Islamic Violence:

Socio-Economic Phenomenon or Faith Motivated?

Introduction

In the aftermath of the recent devastating earthquake in Iran, news media reported “a miracle”: a man, extracted from the rubble and thought to be dead, stirred on the way to the mass grave. At least two other similar cases were reported. When I read it, my first thought was: In the rush to bury the victims in order to avoid an epidemic, how many people failed to stir in time and were buried alive — for the second time within hours or, at most, days? How many of those would have been alive today had Iran not rejected Israel's offer of help?

The INS is now jailing new immigrants and other refugees in the hope of finding terrorists among them. Is she on the right track or is she targeting the wrong people?

Yesterday the Los Angeles (Reuters) reported: “Hundreds of Iranian and other Middle East citizens were in southern California jails on Wednesday after coming forward to comply with a new rule to register with immigration authorities only to wind up handcuffed and behind bars.”

On the fifth anniversary of 9/11/01, President Bush addressed the nation from the Oval Office of the White House. I listened carefully to his speech, and appreciated his firmness and resolve to pursue the war on terrorism. I did not hear him once utter the word “c.” He had used that expression not long ago in one of his speeches; but was criticized for that by some Muslim organizations in the USA. It was also rumored that the State Department objected to any such labels that would link radical Islamic organizations to either Fascism or Nazism.