I just watched a news item on the local news which suggested that a planned demonstration tomorrow has been cancelled. What I find appalling though is that the demonstration was of some extremist Muslims honouring the 19 terrorists who caused the 9/11 attacks two years ago.

My first thought is that if they so actively hate the western world, what on earth are they still doing living here. More to the point how come our government haven’t kicked them out sooner? Or perhaps charged them with treason or terrorism.

However I’m open minded enough to realise that each persons idea of an ideal world is different. And that if pressed most people would like the world to be like their ideal. They may do things to their own small world to try and changing this towards that, and they may try and change other people to join them. So you would have thought these people would have been a bit more savvy about what they were doing. If they do indeed think that the culture of this (and other) countries should be changed to something they suggest, then they are being terribly short-sighted by thinking that a demonstration like this would do anything but alienate most people. Instead they really should have thought about trying to bring more people into their religion, and slowly and gently use the existing mechanisms to change the laws and culture.

Instead doing something like this is liable to get them booted out of the country, and ridiculed by the population. Not really what they’re aiming to achieve.

Posted by Phil on September 11, 2003 06:53 PM | Categories: Thoughts