Solution to Ethnic Conflicts
The fundamental cause for this conflict is the perception by one race that the other race was privileged; there was a general perception racial inequality was prevalent. How did this perception arise? The origins lie in the 19th Century; the American missionaries established a wide network of schools in the Jaffna peninsula that molded an educated, English speaking group of people. The British then tapped into this ready pool of resources in order to fill posts in the Civil Service. Another reason for this was the British colonial policy of “divide and rule”; in fact, there is evidence that the British actively discriminated in favour of Tamils when allocating senior positions in the Civil Service. Hence, the Civil Service became dominated by Jaffna Tamils; their often arrogant attitude and simply the fact that this small minority held vastly disproportionate power was a cause of great resentment on the part of the Singhalese. This was amplified by the fact that Tamil’s were often able to use the administrative system more effectively; for example if a non-English speaking Tamil went to a government department the Tamil civil servants there would aid him in filling up the necessary forms etc. and explain the process in the vernacular. However since most of the Tamils did not speak Singhalese, those belonging to the Singhalese majority would not be able to do the same and hence felt resentment against the Tamils.
Reducing Muslim Alienation: A 'Middle Eastern' Solution
In order to reduce Muslim alienation in Western societies (and some conflicts associated with the so-called 'clash of civilizations'), it seems necessary to publicly resolve questions about specific cultural assumptions that contribute to alienation such as:
- whether religion can realistically determine every aspect of life - an assumption that appears to be part of the world-view constructed around the religion of Islam;
- whether it is scientifically reasonable to assume that God 'micro-manages' every aspect of reality. That assumption, which appears to be accepted as a foundation for Islamic concepts of science, encourages complementary political and religious authoritarianism (eg the ideal ruler might be one who imposes sharia law on a community without any regard to their wishes), and also sustains a fatalism and an economic rigidity that is incompatible with increasing prosperity.
If so, then the primary source of Muslim alienation may be an unwillingness to tolerate the moral 'tolerance' that is built into legal and government institutions in Western societies.
An alternative to moral legalism was developed nearly 2000 years ago by Jesus of Nazareth (also called Isa, undoubtedly a 'person of Middle Eastern appearance', who Islam regards as a great - perhaps the greatest - prophet). He stated that: superhuman moral standards were expected; and help is available in meeting them - while also emphasizing the key importance of compliance with the spirit of moral laws and criticizing as hypocrites those who merely adhere to the letter of moral laws.
Jesus' teachings resulted in moral responsibility to God and to others being seen to reside in individual consciences responsible to God, rather than in the imposition of detailed moral laws by either family / community pressure or by secular or religious authorities. This created the foundation for the legal and government institutions that presume individual liberty that eventually and uniquely emerged in Western societies.
A serious study of what Jesus of Nazareth said about moral law should do more to eliminate ethnic conflict than emphasis on 'law and order' by secular authorities, because it should liberate Muslim communities generally from a self-imposed oppression and reduce their sense of alienation from Western societies, because:
- despite Jesus' / Isa's importance to Muslims, there has been a decided reluctance to study eye-witness accounts of his life - and explore the alternative to moral legalism that he revealed;
- his teachings expose the hypocrisy of those who comply with the letter of moral laws while ignoring their spirit (eg by attacking others);
- behavioural standards in Western societies have become a source of alienation for Muslims (and also for the 'new Christendom'), because many in Western societies have abused their freedom (eg by leading self-focused lives). Ironically by drifting away from their moral moorings they are also tending to destroy liberal legal and government arrangements, as 'authorities' come under pressure to regulate interpersonal relationships to counter growing social dysfunctions.
It has been alleged that: Lebanese Muslim gangs have gained substantial power in Sydney's criminal underworld; are so heavily armed and organized that police are afraid to act against them; and that government action is constrained by ethnic branch stacking
If so, then it would be possible that:
- a substantial beefing-up of police and judicial systems would be required to even achieve the 'law and order' that many see as the basis of a solution to ethnic conflict; and
- methods appropriate to dealing with organized crime could need to be used to achieve this