Arab Spring could bring more militant Islam, Iraqi archbishop fears
September 19, 2011
The “Arab Spring” uprisings are threatening to unleash Islamic fundamentalism, an Iraqi Catholic prelate has warned.
Archbishop Louis Sako of Kirkuk said that in the Middle East, the Christian minority had “discovered a way of life, more or less positive, under state Islam.” While the governments were officially Islamic, the Christian minority had some room for freedom of worship. That could change, the archbishop warned, under a more militant form of Islam.
“Fundamentalism Islam is growing and becoming an increasingly concerning phenomenon,” said the Chaldean Catholic archbishop. The connection between this militant approach and the Arab Spring uprising is “extremely dangerous,” he said.
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Posted by: samuel.doucette1787 -
Sep. 20, 2011 8:38 AM ET USA
Dover, I agree. I often think about it this way. What would the impact to the rest of the world be if more nominal Muslims started practicing their faith more deeply? I think we all know the answer, as the Archbishop of Kirkuk alluded to. Conversely, what would the impact to the rest of the world be if more nominal Catholics started practicing their faith more deeply? The world would be a much better place.
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Posted by: dover beachcomber -
Sep. 19, 2011 6:42 PM ET USA
The bishop is right. But I wish someone would devise a better term to replace "fundamentalist Islam," one that would emphasize that that phenomenon is simply a return to a full acceptance of Islam as preached by Mohammed. And, as such, is very, very nasty indeed.