Why does Al Qaeda hate us?

[The Last Conformist]

They hate you because you have troops in their most holy cities .

As a matter of fact, no Western power has troops in Mecca, Medinah, or Al-Quds.

 

[Gabryel Karolin]

I think, mostly, they want a Middle East devoid of Western military bases, having US bases in Saudi Arabia is a terrible insult to patriotic Muslims. It is as if Iran would have military bases in the Vatican, that would piss many Christians of, no? They do not want to be 'Westernized' but wish to remain Muslim and Arab cultururally.

 

[farting bob]

Because your not an extreme muslim

Because Westerners are more free

Because they are stupid

agreed. They hate westerners because we are not poor, controlled muslims who's life evolves around a "god".
All fanatics (not just muslims. Theres christian fanatics as well) suck ass, since they belive that they are better than us, and that anything they do can be justified by there religion. Makes me sick.

 

[Stapel]

I don't think that's all. The West is a natural enemy for anyone who believes in the dream of a unified, triumphant, theocratic Ummah.

Agreed, but that is an unreasonable answer.

 

[The Last Conformist]

It's unreasonable to seek only reasonable answers.

 

[Erik Mesoy]

All fanatics (not just muslims. Theres christian fanatics as well) suck ass, since they belive that they are better than us, and that anything they do can be justified by there religion. Makes me sick.

Justify ridiculous things right back at them, then.

No, really. I can refer you to a comic that explicitly justifies gay sex (not just marriage) with a biblical basis.

The problem is, you will want to claw your eyes out if you actually read any more of the comic.

 

[Stapel]

It's unreasonable to seek only reasonable answers.

In a way, yes.

But we can only do something about the reasonable answers.
A huge western succesful effort to solve the Palestinian question could help.

 

[Flak]

Isreal????

 

[Evil Tyrant]

They hate us because we are not Muslim. They hate Israel because Islam (traditional Islam anyway) is rather like the Borg , what becomes part of Islam stays part of Islam. They veiw Israel as a cancer in the middle east and would gladly exterminate it if they had the chance. Whats more, prior to western industrialization the Muslims were accustomed to being in a position of culteral, economic, and military superiority over the west. The Ottoman Turks twice laid seige to Vienna, and inside the empire non muslims were second class citizens, while Muslims dominated all parts of society. Then suddenly Austrian, and Russian armies were driving them out of the Balkans, Greece revolted with western support, and parts of the empire were dominated by western nations, and eventually the empire was destroyed in WWI and was chopped up into squabbling western style states. It is natural that Muslims look back and want to return to those days when they were the first world and the west was the third world. Al-Qaida offers to return them to that time. But first must get the west out of the middle east before it can overthrow the governments and establish a unified Mulim state, that would be a real threat to the west.

 

[pboily]

For the same reason the New York Yankees (or Manchester United, or whatever, you get the point) are the most reviled AND the most beloved of baseball teams. They're better, they have more $$$ and their fans never let you forget it.

[and I'm only partly joking...]

 

[Sickman]

EVERY President has access to a lot more information than we do.

I'm not certainly going to deny that.
However again we shouldn't go too far with our conclusions from that.
Otherwise we would have to with same method start suspecting that president has connection to major corporations which have hidden agendas and we end up making conspiracy theories.

Could it be the Throne? When such a person sits on the Throne, receives those intel reports from the Pentagon, and sees the entire world as it really is (or a much better view of it than you and I get, anyway), maybe he realizes that what seems like an obvious and workable solution to us, actually isn't going to work.

You would expect then that if there would be offered different solutions they would be commented based into that information than just acting like President knows always better than rest of us.
That way president only end up looking foolish and above all arrogant.
One of the problems in Iraq example was that there wasn't seem to be any real plan what happens after US takes over the country.
Or at least the plan isn't really working like it should do.

If the opposition and media doesn't try to find anything to correct in presidents policies, then it's not free democracy anymore but totalitarian dictatorship were media is nothing but propaganda machine (aka Fox IMHO).

