MEDIA REACTION ON SEPTEMBER 11, TERRORISM, AND

UNCLAS TEGUCIGALPA 002109 SIPDIS DEPT. FOR WHA/PD; IIP/G/WHA DIPASQUALE; AND IIP/T/ES DEPT. FOR S/CT, PM, NEA, AND WHA/CEN E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: OIIP KPAO PTER PREL PGOV HO SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION ON SEPTEMBER 11, TERRORISM, AND ISLAMISM, OCTOBER 12, 2005 ¶1. On 10/12 the San Pedro Sula-based liberal daily "La Prensa" published an op-ed by Roger Martinez Miralda entitled "Clash of Civilizations." "The threat of terrorist attacks on the New York subway system last weekend, be they real or not, is a reminder that following the terrible attacks that occurred on September 11 something has changed in the world." "Some authors have arrived at the conclusion that we are on the threshold, or already immersed in a political-religious conflict in which Muslim fundamentalism seeks to control as many countries as possible in the world, to further extend doctrinal religious power, so that all the inhabitants of the world practice Islam." "I believe that under current circumstances, that the possibility for the pure religious fanaticism of a couple thousand to cause the collapse of cultural models and military might not only of the West, but also in countries like China or Japan who have opted for political systems in which religious ideas are part of the private sphere of people, and holds no influence over the State and its laws. There are other countries in which the majority of the population is Muslim, like Turkey, Egypt, or Indonesia in which this same population prefers a nation in which each citizen can live according to the faith which suits their conscience best." "At any rate, Islamic penetration of the West has been fluid and progressive, beginning in the 70s one could see with frequency women wearing the veil in Rome and in Madrid, and in even greater proportions in LONDON or Paris." "It is evident that this process of Islam-ization is the product of migration, and above all the abandonment of religious practice in Christian countries, the lack of religious study, the advancement of alternative religious philosophies, and spiritual lethargy." "The de-Christian-ization of our countries is not the result of Muslim propaganda (In Honduras few know the tenants of this religion) but the result of a process in which we have lost a sense of belonging in our Churches and the ongoing pursuit of pleasure, materialism, and egotistical individualism." Williard