How Can This Really Be What Allah Intends?

[ToraToraTora]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-30507836
Surely, even the warped version if Islam that the Taliban subscribe to cannot justify the Peshawar masacre. Is there someone out there who can explain the thinking behind this? I am totally mystified.

[vetuste_ennemi]

since when did *** become a forbidden word?

[RandyMarsh]

my point being that all religious texts are ***. Except for the horny beasts bit.

[vetuste_ennemi]

does "harlot" get through?

[RandyMarsh]

but Naomi, the American military have slaughtered innocents and they are the revelation team.

They also create mayhem the world over.

[naomi24]

RandyMarsh, ah, justification. Who here was looking for an apologist? Whoever it was, here's your man.

[RandyMarsh]

You see what you like love.

[keyplus90]

////Keyplus, radicalised Westerners – many of whom have committed appalling atrocities in the name of Islam - are not isolated. Try again.////

Naomi - Perhaps you are talking about the people who we sent there, supported, and were going to fight along just few months ago.

[naomi24]

Keyplus, you know exactly what I'm talking about. I've told you before, don't take the people here for fools because most of them aren't and your excuses for these barbarians don't wash.

[DTCwordfan]

I understand that the Afghani Taliban have condemned their Pakistani bretheren's attack as being 'unIslamic' as it involved slaughtering women and young children.

Nice to see overt dissension in their ranks - I wonder if they have their equivalent of AB? (= 'Allah Brainwashing' perhaps)

[ToraToraTora]

Clearly the Pakistani Taliban were not given the latest "who can we murder" manual. Sounds like they would benefit from some sort of management reshuffle.

[anotheoldgit]

andy-hughes

/// This is not a battle of armies, it is a battle of ideals and attitudes, and you cannot supress that with military force - as has clearly been proven already. ///

Aren't all wars a battle of ideals and attitudes, and that is why we need armies to either protect these ideals and attitudes or for some to enforce them upon others?

So by this very fact it can become a battle of armies, of which you seem to dismiss.

[andy-hughes]

AOG - "Aren't all wars a battle of ideals and attitudes, and that is why we need armies to either protect these ideals and attitudes or for some to enforce them upon others?"

They are indeed - in abstract terms - but I have always understood the notion of war to be battles between two opposing armies - as in military units. The recent conflicts have been between standard military units from the West, and a guerrilla band of natives from the East, so it fails to fall into what I believe to be a definition of war, at least as I understand the term.


"So by this very fact it can become a battle of armies, of which you seem to dismiss."

Please refer to by answer above.

I do not 'dismiss' the use of words here, I simply don't think it fits properly.

A fine example of misusing an understood frame of reference was the execrable Bush and his trite phrase 'war on terror' which meant nothing except an excuse to play Cowboys and Indians with real people.

You cannot declare 'war' on a noun, it's meaningless, just like everything Bush said during his entire terrible time in charge of his country.

[vetuste_ennemi]

"You cannot declare 'war' on a noun, it's meaningless,"
Am I allowed to declare war on a preposition?

[andy-hughes]

vetuste - "Am I allowed to declare war on a preposition?"

If you want to sound as big a moron as George Bush - knock yourself out!

[vetuste_ennemi]

Finely crafted response. Well done! Did you do it all yourself?

[vetuste_ennemi]

You're a moderator here, aren't you?

[naomi24]

andy-hughes, whatever your understanding of the notion of war, the guerrilla bands of natives from the East, as you call them, consider themselves to be at war – and they’re not fighting with peashooters. Just how do you think we should respond to that?

[andy-hughes]

vetuste - "Finely crafted response. Well done! Did you do it all yourself?"

It was intended to be tongue-in-cheek, a concept which often falters in written communication.

If it did so here, my apologies, no offence intended.

[andy-hughes]

naomi - "andy-hughes, whatever your understanding of the notion of war, the guerrilla bands of natives from the East, as you call them, consider themselves to be at war – and they’re not fighting with peashooters. Just how do you think we should respond to that?"

As an invaded country, the probably do.

No they are not fighting with peashooters - but maybe our response should not be to meet fundamentalism with violence, since history proves that this method singularly fails to achieve anything except widescale death and destruction.

I have said before that an attempt at reasoning and dialogue can only improve the situation, and to simply say that 'these people cannot be reasoned with ...' is simply a cop out.

It would be wonderful of the rebels thought sitting around a table with a load of suits was a good idea, but why would they? Societies still living a twelfth century feudal system react to invasion the only way they have ever reacted - the fight until the invader goes home - history has taught them that this always happens. They only have to wait - they are already at home, they are not going anywhere.

So an attempt to find meaningful dialogue has to be the way forward, unless we fancy another gigantic nationwide who-blinks-first competition.

Military action has not, and will not work. You cannot subdue a nation whose idea of a fulfilled life is to die for their faith.

Talking has to be the way forward.

[naomi24]

andy-hughes, //they are not going anywhere. //

If only that were true! You’re living in Cloud Cuckoo Land. This isn’t about us invading them, and it isn’t confined to the Pakistani Taliban. See my post at 14:25 Wed 17th Dec 2014.

…and this from a Muslim ABer who claims to be a moderate…

// As far as the domination of Islam is concerned. Truth always come out on top, sooner or later. You believe it or not. Your problem.//

If that’s from a moderate just imagine what the fundamentalists are thinking. Open your eyes.