During the recent tragic events in Kosovo, one voice has been surprisingly noticeable through its absence.
One would have thought that while we are witnessing possibly the largest displacement of Islamic people since the Crusades, the extremist voices within that peaceful religion, so vociferous in the past, would, by now, have been reaching fever pitch in calling for a jihad against Slobodan Milosevic and his cronies. Instead we are greeted with silence.
Not wishing to add fuel to the flames, one can only speculate on the reasons why. Support for 'the Great Satan', that is, the US and its allies seems to be, sadly, unthinkable.
Perhaps, once again, an opportunity to heal old wounds, albeit under dreadful circumstances, is being allowed to slip away. Two things are clear though: it takes a stronger person to make peace than it does to make war, and in the murky world of global politics, nothing is ever as it seems.
STUART BROOKES Tsim Sha Tsui
