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Page 1 
Contents
Page 2
Editorial
Contacts
Page 3
Pathfinders
Page 4
Letters
Page 5
IRA: Is it Really
the End of the “Armed Struggle”?
Page 6
Religion and the
Limits of the State
Page 8
Cooking the
books 1
Page 9
Why They Dropped the
Bombs
Page 10
Page
11
As above
Are We All
Zapatistas?
Page 12
Marx and Philosophy
Page 14
Cooking the
books 2
Page 15
Books Reviews
Page 16
Film Review
Page 17
50 Years Ago
Page 18
Meetings, +
Our Object and
Declaration of
Principles
Page 18
The Greasy
Pole
Page19
Voice
From the
Back &
FreeLunch by RIGG
Page 20
The
Socialist Party
Front page |
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Religion
and terrorism
Socialists are always cautious about the term ‘morality’ because within
class society it largely pertains to what the ruling class have
established as acceptable and unacceptable behaviour or actions or
activities which are regarded as ‘good’ or ‘bad’.
Nevertheless it is easy for Socialists to empathise with the feeling of
popular revulsion that followed the acts of mass murder in London on 7
July. As always when guns and bombs are used as political weapons, the
victims of the bombings in London were innocent and without any
influence over the agenda that motivated the murderers; they were
simply people going to work.
The general feeling, from the government, the Queen, the churches, the
media and the public at large is that it was an outrage; that
slaughtering innocent people simply because you oppose the actions of
those you perceive to be their leaders is a barbaric act that cannot be
justified by the idealism, ideology or political or religious
beliefs of those ordering or carrying out such an act.
To raise the question of the war in Iraq is in no way to imply sympathy
with the terrorists but it is reasonable to look at Iraq and, indeed,
the entire panoply of violence, armaments and warfare that latter-day
capitalism generates.
The British Labour government largely in obedience to the dictates of
the political kings of US capitalism - just like those who ordered what
is agreed were barbaric acts in London - did co-operate in the massive
slaughter of tens of thousands of innocent Iraqis who, rather than
supporting Saddam Hussein were, according to the Anglo-American
coalition, the real victims of the dreaded dictator. The result of both
actions, though not the numbers of victims, was identical: innocent
people who were wholly bereft of any power or influence to concede to
the demands of those ordering the killings were wantonly slaughtered.
All forms of warfare - and terrorism is a form of warfare - present the
threat of death to the participants whether they are professionals
(people prepared to kill in circumstances determined by their
employers) or serious amateurs (people prepared to kill for a specific
cause). In either circumstance risk to life comes easier to those who
believe that life on Earth is a mere prelude to a life hereafter. It is
a notion that gives solace to believers; making them less anxious to
question their role in a situation that defeats rational understanding.
That is why governments promote irrational religious belief for their
armed forces and why they provide facilities for religious rituals,
make priests and parsons officers and pay their salaries.
For the terrorist the most pressing incentive is belief in the virtue
of their cause. The man or woman facing the dreadful hazards associated
with terrorism has to be morally reinforced with the idea that their
god is on their side. God as Allah, as the Great Jehovah, or whatever
other identity he takes on in any of the myriad of religious beliefs,
is always stern and demanding and his strictures are always
accommodating to the belligerence engendered by the exclusivity of
faith. God is indeed a vital weapon in the psychological make-up of the
terrorist; a guarantee that sacrifice will be rewarded with eternal
happiness.
A verse of an old Irish rebel song devoted to the IRA goes:
‘Upon their shield, a stainless field, the virtues blazoned bright,
‘With temperance, and purity and truth and honour dight;
‘So now they stand at God’s right hand Who framed their dauntless way,
‘Who taught them and Who brought them the glory of the day!’
For someone not utterly drugged on the belief of the inseparability of
god and cause, the idea of committing suicide in order to take the
lives of other anonymous people is too utterly sick for contemplation.
Allah, like the Christian God and his rivals, is a demanding and cruel
god and without him and the imagined comfort of eternal salvation, it
is hard to imagine the foul practice of suicide bombing or other sort
of bombing existing.
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Socialist Party
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UK
BRANCHES & CONTACT
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INTERNATIONAL
CONTACTS
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LONDON
Central
London branch.
Corres:Richard Botterill, 21 Ashwell Park,
Harpenden, Herts AL5 5SG.
Tel: 01582 764929.
Email:
2nd and 4th Mondays at 7.30 The Carpenters Arms, Seymour Place, Nr
Marble Arch W1
Enfield
and Haringey branch.
Tues 8pm.
Angel Community Centre,
Raynham Rd, NI8.
Corres: 17 Dorset Road, N22 7SL
Email:
South
London branch.
1st Mon.
7.45pm. Head Office. 52 Clapham High
St, SW4 7UN. Tel: 020 7622 3811.
West
London branch.
1st & 3rd
Tues.8pm, Chiswick Town Hall,
Heathfield Terrace (Corner Sutton Court
Rd), W4. Corres: 51 Gayford Road,
London W12 9BY
Pimlico.
