give up his

life. People like bin Laden are ready to do so. This brings in a new dimension.

The danger is that by killing him he becomes a martyr for his cause and the

number and resoluteness of his followers may increase.

 

Islam is a great religion that teaches love and peace, but deliberately

misinterpreted it is a dangerous doctrine, as the leader of the ahmadiya sect

said.

 

 

2. When I say the west has a responsibility - or that it has contributed to this

development - I am not accusing them alone. All of us reap the things we sow.

The poverty of the MidEast is a combination of its own mistakes as well as those

of the west. The area cannot help itself, so the west has to help.

 

3. I said a contented people will not breed terror. No nation is truly

contented, criminal terror will always break out occasionally. There is crime in

every country. But this is a limited thing, one or two running amok, not

organized internationally and used politically agains any nation.

 

4. It is not possible to give money to everyone, but collectively yes.

Two examples:

A) in the Mideast itself, take Saudi Arabia. The state has money and is spending

it on the people. In 1976 I was in Jeddah for the first time, saw it last in

1983. The town was a horrible, stinking hole. The surroundings bare, some 25

kilometers away there was one tree - still preserved as a monument! There was

nothing like a decent road, just bumps and holes.

 

Thousands of pilgrims came every year, the stay and journey to Mecca was indeed

a penance.

 

By 1983 this was all changed. Bit by bit the town was razed to the ground and

re-built. Jeddah is now a wonderful garden-city, with avenues and a beautiful

corniche. broad highways connect it to Mecca, riyadh etc. A mega-size airport

with three terminals serves the pilgrim traffic, the Haj is a pleasure trip.

 

Here the govement is looking after the people, and it has the money to do so.

 

B) There are groups of people in Germany who help India. They collect the money

and go to India, to remote villages, and with the aid of suitable locals they

set up workshops etc. and show the people how they can improve their lot. Only

capital is supplied, after that they have to carry on. The groups also find

markets for the products at the initial stage. The total amount is relatively

small, but it does not get lost in the pockets of a few, and the results are

relatively great.

 

5. I fully appreciate what the Canadian has said about America. I have many

reasons to love and admire the American people. Therefore I pray that nothing

will be done that will bring retaliation from the terrorists!

 

6. Years ago in a macabre sort of way I found out that what our political

leaders and officials announce publicly can be entirely different from what

happens behind the scenes. So I do not trust such statements anymore.

 

7. Apart from the terrorists there is a worlwide organization that has declared

war on peace: the armament industry. Its ramifications are unbelievable and this

I KNOW, not presume. The MidEast is its best market and it will do everything to

prevent peace and progress there. Can Bush fight against this power - and also

survive?

 

8. In that said area for decades children have been brought up to hate the west

and India. India has always been the outpost of the west. Despite all the

apparent differences, there a basic unity between the west and India. That is

why after the end of colonialism India and Britain, Indians and British peope

remain good friends. So this training and indoctrination of the children in the

area to hate and fight us is a permanent threat to us. The poison has to

eradicated.

 

9. If the wigs of the tree of hate you only prune,

You´ll have to prune forever again and again.

If you uproot the tree, the evil ends soon,

But the hole you leave is still no gain:

A hole left open a pitfall is,

You know not what then takes root there:

So plant in it the palm of peace

And reap the sweet dates it will bear!

Rubaiyat of Mani

 

 

regards

Mani