Washington, October 19: Observing that democracy in India has helped wean away Muslims from terrorism, a top US official on Wednesday asked Muslims around the world to help counter the ‘distorted’ vision of Islam advanced by terrorists, saying a struggle was on for the ‘soul of Islam’.
“We must counter the grim totalitarian vision of the terrorists with the positive vision of freedom and democracy,” President George W. Bush’s National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley said in a speech to the Council on Foreign Relations in New York.
He cited India as an example of how democracy can defeat the ‘jihadi appeal’ to Muslims.
“Democracy does seem to weaken the appeal of the terrorist extremists. As our Indian friends are quick to point out, India has the second largest Muslim population in the world. Yet thus far Muslims from India have not been discovered participating in the global ‘jihad’ in either Afghanistan or Iraq,” he said.
The war on terror has been both a battle of arms and ideas, he said, adding “in this Battle of Ideas we must encourage Islamic moderates to dispute the distorted vision of Islam advanced by the terrorists”.
“A struggle is underway for the soul of Islam–an ideological struggle for the support and loyalty of the Muslim world. Winning this struggle will require a direct challenge to the extremist voices within Islam. It is Muslim voices from around the world that must take up this challenge,” he said.
He also gave a detailed analysis of the threats extremists pose worldwide and how to defeat it.
They have to play the good guy role once in a while and challenge "the soul of Islam" to rise above this because if they keep picking muslim countries one by one eventualy Muslims will unite and defeat this 'so called' war on terror.
There was no terror from anywhere else but Saudi citizens yet that government still stands and US knows not to attack that country. Attacking Saudi Arabia will unite all the muslims in the world against US and UK that would have devastating affects.
So lets play good cop bad cop....
Listen the Muslims in INdia have to be a " good liberal minority", other wise they would be kicked out of INdia. Look what the hindutva nazis were doing to Muslims in Gujarat.
HIndus have been saying to INdian muslims, “kabrustan ya Pakistan”. Meaning go to grave or go to Pakistan. SO Muslims in india have to be careful and do as the hindus tell them , if they want to stay in india.
You know there is an Aligar Muslim University in UP. The management of this University wants the Indian Govt to grant it a ‘minority status’. The demand is under consideration.
Once this status is granted to the University, it can ban Hindus or other non-Muslim communities to study their or can fix a quota for them.
How can you prove that Muslims in India are living under stress of “kabrustan ya Pakistan”? On the contrary they want to dictate terms and conditions to the majority community.
yeah a becon of hope for muslims with muslim becon on the grill. it sure is a democracy is in full swing and where minorities can be killed & prosecuted with no fear bcos majority is going it so it has to be right. wht the west really wants is muslims who are deff, mute and mentalty incapable of thinking so they can bow to their demands and let them appoint dictator after dictator to rule them for decades. let them rot in poverty and desperation while the appoint dictator enjoys every luxury and facility west can provide him for opressing these muslims. these are the ideal muslim leaders bush hosted for his iftar party. these are the commendable leaders bush wants in muslim countries. a handfull of *******s to control and degrade billion of muslims.
Indian row over Muslim university
**Opposition parties in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh have welcomed a court order stripping one of its oldest universities of its privileges.** The Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) was granted special status as a minority institution by parliament in 1981.
The high court in Allahabad City said the act was illegal and it could no longer reserve seats for Muslims.
The state’s governing party responded by calling for a debate in Delhi on protecting the AMU’s status.
It was initially set up as a school but became a university in 1920.
The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party said the court had upheld its stand against what they called a communal quota system.
But the governing Samajwadi Party said the federal government should now convene a special session of parliament on the issue.
The court also ruled as illegal a notification issued by the Congress-led federal government in February allowing the AMU to reserve 50% of its seats in post graduate studies for Muslims.
**Congress has been accused by its opponents in the past of appeasing minorities, a charge the party rejects. **
they already had the status which is now taken away. so by giving it back to them wht exactly are you trying to prove? that you care for muslims? and if it indeed was wrong then why it took them 14-15 years or realize that?
also read the last part carefully. appeasing minotities is a crime of some sort i think.
I do support the Court decision.
Further how can you prove that Muslims are harrased if the management of this University is again demanding the same status and many political parties are ready to discuss the issue. (As per BBC report)