[gariharlj]

Some good points made in this debate. However I feel I must add something. I really dislike it when we take the attitude that we ourselves are merely passive actors and all of these countries around us are deviously creating schemes which Muslims just fall for hook line and sinker. Reality is much more complex than that, firstly of course when we take the example of the US. It is a hallmark of conspiracy theories that they simplify the highly complex to a level which is intelligble to everyone. Therefore when we talk about the US, we have to remember that the US, like every nation is a diverse body of people, it is not a monolithic entity imposing its world view on a passive, receptive audience. There are elements in the US which for sure desire things which are very unhelpful to Muslims, but then there are other elements also which desire other things, which behave in certain other ways..

and most importantly... what we see around us is NOT cause and effect. It is not the US imposes X and Y occurs.. there are too, way too many interlocking causal factors to establish for definite what is happening..

lets take Iraq for example.. does anyone here TRULY understand what is happening in that country? Why there are suicide bombs, why there is sectarian fighting, what the kurds are up to. Why Ahmed Chalabi (for example) was **** Cheneys best friend before going to iran for a couple of years before re-appearing?.. there are things which are happening, which are very difficult to comprehend.. the risk we take is in simplifying everything... if my psychological filters see oil everywhere, then everything becomes about oil.. or about islam.. or whatever..

anyway, now before I write too much.. The US is not the world's sole superpower, it has the world's most powerful conventional military but it has been unable to impose its will on a people for a very long time.. it can destroy, but it really struggles to create, just about the only example i can think of off the top of my head is the US administration of Japan.. anyway, within 10 years, in all likelihood China's economy will surpass the USAs, 10 years in geopolitcal terms is nothing, and therefore for all intents and purposes we have to recognise that fact...

and super-finally - You and I.. are not passive receptacles, you think YOU are superunusual more attenuated to the political realities of the world than everyone else? there are billions of people just like you around the world, and they are all shaping reality..
but ultimately, what we see around us, has been shaped by Allah swt .. now it is up to us to swim in this reality rather than drown.