C. Trinder, 24 Greenwood Ct,
155 Cambridge Street, SW1 4VQ.
Tel:020 7834 8186
MIDLANDS
Birmingham
branch.
Thur. 8pm,
The Square Peg, Corporation Street.
Tel: Ron Cook, 0121 533 1712
NORTHEAST
Northeast
branch.
Corres: John Bissett, 10 Scarborough Parade,
Hebburn, Tyne & Wear, NE31 2AL. Tel: 0191 422 6915
Email:
NORTHWEST
Lancaster
branch.
P. Shannon, 71 Coniston Road, Lancaster LA1 3NW.
Email:.
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Manchester branch.
Paul Bennett, 6 Burleigh Mews,
Hardy Lane, M21 7LB.
Tel:0161 860 7189
Bolton.
Tel: H. McLaughlin,
01204 844589
Cumbria.
Brendan Cummings, 19 Queen St, Millom, Cumbria LA18 4BG
Rochdale.
R. Chadwick, 01706 522365
Southeast
Manchester.
Enquiries
Blanche Preston, 68 Fountains Road, M32 9PH
YORKSHIRE
Huddersfield.
Richard Rainferd, 28 Armitage Rd, Armitage
Bridge,
Huddersfield, West Yorks, HD4 7DP
Hull.
Keith Scholey. Tel: 01482 44651
Skipton.
R Cooper, 1 Caxton Garth, Threshfield, Skipton
BD23 5EZ. Tel: 01756 752621
SOUTH/SOUTHEAST
/SOUTHWEST
Bournemouth
and East Dorset.
Paul Hannam, 12 Kestrel Close, Upton, Poole
BH16 5RP. Tel: 01202 632769
Brighton.
Corres: c/o 52 Clapham High Street, London
SW4 7UN
Bristol.
Shane Roberts, 86 High Street, Bristol
BS5 6DN. Tel: 0117 951119
Cambridge.
Andrew Westley, 10 Marksby Close, Duxford,
Cambridge CB2 4RS. Tel: 01223 570292
Canterbury.
Rob Cox, 4 Stanhope Road, Deal, Kent, CT14 6AB
Luton.
Nick White, 59 Heywood Drive, LU2 7LP
Redruth.
Harry Sowden, 5 Clarence Villas, Redruth, Cornwall,
TR15 1PB. Tel: 01209 219293
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NORTHERN
IRELAND
Belfast.
R. Montague, 151 Cavehill Road, BT15 1BL. Tel: 02890
586799
SCOTLAND
Edinburgh
branch.
1st Thur. 8-9pm.
The Quaker Hall, Victoria Terrace
above Victoria Street), Edinburgh.
J. Moir. Tel: 0131 440 0995
Email Website
Glasgow
branch.
1st and 3rd Wednesday of each month at 8pm in Community
Central Halls, 304 Maryhill Road, Glasgow. Richard Donnelly,
112 Napiershall Street, Glasgow G20 6HT.
Tel: 0141 5794109 Email:
Website
Ayrshire:
D. Trainer, 21 Manse Street, Salcoats, KA21 5AA.
Tel: 01294 469994. Email
Dundee.
Ian Ratcliffe, 16v Birkhall Ave, Wormit, Newport-on-Tay,
DD6 8PX.
Tel: 01328 541643
West
Lothian.
2nd and 4th Weds in month, 7.30-9.30.
Lanthorn Community Centre, Kennilworth Rise, Dedridge,
Livingston.
Corres: Matt Culbert,
53 Falcon Brae, Ladywell, Livingston, West Lothian, EH5 6UW. Tel:
01506 462359. Email
WALES
Swansea
branch.
2nd Mon, 7.30pm,
Unitarian Church, High Street. Corres:Geoffrey Williams,
19 Baptist Well Street, Waun Wen, Swansea SA1 6FB.
Tel: 01792 643624
Cardiff and District.
John James,
67 Romilly Park Road,
Barry CF62 6RR
Tel:01446 405636
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AFRICA
Gambia.
World of Free Access.
c/o 21 Dobson St, Benjul.
Kenya.
Patrick Ndege, PO Box 56428,
Nairobi
Namibia.
Anthony Amugongo, PO Box 1502,
Oshataki.
Uganda.
Socialist Club, PO Box 217,
Kabale. .
Socialist Club, PO Box 217,<>
Swaziland.
Mandia Ntshakala, PO Box
981, Manzini
EUROPE
Denmark.
Graham Taylor, Spobjervej
173, DK-8220, Brabrand.
Germany.
Norbert Email:
Norway.
Robert Stafford. Email:
COMPANION
PARTIES
OVERSEAS
World
Socialist Party of Australia.
c/o
Rod Miller, 8 Graelee Court,
Kingston,
Tasmania 7050,
Australia. Email:
Socialist
Party of Canada/Parti Socialiste
du Canada.
Box 4280,
Victoria B.C.
V8X 3X8
Canada. Email : Website
World
Socialist Party (New Zealand)
P.O. Box 1929,
Auckland, NI,
New Zealand. Email: Website
World
Socialist Party of the United
States
P.O. Box 440247,
Boston, MA
02144 USA. Email: Website
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