November 2008 Archives

We were at the airport heading to Phoenix for Thanksgiving when my mother called to see if we knew what was going on in Bombay. She said the Taj Hotel had been attacked, and was burning.

For an instant, I felt like I was back in my room at the Taj - a hotel I had lived in for months while working with MTV to relaunch the channel in India. The Taj represents to me, and many around the world, the charm of a bustling city that captures old and new worlds. I thought about the open lobby, the nightclub, hanging out in the coffee shop. Walks along India Gate...

Undoubtedly, the terrorists who planned these attacks knew exactly the effect of targeting the Taj, the Oberoi Hotel, Cafe Leopold and other spots in the city. These are the places that business people hang out in, that the ex pats frequent, that high society socializes in. These are the places that are not touched by the religious tensions, the poverty, the harsh realities of a city - a country, region and world - that has extremes of every kind.

Within an hour, while still at the airport waiting for our flight, we had connected with our friends living in Bombay, as well as those who were visiting India on business. One was stuck in the Marriot Hotel, intermittently texting my brother for information about what was going on outside his room and reassuring him he was still around. I obsessively texted my brother from the airport for updates.

But the horror is that it never ended. I read on CNN about my friend, Manuela Testolini, being at the Oberoi when the gunshots started. I emailed her and heard back within 1/2 hour that she is ok. Her passport is in her room at the burning Taj and now she has to figure out how to come home.

In her email she writes about what happened -- "then suddenly a gunman was coming into the restaurant. we left everything and ran thru the kitchen. 2 busboys tried to stop him and they were shot. but thankfully the gunman did not come in to the kitchen. we all ran because were heard more gunshots and ended up in the ballroom of the hotel where we stayed for 2 hours listening to gunshots and bombs in the darkness. "

This is the new world. We are so intimately and instantly connected. I breathe a sigh of relief knowing my friends are ok.

And, yet, how hopelessly disconnected we are at the same time. As I reflect on my nostalgic days at the Taj Hotel, this is what stays with me...

A chasm - a disconnection between people and cultures -- that has always existed is expressing itself more and more in todays world.

The Taj is burning. The Taj - and all it represents - is burning...

Visit www.intent.com to read more from Mallika Chopra and other prominent voices.

Because the situation in Mumbai remains fluid, it's hard to say too much at this early stage. But early reports indicate that today's terror attacks in India's most populous city have all the hallmarks of Islamic militant organizations like Al Qaida and other Jihadist driven gangs. The well coordinated sophisticated attacks on multiple locations; the specific targeting of westerners; the fact that no known terror organizations has claimed responsibility (leaving general uncertainty, anxiety, and terror to loom instead); these are all the tried and true techniques of well-oiled terror organizations.

The Taj hotel, the Oberoi Hotel, the JW Marriot, Cafe Leopold - these are all hangouts that I and my colleagues, friends, and family spend considerable time in when in India. They are the locations where a lot of business gets done - at the coffee shops, bars, and expensive restaurants that sit in the hotel lobbies specifically. The terrorist intentions are clear in this regard - to strike at India's financial hub, to shock and undermine western business interests and investment which in recent years have very much been on the upswing in India.

So now what? Immediate retribution must be quelled. Historically, such Islamic instigated violence in India has triggered vengeful reprisals resulting in the slaughtering of thousands of innocent Muslims across the country. Likewise, many will point to neighboring Pakistan, India's long-standing rival that again in recent years has served as the training and launching ground for Islamic militants. The temptation to strike deep into the heart of Paksitan will certainly be there if there is any evidence of their regional involvment. Speculation that Paksitan's intelligence agency the ISI is already rampant.

But, the real problem is MUCH bigger. The real perpitrator here is the global grid of Islamic fanaticism that extends far beyond the Indian subcontinent. In this case, India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan may be ground zero for today's attacks, but the fire that fuels them is planetary. Specfically, the Madrassas - or religious schools - in Pakistan where hatred is bred receive their financing from Saudi sources and other Gulf nations. The fanaticism and hatred itself is largely generated in places like Iran and Palestinian territories. The problem here is deeply rooted in an the inflamed and aggravated epidemic that is Islamic fanaticism.

