Terror East of Lahore

There's trouble all over: hardly an unusual state of affairs for this world.

Al Qaeda and the Taliban are far from the only groups that see no problems with using terror to get things their way.

India

In India, a group called the Indian Mujahedeen says it's responsible for killing at least 21 people in a series of bomb attacks in New Delhi. They've got a perfectly good reason, from their point of view: They say they're getting even with India for 60 years of Muslim persecution, and because India has from time to time supported American policies.

Indonesia

Meanwhile, in Indonesia, something went boom around the Jakarta airport. Nobody was killed, nobody was injured, but as of a few days ago the explosion was being treated as a "suspected bomb." Since the explosion blew the cover off a small electrical hub, I think it's possible that it's a case of defective equipment, rather than delinquent people, but I also understand Indonesian authorities wanting to be sure. They've had their hands full with terrorists lately.

India, Again

Back in the east Indian state of Orissa, people have been killed in "Hindu-Christian riots." The latest death was a police officer who was shot as he fled a burning police station. Four or five hundred Hindus had torched the building, then shot at the police as they fled the flames.

Like the Indian Mujahedeen, that bunch may have had a good reason (from their point of view) for arson and murder. The police were taking sides: they'd fired on a crowd to keep it from attacking Christians. Several people died as a result.

On the other hand, of the 140 people arrested in connection with one set of riots, 60 were Hindus accused of attacking Christian churches, 80 were mostly Christians, accused of disturbing the peace.

In the Indian state of Karnataka, a record of a sort was set, with 14 churches attacked in one hour last Sunday.

The Christians may have been asking for trouble. Some of them said that "right-wing Hindus" didn't approve of the Christian opposition to violence in Orissa.

Besides, someone killed a Hindu leader, Laxmananda Saraswati, and four other people last month. At a Hindu school. Between 20 and 30 gunmen burst in and started shooting. The idea seems to be that they must have been Christians.

Christian missionaries are a suspicious lot in the eyes of some Hindu groups. There are stories of forced conversions.

All [Insert Religious Group Here] Are Not Terrorists

I have good reason to hope that all Muslims are not terrorists, or supporters of terrorism.

I don't think that all Hindus are terrorists.

And I know that all Christians are not terrorists: mainly because I'm a Christian myself.

However, some 'Christians' are terrorists. The Ku Klux Klan, in its various manifestations, used terror as a weapon against people it didn't approve of. Some people who identified themselves as Christian were members of the Ku Klux Klan. That didn't make all Christians Klanners.

I think there is good reason to believe that the same goes for terrorists who identify themselves as Muslims, Hindus, or members of other beliefs.

It's prudent to remember that the War on Terrorism is a war on terrorism. Not a war on Islam.

In the news:

• "20 feared dead as Hindu-Christian riots spread in India"
  CNN (September 16, 2008)
• "New Delhi blasts death toll rises to 21"
  CNN (September 14, 2008)
• "Suspected bomb explodes near Indonesian airport"
  CNN (September 14, 2008)

What is an American? For that Matter, What's America?

I think it was last year when someone told me that my avatar (that very blue eye in "About me") is a very American eye.

That pleasant sentiment started me thinking. Words like "Spanish," "Japanese," or most nationalities carry an ethnic identity with them. Quite a few people seem to think that there's an "American" ethnic group.

Understandably: since most immigrants were from northwestern Europe for the first century or so. I'm part of that bunch.

But that's not what being "American" is. What I wrote almost six years ago still applies ("An American Family" (June, 2002)):

As of June, 2002, we're still seeing those "I am an American" public service announcements on the television.

Being "American" is, I think, more than just having ancestors from scattered points on the globe. It's being willing and able to accept good ideas, no matter where they showed up. It's an American strength that we're able to pick up what works, use it, and sometimes even make it work better.

What is an American family? I think I'll use my own as an example. Here's a "typical" family event: The parents and children in a Norwegian-Irish-Scots Irish/German-Dutch-Swiss family, having finished a supper of (Italian) noodle and chicken soup, practiced Tai Chi, using a VCR made by a Japanese company.

What got me started on this post is an article I read today, "What Is An American?" The (anonymous) author wrote more than I did, and had a different point to make. It's worth a read, though.

What Does This Have to Do With the War on Terror?

Some Muslims think that the "Great Satan America" is out to get Islam. Some Americans think that "Christian America" has to defeat Islam.

There's some truth to both beliefs, but not much.

• America Against Islam? I don't Think So
  America is no more against Islam than it is against Catholicism, Hinduism, or any other religion. My homeland's laws and culture aren't in full compliance with my beliefs, or (I suspect) those of a devout Hindu or Muslim.
  But I can go to a Catholic church down the street, Muslims (where there are enough to build one) can go to a mosque, Hindus are free to go to a temple, and the same applies to other religions.
• Is America a Threat to the Terrorists?
  Yes, but not for the reasons the terrorists and their supporters seem to believe. America allows individual freedoms and economic opportunities which threaten the values of people who seem to want, above anything else, to live in the seventh century. America doesn't have to do anything to be a threat, other than exist as a place where people can come to live without clearing everything through an imam who doesn't like electricity, or women who know how to read.

America is a central figure in the War on Terror: So it's a good idea to know what America is.

Related posts, on Islam, Christianity, Religion, Culture and the War on Terror.

