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C0ckney
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Big Up The Macedonian Massive
Apr 2000
time: 05:34
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did anyone see the sadly ironic advert on the page about trips to israel 'free, fun and safe' :/
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East Street Trader
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London, United Kingdom
Jun 2000
time: 05:34
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Did you read it?
"This is another horrific example of how the Palestinians use their own children to spread terror against Israelis," David Baker, an official in the prime minister's office, said in response.
"These children are turned into human time-bombs for the purpose of spreading as much terror against Israelis as possible," Baker said.
The article couldn't attribute motive any clearer than that.
Of course I find the thing as sad as everyone else who has posted. But that is because I am the product of a humanist upbringing in a humanist society with a Judeo/Chritian (humanist) culture. Over and over we have had it explained to us that arabs, with their wholly different religious and cultural influences, simply don't share the same values.
What is said is that for a muslim to die by violence while pursuing a holy cause is the highest and best thing that such a person can hope for. So well does God think of such a person that they immediately enter heaven.
If parents believe that, and the boy believes that, I don't agree that the willingness of these youngsters to die heroically can just be shrugged of as evil.
I have a strong suspicion that the doctrine would turn out - if we knew a bit more about it - to be open to different interpretations. Religious doctrine rarely turns out to be hard and fast. So I would be very interested to hear from a Muslim scholar about it. But even if I am right that the idea is, in fact, more complex I doubt that it would make much sense to try to talk the youngster or his parents out of their belief.
Instead it would be a very good idea to find out what it is that they believe makes their targets the enemies of their God.
I have recently seen some stuff which suggests that the Koran says that Jew and arab must remain in conflict until judgment day. If so it is difficult to see how the flow of teen-aged would-be martyrs can be interupted.
Although the wit of man is considerable. Equally as intractible problems have sometimes been worked around.
And in case anyone might want to contend that Christianity has never gone in for anything as daft, well remember the Children's Crusade?
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24-03-2004 21:33
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