We cannot understand the Islamic State by just focussing on the Shia-Sunni-Salafi-Mongol sectarian conflicts (“Understanding the Islamic State”, April 4). Looking at it objectively, there is no connection between Islam and the brutality of these terrorist outfits. The terrorists learn to be brutal from the senseless violence the United States unleashes in West Asia/Middle East in order to sustain and protect its economic interests. The youth from different sects of Islam are forced to read the Islamic texts selectively and be brutal because of the devastation this intervention creates in the Arab world. If the terrorists’ reading of Islamic history is selective, the writer’s reading of facts is not only selective but also biased.
Sukumaran C.V.,Palakkad
It is ironic that when most religions pay importance to the welfare of the needy, morality and brotherhood as the way to righteous other-worldly life, the parochial interpretation of Islam justifies the use of violence as a means to attain this. The solution to the conundrum must come from within the community by ensuring that the teaching of Islam is not propagated as the “tweaked version” to suit the vested interests of a few.
Amit Singh,New Delhi
