Stop the Clash ( Archived) (16)

"The Stop the Clash campaign challenges the growing belief that fundamental divides between the "West" and "Islam" (whatever they actually mean...) make conflict inevitable.

But there is nothing inevitable about this false "clash" and it's up to us to stand up for the truth. Here are some facts and figures, beginning with the ones in our video:

81% of Europeans and 87% of Americans want Middle East peace.
(Eurobarometer, Gallup) 65% of Egyptians and 74% of Jordanians want democracy. (The Great Divide: How Westerns and Muslims View Each Other; Pew Research Centre)

62% of Palestinians and 67% of Israelis want real Middle East peace talks, although each side remains deeply skeptical of the other's sincerity and commitment to genuine negotiations.

As people's fears are stirred up, there are some signs of people moving further apart. The Pew Research Centre carried out research into attitudes between Muslims, Westerners and Muslims living in Western countries. They found some opinions that were cause for concern. For example, in Nigeria, 73% of non-Muslims now see Muslims as violent, with 67% in India and 60% in Spain sharing that point of view. In the US, the number is 45%.

Muslims also see people in Western countries as violent - nearly three-quarters of Nigerian and Egyptian Muslims believe people in western countries are violent, along with 81% in Jordan and 70% in Turkey.

But there were also reasons to be optimistic, reflected in the figures quoted in our video and in other places affected by the "clash". For instance, in 2006, the number of people in Jordan viewing suicide attacks as often or sometimes justified was down nearly 30% from 57% in May 2005.

More recently, a survey carried out by Globescan had other findings about relations between Islam and the West. In 24 out of 27 countries, the majority view was that the source of tension between Islam and the West arises from "conflicts about political power and interests" - about 52% overall. Only 29% thought it was down to religious or cultural differences. 56% percent said that common ground can be found between Islam and the West. A majority believed this in 25 of 27 countries asked.

Our leaders would like us to believe that the clash between Islam and the West is a certainty. But these statistics tell a different story - that in fact, even in the places where relationships between people are strained by decades of violence and conflict, a majority still know that peace is possible and are willing to speak up for it. By signing the Avaaz petition and asking your friends and family to do the same, you can increase the pressure for peace in a way that world leaders can't ignore."

You can also watch the video on the Avaaz site...

Did anyone see it? Any comments??

No, I haven't, will look at it later when I have some more time!
Thanks!

the world leaders and corporations despite what their PR people say profit from the world having such disputes it is a propaganda machine that is fed by both sides not for allah or god but for wealth and power... imagine a global community in its truest sense not a global econmy a global community there is a huge difference the push is on global economy many countries corporations profit now from disputes.
it is not just Amercia counting the profits from the middleeastern turmiol the list of different countries corporations continue to grow daily.

I don't doubt this at all, and is one reason that most people including many politicians do not talk about it being a conflict against all Moslums.
I know when John Kerry was running for office, I found out through a site from the Yong Iranians for Democracy, that the Iranian Government had donated $150,000.00 U.S. to his compaign, which they did not like, nor trusted Kerry.
The problem with much of what we hear, is not that it is false or not the truth, but so much of it is lies mixed with half-truths, just enough that if you do not look you can be easily mislead. The group of Moslums where the issues are today, are the groups that would use their religion as a weapon against their own people, and the world, and train young boys to go into suppermarkets, coffee shops, and such and blow themselves up to kill as many as their leaders thought were evil.
There are many fractions of people over in the Middle East, just like in any other country, and some need to be removed due to their violent and destructive nature.
If you look in the US and some other countries, we have our own groups that do or try to do simular. We have groups here in the US that preach Christianity or death, and that is equally as wrong, but they cannot get the power as the terrorists in the Middle East have been able to develop over the centuries. And yes that is centuries, as this type of training and teachings have been going on before the Romans ruled these countries, the difference being that there arfe newer and more dangerous weapons for these groups to use now; explosives, rifles, bio-weapons, nuclear weapons, and who knows what the future will bring.

Howcome I'm not surprised??
All that matters to people is who would sleep with whom etc...
It will fit nicely into my social studies... Just how shallow people are...

To the posters on this thread: Thanks!!!

It's all about having a reserve "causus belli".

With nobody to fear, how can you incite patriotic indignation?

Ah, the paradigm is beginning to feel the strain...