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  • From: "Christian Stalberg" <christian AT stalberg.net>
  • To: "InterNetWorkers" <internetworkers AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>
  • Subject: RE: Fw: U.S. Policy Toward Political Islam


Date: Mon, 17 Sep 2001 06:58:20 -0400
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About 15 years ago I had an experience that opened my eyes
I would like to share with all of you.

I was working as a volunteer for an international development
organization and I was attending a regional conference in
mexico city. There were representatives from NGOs from
throughout central and south america, some of which were
rather militant. At the conference I was verbally assaulted
by a fellow from Columbia. He viewed me as an agent of the
US government's policies in the region. I had never before
encountered this sort of stereotyping and discrimination.

The incident had a profound impact on me. I realized that
in our ignorance we oftentimes view the actions or intent
of a government as being the same as those of its citizens.


----- Original Message -----
From: "Dave Spitz" <dspitz AT windwire.com>
To: "InterNetWorkers" <internetworkers AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>
Sent: Sunday, September 16, 2001 10:39 PM
Subject: [internetworkers] RE: Fw: U.S. Policy Toward Political Islam


>
> Yes, it's all our fault. Thanks for the wisdom. Yesterday I was finally
> reunited with my wife and three children, ages 1, 2, and 3, who were in
New
> York. I was stuck in California all week. Any idea how that feels? When my
> son asked me, "Daddy, why did those people knock down New York?", it was
> clearly naive of me to feel a heave in my heart and have no better answer
> than "I don't know".
>
> Tomorrow I'll be sure to clarify for him that it was really our fault
since
> we didn't support "sustainable economic development" and that we failed to
> "recognize diversity". WTF??? Maybe next time they'll REALLY expose our
sins
> with a nuclear bomb!!! Friggin' moral relativism.
>
> Goddam people, wake up. There will always be issues among humans. You do
NOT
> solve them by flying planes into buildings. These are lunatics. You all
> enjoy the debate. I will be flying my flag.
>
> David
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Christian Stalberg [mailto:cstalberg AT develop.net]
> Sent: Saturday, September 15, 2001 8:50 AM
> To: InterNetWorkers
> Subject: [internetworkers] Fw: U.S. Policy Toward Political Islam
>
>
> This is excellent and highly recommended!
>
> >From an article originally published in the June 2001 issue of Foreign
> Policy in Focus. Full text is available at:
> http://fpif.org/briefs/vol6/v6n24islam.html
>
> "U.S. Policy Toward Political Islam"
>
> Key Points
> a.. U.S. policy toward the Islamic world is skewed by negative
stereotypes
> of Islam that fail to recognize its diversity.
> b.. Radical Islamic movements often arise out of the legitimate needs
and
> grievances of oppressed sectors of the population who see the U.S. as
partly
> responsible for their suffering.
> c.. Washington has encouraged the rise of extremist Islamic politics
both
> through shortsighted support for such movements or governments and through
> its support of repressive regimes, which often trigger extremist backlash
> responses.
> d.. The U.S. has supported hard-line Islamic movements and governments,
> such as the Saudi Arabia regime, which have encouraged extremist movements
> elsewhere.
> e.. U.S. support for repressive governments makes democratic and
> nonviolent options for the Islamic opposition extremely difficult.
> f.. Neoliberal economic development strategies-vigorously encouraged by
> the U.S.-have resulted in widespread economic dislocation, which has in
turn
> encouraged the growth of radical Islamic movements.
> g.. The U.S. must shift from supporting repressive governments to
> encouraging greater democracy and pluralism in the Islamic world.
> h.. The U.S. must demand an end to Israel's illegal occupation of Arab
> East Jerusalem and other Palestinian territories and promote a peace
> agreement that recognizes the city's importance to all three monotheistic
> faiths.
> i.. The U.S. should support sustainable economic development in the
> Islamic world, so that the benefits of foreign investment and
globalization
> can be more fairly distributed with minimal social disruption.
>
>
>
>
> ---
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>
> ---
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