In Tuesday's Letters to the editor
Tuesday's Letters to the editor marks the first of what's likely to be several days of reader reaction to last week's terror incidents
in Mumbai, India.
Readers take University of Chicago professor Martha Nussbaum to task for her Op-Ed contextualizing the attacks. Writes A. Subramanyam, of Los Angeles:
The problem with Martha Nussbaum’s article is that it seems to distract attention from the horrendous events in Mumbai. It also fails to emphasize the differences between Hindu and Muslim terrorism.
Stories of Hindu mobs massacring Christians and Muslims may well be true, but Hindu militants are not nearly organized or prevalent enough to threaten most of the civilized world. I don’t see any evidence of a Hindu jihad that spreads an ideology of hate, under which it is OK to spray machine-gun fire into a railway station or a restaurant, or fly planes full of innocents into buildings full of innocents.
Isolated incidents of Hindu extremism do not add up to a global problem. The threats posed to the world from Muslim terrorism are an order of magnitude greater. Any reasonable debate on terrorism must recognize this problem.
John Taylor of La Habra doesn't see the need to differentiate among faiths:
All the faces of terrorism in India have just one face -— the face of the 800-pound gorilla in the room that everyone ignores: religious violence. As long as every religion claims there is an absolute truth, the gorilla will continue its rampage.
Religious violence will end when religions no longer control moral standards while demanding the murder of heretics. There really is only one kind of terrorism, and it continues to rape and murder in the name of God.
Letters responding to this news story and this Op-Ed about veterans' benefits, to Black Friday killings at Wal-Mart and Toys "R" Us, and a post-Thanksgiving smorgasbord, too.
*Nov. 29 photo of violence in Mumbai by Harish Tyagi/EPA.
Subramanyam, of Los Angelesshowed the courage of an intellectual which she is and tried to put sense in nonsense. What happened in Mumbai was horrendous. While the events were unfolding Indian security agenicies who didn't have the clue that how many people are involved in the carnage and how long it is going to take the security services to to take control announced that the terrorist are sent by LET and they have prove of it. Should we just believe what they were or they are saying when at that time when they announced with confidence about the terrorist they claimed security forces will regain control in 10 minutes and we all have witnessed it took them more than 60 hours. No body questioned that how come the chief of antiterrorist unit was killed with 3 other top officials in the first hour or so of the terrorist attack when terroists hijacked his vehicle and killed all of them this is the same chief who who arrested two Indian army officers for involvement in bombblasts with in India killing scores of people is it just a coincidence?
Subramanyam, of Los Angeles is trying to minimize the Hindu terrorism while Martha Nussbaum’s article outlined horrific treatment met by Indian minorities including Muslims, Chrisitans and Sikhs I want to remind Mr Subramanyam that in South Asia the foundation of suicide bombing is laid by Tamil Tigers who are hindus and supported by Indian agencies till the time Tamil tigers used a woman to Kill Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.
Lot can be written but I will just say Martha Nussabaum has the courage what most are afraid to say if people start facing and resolcing issues they won't explode like what we are seeing now.
Posted by: Kamran | December 09, 2008 at 10:38 PM
John Taylor is confusing religion with religious extremists. Religions can (and indeed should) claim absolute truth. However, when someone, in the name of religion, decides that anyone who disagrees with him or her should be killed, we have a very serious issue. Religion in and of itself is not to blame. Those who profess religion while killing others are where the blame should be laid.
And for the record, there are plenty of kinds of terrorism. We can't lay it all on religious extremists.
Posted by: Rachel | December 02, 2008 at 11:00 PM
I am glad you put Nussbaum's rantings in the opinion column because it is just that - her opinion. At such a hard time like this she seems to be justifying the actions of the terrorists by citing extremist actions by Hindus. I do not believe the Hindu acts of violence took place the way she claims but if even for a moment we believed it happened, it was horrific and doing the same thing in turn makes you just as barbaric. SHe should not be allowed in a prestigious institution such as the University of Chicago and consider herself a researcher if her work is as biased as what she wrote in the newspaper. India needs the support and sympathy of the world to help them to lead regular lives without fear gripping thier hearts when they walk into a train station and a restaurant. Somebody please ask Nussbaum to show some senstivity - we just saw what happens when people are desensitized.
Posted by: Vasanthi | December 02, 2008 at 08:15 PM