February 26, 2007
MILITANT ISLAM IS THE PROBLEM
Indonesia is the fourth most-populous nation in the world and a majority of its inhabitants are Muslims, the majority of which are likely peace-loving people. As Islam has peacefully co-existed in the region for generations, however, neighboring nations are finding that new militant Muslim inhabitants proselytize by the sword and, G.W. Bush notwithstanding, have little interest in a Religion of Peace as the President described it. In Thailand, approximately 2,000 people have been killed in a religious war waged by Muslim zealots. The Thai government is beginning to throw up its hands in helplessness, as even conciliation only encourages its attackers.
It is a conflict the government admits it is losing. A harsh crackdown and martial law in recent years seem only to have fueled the insurgency by generating fear and anger and undermining moderate Muslim voices.
A new policy of conciliation in the past four months has been met by increased violence, including a barrage of 28 coordinated bombings in the south that killed or wounded about 60 people on Feb. 18.
“The momentum of violence is now beyond the control of government policy,” said Srisompob Jitpiromsri, a political scientist at Prince of Songkhla University here.
The militant Islamists of Thailand are quite unapologetic about waging an explicitly religious war, not just against Buddhist communities in the south, but fellow Muslims who care to continue peacefully co-existing with their neighbors. Nearly half of the attacks in recent years have been against Muslims viewed as cooperative with the Thai government.
Now the insurgents seem to be taking their war to a new stage, pitting local Buddhists against Muslims by attacking symbols of Buddhism with flamboyant brutality.
The two religions had coexisted through the years here, often in separate villages. That mutual tolerance is breaking down now, and there are fears of a sectarian conflict that could flare out of control.
“Buddhist monks, temples, novices,” said Sunai Phasuk, a political analyst with the monitoring group Human Rights Watch. “Buddhist monks have been hacked to death, clubbed to death, bombed and burned to death. This has never happened before. This is a new aspect of violence in the south.”
Where are the voices of moderate Islam? Why are so many organizations acquiescent to the butchery by their co-religionists?
Tagged:Posted by Lexiphane at February 26, 2007 10:50 AM
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