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| Why does bin Laden hold such power? | |
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| Topic Started: Jan 27 2006, 12:57 PM (229 Views) | |
| Post #1 Jan 27 2006, 12:57 PM | Son N Law |
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That's an interesting question I've been chewing on lately -- especially since his last public announcement. Perhaps some of our older and wiser posters might like to speculate, because this baffles me. Why am I posting this now? I guess the discussion about Israel has me trying to trace the chain of events and follow the course of power struggles in my mind to work out the whys and wherefores of all this mess in the Middle East. A lot of things about the current strife in the Middle East make sense to me. I'm not saying they're the actions of sensible people, but take a mind with a fundamental dedication to an extreme belief or ideology, plug him or her into a situation, and you can pretty much predict the result. But I cannot wrap my mind around why bin Laden still has a voice among extreme Muslims. Think about it this way: if someone truly and utterly believes that dying as a martyr will reap them seventy-two virgins in paradise, the only logical course of action for that person is to strap a bomb to himself. But stand back and look at bin Laden. He's a coward. He's not a martyr. He has demonstrated a lack of willingness to martyr himself. Why don't radical Islamists see him for what he is: a hypocritical sissy? I'm being dead serious here. I want and need to understand this. As much as I despise the actions of radical Islamists, one has to concede that they do have a strict moral code, and as terrible as it is, they live by that code to a T. They're truer to their religion than arguably any other religious group on earth (including other, non-violent, Muslims). The logic completely and utterly breaks down when you consider that their most dangerous sect willingly follows a coward. I can't wrap my brain around that. Thoughts? |
Fool, apparently
  ![]](http://z2.ifrm.com/static/1/pip_r.png)
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| Post #2 Jan 29 2006, 01:48 PM |
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| Because they need a leader. People who are that extreme have no direction without a leader. They wouldn't expect their leader to put himself in jeapordy. He's most likely almost a demi-god to the extremists. They'd protect HIM with their own lives. That's my opinion, anyway. |
Civilian
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| Post #3 Jan 29 2006, 02:35 PM |
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How did I miss this message from SNL? The only thing I can think of is that the software failed to mark it "unread." Anyway, thanks CB for replying and bumping, which brought it to my attention. I've often wondered the same thing. The only answer I can come up with is that he is charismatic and built some credibility helping to oust the Soviets from Afghanistan. I think al Qaeda was a heat-seeking missile that had lost its lock on its target (the Soviets) and locked on another (us). There is enough America-hatred in the world (and particularly in the Arab Middle East) that bin Laden was on the lucky end of place and time. I don't see him as a courageous figure either. He asks others to die for his cause, but somehow has them convinced them that he gets to live in hiding. |
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4:13 PM May 20