The root cause

A very good blogger asked me to comment on the following (I am flattered):

Hello Marlow, Here is a copy of one of my posts in response to the recent bombings in London. I am copying it here as I would be interested to know what you think of it:
CAUSES OF TERRORISM
And the only solution
Somebody just emailed me this message which puts the only solution to terrorism in a nutshell, and into the correct perspective:

".....'The root cause of almost all terrorism, for perhaps 10,000 years, has been a widely held belief in the existence of conflicting Gods who protect and reward (or penalize) their adherents. There is no empirical evidence anywhere supporting this very dubious hypothesis. As long as such a highly irrational belief continues to shackle mankind, successful terrorists will continue to provide headlines for a venal media, which is what they are trying to do. Let's get used to it and shut up'. ..."

Dear Ingrid,

I had a long look at the comment you sent me and this is what I think:

Forget religion. This war (like all wars) has nothing to do with religion, it’s all about power. Religion is the means to mobilize the masses (like the promise of a classless society or a just world). Simple, stark, black and white ideas have always been used to get hold of weak minds in search of absolutes and immediate rewards.

Every totalitarian regime has extracted these ideas from the cultural background it found itself operating in and utilized them to gather, brainwash and exploit the worst and weakest elements of their societies for its own purposes.

The similarities among past totalitarian ideologies and methodologies are clear: Hitler, Stalin, Mao and co., pretended to act in the name of the people, preached about a new world order, established brainwashing institutions. There is very little difference between the Hitler Youth, the Communist Youth, The Youth League and the Madrassas.

So this is just another war, albeit complicated by a world more and more interdependent and by a technology that allows war to reach everywhere. It must be fought on various fronts simultaneously: military, political, diplomatic and cultural, both abroad and at home.

The major problem I see, especially in Europe, is a reluctance to recognize reality and act upon it. Our governments have done a good job themselves in hiding their shady deals with oil producing countries and now we pay the consequences.

Tony Blair, aware that the public, sadly only after the 7/7 massacre, is ready to accept sterner measure against terrorists and their supporters, is on the right track. Think about it: what is more natural, even ethical, than demanding that asylum seekers, immigrants and visitors respect the “home rules”? Nothing; it should have been so from the beginning and only our misguided multiculturalism (or dependence on oil?) has prevented us from using the most basic common sense. This is only the first step, of course, and we are late to the fight.

Although islamofascism, like a wounded hyena eating its own entrails, carries within itself its own demise, like communism and nazism before it, the more we dither the more blood will be shed.

“Beware of a man who says believe in God as I do, otherwise God will punish you. Because he would say tomorrow, believe in God as I do, otherwise I will kill you.” (Voltaire)

Terrorism