LePetitPrince wrote:
What's even funnier , that they(who are usually secular and liberal) usually subtly praise Islamic fundamental movements such as Hezbollah in Lebanon's case , praising their social and charity role in the society AND they blame the government (which is supported by the majority again) for Hezbollah's growth because the government "isn't doing its job right".
....
Leftist have a very weird double-standard view on the world , don't you think so?
Yes, some on the left do have this double standard. All mass movements involve group-think and perspectives that can be limiting.
No love on my part for fundamentalists of any stripe - not Hezbollah, Hamas, the Iranian government, the BJP, nor Sarah Palin.
It is a general principle that corrupt, inefficient or paralyzed government paves the way for the true believers - that is a factor in the rise of Hitler, Mao, the Viet Minh, Castro, the Taleban, Hezbollah, Khomeni, etc etc. This does not excuse those movements in any way, it merely points out that when the government is soft or predatory, people will turn to the true believers who are willing to make sacrifices to provide education, a justice system, jobs, or food. When such movements take over a territory, they usually go on to do other things that make the masses unhappy. But they do usually gain initial support by meeting some needs that are otherwise unmet.
One of the biggest unmet 'needs' that radical Islam in Palestine and Lebanon meets is purely psychological - it is the ability to project strength, particularly against Israel. When the PLO started negotiating with Israel, they got little to show for it, and they got more corrupt with each year. Israel's attacks on the PLO weakened them and created a bigger vacuum.
Quote:
Hezbollah first emerged as a militia in response to the Israeli invasion of Lebanon, also known as Operation Peace for Galilee, in 1982, set on resisting the Israeli occupation of Lebanon during the Lebanese civil war. Its leaders were inspired by Ayatollah Khomeini, and its forces were trained and organized by a contingent of Iranian Revolutionary Guards. Hezbollah's 1985 manifesto listed its three main goals as "putting an end to any colonialist entity" in Lebanon, bringing the Phalangists to justice for "the crimes they [had] perpetrated," and the establishment of an Islamic regime in Lebanon. Recently, however, Hezbollah has made little mention of establishing an Islamic state, and forged alliances across religious lines. Hezbollah leaders have also made numerous statements calling for the destruction of Israel, which they refer to as a "Zionist entity... built on lands wrested from their owners."
Quote:
Hamas was created in 1987 ... at the beginning of the First Intifada, an uprising against Israeli rule in the Palestinian Territories. Hamas launched numerous suicide bombings against Israel, the first of them in April, 1993.
(Both quotes from Wikipedia.)
14 Apr 2009, 10:27 am
