La Fondation Erasmus

Le Centre d' Enseignements Spirituels, Imposition des Mains et Retraite Spirituelle

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I had been thinking about this subject since it is in the news daily at the moment and thought I would share some of my thoughts with you.

First of all I jotted down the following which came to mind when thinking about a potential child suicide bomber:

Al-Qaeda choose their 'cells' very carefully, I am sure - are they looking for people who are rebellious, angry, and therefore perhaps vulnerable and pliable?

It takes courage to be a suicide bomber - how do they feel when they split up to carry out their deed. At 9/11 they had words to read to keep them focused.

I think it is very sad that young children have to turn to these extreme groups and actions in order to find friendship and a sense of belonging. It shows that the family unit and the wider community are not working well. It is sad also that the British Pakistanis, the younger generation in particular, have felt isolated and not accepted. Perhaps it was enough for the first generation Pakistanis to come here away from terror and have a chance to build a life and family. They had the challenge to do this and felt satisfaction in eventually owning their home or business. Have the younger generation had too much and had it too easy in a way, but are not being accepted by white people? But then we see all races mixing together in British society and many of them have no trouble integrating. It is interesting to note that often these radicals are well educated and from wealthy families, so perhaps there is more acceptance with those less well off; perhaps those with a better education and more money have more freedom to do something and want to stand out and be recognised in some way?

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The journalist Aatish Taseer, a Punjabi with parents from each side of the India/Pakistan border, says he has observed the gulf between what it means to be British Pakistani and British Indian. To be Indian, he says, is to come from a safe, ancient country and, more recently, from an emerging power. In contrast, to be Pakistani is to begin with a depleted idea of nationhood. In the 55 years that Pakistan has been a country, it has been a dangerous, violent place, defined by hatred of the other - India. He goes on to say that for young British Muslims, if Pakistan was not the place to look for an identity, being second-generation British was still less inspiring. The parents were pioneers, leaving Pakistan in search of economic opportunities and working through the challenges they faced in a strange land; for the second generation the experience has been less fulfilling and, he says, has been one of drudgery and confusion. One local resident in Beeston, where the 7th July bombers came from, said that he thought they were bored, that they did not do any work and that they had no sense of honour or belonging. Perhaps the desert culture of the Arabs was more appealing to the second-generation Pakistanis. The older generation in this community are at a loss to understand the youth and where they have found this new identity.

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In Iraq the ordinary people want peace and democracy.

The Shias, Sunnis and Kurds all mix together and have intermarried. One thing the Americans did when they came into Iraq was to ask people what group they belonged to i.e. Shias, Sunnis, Kurds, etc. This had been of no importance to people before but now we had people being divided and attention being drawn to their background and beliefs. This was stirring things up unnecessarily in my view.

If a democracy is to succeed in any country, there needs to be freedom of expression of whatever view or belief you hold. In the U.S., Britain, India peaceful protest is allowed by different faiths, people can air their views, they can march in protest to try and change things and make their voices heard. However, religion is not allowed to dictate the rule of law, it is a voice that has an influence, often a moral one, but nonetheless religion is not the dictator, the people are, as they live in a democracy. In Iraq there is little freedom to speak your mind and groups are labelled 'fundamentalists' just for voicing a different belief or desire for a different way. When people feel that their voice is not being heard - and they are being labelled 'fundamentalists' - it is surely only a small step away from becoming radical, and from being drawn into the more evil arena of the terrorist and suicide bomber.

So we perhaps have a parallel here with the young Muslims in Britain in that voices are not being heard and they are not being accepted. It also seems to be affecting the young in particular - could it be the thought virus at work here? The older generation seem quite content to a greater or lesser degree and cannot understand the young. The same thing could be said about white parents and their young. Is there a common cause - is it evil at work, using the weakness of the young who may either feel restless, voiceless, threatened, frustrated, angry, revengeful; all these destructive qualities are perhaps being drawn upon by evil and used to further their aim of destruction.

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What about children generally, not just British Muslim children; are their needs similar? Are they vulnerable to being approached in the future to be a suicide bomber?

In the main I believe children want to feel part of a group and to have friends, so they will fall in with the bullies, the leaders, or simply their friends - they want to be accepted. The story of the north London school that lost their headmaster through a fatal stabbing was remarkable in that a woman called Marie Stubbs came in and turned the school round in a matter of a few years. Her main theme was good discipline and giving the children boundaries. She encouraged and praised when they did well but was quick to jump on any bullies, poor work or time keeping and general sloppiness and truancy. She became respected and well liked by the pupils. It can be done if the right people are in place.

How many children really enjoy binge drinking, happy slapping, doing drugs, having underage sex? How many would welcome strong intervention to stop the bullies and the ones with more evil content from ruling and ruining their lives? I can remember the feeling of wanting to be liked and accepted, of keeping my thoughts to myself if they were different from the majority or different from the stronger characters in the group. However, in my day things were very tame compared to today. The things that children feel they must do to keep up with their 'friends' threaten a child's life, a child's health, a child's psychological balance and a child's future. In short, our children are not being allowed a chance to become healthy, balanced individuals.

The horror and violence in videos, computer games and films corrupts children at a young age and has to be stopped. It must affect adults too. The darker element is very apparent in all entertainment and is wrapped up in a bit of fun to numb people into thinking it is just that. A casual, brief glance at the mind, body, spirit section of a book shop a couple of days ago in Norwich offered me the word 'Witch' and 'Witchcraft' in a number of places on the shelves. I didn't stop, I find the whole area rather depressing even though it is interesting that there is more publicity about reincarnation and meditation - that is the balance I suppose, it is just not so apparent and probably not so appealing to most people at the moment, particularly young people.

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So what are the answers?

I believe that the West has got to realise its responsibility and change drastically but does not realise this yet, or if they do they don't know how to go about it. Obscene behaviour, low morals, no manners, no motivation or pride will not draw respect from the east and alongside racism, perhaps these go some way to explaining why young ethnic minorities turn away from western society and become suicide bombers. We all know the flaws that have got out of hand and which evil is happily feeding upon.

If people understood the science of spirit, as we are taught here, they would not have the feeling of being rootless and a need to belong which is so apparent in the young today. There would be an understanding that we are all brothers and sisters, we are all individuals with a rich heritage that covers all shades of colour, all creeds, and all cultures.

I think parents should come together more within communities and discuss these things; they should work together more to protect childhood which is so important in shaping future behaviour and thought. I think that change will come largely from the grass roots, as parents and other young adults understand what is going on.

Adults must rise above the fear of being thought stuffy, of interfering and of standing out from the majority and say NO to such things as this media deluge of evil. If those in authority can be made to understand and accept how evil works and how this translates to crime and violence on the streets, then this will go some way to stemming the tide of anarchy and all that comes from this. If the material is not available the battle is starting to be won.

We have been told that The Erasmus Foundation will help people to understand many of the above things. Spirit is simple and I think people will welcome this simplicity after so much confusion and disorder. We know that the teachings are logical and so it is only a matter of time, as more people wake up to spirit, before they will be embraced across the globe.

Julia Roberts July 2005.

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