Emperor Barry I is unable -- absolutely unable -- to criticize Islamic terror without equivocating. At the National Prayer Breakfast today, he equated recent Islamic terrorism, such as the execution-by-burning of a Jordanian fighter pilot, with violence he called "justified in the name of Christ:"
Obama had a more non-denominational message for the audience that also included prominent leaders of non-Christian faiths. The president said that while religion is a source for good around the world, people of all faiths have been willing to "hijack religion for their own murderous ends."I am, off the top of my head, unaware of any mainstream arguments that attempted to justify slavery or Jim Crow laws in the name of Christ. The main justification was always that blacks were simply property. Not supportable in any way, but not based in Christian theology. On the other hand, the president has never been that strong on Christian theology, or history in general, for that matter. As for the Crusades and the Inquisition, he had to go back 1,000 years and 600 years, respectively, to try and dredge up equivalencies to what ISIL did this fucking week. He also ignores that the Crusades began as a counterattack against Muslims invading the Holy Land - Jerusalem and surrounding territories -- and subjugating Jews and Christians, as the Koran mandates. No excuses for the Inquisition, but could we please come up with more recent examples of any violence in the name of Christianity that approaches the level and scale of what Islamic terrorists are doing? You can't.
"So it is not unique to one group or one religion," Obama said. "There is a tendency in us, a simple tendency that can pervert and distort our faith.""Unless we get on our high horse and think that this is unique to some other place, remember that during the Crusades and Inquisition, people committed terrible deeds in the name of Christ," Obama said. "In our home country, slavery and Jim Crow all too often was justified in the name of Christ."
And don't even mention the Irish Republican Army -- they weren't killing Protestants because they were Protestants, they were killing people who supported the continued "occupation" -- in their eyes -- of Northern Ireland by the British. The IRA was trying to unify Ireland under Irish rule. Not with admirable tactics, by any stretch of the imagination, but the goal was nationalism, not religion.
Oh, you want to go with the anti-abortion criminals who killed pro-abortion folks in the name of religious-based efforts to protect the unborn? Fine, here we are dealing with mainstream views versus extremists, just as with the Islamist terrorists. However, here, the mainstream Christians denounced the violent extremists, unlike in the case of Islamist terrorists, where the mainstream remains curiously silent. Further, we are dealing with questions of scale. Compare:
Food for thought:So, difference of scale, hmmm? Which threat are you worried about, and and how can you conflate the two?
Deadly comparisons
(source: Wikipedia)
1. Anti-abortion killings
In U.S., since 1977, eight people (including four doctors) killed
1993: Dr. Gunn
1994: two receptionists; Dr. Britton, one other person
1998: Dr. Slepian shot at home; security guard killed in bombing
2009: Dr. Tiller shot at church
As for the perpetrators:
sentenced to life
sentenced to death and executed
died in prison (probable suicide)
life sentence (his second, guy who did 96 Olympic Park bombing
convicted, in prison
2. For perspective: In 2012 (latest available stats), an estimated 1,640 children in the U.S. died from abuse and neglect. (Studies find state agencies severely undercount these, by 50% or more.) More than 70% were 2 and younger.
3. Information on Islam, including list of terrorist attacks, casualties
Islam reformers. In his book No god but God: The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam, Iranian-American scholar Reza Aslan argues there is an internal battle taking place within Islam between individualistic reform ideals and traditional authority of Muslim clerics, similar to that of 16th-century reformation in Christianity, which was as old as Islam currently is at that period. He writes, "the notion that historical context should play no role in the interpretation of the Koran – that what applied to Muhammad's community applies to all Muslim communities for all time – is simply an untenable position in every sense." According to conservative columnist Reihan Salam, the book has received a favorable response within the Muslim world.
