Quote:
Originally Posted by Nedusa
What I have had to do however, is re-state my desire to welcome the so called peaceful majority if they can express more solidarity with their Christian brothers.
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This, I 100% agree with and I guess all I can say is that my entire stance is based on my belief that this is in fact the
only way that religious extremism can be brought back under control. No amount of soldiers, bombs or military campaigns can stop it. Only people who have the same basic belief system - but a more moderate version - can bring these people around or help to ensure that their young people are better protected from being taken in by them.
And that's why I think it's essential that, at all costs, we avoid marginalizing these communities, making it "us and them" (even if we believe that's already been done), and bringing in ideas that they should be closely monitored or even cast out. You could argue that they should simply want to help anyway, to improve their own image, but I think it's important to remember than in many communities (even here, but especially overseas), standing up against these things can be exceptionally risky and at the end of the day most peaceful Muslim's primary concern is going to be protecting themselves and their own families. Are they really likely to stand up to fundamentalism is they don't feel like they are supported and backed up by the rest of society? The more cast out people feel, the more likely they are to think of only themselves and their loved ones.
To play devil's advocate - if I was of Middle Eastern origin and lived in a Muslim country, would I stand up against extremists and condemn them, even if I found their actions to be abhorrent? With two young children in my home? No... I think I would pretend to be a god-fearing Muslim and keep my head down as much as possible.