| That's why the faction leaders hate us, not why the factions find support...
The fight is as much political as it is religious -- note how the mujahadeens fought each other following the withdrawal of the Soviet Union from Afghanistan. Often not over religious doctrine, but just who was to control the city. Just look at the name of the ultimate victor the Taliban -- "students". They enjoyed the popular support that lead to the ousting of all other mujahadeen groups from Kabul because unlike the other groups, they set out to implement a rule of law and had a theory (no matter how "crackpot") behind it.
You find that extremism does not reign in Muslim countries with real rule of law. (The Saudi monarchy is not an example of rule of law, as Locke himself would have analysed.)
If you follow Iraqi blogs (some of them written by school-aged adolescents), you will find that that most of the resentment is not due to anything related to religion, but due to perceived insensitivity and inaction. Differences in religion help facilitate an existing alienation. I can't link to them here, unfortunately.... |