President Biden ran for office to restore the soul of the nation. He is unequivocal: there is no place for hate in America against anyone. Period.Today, he and Vice President Harris are announcing that their Administration will develop the first-ever U.S. National Strategy to Counter Islamophobia in the United States.
How is it possible that the U.S. is only now developing its first-ever strategy to its most favorite problem besides racism and climate change? I would have thought we'd be on the fifth or tenth edition by now.
I'll take the path of magnanimity on the subject of 'President Biden ran for office to restore the soul of the nation,' an entity which has no soul... I mean the nation, of course. Nations are theoretical entities, not ensouled beings, thank God. When people start thinking of nations as beings with things like souls and destinies, they do terrible things indeed.
I wonder if he/they are serious, or playing to an international audience.
ReplyDeleteI remember trying (perhaps naively) to come up with ways of addressing this kind of war before. https://idontknowbut.blogspot.com/2004/02/battling-for-hearts-and-minds-insofar.html
I should go back and see how far off the mark my ideas were.
One place where you are off is that you have unduly narrowed the focus to the Salafi/Wahhabi strain. There are at least two other source strains — Twelver Shia and Deobandi — and both of them widely influence other strains. For example, the Houthi in Yemen are themselves Fiver Shia, normally not a radical strain, but under the influence of Iranian (12er) training, arming, and cash they have grown to be a genuine threat. Hamas for that matter is sharply influenced by Iran in spite of clear theological differences.
DeleteThanks!
ReplyDeleteYou’re welcome. I’m sorry it continues to be relevant.
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