Why they hate us

[JohnnyRingo]

....Someone actually asks radical Muslims why they detest America.

Do they hate our freedom?
Is Allah the driving factor behind suicide bombings?
Are they trying to convert us to Islam?
Do radical Muslims really oppose democracy?

Even though I always discounted the Buxh/Cheney oversimplified rhetoric during their call to action after 9/11, the answers still surprised me.

From The Christian Science Monitor:

What makes a radical?

When asked why they supported the 9/11 attacks, the radicals gave political rather than religious reasons.

Various studies of Muslim terrorists show that most are not graduates of madrassahs but of private or public schools and universities; most are from middle- and working-class backgrounds; some are devout and others are not. This survey confirms these findings:

•Among the Muslims surveyed, 7 percent condoned the 9/11 attacks. The study terms these the "politically radicalized."

•When asked why they supported the attacks, the radicals gave political rather than religious reasons. They have a sense of political frustration and feel humiliated and threatened by the West. Those who opposed the attacks often gave religious reasons for doing so.

•The radicals, on average, are not the down-and-out people in society. They are more educated than moderates, and two-thirds of radicals have average or above-average income. Forty-seven percent supervise others at work. They are more optimistic about their own lives than are moderates (52 percent to 45 percent).

•Radicals are no more religious than the general population and do not attend mosque more frequently.

•What distinguishes them is not their perception of Western culture or freedoms, but their perception of US policies. Even radicals say they support democracy. But 63 percent of radicals do not believe that the United States will allow people in the region to fashion their own political future without direct US influence.

http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0517/p12s04-wogi.html

And I always thought the religious nuts were supposed to be over there.

[yourout]

1. Sounds alot like the Fundies over here.

[KansDem]

2. "Radicals?" Damn!!! I haven't heard this word used since 1970s!

When "radicals" were hellbent on tearing down America!

Hey, "Radicals!!!" LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT!!!

[romulusnr]

3. gee ya think?

63 percent of radicals do not believe that the United States will allow people in the region to fashion their own political future without direct US influence.

Now where would those "ragheads" get such a stupid idea from?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1953_Iranian_coup_d%27%C3%A9tat
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1954_Guatemalan_coup_d%27%C3%A9tat
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congo_Crisis
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1973_Chilean_coup_d%27%C3%A9tat
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contra_(guerrillas)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2003_invasion_of_Iraq

[otherlander]

4. This surprised me:

"...two-thirds of radicals have average or above-average income."
I thought people in more desperate circumstances would be more likely to be radically anti-American. Then again, I live in a middle-class household, and some people would call me a radical if they knew what my opinions were.

[Oregone]

5. Sometimes, its the intellectuals who are more likely to become radicalized

And we know intelligence and upbringing have an impact on earnings.

Perhaps the desperate and down and out are normally too busy toiling and making it day to day, to think about the grand picture. In contrast, those that are more comfortable may have more time to reflect on the state of things, and also observe the plight of the people around them (without actually being affected by personally it). By becoming observers, perhaps they can more easily use their knowledge to form a different world-view (and would also be less religious, so religious forgiveness would not interfere with them). They would have no need of a useless pitiful theodicy worldview.

Its not a surprise to me at all actually. But perhaps its the down and out people that the radicals often use as tools in this idealogical (not religious) war.