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October 15, 2001 |
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The New York Times |
For Haruki Murakami, Japan's most popular living fiction
writer, the current struggle against terrorism is no clash
of civilizations, much less a crusade.
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Rather, as the novelist sees it, the war that opposes the
United States and its allies against reputed terrorist groups
like al Qaeda is a collision between incompatible networks,
or what he calls circuits, whose apprehension of reality is
every bit as irreconcilable as matter and antimatter. And
whose collisions are bound to be just as explosive.
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"The open circuit is this society," Mr. Murakami
said, "and the closed circuit is the world of religious
fanatics: Islamic fundamentalists or groups like Aum Shinrikyo.
I think they are all the same in a way. Their worlds are perfect,
because they are closed off."
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In the universe of the fanatic, he said: "If you have
questions, there is always someone to provide the answers.
In a way, things are very easy and clear, and you are happy
as long as you believe."
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In our open world, however, "things are very incomplete,"
he said in an interview in his tidy book-filled office, which
looks out over the rooftops of Tokyo's fashionable Omotesando
neighborhood. He continued: "There are many distractions
and many flaws.
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continue reading at |
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http://www.nytimes.com/2001/10/15/books/15mura.html |
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