But of course, we need to even go further. Because where exactly do those Saudi and Gulf sources get their financing? You and me buying their oil. And why exactly is there so much anger and resentment toward the west in places like Palestine and Iran? Because of our mismanaged foreign policy the last twenty years and blind allegiance to the interests of Israel without contemplating the economic consequences on the Islamic world - specifically in the Palestinian territories. And by the way - I am not saying that the US should abandon Israel, but instead carefully construct a new policy with our important ally that may more likely result in a lasting peace.

Alas, now's not the time to get into a laboarious diatribe about our oil dependence or our foreign policy and blame all the world's ills on them. But it certainly is time to realize the truly tangled web and context in which today's attacks occurred. It'll be all too easy to try and identify the cancer that we all saw today and go and excise it. And by the way, that a necessary procedure. But so is the holistic treatment that must be part of the aftercare, lest we see this malignant terror return in a more virulent form.

Visit www.intent.com to read more from Gotham Chopra and other prominent voices.

(CNN) -- The Indian city of Mumbai exploded into chaos early Thursday morning as gunmen launched a series of attacks across the country's commercial capital, killing scores of people and taking hostages in two luxury hotels frequented by Westerners.

Deepak Chopra says extremists could be reacting to Barack Obama's gestures toward Muslims.

CNN's Larry King spoke with author Deepak Chopra about the situation.

Larry King: Let's go to Dr. Deepak Chopra, the physician, philosopher. His new book is "Jesus: A Story of Enlightenment."

Where were you born in India, Deepak?

Deepak Chopra: I was born in Delhi, but I have been in these hotels many, many times. I have stayed there, so I know the scene; I know the restaurants. I have been trying to get in touch with my friends and relatives, some of whom I have spoken to, some of whom I can't speak to. The lines are jammed. We're texting each other.

A friend of mine from Egypt was in the restaurant at the Taj hotel when the firing started, and somehow she managed to avoid the fray, hid in a basement and is now holed up in a room which is right next to the Taj hotel and is waiting to be told what to do.

The situation is complex, Larry, because it could inflame to proportions that we cannot even imagine. It has to be contained. We now recognize that this is a global problem, with only a global effort can solve this.

And you know, one of the things that I think is happening is that these militant terrorist groups are actually terrified that [President-elect Barack] Obama's gestures to the rest of the Muslim world may actually overturn the tables on them by alienating them from the rest of the Muslim world, so they're reacting to this.

You know, this is Obama's opportunity to actually harness the help of the Muslims.

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You know, there's 1.8 billion Muslims in the world. That's 25 percent of the population of the world. It's the fastest-growing religion in the world. We cannot, if we do not appease and actually recruit the help of this Muslim world, we're going to have a problem on our hands.

And we cannot go after the wrong people, as we did after 9/11, because then the whole collateral damage that occurs actually aggravates the situation.

In India, this is particularly inflammatory, because there's a rise of Hindu fundamentalism. We saw what that did in Gujarat, where, you know, Muslims were scorched and they were killed, and there was almost a genocide of the Muslims.

India has 150 million Muslims. That's more Muslims in India than in Pakistan. So this is an opportunity right now for India and Pakistan to recognize this is their common problem. It's not a Muslim problem right now; it's a global problem.

...

King: Do you think that this is just the beginning, that there's a potential impact, or more?

Chopra: There is a potential impact of a lot more carnage. But it can be contained. And right now, one of the questions, you know, after I heard Barbara Starr talking about how coordinated this is, that there are militant groups that cross international boundaries, is who is financing this? Where is the money coming from? We have to ask very serious, honest questions. What role do we have in this? Are our petrodollars funding both sides of this war on terrorism? Why are we not asking the Saudis where that money is going that we give them? Is it going through this supply chain to Pakistan?

It's not enough for Pakistan to condemn it. Pakistan should cooperate with India in uprooting this. They should be part of the surgery that is going to happen.

It's not enough for Indians to blame Pakistanis. Indians should actually ask the Pakistanis to help them.

