WHICH MAKES THE UMMAH SMARTER THAN THE REALISTS:

How global events can affect the Muslim vote (B Raman, July 17, 2008, Rediff)

As the date for the vote of confidence government nears and the possibility of a premature general election looms large, a question often debated is the attitude of the Indian Muslims to the Indo-US nuclear deal. Do they regard it as anti-Muslim because of the perceived anti-Muslim policies of the administration of US President George W Bush? That is the question which has been raised again and again by the critics of the deal and of Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh.

In this connection, it would be pertinent to take note of the attitude of the Muslims in the Ummah as a whole since that could have an impact on the attitude of the Indian Muslims. The strongest criticism of India's developing relations with the US came from sections of the Muslims of the Ummah immediately after Bush's visit to India in March, 2006.

The criticism was not specific relating to the nuclear deal. It was more in relation to what they saw as India's co-operation with the US and Israel in the war against jihadi terrorism.

Not that incorporating India more formally into the Anglosphere is just about surrounding Islam--it's also aimed at the PRC...

Posted by Orrin Judd at July 17, 2008 3:57 PM