Motivation. Forensic psychiatrist and former foreign service officer Marc Sageman made an "intensive study of biographical data on 172 participants in the jihad," in Understanding Terror Networks. He concluded social networks, the "tight bonds of family and friendship," rather than emotional and behavioral disorders of "poverty, trauma, madness, [or] ignorance," inspired alienated young Muslims to join the jihad and kill. Author Lawrence Wright described characteristic of "displacement" of members of most famous Islamic terrorist group, al-Qaeda: "What the recruits tended to have in common – besides their urbanity, their cosmopolitan backgrounds, their education, their facility with languages, and their computer skills – was displacement. Most who joined the jihad did so in a country other than the one in which they were reared. They were Algerians living in expatriate enclaves in France, Moroccans in Spain, or Yemenis in Saudi Arabia. Despite their accomplishments, they had little standing in the host societies where they lived."
bin Laden. Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden born in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, son of billionaire construction magnate with close ties to the Saudi royal family. The bin Laden family made $5 billion in the construction industry, of which Osama later inherited around $25–30 million. Began 'activity' when Russians in Afghanistan. After leaving college in 1979, bin Laden went to Pakistan, used money and machinery from his own construction company to help mujahideen resistance in Soviet war in Afghanistan. He later told a journalist: "I felt outraged that an injustice had been committed against the people of Afghanistan. Under Operation Cyclone from 1979 to 1989, United States provided financial aid and weapons to mujahideen through Pakistan's ISI. Bin Laden met and built relations with three-star general in the Pakistani army and head of ISI agency. Although United States provided the money and weapons, training of militant groups entirely done by Pakistani Armed Forces and ISI. By 1984, bin Laden and Azzam established Maktab al-Khidamat, which funneled money, arms and fighters from around the Arab world into Afghanistan. Bin Laden established camps inside Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan and trained volunteers from across the Muslim world to fight against the Soviet puppet regime, the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan; he d also participated in some combat activity, such as the Battle of Jaji. It was during this time that he became idolized by many Arabs.
List of Islamic terrorist attacks 1983-2015
18 April 1983 - 1983 United States embassy bombing 63 killed, 120 wounded.
23 October 1983 - 1983 Beirut barracks bombing 305 killed, 75 wounded.
26 February 1993 – World Trade Center bombing, New York City. Six killed.
13 March 1993 – 1993 Bombay bombings. Mumbai, India. 250 dead, 700 injured.
28 July 1994 – Buenos Aires, Argentina. Vehicle suicide bombing attack against AMIA building, local Jewish community representation. 85 dead, more than 300 injured.
24 December 1994 – Air France Flight 8969 hijacking in Algiers by three members of Armed Islamic Group of Algeria and another terrorist. Seven killed, including the hijackers.
25 June 1996 – Khobar Towers bombing, 20 killed, 372 wounded.
17 November 1997 – Luxor attack, six terrorists attack tourists at Egypt's famous Luxor Ruins. 68 foreign tourists killed.
14 February 1998 – Bombing in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India. 13 bombs explode within a 12 km radius. 46 killed, over 200 injured.
7 August 1998 – 1998 United States embassy bombings in Tanzania and Kenya. 224 dead, 4000+ injured.
4 September 1999 – Series of bombing attacks in several cities of Russia, 300 killed.
12 October 2000 – Attack on USS Cole in the Yemeni port of Aden.
11 September 2001 – Four planes hijacked and crashed into World Trade Center, The Pentagon and into a field in Shanksville by 19 hijackers. 2,977 killed, 6,000 injured.
13 December 2001 – Suicide attack on Indian parliament in New Delhi by Pakistan-based Islamist terrorist organizations, Jaish-E-Mohammad and Lashkar-e-Toiba. Aimed at eliminating top leadership of India to cause anarchy. 7 dead, 12 injured.
27 March 2002 – Suicide bomb attack on a Passover Seder in a Hotel in Netanya, Israel. 30 dead, 133 injured.
30 March 2002 and 24 November 2002 - Attacks on the Hindu Raghunath temple, India. 25 dead.
24 September 2002 – Machine gun attack on Hindu temple in Ahmedabad, India. 31 dead, 86 injured.
12 October 2002 – Bombing in Bali nightclub. 202 killed, 300 injured.
16 May 2003 – Casablanca Attacks – Four simultaneous attacks in Casablanca killing 33 civilians (mostly Moroccans) by Salafia Jihadia.
11 March 2004 – Multiple bombings on trains near Madrid, Spain. 191 killed, 1460 injured (alleged link to Al-Qaeda).
1 September 2004 - Beslan school hostage crisis, 344 civilians including 186 children killed.
2 November 2004 – Murder of Theo van Gogh (film director) by Amsterdam-born jihadist Mohammed Bouyeri.
5 July 2005 - Attack at the Hindu Ram temple at Ayodhya, India; one of the most holy sites of Hinduism. Six dead.
7 July 2005 – Multiple bombings in London Underground. 53 killed by four suicide bombers. Nearly 700 injured.
23 July 2005 – Bomb attacks at Sharm el-Sheikh, Egyptian resort city, at least 64 killed.
29 October 2005 – 29 October 2005 Delhi bombings, India. Over 60 killed and 180 injured in three attacks in crowded markets and a bus, 2 days before Diwali festival.
