About a year ago I remember having a discussion with my friend Daniel about the growth of religious fundamentalism around the world. From the Christian evangelicals in the US and Europe to highly vilified Muslim extremists in the other parts of the world, it appears like Religion as a whole has found new life in the 21st century. I always thought as society advances the world would become a more secular place.
The Globe and Mail has an article about the postings on the internet from the wives and gfs of the men who were arrested when the Police took down the “home grown terror cell” a few weeks back and they are as extreme. It’s so sad that people brought up here can feel this way and I almost feel that they should be shipped back to where they came. Unfortunately doing so would only further justify their thoughts on how evil the Western world is their eyes and the eyes of other radicals.
Read it and form your own opinion, I wish the article would link to the forum which these women spew their hatred because I would like to see it for myself first hand. Here are a few excerpts, the article is long so I hope you have some time to read and think.
Ms. Jamal’s zealousness for homegrown Muslim causes is matched only by her rejection of just about everything Canadian. As the June, 2004 federal election draws near, she repeatedly advises Muslim youth to completely avoid the process. Voting, she tells them, inherently violates the sovereignty of God, making it the most egregious sin against Islam.
“Are you accepting a system that separates religion and state?” she asks. “Are you gonna give your pledge of allegiance to a party that puts secular laws above the laws of Allah? Are you gonna worship that which they worship? Are you going to throw away the most important thing that makes you a muslim?”
Ms. Farooq’s hatred for the country is palpable. She hardly ever calls Canada by its name, rather repeatedly referring to it as “this filthy country.” It’s a sentiment shared by many of her friends, one of whom states that the laws of the country are irrelevant because they are not the laws of God.
In late April of 2004, a poster asks the forum members to share their impressions of what makes Canada unique. Nada’s answer is straightforward.
“Who cares? We hate Canada.”
This is just so sad…
This may surprise you, but as far as I’m concerned, if she hates Canada so much I’m more than happy to send her back to wherever she thinks is better. This kind of hateful shit makes me crazy. If you hate it here so much, GO HOME!
Canada is supposed to be a nation of tolerance where we all let everyone live by their own rules so long as they respect the secular rules of the country. If they don’t like it, they can get out… or they can vote to change it. So far as I’m concerned someone with a position like hers doesn’t deserve to enjoy this country. Send her packing.
To be honest I don’t understand why someone like this would want to stay in Canada if they hate it so much. Wouldn’t it be better to move to a place where people share their views? I’m sure these women knew what their significant other was planning, I wish that the authorities could arrest them as well, allowing them to walk free to continue to spew this type of hatred is disgusting.
I’m all for kicking them out of the country but realistically that doesn’t address the issue of home grown terrorism and how to prevent it in the future. 🙁
In the short term, I can’t think of much to suggest. The long term however is a different animal. As the African proverb goes: “it takes a village to raise a child” and in the long run, the only way to stamp out crazy folk is to embrace them and their kids. We have to mix better, let our kids play with their kids, and eventually, let our kids fuck their kids and make multicoloured kids.
I have three mothers. That is to say, three women had a significant hand in my upbringing and my ideals. Each of them has a different viewpoint on the world and I’ve grown up a more balanced individual because of it. These women obviously didn’t have that chance and as a result, they’ve grown up to be raging, single-minded bitches. If we want to stop producing home-grown terrorists, some of us are going to have to join those chat rooms and represent the non-vicious position. Hell I’d do it just for the experience.
As an aside, did you intentionally lowercase “god” in the title of this post?
Yes I wrote god in god in lower case specifically, this is my blog and I’m the king of the castle. 😉 Perhaps I’ll piss off some of my religious friends but I’m an atheist and really don’t care.
There isn’t a short term fix, aside from locking up or deporting the extremists. The best we can do is try to teach their children tolerance of others and try to undo all the evil that is taught. Heh I don’t totally agree with your long term fix where everyone is mix, it’ll take many more generations before that happens and there are parts of the world that just don’t like mixing.
I guess the only suggestion I have is for better education and for real multicultural media showing people of different backgrounds interacting happily in a Western atmosphere.
I would also love to check out those radical internet forums, I would join and try to be a voice of reason as well.