June 2, 2007
The Islamic Question
Filed by Trevor at 12:24 am under Racism, Religion, Social Issues
I’ve seen many videos on Islamic extremism that have upset me deeply, partially because I refuse to sink to the level of those that brand every Muslim our enemy, but also because I find any manner of religious extremism troubling — especially that which results in bloodshed. I am absolutely at a loss to discover the source of this hatred that has taken our world hostage, and I fail to understand how deposing Arab leaders of sovereign nations is expected to endear us to the Islamic community. On that note, the video below is without question the most moving I have seen on this subject since the start of this wretched war — the infamous exchange with psychologist Wafa Sultan . That a Syrian woman is willing to show her face on Al-Jazeera speaking such blasphemy and heresy requires courage for which our society has no word; I have never agreed with anyone on this matter as wholeheartedly as I do her, and the fact that it is coming from within the Arab community further galvanizes the plainness of her truth. I believe she is doing more good than most for this current crisis in which we have found ourselves, and I encourage you to keep tabs on her work.
One amazing thing, though: notice that no one interrupts her, despite her quite heretical statements, even despite the fact that she is a woman in Western dress. Had this exchange taken place on American television, how much of her message do you think she would have gotten across?
I agree with her when she starts talking about being a humanist and the right of people to worship as they want. I do not however believe in her assessment the clash is between two eras “between barbarity and rationality”, I think this only perpetuates the conflict and polarize the two sides. The part that religious extremism plays is that they have co-opted and give solidarity to voices they feel they are unheard, similar to the way the Republic National Committee co-opted the religious right the United States. The RNC used the religious right while at the same time calling the “dumb hicks” and laughed at them behind their backs.
After “911”, we were told they hate us because our freedom and because we don’t believe the way they do. Unfortunate the facts paint a different picture. Almost all of the terrorist that attack the US were from Saudi Arabia not Iraq. After the first golf war the US thought I would be great to have a military in the Middle-East and erected an air base in, and guesses were? Saudi Arabia and not just anywhere, Saudi Holy land and they had been protesting the base ever since. Of course after “911” we closed the air base and attacked Iraq and are in the process of build a 600 million dollar complex in the ‘Green Zone’ in Iraq, with an annual budget of 1.2 billion dollars, Kind of makes you wonder what 1.2 billion dollars a year gets you. It is like this current administration wants the Middle-East to hate us so the war con perpetuate indefinitely. I don’t think that after “911” if week were told they attacked us because we built a military base on their holy land they could have gotten US people to rally to go to war.
I wish I could remember who said this “If you don’t give a reason for people to live then they will find a reason to die for”.