Jundallah, Iran, Islam, and the U. S. State Department

Noted:

"US designates Iran's Jundallah as terrorist organization"
CNN (November 3, 2010)

"The United States has officially designated Iranian extremist group Jundallah as a foreign terrorist organization, the State Department said Wednesday.

"Jundallah, also known as the People's Resistance Movement of Iran, operates primarily in the Iranian province of Sistan-Baluchestan, which borders Pakistan.

"The State Department said Jundallah 'has engaged in numerous attacks resulting in the death and maiming of scores of Iranian civilians and government officials. Jundallah uses a variety of terrorist tactics, including suicide bombings, ambushes, kidnappings and targeted assassinations.'

"Most recently, the Sunni group claimed responsibility for suicide bombings in July at the Zahedan Grand Mosque. The attacks targeting Shiite worshipers killed 27 people. Iranian leaders said the United States was behind the attacks...."

I've made the point before, that Islam isn't a single, huge, monolithic block of Osama bin Laden clones. The Islamic crazies who have decided that God told them to kill anyone who doesn't agree with them are dangerous to their own neighbors. They seem at least as likely to kill another Muslim for being insufficiently 'Islamic,' as to go out and find a non-Muslim target.

And, in the Middle East, we're probably seeing Hatfield-and-McCoy situations that were old when Abraham moved out of Ur. That part of the world has folks whose cultures go 'way back.

I'm not making excuses for the terrorists, mind. On the other hand, I think it's well to remember that we're not dealing with folks who have America's habit of not killing your neighbor over some centuries-old snit.

Related posts:

• "9/11 and the One-Size-Fits-All Explanation: 'It is the Fault of the Jews' - and the Yankees"
  (September 24, 2010)
• "Iran, an Unmanned Bomber, Nuclear Weapons, and No Simple Answers"
  (August 22, 2010)
• "U.A.E. Ambassador and Iran: One Insane Speech Too Many?"
  (July 7, 2010)
• "Iran, Twitter, and the Responsibilities of Proper British Gentlemen"
  (December 29, 2009)
• "Iranian Newspaper Calls Hamas Terrorists, Gets Banned"
  (December 31, 2008)