CSM photos of the day February 27, 2012: Children carry food at a compound for displaced people in western Baghdad, Iraq. Officials say more than 1.3 million Iraqis remain homeless after being forced to flee six years ago during widespread sectarian violence that threatened their lives. Khalid Mohammed/AP [AS ALWAYS PLEASE GO TO THE LINK TO READ GOOD ARTICLES IN FULL: HELP SHAPE ALGORITHMS (and conversations) THAT EMPOWER DECENCY, DIGNITY, JUSTICE & PEACE... and hopefully Palestine]
http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/Letters-to-the-Editor/2012/0227/Readers-Write-Islamists-still-dangerous-Irish-history-matters-US-needs-a-CEO-prez
Islamists still pose a risk
I very much appreciated the Feb. 20 editorial "Islamists come in from the cold." Kudos to the Arab Spring and to all the many heroic and forward-thinking Arabs who seek self-governance and dignity through peaceful means. Empowering nonviolence is crucial.
Hussein Ibish, senior research fellow at the American Task Force on Palestine, a firm advocate of a fair and just negotiated settlement to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, understands Islamists better than most, and he wisely points out the importance of "introducing inviolable constitutional principles protecting the rights of individuals, women, and minorities."
Even with that sage advice, I am quite wary about pushing the all-inclusive message too hard. Extremists and hatemongers (in addition to radical Islamists) often piggyback on real struggles for freedom, happily usurping momentum for a just cause in order to gain positive publicity, popularity, and funds for their own self-absorbed aims.
Even moderate Islamists might be a very risky investment because the potential for religious tyranny is always a very real danger, no matter which religion. Both Israel's and the Palestinians' best chance for peace is to let religion be a private matter, not a state-funded project.
Anne Selden Annab
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