Your previous post sounded like you didn't think it played a role, at least not a non-negligible one. I don't think anyone suggested that it is the SOLE problem. There are plenty of people here who suggested that it has NOTHING to do with the problems. I guess there is disagreement on how much of a root cause it is or not. But overall, I appreciate your posts very much, even when we disagree.
Really interesting article by Robert Kaplan from Stratfor entitled What's Wrong with Pakistan It's a little lengthy, but provides a much more academic, scholarly analysis than the bulk of what's out there on this topic.
My grandfather lived in West Punjab his entire life, and was 27 years old when partition occurred. He was Muslim, but many of his childhood friends growing up were Sikh.
Before partition, at least in Punjab, Hindus/Muslims/Sikhs/Jains lived in relative peace. Partition was awful and really not necessary. Just political stunts.
For those interested, watch this BBC documentary on partition. It's primarily from the perspective of Lord Mountbatten and the British (which shouldn't be surprising) Needless to say, very eye opening. It oversimplifies some things but it is an excellent watch. it's and hour and a half so save some time. It has a very Punjabi slant for our Punjabi friends here. But Indians and Pakistans should all watch it. We wont create peace if we don't learn our history. <iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/N9siw6qMxz4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
As long as you realize the role of the British Broadcasting Corporation in colonizing India, enslaving Indians and then partitioning it. If we take a look at some of the murderous history of European countries which were neighbours, we can see that people can always find a way to re-connect. I hope to see the day Pakistanis help Indians fight problems in India, and Indians help Pakistanis fight problems in Pakistan. It's not like they can't use each other's help.
It's an interesting article with regards to the historical background but sort of dances around giving a straight answer with regards to the role of Islam concerning what is wrong with Pakistan. One could read it either way - huge role or minor role among a million other reasons.
http://www.cnn.com/2012/06/18/world/asia/pakistan-singer-killed/index.html?hpt=hp_t2 Popular female Pakistani singer killed in drive-by shooting
I blame people that twist it. There are extremists in every faith. The people are extreme not the religion. Religion is just the crux they use to manipulate people.
True, but when the religion is flawed at it's core, and it's message is as mixed as Islam's is......it is easy to manipulate the poor and uneducated to do things in the name of Islam. DD
You always say that you're equally against all religions, but why do you single out Islam much more so for being "flawed" than Christianity? Is it because your parents were devout Christians?
I don't want to turn this into a religious debate, especially not one between Islam and Christianity as I am Hindu and don't know that much about either. However if you want to talk about manipulating the poor and uneducated...it was both ISLAM and CHRISTIANITY who went around trying to convert people all over the world. In my eyes taking advantage and manipulating the poor and uneducated to convert them to your religion is a terrible thing to do. And it was done by both of these conquest religions. Ever heard of Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists go around trying to convert others? No, because we respect other religions and people...not to mention comfortable with who we are and the not worried about the quantity of our followers. Don't be so negative towards Islam DD when you Christians have done made many of the same mistakes Muslims have in the past. but seriously...who cares? I'm proud to say that I come from a country like India where we have a HUGE mix of Hindus/Sikhs/Muslims/Christians/Buddhists living happily together.
Because we are talking about Islam, Christianity - especially the old testament is pretty much wacked as well, and there was a major dark period in Christianity - Spanish Inquisition, the Pope having armies etc.. Eventually Christianity moderated itself, took religion out of governments and faded into the background in importance in people's lives. Islam, IMO is in its own dark ages and is hanging on to power over the people, specifically in government - it will need to fade in power and for people to push it back to where it belongs as an ideological belief that is not one with power over goverments or people to make laws etc. And the reason I am singling out Islam is it needs to be singled out the most today, as most of the terrorism in the current world is in it's name. I understand that is uncomfortable for people, but so what? DD
That isn't accurate. It's been shown that Islam is a very minimal percentage of all terrorism in the world. Nationalist and rebel groups dealing with territory and govt. comprise a much larger percentage of terrorist attacks in the world today. The facts regarding this have been posted time and time again.