And it's not enough for us to worry about Westerners being killed and Americans being killed. Every life is precious over there. We have got to get rid of this idea that this is an American problem or a Western problem. It's a global problem, and we need a global solution, and we need the help of all the Muslims, 25 percent of the world's population, to help us uproot this problem.

King: What does India immediately do?

Chopra: India at this moment has to contain any reactive violence from the fundamentalist Hindus, which is very likely and possible. So India has to condemn that by not blaming local Muslims. They have to identify the exact groups.

And the world has to be very careful that they don't go after the wrong people. Because if you go after the wrong people, you convert moderates into extremists. It happens every time, and retribution against innocent people just because they have the same religion actually aggravates and perpetuates the problem.

King: Are you pessimistic?

Chopra: I think Mr. Obama has a real opportunity here, but a challenging opportunity, a creative opportunity.

Get rid of the phrase "war on terrorism." Ask for a creative solution in which we all participate.

King: Is it because the war on terrorism really can never be won because the terrorists (inaudible)?

Chopra: Because it's an oxymoron. It's an oxymoron, Larry, a war on war, a war on terrorism.

You know, terrorists call mechanized death from 35,000 feet above sea level with a press of a button also terror. We don't call it that, because our soldiers are wearing uniforms. They don't see what is happening, and innocent people are being killed. So, you know, terror is a term that you apply to the other.

King: Thanks, Deepak Chopra, as always, extraordinarily enlightening.

An article in the Washington Post On Faith section in response to their question: President-elect Obama hasn't been to church in three weeks, saying he doesn't want to disrupt the service for others. Reagan and Bush said the same thing, but Carter and Clinton attended church regularly. What's your advice? Where should presidents worship?

Since Barack Obama ran to bring hope in a time of change, I'd like to see him extend that to how he worships. Presidents are forced to attend church as an empty ritual. A cynic would say that if they wanted to worship the way that 70% of American males do, they should attend the church of televised football and golf. Other honest alternatives would be the worship of ambition, money, and political revenge, wherever those dogmas happen to be preached. To overcome such cynicism, and to end the masquerade of public piety, soon-to-be President Obama might consider the following innovations:

Worship where your conscience takes you: He might go to a church in the worst ghetto of gang-infested East L.A. or the scene of a recent disaster. A President praying with the victims of Katrina inside the refugee camp of the Astrodome would have done a lot for their healing and our national sense of compassion.

Worship where "the other" worships: Our so-called enemies consist of "the other," people we claim aren't enough like us. So let Obama worship in a mosque in suburban Maryland. Let him spend a Sunday with Black Muslims in Detroit. Film him praying with illegal immigrants in an impoverished corner of southern New Mexico.

Worship on the fringes: Millions of Americans prefer alternative churches, such as the hundreds of Unity churches scattered around the country. Some of the most humane and liberating theology to be found is preached there. I'd like to see Obama expose himself to these new ideas -- for his own good, really -- and make fringe believers feel more included. By the same token, he should pray with the fundamentalists in Dallas or Columbia, S.C. who think he's a Muslim and vociferously opposed him.

In short, if Obama went to a different church every week, with the intention of healing the wounds of divisiveness, he'd be extending the message he was elected on. It's already a sign of hope that we are going to be led by a uniter and not a divider. Even better would be a uniter of souls.

Visit www.intent.com to read more from Deepak Chopra and other prominent voices.


http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/deepak_chopra/

Sometimes life takes a creative leap that's almost miraculous. Nobody knows how this happens, and it can never be predicted. You'd never know, looking at a reptile's round, hard, shiny scales, that they could genetically morph into feathers. Paleontologists know that they did, however, and finding the very first dinosaur that sprouted feathers is one of the great discoveries waiting to happen. (You might recall that a spectacular fossil was found in China that seemed to fit the bill, but after debuting on the cover of National Geographic and many other publications, it turned out to be a fake.)

Read the rest of this article in the San Francisco Chronicle

Visit www.intent.com to read more from Deepak Chopra and other prominent voices.

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