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Conciliation of
Civilizations HERE Arun Joshi investigates the phenomenon of terrorism and the ways to counter it. When he looks at the globe, he finds numerous infected points like Lebanon, Spain, Germany, Kashmir, Gaza Strip, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Algeria and Angola. After analysing terrorism from different points of view, he concludes that the solution lies in the hands of God and particularly in following the ideals and actions of universal love that the sect of Mormons inspires. The beautiful message of the Mormons is: "The religion is not all about attending services in churches and signing checks for relief; but it is going out, feeling the pain and working for the people in need." Some of the initial chapters are devoted to the description of the Mormons, their inception and ideology, their ingrained family values which can go a long way in offsetting the threat of terrorism. The institution of marriage is fundamentally important for the Mormons—man and woman are treated as complements to each other. Arguing that the perpetrators of violence have the insecure childhood, the author psychoanalytically examines the case of Osama bin Laden and concludes that he suffered from an inferiority complex because of childhood deprivations. However, the author does not investigate thoroughly how Laden became an American tool that was used against the Russians and the contribution of the US in making Laden—the terrorist—is underplayed. In the opinion of the author, the battle against terrorism is the battle of ideas. There are different types of terrorism—nationalist, religious, state-sponsored, left wing, right wing, and anarchist. The experts have suggested that fighting the terror-ideology, adopting soft political strategy, blocking the recruitment sources, and not demonising militants are some of the ways to fight terrorism. Gaza Strip and Kashmir are discussed in greater details. Since Arun Joshi has worked in Kashmir for many years, his analysis of the situation there is first-hand, vivid, incisive and objective. He doesn’t spare the Indian Government and points out that with its connivance, the MUF (Muslim United Front) candidates were made to lose elections in 1987. Mohammad Yusuf, the MUF candidate was cheated and tortured in jail. These electoral frauds stimulated a militant movement and Yusuf is currently the supreme commander of Hizb-ul-Mujahadeen. Kashmiri Muslims have now shed their Dogra rulers’ imposed identity, which had reduced even their minds to a "purchasable commodity" for an oppressively long span of time, and are now quite keen on donning a new identity given by the Muslim Ummah. Trying to separate terrorism from religious motivation, Arun Joshi, as has been done by many other interpreters, is of the opinion that Jihad means only fighting oppression. However, if it is only a matter of interpretation, what right do we have of enforcing our own definition of religion on a group of so-called terrorists dubbing them as non-religious, particularly when they and their compatriots have themselves undergone immense mental and physical suffering en-masse? In this context, the role of the superpowers like the US, which under the garb of civilised actions can do any overt or covert crime to maintain their political and economic hegemony, has to be brought under a bold scanner. These crimes, in fact, might be a potent source of launching new terrorist movements. The Mormons may be of immense help in the current scenario but so can be the other religions. They all carry the message of love, but no less important are the political, social and administrative factors. What would the Mormons do in Nandigram or Modi’s Gujarat or Musharraf’s Pakistan?
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