3.8.05

Murders Unsolved As Debate Rages On

Following on from my entry yesterday in reference to the increase police presence on the streets in London, today’s Metro (that bastion of journalistic integrity) features a piece bemoaning the apparent slowing of progress on non-terrorist related high profile murder cases. Presumably at some point we’ll see a return to detective activity in these outstanding cases but as to when I guess we just don’t know.


Anyway Metro seeded the other element to this entry. The fertile letters section of the paper (why it occupies such a small spot is beyond me) once again attempts to debate the explanation and justification for the bombing campaign in the capital. As far as I can tell the debate is polarised thus:

The bombing campaign can be attributed to British involvement in Iraq:

YES: The apparent invasion of an Islamic state and the unwarranted deaths of muslims can be considered justification for Jihad. The manifestation of Jihad in this instance are the suicide bombings in London. Had we not been involved in Iraq, our sanctuary and tolerance of radical Islamists would have protected us from attack.

NO: The attacks on the USS Cole and the World Trade Centre pre-date the military action in Afghanistan and Iraq and indicate that Jihad was in operation before any clear attack on an Islamic nation. The presence of US troops in Saudi Arabia following Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait cannot be considered an invasion as it was with Saudi Arabia’s permission.

Of course, the debate is not this clear cut and therein lies the problem. Christianity was historically used to justify the Crusades, puritanical Witch Hunts and all manner of other intolerances. If one takes the bible literally it is perfectly possible to explain and justify numerous immoral and contradictory behaviours. The Koran, as far as I can tell, can also be interpreted many ways. The sheer variability of the messages of Islam – as typified recently by the different messages emerging from different Islamic groups and the tribal fractions in Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan – means that it is nigh-on impossible to identify a single objective or agenda for the current terrorist campaign.

Just taking a view of the backgrounds of all the terrorists committing crimes under the banner of Islam shows a significant diversity: Jamaican, Somalian, Eritrean, Ethiopian, British and Pakistani, white American, Chechen, Sunni, Taliban, Indonesian, Algerian, Palestinian and many others. There is inconsistency here, as well as in their agenda.

With no clear direction, no tangible group to engage in dialogue and negotiation, it’s apparent that the only places where we can seek any kind of answers is on such letters pages, blogs, late night TV debates and, of course, in moments of personal reflection.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

All this fuss because of 'religion' which is all mythical anyway. Snakes, apples, ribs, water to wine, parting waters. Deeply sceptical.