19 April 2005
Jihad comes to Small Town, USA
Contradictory Messages in Arabic and English
This report should give everyone some cause for thought. Contradictory presentations of Islamic thought are present in fact in smaller centers with an active Islamic group, and the Chief has also encountered this phenomena of Islamic hostility to "infidels" in the heartland.
Brookings, South Dakota is the home of SDSU - South Dakota State University. Compared to the likes of Mizzou, Michigan State, etc. it's not a huge school, although it is in SD (with a total population of approx. 750,000). There is an annual "International Day" event at the university, that is open to the public, where foriegn student groups get the opportunity to showcase their culture, cuisine, etc. (There are a lot of these students at the school, especially in agricultural and related scientific areas.)
Anyway, a few years back, my daughter, along with others from her school attended this event, and returned home with a lot of material that had been handed out. This included a series of lengthy handouts which were excoriating any support for the existence of the state of Israel. This went so far as to actually quote stuff from the infamous "Protocols of the Elders of Zion" about Jewish blood sacrifice of non-Jewish children, etc., and that the proper response to this was unremitting hostility towards Jews, Israel, and any who supported them. (Phew. How do you say "Sieg Heil" in Arabic?)
Not long afterwards, there was a church "fireside meeting" where an Islamic family was invited, in the interests of mutual understanding of course, to present their basic understanding of Islam and it's relationship to other faiths. From this presentation, one would think that all was sweetness and light. (At least until a native of Thailand mentioned Buddhism - there was NO repect granted there at all, not even any superficial gesture in the direction of toleration.)
Overall, unfortunately, IMHO it sure seems like we're in a real watershed inter-civilization conflict situation, to which the Bush Doctrines, (if properly implemented) are an appropriate response.
This report should give everyone some cause for thought. Contradictory presentations of Islamic thought are present in fact in smaller centers with an active Islamic group, and the Chief has also encountered this phenomena of Islamic hostility to "infidels" in the heartland.
Brookings, South Dakota is the home of SDSU - South Dakota State University. Compared to the likes of Mizzou, Michigan State, etc. it's not a huge school, although it is in SD (with a total population of approx. 750,000). There is an annual "International Day" event at the university, that is open to the public, where foriegn student groups get the opportunity to showcase their culture, cuisine, etc. (There are a lot of these students at the school, especially in agricultural and related scientific areas.)
Anyway, a few years back, my daughter, along with others from her school attended this event, and returned home with a lot of material that had been handed out. This included a series of lengthy handouts which were excoriating any support for the existence of the state of Israel. This went so far as to actually quote stuff from the infamous "Protocols of the Elders of Zion" about Jewish blood sacrifice of non-Jewish children, etc., and that the proper response to this was unremitting hostility towards Jews, Israel, and any who supported them. (Phew. How do you say "Sieg Heil" in Arabic?)
Not long afterwards, there was a church "fireside meeting" where an Islamic family was invited, in the interests of mutual understanding of course, to present their basic understanding of Islam and it's relationship to other faiths. From this presentation, one would think that all was sweetness and light. (At least until a native of Thailand mentioned Buddhism - there was NO repect granted there at all, not even any superficial gesture in the direction of toleration.)
Overall, unfortunately, IMHO it sure seems like we're in a real watershed inter-civilization conflict situation, to which the Bush Doctrines, (if properly implemented) are an appropriate response.