9 November 2005 – 2005 Amman bombings. series of coordinated suicide attacks on hotels in Amman, Jordan. Over 60 killed, 115 injured. Four attackers including husband and wife team involved.
7 March 2006 – 2006 Varanasi bombings, India. A series of attacks in Sankatmochan Hanuman temple and Cantonment Railway Station in the Hindu holy city of Varanasi. 28 killed, over 100 injured.
11 July 2006 – 11 July 2006 Mumbai train bombings, Mumbai, India; seven bomb blasts over period of 11 minutes one Suburban Railway in Mumbai. 209 killed, over 700 injured.
14 August 2007 – Qahtaniya bombings: Four suicide vehicle bombers massacred nearly 800 members of northern Iraq's Yazidi sect in deadliest Iraq war's attack to date.
26 July 2008 – 2008 Ahmedabad bombings, India. Islamic terrorists detonate at least 21 explosive devices in heart of this industrial capital, leaving at least 56 dead, 200 injured. Muslim group calling itself Indian Mujahideen claims responsibility. Indian authorities believe extremists with ties to Pakistan and/or Bangladesh likely responsible, intent on inciting communal violence. Investigation led to eventual arrest of a number of terrorists, most of whom belong to well-known terrorist group, Students Islamic Movement of India.
13 September 2008 – Bombing series in Delhi, India. Pakistani extremist groups plant bombs at several places including India Gate, out of which the ones at Karol Bagh, Connaught Place and Greater Kailash explode leaving 30 dead, 130 injured, followed by another attack two weeks later at congested Mehrauli area, killing three.
26 November 2008 – Muslim extremists kill at least 174 people and wound numerous others in series of coordinated attacks on India's largest city and financial capital, Mumbai. government of India blamed Pakistan based militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba and stated terrorists killed/caught citizens of Pakistan, a claim Pakistani government has refused. Ajmal Kasab, one of terrorists, caught alive.
25 October 2009. Baghdad, Iraq. During a terrorist attack, two bomber vehicles detonated in the Green Zone, killing at least 155.
28 October 2009 – Peshawar, Pakistan. Car bomb detonated in exclusive shopping district; over 110 killed, 200 injured.
3 December 2009 – Mogadishu, Somalia. male suicide bomber disguised as woman detonates in hotel meeting hall, holding graduation ceremony for medical students, killing four government ministers as well as civilians.
1 January 2010 – Lakki Marwat, Pakistan. A suicide car bomber drove his explosive-laden vehicle into a volleyball pitch as people gathered to watch a match, killing more than 10.
1 May 2010 - New York, New York, USA. Faisal Shahzad, an Islamic Pakistani American who received U.S. citizenship in December 2009, attempted to detonate a car bomb in Times Square working with Pakistani Taliban or Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan.
13 May 2011 - Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan claimed attacks on two mosques simultaneously belonging to Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, killing nearly 100, injuring many others.
13 July 2011 - Three bombs exploded at different locations in Mumbai, perpetrated by Indian Mujahideen.
11 September 2012 - 2012 Benghazi Attack On the evening of September 11, 2012, Islamic militants attacked American diplomatic mission at Benghazi, in Libya, killing U.S. Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and Sean Smith, U.S. Foreign Service.
15 April 2013 - Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev set off two pressure cooker bombs at finish line of 2013 Boston Marathon, three killed.
22 May 2013 - 2 Nigerian men attack and kill British Soldier, Lee Rigby in Woolwich, London, UK.
22 September 2013 - 61 civilians, 6 Kenyan soldiers, and 5 attackers die in the Westgate shopping mall attack.
1 March 2014 Kunming attack - Kunming, China. A group of knife-wielding Uyghur attackers stormed Kunming Railway Station, killing 29 civilians, wounding 143. Four attackers shot dead.
7 January 2015 - Charlie Hebdo shooting - Two masked gunmen armed with Kalashnikov rifles and shotguns stormed the headquarters of the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris. 12 killed, 11 wounded.
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