It may be self-serving for a Saudi newspaper to point out that other religions have their own extremists who carry out terrorist acts. It is also true, however.
Saudi Gazette runs this Reuters report on Indian concern over home-grown, Hindu extremists who target not only Muslims, but Christians as well. And, as with Islamic-inspired terrorism, it’s not all about religion. It incorporates political issues, both international and local, but uses religion as a tool inspire followers and frighten those following other religions. Eventually, people will figure out that religion and politics should not be mixed. The combination is volatile and can become uncontrollable.
India wonders how deep ‘Hindu terrorism’ goes
Bappa MajumdarREPORTS that Hindu militants may be involved in bomb attacks first blamed on Islamists may open a Pandora’s Box for India’s beleaguered security services and become a key voter issue before general elections next year.
At least 10 people, including a serving army officer and a Hindu monk and nun, have been arrested over alleged involvement in blasts in the Muslim-dominated town of Malegaon in western Maharashtra state that killed four people.
The same Indian army officer is being investigated over a bomb attack in February 2007 that killed 68 people on the Samjhauta Express, a train between Delhi and Lahore, police said. The attack killed mostly Pakistani passengers.
The reports have proved an embarrassment for the main opposition Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as it prepares to take on the Congress-led government in both state elections this year and general elections in early 2009.
The BJP has been quick to criticize the Congress-led government for being soft on terrorism when it involves Muslims or Pakistan, but critics say it has been less willing to call for a clampdown on Hindu groups in the face of the latest allegations.
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UPDATE: The Washington Post has this article on the arrest and pending trial of Hindu nationalists accused of taking part in the bombing of a Muslim area of Malegaon, India during Ramadan, earlier this year. The article notes that some Hindus are objecting to the term ‘Hindu terrorism’ and ask that it be changed to ‘Hindutva terrorism’, stressing the politicized nationalism of the Hindutva movement. Anti-Muslim and anti-Christian terrorism aren’t new in India. Religion has been politicized—arguably since the Separation in 1947 and the creation of a Muslim-majority Pakistan and Hindu-majority India. Whether it is the murder of Christian missionaries and nuns or the destruction of the Babri Mosque in Ayodhya in 1992, there has been too much temptation to use the power of religion to score political points.
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November:24:2008 - 08:00
It is important that the Hindutva movement is recognized as more than just religious and that Indian concern can come to a solution that acknowledges all the political, social and economic elements that strengthen this destructive divide.
http://www.sfcg.wordpress.com
November:24:2008 - 08:00
Sure it’s true. People with a mix of political and religious hate will intentionally target and kill other innocent people for their own gain. It’s to be stopped.
But, if the Saudi Gazette or Reuters wants to transfer attention to other non-Muslim terror groups then it won’t last long. Muslim extremists are active and numerous. They kill in Allah’s name daily. This news can’t be hidden.
November:24:2008 - 08:00
I think the point, beyond merely pointing to other bad guys, might be to show that the religion/politics mix is generally bad. Too many, over too much of human history, have found the mix to be a perfectly adequate rationale for killing the other guy. Whatever the real reason–jealousy, greed, fear, etc.–once ‘God told me to do it’ or ‘God told me it was okay’ comes into play, then everybody loses.