Re: Economics of Islam

["John M. Legge" <jlegge@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Barkley,

Nothing can forgive the bombing of the World Trade Centre, but then I see
little reason to accept the past killing of 500,000 Iraqis with equanimity,
and I am not disposed to forgive, in advance, the proposed killing of the
rest.

Trying to explain the bombing of the WTC or justify the proposed holocausts
in Afghanistan and Iraq without reference to past US policy is not easy to
forgive, either.

I was a bit sharp on Lewis because I overlooked the date and read it as a
contemporary comment.  If he is on the list, I apologise to him.

Until the 1997 crisis, BTW, both Indonesia and Malaysia were considered SE
Asian tigers, and both are predominantly Muslim.  In both secular
governments, with majority support as far as can be determined through their
particular electoral processes, are being challenged by fundamentalist
Islamic groups.

Any traction that these groups gain will follow the depression following the
IMF's structural adjustment in Indonesia, or the West's active promotion of
fundamentalist parties in Malaysia (ostensibly in support of democracy),

JML



> -----Original Message-----
> From: J. Barkley Rosser, Jr. [mailto:rosserjb@xxxxxxx]
> Sent: Tuesday, 25 September 2001 4:58 AM
> To: John M. Legge
> Cc: Post Keynesian Thought
> Subject: Re: Economics of Islam
>
>
> John,
>      "Excellent" is indeed the word to be used,
> especially given how dated it is.
>      Certainly many Iranians had reason to be
> angry at both the US and the UK for reimposing
> the Shah.  However, today it is clear that a majority
> of Iranians do not like the "odd mullahs" who control
> the security apparatus there and also fund and
> support terrorist groups, such as Hezbollah, abroad
> through their banyans.
>       Osama bin Laden and his associates are a good
> deal more than the odd mullah.  Last I saw, the execrable
> Falwell and Robertson have apologized for their remarks,
> (although Republican candidate for governor in Virginia,
> Mark Early, a Robertson acolyte, has refused to repudiate
> them).  Have not seen any apologies for Sept. 11 out of
> any of bin Laden or his associates, quite the contrary.
> They killed thousands of people.  Falwell and Robertson
> just insulted a bunch, mostly non-Muslim Americans
> actually, all the gays and abortionists and ACLU types, etc.
>         And, of course, that the US CIA stupidly supported
> the Mujaheddin (and supports the Saudi royal family)
> is no excuse for al Qaeda killing thousands of people.
> Barkley Rosser