Interesting news article

TweetieBird

http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_1801069,00050001.htm Kofi Annan warns against 'war of religion'Deutsche Presse AgenturNew York,September 19, 2006
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan called on Tuesday for sensitivity towards religious beliefs and sacred symbols, warning that mistakes, intentional or not, could trigger a global war of religion.

He said international migration, which brought millions of people of different creed and culture to live together, has not united them.

"The misconceptions and stereotypes underlying the id ea of a clash of civilization have come to be more and more widely shared, and insensitivity towards other people's beliefs or sacred symbols - intentional or otherwise - is seized on by those who seems eager to foment a new war of religion, this time on a global scale," Annan said in his address to the UN General Assembly.

Annan said the climate of fear and suspicion is constantly fuelled by violence in the West Asia, carrying a powerful and emotional symbol affecting even those people remote to the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians.

He also said the UN has failed to resolve some of the biggest challenges in the last 10 years: an unjust world economy, world disorder and contempt for human rights and rule of law.

"As a result, we face a world whose divisions threaten the very notion of an international community, upon which this institution stands," he said.

Annan said the address and an annual report he was presenting to the 192-nation assembly would be his last before stepping down on December 31.

The UN failure to resolve world challenges in the last 10 years fell on his watch, Annan said, citing the humanitarian crisis in Sudan's Darfur region and the protracted conflict in the West Asia.

"Yes, I remain convinced that the only answer to this divided world must be a truly United Nations," he said.Annan said his recent visits to several West Asia governments showed that the UN remains the world's only organisation with "legitimacy and reach".

This is great news for all dubs! With the special campaign and now this, they will all be convinced that the end is really near, this time!

Amazing

Hi Tweetiebird,

Thanks for posting this article.

On one hand I agree with Kofi Annan that we are headed for a religious war, if we are not there already. I don't see how it can be avoided because of the nature of the deep historic hatred that extremists Muslims have toward Israel and the largely Christian West (Eastern Christians are less of a target, but still a potential target.) Among Muslim extremists, hatred is taught from generation to generation. Whereas, among Christians, indifference and ignorance prevails with a sense of disbelief that the war on terror is really the resumption of the wars from the 12th century.

On the other hand, I strongly disagree with Kofi Annan about the legitimacy of the United Nations. My parented, who went through WWII had no use for the UN. And I well recall in the 1950s watching TV News and other commentaries about how useless the UN really is. It has made little improvement in the last 50-years. I am fully convinced that we need to say good-ridance to the United Nations as an ineffective and useless organization. Iran utterly disrespects the United Nations, and they seem to be getting their way. Whereas Hugo Chavez of Venzula wants to move the United Nations out of the United States. I agree with him, and furthermore, I want the United States to stop its funding nearly 25% of the UN budget, and instead pay the same amount that Iran pays. Use the rest of the money saved to help the poor and homeless here at home.

Jim Whitney

daniel-p

The tension between Christians and Muslims is thousands of years old - no surprise there. As far as the UN's legitamcy - that's a joke.

buffalosrfree

I agree wholeheartedly with Amazing on this issue. The United Nations is a pimple on the New York skyline and should be moved out of the United States. We don't need such a toothless tiger on our shores. They have proved to be fruitless in the pursuit of "true" peace. They haven't as an organization been able to do much. I.E. Iraq and getting them to follow the restrictions imposed supposedly by the UN. Iran basically tells them to kiss its ass and they do. The United States funding 25% of their budget is a bunch of BS and we should get out of that useless organization and be done with it. The org showed with the oil embargo in Iraq that they, the leaders or the "children" were taking payments behind the back so to speak to make profits, So just what have they done for society lately????? "Nothing" thats what.

Amazing

daniel-p,

The tension between Christians and Muslims is thousands of years old - no surprise there.

Your point is correct, except that "thousands" should have read "hundreds." Islam was founded by Mohammed in the 7th century. Muslims (formerly known as Mohammedans) first attacked Christian Pilgrams headed for the Holy Land in 1095 AD, or just over 900 years ago. After the Crusades ended, the West moved on and let go of the issue ... whereas many Muslims never forgot, expscially the more extreme among them.

Jim Whitney

XBEHERE

The United Nations is a pimple on the New York skyline and should be moved out of the United States

Hah...never heard it put quite that way but I agree. Move it to France.

jaguarbass

Yes, I remain convinced that the only answer to this divided world must be a truly United Nations," he said

A truly United nations would mean no freedom of religion. Maybe that would be good for me being an agnostic or atheist. I see no solutions in our lifetimes. Christian and Islam= war

water and oil doent mix. Both the bible and the koran are violent books, that teach genocide. When people read these books they see this is so.

greendawn

"He said international migration, which brought millions of people of different creed and culture to live together, has not united them." This migration takes the form of Moslems moving into the Christian world, the opposite does not happen because those societies are very intolerant, aggressive and primitive.

daniel-p

Your point is correct, except that "thousands" should have read "hundreds." Islam was founded by Mohammed in the 7th century. Muslims (formerly known as Mohammedans) first attacked Christian Pilgrams headed for the Holy Land in 1095 AD, or just over 900 years ago. After the Crusades ended, the West moved on and let go of the issue ... whereas many Muslims never forgot, expscially the more extreme among them.

My mistake. I should have referred to their ethnicity. The ethnicities of historical Christians and Islamics seem to have always been at conflict with one another, even before those religions were founded.

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