Anyway, the people who helped create Israel and commit other such crimes against the Arab world aren't working in the U.S. government any more. Folks who have a problem with us because of those actions way back when, are simply holding a grudge against the wrong people.

Well, that depends from the point of view.
Bygones cannot be bygones if people feel their problems are because of earlier events so the present time loses meaning.
There are numerous studies that it takes many generations before grudges are really forgotten however I would suspect the process is faster in those countries that critically can view their past doings.
If that system doesn't work we end up doing the same mistakes again and again. Which seems to be the case in whole Israel-Palestine case.

Sorry, Mr. Radical Suicide bomber, but there comes a time when bygones are bygones.

Agree there.
Same goes to westerners grudge against Islam because of terrorist attacks.
Terrorists are nothing but criminals waging war for no apparent reasoning or without any solution to the problems but the total destruction of the other side. That kind of people we don't need in any side of the fence especially not in the positions of power.

 

[Bigfoot]

They hate us for our power, our culture, and our secular beliefs. They hate the west us for the legacy of the crusades, colonialism, support of Israel, and for US policies designed to control oil supplies. The more reactionary elements of Islam therefore have plenty of takers when they call for Jihad.

 

[communism]

I think primarily, they hate us for proving Secularism is inheirently superior to any form of religious government centred around God.

 

[blackheart]

One simple reason: power

We have power, they want power. We're the prime target. When all the religion is boiled off and everything else that goes along with it, it is simply a struggle for power between 2 forces of globization (yes, Al Qaeda IS a global organization), and who will get to be the deciding force of the 21st century. While the fighters may think this is a matter of religion or whatnot, undoubtedly to the leaders, on both sides, it is a matter of power, who has it, who wants it, and who will control it.

 

[sourboy]

Why does Al Qaeda hate us?

Probably because we, the mighty Goliath, cast the first stone...intentionally or not. Don't believe the propaganda, they didn't just wake up one day and decide to hate us to the point of being suicide bombers without just reason.

 

[REDY]

That's what he wants you to think.

Bush is anything but stupid. Don't believe his media image.

You don't survive long in US politics if you are stupid.

.

Hmm its good for his lying.

But definately I think somebody other controls. Gray Eminence Ben Laden. Because nobody other wants have reason of hate of America by wars

 

[BasketCase]

EVERY President has access to a lot more information than we do.

I'm not certainly going to deny that.
However again we shouldn't go too far with our conclusions from that.
Otherwise we would have to with same method start suspecting that president has connection to major corporations which have hidden agendas and we end up making conspiracy theories.

Whether the President has such connections to corporations is not known.
However, it is known fact that many government intelligence services report to President Bush. Possibly some of them don't, but several are known to do so. Hence my conclusion: Bush has a clearer view of the world than we do.

You would expect then that if there would be offered different solutions they would be commented based into that information than just acting like President knows always better than rest of us.

Not if that information is classified.

Sorry, Mr. Radical Suicide bomber, but there comes a time when bygones are bygones.

Agree there.
Same goes to westerners grudge against Islam because of terrorist attacks.

What grudge? No such thing. I don't see American troops firing Tomahawk missiles at shopping centers in Saudi Arabia, or Egypt, or Kuwait, or Turkey, or Pakistan, or just about any other Arab nation, for that matter.

After 9/11, there were a few Americans who committed hate crimes against Arabs.

The FBI arrested them.

 

[Sickman]

Whether the President has such connections to corporations is not known..

Ahem, OK.
Compared to the "fact" that he has such knowledge that he becomes "enlightened"?
Matter of opinion.

However, it is known fact that many government intelligence services report to President Bush. Possibly some of them don't, but several are known to do so. Hence my conclusion: Bush has a clearer view of the world than we do.

It depends how you define "clearer".
I would use the word "different".

Not if that information is classified.

What possible would be such knowledge that would turn the world upside down for the president compared to us?
US cooperation with terrorists maybe?

