My last job sent me to Bangkok twice, for six weeks total. It's a relatively big country, and I only saw Bangkok, but the culture there struck me as one of the most humane I've seen. I was in a cab once, and the driver at a stoplight stopped to buy a garland from a street vendor. Maybe 25 cents USD changed hands, but the courtesy expressed, and the reverence shown through a bunch of flowers, stays with me.

Thailand deserves better.

The Saudi funded export of violent Muslim ideology is not talked enough. Thanks for this little note; it's more important than the sick pictures of the US soldiers.

But those sick pics create different feelings.

Oh, but islam is a religion of peace. Just keep repeating it you schtoopid sheeple.

According to Dave's links, approx. 500 people have died in this conflict. According to one official "Never before have we witnessed such a situation, with monks too fearful to come out to receive alms"

I have to assume from that statement that a larger percentage of the dead are Buddhists - yet the only event criticized (and publicized) by the UN and the media was when the government struck back against these 'militants'.

i too visited thailand, about two years ago, and i agree that the people there are friendlier than just about anywhere else. at least anywhere i've been. the police and the military on the other hand, i'm not too sure about. i know that many "criminals", at least a few hundred, were killed during the government's big crackdown against drug-dealing last year. i do plan to keep an open eye on this story though.

I read a very good op ed piece early last year with the title of "Islam's borders are bloody" and then went on to point out that in virtually all border areas of the world betweeen predominately Islam cultures and non Islam cultures, there is violence and that it is instigated by the Muslims.

It seemed a little harsh at the time but current events suggest the author was spot on.

Islam has always had trouble with the rest of the world. Coexistence is a hard concept for them to accept. They are our planets problem child - and they need a good spanking.

There was some article in The Economist in 2000 that noted that 20 out of the 23 world conflicts involved Muslims fighting Muslims or Muslims fighting Jews, Buddhists, Animists, Christians, etc.

There was some article in The Economist in 2000 that noted that 20 out of the 23 world conflicts involved Muslims fighting Muslims or Muslims fighting Jews, Buddhists, Animists, Christians, etc.

MJT,

I'm surprised this topic hasn't provoked more discussion. Where are all the pomo multi-culturalists? Could it be that the reality is starting to sink in that the problem is Islam?

http://www.benadorassociates.com/article/4462

http://www.nationalreview.com/script/printpage.asp?ref=/frum/diary052004.asp

We can't win this war if we don't know the ideology we are fighting. In WWII we were fighting fascism. In the Cold War we were fighting communism. In this war which is a resumption of a 1400 year-old world war that has been suspended for 350 years, we are fighting Islam. I think of this war as World War Zero.

World War Zero won't end until one of three events occur:

1) Islamic civilization goes through liberal reform

2) Islamic civilization is destroyed

3) Western civilization is destroyed.

These are the stakes.

seismic writes: "Islam has always had trouble with the rest of the world. Coexistence is a hard concept for them to accept. They are our planets problem child - and they need a good spanking."

I find this comment a little counterproductive, frankly. Indonesia has over 200 million muslims. Indonesia has many problems, but very few of them seem to relate specifically to being predominantly Islamic. They just seem to have your average developing country's passel of social ills and disadvantages.

What's the next largest national population of muslims? India. Apart from Kashmiri separatism, you don't hear much about muslims that 'need spanking' in that country. Kashmir stills seems to be more about nationalism than about Islam per se.

There are a billion muslims in the world. They are largely concentrated in regions that Europe conquered and ruled colonially, within borders drawn by Europeans. Time was, Americans were themselves problem children, needing a good spanking to be brought into line. But it was the British crown that got spanked.

There are moderate regimes in Islamic countries that have their own terrible problems with fundamentalist muslim insurgencies. Why smear them all into the same category? Richard Pipes has said that radical Islam is the problem, moderate Islam is the solution. I don't agree with everything he says, but in this case, he has a good point. Why not try making some politically useful distinctions? I've met so many tolerant, sensible, intelligent muslims. They were also devout. Just not dogmatic.

Insulting an entire religion isn't going to make anything better, and more likely will just make the problem worse.

Buddhism "disappeared" from India because of the Muslim invasions which was accompanied by the widespread destruction of all their statuary, temples, culture, etc. Where were the "moderate" Muslims who could have prevented such an atrocity? Had they conquered China at the time, Buddhism would have probably disappeared from there as well. Bin Laden is pretty popular in SE Asia. If moderate Islamic clerics aren't speaking up and being heard now, what are they waiting for?

My husband traveled to Indonesia in the mid 1990's. The place spooked him big time and he couldn't wait to leave. He said that he could feel the hatred of the West in the air. He has also traveled all over Latin America and Europe and said that Indonesia was the only place that he felt hatred all around him. He couldn't wait to leave.

"They were also devout. Just not dogmatic."

This statement is interesting as I never ever see anyone treat devout Christians in America with such kid gloves.

Tokyo Michael Turner,

India. Apart from Kashmiri separatism, you don't hear much about muslims that 'need spanking' in that country.

You seem to have forgotten the Partition of India.

Kashmir stills seems to be more about nationalism than about Islam per se.

I think India wants to build a pipeline.