http://www.thedailyshow.com/full-episode...eId=224285
The interview in this Daily Show episode is one of the most intelligent and real-life discussions I've seen in a long time.
Reza Aslan speaks with John Stewart about how Al Qaeda subscribes to unreal utopian political ambitions. Working towards these 'divine' objectives puts Al Qaeda in a moral ecstasy that empowers them to ignore the moral consequences of their direct actions using an epic end-justifies-the-means rational. Whats absolutely fascinating is how Aslan identifies political participation as the solution to disarming extremist Islamic movements. Groups that compose extremist movements and support Al Qaeda originally operated to achieve real political ambitions, but when their movements were easily annihilated by existing power structures, the desperation experienced by these people enables them to transform unobtainable but real political ambitions into unreal utopian objectives designed in a way that they *can* make 'real' contributions towards.
The American 'fight for democracy', which is often identified as a moral screen covering operations that further US interests, inadvertantly approaches a very reasonable and ethical solution to the so-called "war on terror". Enabling groups with real political objectives to participate politically, e.g. through minority or tripartisan friendly democratic republics, enables them to actually work towards their ambitions without causing them to experience the desperation that leads to insane goals. Facilitating this level of political participating by aspiring minorities deprives Al Qaeda the support and personnel they need to operate.
This is a really really awesome example of how meeting people's needs stops violence. Now if only people would apply this to domestic violence...
