Viswanathan K's Thoughts

Many say that ISIS is not Islamic. Dalia Mogahed, for example, tries to “prove” that by suggesting a thought experiment : “If Islam did not exist … would a group like ISIS, with all the other realities as they are, exist today and do the same things?” She feels the answer to that hypothetical question is a “resounding yes”. In essence, she says: “We start at the violence we want to conduct, and we convince ourselves that this is the correct way to interpret the texts.” I am sure there are many out there who would agree with Mogahed’s reasoning. Next, consider why ISIS seems to have very few Indians. The reason cited in a report created by MI6, CIA and a few Arab countries is that ISIS considers Indians (and those from neighbouring countries) “inferior to Arab fighters” and less motivated; pays them less and uses them mostly as cannon fodder who are “forced to fight in the frontline”. Most people who agree with Mogahed’s line of thought are unlikely to believe the rea...

Kashmir, New York, London and now Paris: the list of terrific places worth visiting made unsafe by that scourge called Islamic terrorism. As suspected, ISIS was indeed sneaking militants in the sea of refugees that Germany was forcing Europe to absorb. France can seal its borders all it likes; Angela Merkel will get them in anyway. ISIS should send Merkel a big Thank You. Remember the photo of the washed up kid who had drowned trying to cross into Europe? Almost every newspaper in the world splashed that pic at the time. Wonder why they don’t show blood stained photos of corpses from Paris? So it’s ok to publish pics of Muslim victims but not those of others? Some commentators on BBC and CNN ask if ISIS, being an ideology, can/should be fought with guns and bombs. I remember this awesome YouTube video where an American lady responded to just that question a year back by asking: Nazism too was an ideology, so was it wrong to have fought that with guns and weapons? George S...

When the rally in Paris happened after the Charlie Hebdo murders, I was curious: What was the purpose of this rally? What were they trying to show? To whom? Turns out it may have served a purpose after all. I say that after reading Andrew Sullivan’s blog : “I was actually surprised and gladdened by the response to the slaughter – an overwhelming wave of revulsion and disgust, expressed with great dignity and courage .” That dignified, non-violent response has robbed the liberals of the world the option of changing the topic on Charlie Hebdo. Their choice to never call a spade a spade is visible to all: “Even now, many will not concede that religion was the root cause of the attack, and that the name of that religion is Islam.” The usual weasel approach of the liberals flies in the face of the facts, says Sullivan: “(They say)   Islam has nothing to do with this. There are just a few loonies who are suffering from false consciousness, and their real motivations are econo...