[Leica] Photo student harassed in Seattle by Homeland Security

[timatherton at theedge.ca (Tim Atherton)]

> Well, Tim, then educate us all.  Tell us HOW Islamic fundamentalism is
> primarily political and not cultural or religious.
>

as Brian has hinted - ahem - this is really the wrong forum. But one simple
point - to equate the current terrorist threat purely with Islamic
fundamentalism is in itself mistaken. That's aside from any failure to
understand the broad range of Islamic movements involved from intensively
fundamentalist and religious through to nationalistic to aspects verging on
being very secular.

Also, to base an understanding of Islamic Fundamentalism on an understanding
of Christian Fundamentalism is also generally mistaken. They may each be as
irrational and ultimately rather frightening. They may also draw on some of
the same deep psychological traits in human beings, but there are huge
differences as well. Indeed, even the use of the term fundamentalism to a
euro/western audience when referring to these aspects of Islam is somewhat
misleading.

One rather simplistic analogy, but it's similar to saying the actions of the
Bush Whitehouse are based entirely on the Presidents fundamentalist
Christian beliefs - it may be a good part of the mix, but it's a lot more
complex than that.

regarding:

>Islamic fundamentalism is
> primarily political and not cultural or religious.

Any terrorist action that may occur in the US which results from the current
US occupation of Iraq and certainly that happening in Iraq currently is as
much political and nationalistic as it is religious. In that sense it's like
saying the actions of the IRA, INLA and Red Hand Commandos were mainly
religious and cultural with one side identifying themselves as Catholic and
the other side Protestant.

And many terror groups growing out of Pakistan, while remaining somewhat
religion based, are intensely political in their aims as well. And I'm not
talking in the simplistic sense of establishing a "fundamentalist Islamic
State", but much broader national and regional political aims. These groups
also have the US in their sights

tim