The problem in Africa is the tribal/clan based societies with no concept of what we consider basic human rights or rules of "civilized" warfare, not primarily religion.
Non-Somalis, even Somalis of different clans/tribes, would have been treated the same way prior to Islam's arrival. Us versus the Other. I'm sure we could find pagan Roman and Greek accounts of such savagery in their day from the same people when they too were pagan/animist if we looked.
Nationalism and non-local religion, whether Christianity or Islam, forms a thin veneer over what is still not yet a "modern" cultural base.
Sure about that? Bin Laden grew up in a very "western" sort of decadence, civilized society, air-conditioned near-palaces, jets and all for his family.
And his beliefs still led him to turn into an animal.
Right, but Bin Laden is a political animal, not an African tribal clansman. Notice I was trying to maintain precision in the argument, as that's the only way to figure stuff out.
What we were discussing is the tendency of mobs of tribal non-Westerners of
any purported religious background to view abusing the dead and wounded of an enemy "other" as acceptable behavior.
The same mobs of pseudo-
Christianized or Hindu or Buddhist tribesmen would behave the same way.
The differences in the world have less to do with fairly modern religions (past couple millenia for Christianity and Islam) than they do with base cultural issues that were cemented back when everyone were happy pagans.
The Classical West, through their Greco-Roman heritage, developed very unique ideas about the relationship of the individual to his community and how to approach exploring the unknown, very different than did almost anywhere else. The exact same religions overlayed on those differing cultural foundations developed in very different ways, which is why a Christian primitive is more like an Islamic primitive than either is like a modern Westerner of either religion.
Pointing fingers at religion is easy, but there a hell of a lot more going on than that. Ignoring that depth leads to mistakes in mindset and approach to dealing with problems as they occur.
