Understanding the War on Terror!

On this 231st anniversary of the birth of our country, it
is evident that after four years of occupation and over
15 years of war with Iraq….the average citizen in the
United States has not been informed enough about this
“War on Terror”. Like the “War on Drugs” before it….we
are still facing alot of unknowns. If you were not your
average run of the mill “druggie person”…most people
thought the “War on Drugs”…. had only to do with Medical
Marijuana! We are not joking here folks!

In any event, we caution those interested….that we are
certainly not experts on Islam. Yet, it is probably quite
important to know the possibilities of what we are facing
and why we should understand those dangers. First of all,
let’s start with the players: Al-Qaeda (the Base)..known
from Osama Bin-Laden….a central gathering group of people
of any or all Islamic persuasion’s…that just really hate
modern society and the U.S. of A and Britain in particular.
These people take Ludditism to the extreme! This is a very
convenient “whipping boy” that any “Terrorist State” can
off-load the responsibility to. For example: Let’s say
Iran sends the bombs that Al-Qaeda uses for IED’s in Iraq.

Secondly, there are two very large Islamic Sects: Sunni’s
and Shi’a Muslims. These people don’t have to be “extreme” or
“suicide bombers” or “radical fundamentalists” or “Islamic
Terrorists”. They can be very law abiding and most are! There
is a Sufi movement and a whole bunch of others with a variety
of philosophies that don’t include “Belted Bombers”!

At this point however, we do need to get some of the numbers
into perspective:

There are over 150 Million Muslims..mostly Sunni in India.
There are between 20 to 100 million Muslims..in China.
There are between 1.8 and 2.3 million Muslims in the USA.

Ok..what about the break-down of Sunni’s and Shi’as in the
various countries that we find interesting.

Iraq…………35 Percent Sunni – 60 Percent Shi’a
Afghanistan…..80 percent Sunni – 19 percent Shi’a
Pakistan……..77 percent Sunni – 20 percent Shi’a
Saudi Arabia….76 percent Sunni – 14 percent Shi’a
Algeria………99 percent Sunni – ? percent Shi’a
Egypt………..90 percent Sunni – ? percent Shi’a
Jordan……….92 percent Sunni – ? percent Shi’a
Yemen………..91 percent Sunni – ? percent Shi’a
Syria………..74 percent Sunni – ? percent Shi’a

Malaysia……..60 percent Sunni – ? percent Shi’a
All Islamic areas of Malaysia are under “Shariah”
Justice Courts…meaning that some Islamic Mufti
Religious Judge) makes all legal rulings. Much the
same as the Taliban did in Afghanistan..when they
were in charge!

That leaves Iran..9 percent Sunni – 89 percent Shi’a..

which makes Iran the odd man out. This is probably where
the Al-Sadr character and his Mahdi Army are getting
all their support. Predominately Shi’a…is odd in
that the current government in Iraq is Shi’a weighted.

Yet, as we can see…the Sunni groups seems to carry the most
weight in the world. Finding an even balance in Iraq will
be trouble for anyone…including any so-called Moderate
Democrat that may be elected in 2008! This “War on Terror”
is not going away. Not now….perhaps not ever!

We were not the ones that let loose the “Dogs of War”…
but now we are in it…deep. Let us hope….that we have
intelligent people in our government…somewhere….that
can ferret out the bad guys…..and move the world ahead
in this new millennium. In a purely academic sense we
need to know who the Sunni World Leaders of Muslim are..
and invite them to participate in a World Congress for
Religious Understanding! We need dedicated efforts to
condemn the works of Al-Qaeda and all those that follow.
We need a world safe for “Democracy and Republican form
of Government”.

Happy Birthday America….we need all your strength and
the prayers of our nation!