Date: Wed, 5 Dec 2007 18:29:53 -0800 (PST) From: Mervyn Lobo <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Two excerpts: > On the contrary, the Orange Marches are central to my argument. "Orange Marches" being held to remember/celebrate violence in the 17th Century! Until recently, every march meant more deaths. Catholics would kill Protestants and vice-versa. That is what usually happens when politicians and religious figures get hell bent on celebrating victories of violence. > The answer is in my first paragraph above. Secondly, people who genuinely want to remember their loved ones usually require moments of quiet reflection. When politicians/religious figures get involved in "remembrance" issues, they usually hijack the event for their own purposes. The real way for politicians/religious figures to remember terror victims is to take steps to ensure that terrorists do not get another chance to attack (like the last time they did when the politicians were asleep). > Mario responds: > This is a classic example of catching a bull by the tail. > The Orange Marches in Ireland were intended to proclaim religious superiority and to deliberately incite and embarrass the opposition by rubbing their collective noses in ancient military victories. > The memorial service in Mumbai, on the other hand, was to mourn the victims of the Mumbai train bombings, had no religious connotation whatsoever, and were not designed to incite or embarrass anyone. The victims included Muslims and the suspects happened to be Muslim radicals who could care less whom they kill. It was the Indian government officials who drew attention to themselves and inserted politics into their decision to not attend. > Their reasons impugned the entire Muslim community by suggesting that all Muslims would be offended by such a memorial service. This was patently false as well as offensive to law-abiding Muslims who know better than anyone else that the entire community is not responsible for the small number of radicals who kill in the name of Islam, and include Muslims among their victims along with anyone else who happens to be in the target area. >
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