We were just talking about the call for a Holy War if there are attacks made on Islamic terrorists. I wish I knew more about the authority chain of Islam. The question is if the Muslis follow the Council of Clerics like the Catholics follow the Pope? Does anyone know? Thanks!

-- Doreen (animalwaitress@yahoo.com), September 21, 2001

Answers

All I know is they are like tribes, just as the jews have tribes. Some are more peaceful than others. When trouble comes to a peaceful group of them they call the warrior groups to bail them out. Sorta like the military ground troops and the bomber squadrons.

-- Stephanie Nosacek (possumliving@go.com), September 21, 2001.

I think a better analogical question would be, "Do all Christians follow the Pope?" Of course not. Not all Catholics follow the Pope.

To compare the Moslem world to the Christian world, the Taleban is is the Jim Jones and the People's Temple. The Council of Clerics were chosen from the pool of extremist cult members and do not represent the other 99% of the Moslem population of the world.

What can we do personally to fight Islamic Extremists and their terrorist acts? Befriend the Moslems in our own community and invite them into our lives to celebrate our common ground. We need to dry up the hiding places of the guerrilla fighters that they so desperately need to work in our country.

-- Laura (LadybugWrangler@hotmail.com), September 21, 2001.

WHOA!!! Laura and I actually agree on something! Islam is a religion which promotes peace and family cohesiveness, as well as strength of community. Islam would never sanction the murdering of innocents..period....McVey was a Christian who happened to zap the federal building in OK city..he represented nobody but himself and a handful of other crazies who thought it is Ok to slaughter kids in a daycare along with federal workers. I cannot understand why folks had no problem with McVey's religious leanings and yet cannot seem to understand that just because some terrorists are of the Islam faith that all Islam is not to be trusted. Anybody here old enough to remember the day Kruschov banged his shoe on the table and screamed at America "We will bury you?" His statement was representative of communist Russia politics, not of the Russian people themselves..The Taliban are a bunch of thugs who hide under the guise of Islam and terrorize their own people first and the Western world second. If they had their way they would happily rule all of the world under an Islam banner which would mean nothing to REAL followers of Islam. Sure they have followers who are burning effigies of Bush in the streets and chanting "death to America"...we have militias in this country who chant "death to our government"..same crowd, different song. I had to see a specialist today and he happened to be a neurologist from, tah dah, Saudi Arabia..I asked him if the crazies had insulted him yet and he smiled and said no, and he was overjoyed when his daughter, aged 10, came home from school yesterday with several invitations to "sleep overs" because the childrens' parents had told them to go above and beyond what they should do to have this child feel loved and wanted and protected in her own community. They are all American citizens and have been here for 9 years. At the end of the visit, we agreed to pray for each other and our government and all of the folks who just don't "get it"...made me feel really good! God bless.

-- lesley (martchas@bellsouth.net), September 21, 2001.

wonderful example lesley!! Yes, I am old enough to remember Kruschev and his shoe............ancient of old. I had friends that had lived here for quite some time that were from Russian originally. They told me that he was not really the representative of the "people" but just a small group. I guess that was why I never could really think of them, the whole of Russia, as my enemies.

I think of my friends in Haiti and how oppressed they are by their government and they have absolutely nothing. How many of the so called world leaders are actually serving their people?? Prayer seems the only thing I can actually DO now.

-- diane (gardiacaprines@yahoo.com), September 21, 2001.

Hmmm. I never have thought of the whole of any group of people as my enemy. Just hasn't seemed reasonable to me.

Thanks for your help!

-- Doreen (bisquit@here.com), September 22, 2001.

How can you say that Timothy McVeigh (post above) only acted for himself? Well you can say that, but what if he was working as much for god as you are? Who are you to judge the motives and path of another?

-- Ben Fletcher (ben_fletcher01@hotmail.com), November 14, 2001.

Afghanistan News

-- 123 (2323@12312.123), March 17, 2002.

Taliban are not a bunch of thugs, they are very pious and uncorruptable people, unlike the US govt. and the Northern Alliance.

-- San (he_mail@pakistans.com), July 29, 2002.