You probably see where I'm going at.
It's no excuse to create any theories based into assumptions that president knows something that we don't.
Otherwise because he has such knowledge we could think he hasn't done something because of this information OR we can also blame that because of this knowledge he should have keys to solutions that we don't see.
Again you might blame that we are going towards such solution then that is just simply your faith to the president, no proof of anything.
This track goes two-ways not one way.

What grudge? No such thing. I don't see American troops firing Tomahawk missiles at shopping centers in Saudi Arabia, or Egypt, or Kuwait, or Turkey, or Pakistan, or just about any other Arab nation, for that matter.

I do see them firing missiles in Iraq. That is grudge enough.
Or are you saying that 9/11 wasn't used as reason to attack muslim countries?

After 9/11, there were a few Americans who committed hate crimes against Arabs.
The FBI arrested them.

Yes few people who held grudge did crimes and were arrested.
You can hold grudge in many different ways.
If you cannot see the grudge, you are simply blind to the inevitable truth.

But as well we can again stop here because this doesn't go anywhere like usually debates with you.
You hold the line to the point of absurdity and beyond.

Not that I mind it, I respect your opinion still.

 

[Keshik]

They want the oil.

 

[wit>trope]

Why does Al Qaeda hate us?

I find that this is never really explored in depth at least in the US news media. How did a multimillionaire Saudi businessman become a cave dwelling leader of a group employing terrorist tactics against Western governments? What is the genesis of this thinking? What are their specific grievances? Some possibilities that I have heard:

1.They hate freedom (silly phrasing probably somewhat true)

2. U.S. air bases in Saudi Arabia (seems like a relatively minor complaint and I think we're removing them)

3. Support for corrupt Arab dictators (well let's see we don't currently support dictators/kings in Syria,Lybia, Iran. Iraq Yemen, Sudan but do in Saudi Arabia (small gulf states?), Egypt, Jordan?-- seems like a decidedly mixed bag)

4. Support for Israel (I suppose but the primary groups fighting Israel have not attacked outside Western powers why does Al Queda pickup this tactic).

5. Cultural/economic invasion on Arab culture (I suppose but the French complain about this too)

6. A crusade for religious conversion outside middle east (I thought Islam is a religion of peace)

7. Crusade for religious purity within the middle east (Why not attack Syria?)

8. Ego, pride, jealously (sounds possible for the leaders but how do they get the recruits?)

The stated goal of their traditional radical brands of Islam (Wahhabism, Deobandi movement within Sunni Islam, etc.) is to establish Islamic theocracy all around the world. So even if we don't support Israel, withdraw from Saudi Arabia, etc., they'll still be around until they acheive that stated goal. Many people have written about this, including Chuck Colson. And if you look here:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/1571144.stm

you'll see that the BBC (which refuses to call the terrorists in London terorrorists, instead referring to them as "bombers" -- though apparently for a brief time they did call them terror before going back to their old practice) says that "Osama Bin Laden, named by US officials as the main suspect in the 11 September attacks against America, is Saudi-born and a Wahhabi." The BBC also says of the infamous Taliban that they are not Wahhabi but another "strict" form of Islam:

There are some similarities between the Saudi interpretation of Islam and that of the ruling Taleban movement in Afghanistan.

The Taleban, too, represent an unusually strict form of Sunni Islam - and restrictions on women, for example, are even tighter than in Saudi Arabia.

But the Taleban are not Wahhabis.

They belong to what is known as the Deobandi movement, named after the small town of Deoband in the Indian Himalayas.

The BBC also says that Osama bin Laden and the Taleban are not typical of "mainstream" "modern" Sunni movements and represent only a "radical fringe."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/1571144.stm

But, meeting all their demands may reduce their numbers or placate them temporarily or reduce the number of new recruits they have since probably a good number of the recruits join not for strictly and purely religious reasons but also religious reasons mixed in with historic or contemporary political or social grievances.