Tamil Terror? Bomb Blows up Bus in Sri Lanka

Terrorist attacks aren't a Middle Eastern monopoly. A bomb killed 23 people and wounded 67 in southeastern Sri Lanka Wednesday. (I'm writing this late Tuesday, so it's already Wednesday in Sri Lanka.)

This is a terrorist attack, but the odds are that Muslims aren't involved. For starters, there aren't that many Muslims in Sri Lanka. That island nation, off India's coast, is about

• 69.1% Buddhist
• 7.6% Muslim
• 7.1% Hindu
• 6.2% Christian
• 10% something else.

Among Sri Lanka's problems are Tamil rebels, who want an independent homeland. The Sri Lankan government has withdrawn from a less-than-satisfactory cease fire with the Tamil Tigers (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam or LTTE).

The Sri Lankan Tamil people are about 80% Hindu. 90% of Indian Tamils are Hindus. So, if there is any religious component in the Tamil rebels' motives, it's probably inspired by Hindi beliefs.

So What?

Not all terrorists are Muslims. And, terrorism is a global problem: not limited to the Middle East, Europe, and America.

The War on Terror: India Has Troubles, Too

I think that, globally, America is a focus of attention for groups like Al Qaeda. The United States of America is a serious obstacle for people who believe they have a duty to kill those who don't agree with them, and act on that belief. The lack of major attacks on American targets since 9/11 is, I believe, more a matter of very effective intelligence and law enforcement, than due to a lack of effort from fanatic Muslims.

Although America is a major target, it isn't the only place that has problems with terrorists. Visor, a reader of this blog said that he believed India and Pakistan to be the major victims of terrorism.

I don't have the statistics to confirm or deny Visor's claim: but either way, he's got a point. Pakistan and India have experienced many terrorist attacks. He also made a very good suggestion: that I talk about this matter.

This post is just a start: don't expect much detail at this point. I had a general impression that Muslims were killing Hindus who were killing Muslims in India, making both religions look bad in the process, but that's about as far as it went. I don't know details of Indian culture and politics, and India is a complicated place.

India

With a third the area of America, three times the population*, dozens of national and regional political parties, and 15 official languages, it's going to take me a while to learn what's going on in India.

Organizations that want to change India, but aren't (quite) political parties seemed like a place to start understanding terrorism in India. I found some major players, listed below. I don't have an opinion, yet, about how, or whether, they fit into the war on terror.

Some Active Groups

• All Parties Hurriyat Conference in the Kashmir Valley
  They say they want self-determination for Kashmir, and want want to get it peacefully. They also say they want an Islamic Kashmir, but one that has rights for non-Muslims. (A somewhat opinionated discussion of this organization is "All Parties Hurriyat Conference" at South Asia Terrorism Portal.)
• Bajrang Dal
  Their name gets translated as "Army of Hanuman" or "Monkey Brigade," and they're a youth group of Vishwa Hindu Parishad.
• National Socialist Council of Nagaland (National Socialist Council of Nagalim (Khaplang-Kitovi), Isak-Muivah, NSCN, or KK)
  The NSCN wants self-determination for the "Naga peoples." The Khaplang-Kitovi claims that it isn't a separatist movement because, according to them, Nagaland was never part of India. India doesn't agree. The NSCN has had an on-again, off-again shooting relationship with the Indian military. A recent ceasefire extension made the news Aug 1, 2007: " NSCN (I-M), Centre agree on ceasefire" (The NSCN website is, www.nscnonline.org/.)
• Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (or Sangh, or RSS)
  A Hindu organization whose name is translated as "National Volunteers' Organisation." They want to protect Hindu rights, and reform (at least) the caste system. They don't approve of Islamic terrorism. The RSS has a colorful history. The RSS:
  • Has been banned three times by the Indian government.
  • May have supported the killing of about 2,000 Muslims in Gujarat state in 2002.
  • Is linked to the 2006 explosions in Nanded
  • The Nandad blasts were at the house of Laxmanrao Rajkondwar. Two died and three were injured. The deceased were RSS activists, and may have been building a bomb.
  The RSS is involved with Indian politics through the Bharatiya Janata. (see Vishwa Hindu Parishad) (An onofficial discussion of the RSS is "RSS Story" at ourkarnataka.com. The article is in English, the site isn't.)
• Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP)
  A Hindu organization with the slogan "Dharmo rakṣati rakṣitaḥ", or "Dharma protects those who protect Dharma." They want India to be, officially, a Hindu Rashtra, or Hindu Nation. If I understand it right, they think Sikhs, Buddhists and Jains are "Hindu," because their beliefs trace back to India. They also say that they're against terrorism, say that they won't push Muslims around, and are against the caste system. (Viśva Hindū Pariṣad is an alternate Latin-alphabet spelling) (see Bajrang Dal) (The VHP website is www.vhp.org.)

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One of the resources I found today may be quite useful: the South Asia Terrorism Portal.

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* India has three times as many people as America, and they're living in a country that's got a third as much land. It's crowded, but not as much as you might think. Most Americans live in the east half of the country, or a few areas the west coast, like California's Central Valley.

There's a reason why not many people live in places like western North Dakota and Montana: I love this country, but parts of America aren't pleasant places to live: except for the few, the proud, and the tough.