Author's Corner discussion

Do you think ISIS just came out of nowhere. or the hate they have festered under the surface for a long time?

It's the outgrowth of resentment and anger going back to the Crusades, and disenfranchisement, plus, a lopsided top-heavy economy and religious leaders blaming the West for all of their society's ills... plus, lots of abandoned military weapons from Russia's tenure in Afghanistan, etc. The names will change, but the rank and file remain the same, but the numbers just keep on growing.

I forgot to add the battle that has been going on since the 7th century over who has the right to succeed Mohammed. Shiites or Sunnis have been killing each other for so long it feels like a natural state and is used by the power-hungry to keep militia-ism part of daily life in most of the Middle East.

I am impressed with your knowledge. The prophet said "the closest to me will succeed me". This ambiguous sentence is at the core of the Sunni, Shia conflict. Do you know what he meant? Thanks for the feedback. well done.

Every single time that man encodes the story of enlightenment and revelation to human words, it is left imperfect and subject to terrible misunderstanding. The Quran is as contradictory as is the bible, the Baghavad Gita, the writings of Confucious and many others that I've read. There is no possible way to empirically reconstruct the moment when the Prophet made this comment, nor can we ever really know why He even brought up succession at all, but since it was a terribly flawed world then, torn and bloodied by wars and politics as it is now, He must have had a reason. If I had a clue, there would be millions of devout others who would be perfectly in their right to deny my understanding. This is the heart of our human failings. We do not either like or trust each other unless we come from the same familial bloodlines. It's been this way for the past 40000 years at least, if not always.

I wonder why can't we all listen to Khalil Gibran "I love you when you bow in your mosque, kneel in your temple, pray in your church. For you and I are sons of one religion, and it is the spirit.

There are many of us who believe as Gibran did, but we also have no literature to make others take notice. It's probably just as well, because bringing out a book and holding it aloft as any kind of proof is always about power. I'm not too optimistic about the chances of our civilizations ever being willing to embrace each other. Best I believe we can do is make a difference among those we know and love and not be part of a larger problem as much as possible. Whew. Sorry, I tend to get windy sometimes!

Not at all, My personal views have shifted so many times. I grew up in war torn Lebanon right in the middle of multiple PLO camps, I ended up marrying a Palestinian to the horror of my Ultra conservative Christian friends, lol. My kids call me white washed.

We had close Palestinian (Ramallah) friends for many years. The patriarch was the most gracious, generous man I ever met. Isn't it terribly sad that this wonderful culture has been completely eclipsed by the power struggles in the region. My own ancestors were Irish. One of my most prized possessions is an enamel pin from the Cork Solidarity Committee showing crossed Irish and Palestinian flags. No people that have endured under occupation and colonization has ever emerged intact without terrible pain and violence. The nineteenth century is still too close to our present to not feel its effects.