Attack on Mumbai

Re “Muslims -- India’s new ‘untouchables,’ ” Opinion, Dec. 1

Asra Q. Nomani’s attempt to explain the ruthless attack on Mumbai left more questions than it answered.

If the attackers were from Pakistan, what is the relevance of the “deteriorated” condition of Muslims in India? If the problems of Muslims in South Asia are country-specific (and by implication, a result of Hindu discrimination), why is it that India’s economy in general is moving ahead while Pakistan’s economy has not kept pace? (India’s gross domestic product per capita for 2007 was $3,700 and Pakistan’s was $2,600, for example.)

Finally, if the cause of the attack was the social and economic despair of Indian Muslims, why did the terrorists target Americans, British and the small minority of Jews living in India?

Nomani recommends a frank discussion of the condition of Muslims, but her data indicate a more urgent need for a frank discussion of the condition of Islam.

Chris Chrisman

Los Angeles

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Re “Terror’s tipping point,” editorial, Dec. 2

The U.S., like India, knows where the terrorists are, yet, in the name of peace, does almost nothing to apprehend them. Muslim extremists love to attack the unarmed and innocent and then run and hide among civilians; the terrorists know that if they are targeted, more innocent civilians are likely to be killed -- which other extremists then can use as propaganda.

I say enough. If Pakistan does not have what it takes to root out the extremists there, then its government should step aside and let other nations in to do the job. Anything short of this indicates that the Pakistani government is willingly harboring terrorists, and it should suffer the fate of terrorists. The United States should join India’s demand for the terrorists to be delivered up -- or join in removing Pakistan as an obstacle in the war on terrorism.

Miguel Rosales

Glendale