‘Perverted religious zealots’

Re: U.S. Drops Food, Missiles To Aid Iraqi Refugees, August 9.

Unfortunately, freedom and justice will always be threatened by the dark forces lurking within us. Manipulative leaders learned a long time ago about the advantages of misusing religion to brainwash their followers into seeing the world through the self-delusional prism of extremism. Good vs. bad is transformed into God vs. Satan and then twisted into us vs. them. The Islamic fanatics known as the Islamic State (a.k.a., ISIS) have such a leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, and are murdering innocent people in the name of Allah. If warriors can be convinced that barbarous brutality is sanctioned by a god with the power to grant everlasting life, they feel invincible.

Many different methods are used to transform a diverse collection of individuals into an effective fighting machine, but the techniques are basically the same: Tear down the sense of self in each individual and then rebuild the individuals into a disciplined, task-focused team that’s physiologically conditioned to dehumanize their enemies. When it comes to fighting wars, people living in a Western democracy would seem to be severely handicapped by our ideals: the value of individuality, the importance of tolerance, the emphasis on compassion, the obligation to question authority and the pursuit of creativity. Thankfully, we can put our faith in military technology to overcome the fanatic fervour of these perverted religious zealots.

Lloyd Atkins, Vernon, B.C.

I was outraged to hear that ISIS has begun stoning Iraqi civilians. Here is more evidence of the threats posed by Islamic militants. Given what the world has witnessed this past month in the Middle East — from the IsraelGaza conflict, to the genocide in Iraq — how can people in the West not understand this threat?

We are often told that Islam is a religion of peace, but how can that be? Many Muslim communities teach their kids to hate Jews. Is it any wonder that some young Muslims become terrorists? If Islam is a religion of peace, where are all the Muslims who believe in peace? Why do they not speak out? Sadly, I believe they live in fear.

Islamic terrorists in Iraq are trying to commit genocide against nonMuslims. Yet many people in the Western world denounce Israel, the only democracy in the Middle East where people of all faiths can live without fear.

Joanne R. Fisher, Thornhill, Ont.