Hey, it's me. said:
darth_ender said:
http://www.worldpublicopinion.org/pipa/articles/brmiddleeastnafricara/313.php
Most Iranians were not fond of him.
According the following link, it looks like he maintained a limited working relationship...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beliefs_and_ideology_of_Osama_bin_Laden#Jews.2C_Christians.2C_and_Shia_Muslims
...but he certainly considered them heretical, and I doubt he would have been content to live among them.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osama_bin_Laden#Beliefs_and_ideology
And in spite of the official stance of the Iranian government, many Iranians are pro-US.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran%E2%80%93United_States_relations#Divide_between_public_opinion_and_state_policy
Yes I am listening to Darth Ender but the issue your avoiding is no matter the conflict between the two divisions of the Muslim faith, America and the West is the common enemy. IF many Iranians are pro-US as you put it (hard to believe considering Israel) Bin Laden being amongst them would've been refuted by ALL due to him being a MUSLIM despite all else. You seem to underestimate the sheer hatred these people have of the West.
Ender said it best when he said,
darth_ender said:
I'm not just talking out my backside here. You're just speculating.
He provides links to support what he is saying, and you write off those links and his points with a simple, "You seem to underestimate the sheer hatred these people have of the West."
I spent several years living in a predominantly Muslim country, I had many good Islamic friends that I spent time with regularly. I actually lived there during 2001, and while I had several violent encounters following September of that year and the beginning of the campaign in Afghanistan, my Muslim friends were extremely saddened by the event. A few of them even had friends and relatives in New York and were absolutely terrified for the safety of their loved ones the day it happened.
My previous room mate (as of just four months ago) was an immigrant Muslim, and besides being a little uptight and perturbed by my morally loose lifestyle, he and I got along well and would frequently have some pretty good conversation during afternoon tea.
I've seen this hate of which you speak, I've been a victim of it, and I've been forced to react in ways I wish I hadn't had to because of it. But I have also not seen it this hate, and have shared some very good memories with people from countries that, according to you, ought to have nothing but hatred for me.