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United states of Arabia |
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The central thesis of Efraim Karsh’s provocative new book is that Arabs and Muslims do not change their spots. Islam is a millennarian faith in which politics and religion are inextricably bound together. Although they differ in ideological approach, secular pan-Arabists and the Islamists who now oppose them hold a common imperial outlook. Apart from Kemal Ataturk, who extricated Turkey from its Ottoman imperial legacy and re-established it as a modern nation-state by effecting a separation between religion and state, Middle Eastern leaders and Islamist ideologues have remained under the spell of the same “imperial dream”. Despite the pragmatism frequently exhibited by Muslim leaders at the level of power politics, this dream remains at the forefront of the social memory or imagination of the Arab-Muslim world, nurturing irredentist fantasies from Xinjiang to Spain. |
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There is a good deal of truth in this largely negative picture of recent Middle Eastern history drawn by Karsh. The terrorist attacks that have destroyed so many lives in cities far removed from its conflicts — in New York, Madrid, London, Istanbul — can indeed be seen as the outcome of a frustrated will-to-power fuelled by apocalyptic fantasies based on an idealised vision of a brilliant imperial past. Since God once granted victories to Muhammad and his successors, vindicating truth on the field of history, the historical tide must turn sooner or later, restoring the Muslim world to its past glories. The more out of register this picture becomes when contrasted with the grim realities (with Muslims in the Middle Eastern heartlands being outgunned economically and often militarily by infidels), the more frustrated individuals and groups may turn to violence (including the self-destructive violence of suicide missions). |
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Karsh is a skilful historian with a knack for finding illuminating quotes in original source materials. He writes engagingly. His narrative is well-paced and clear. At the level of power politics, he builds an impressive case. In numerous contexts, from the first Arab empires to the current stand-off between the West and Iran over the latter’s nuclear programme, it is often as not the imperial rather than the purely religious impulse that predominates, since power is the name of the game. Three of the more obvious examples he cites of would-be Islamic emperors, or Muslim leaders who succumbed to imperial impulses, are Saladin, Nasser and Arafat. Saladin, the archetypal Muslim hero, remained closely aligned with Byzantium, the leading Christian empire of the time, despite his lucky break in re-occupying Jerusalem. His aim was not so much to liberate the Holy Land from its western invaders as to build an empire at the expense of his Muslim rivals. Nasser, instead of building Egypt’s economy to improve the lives of its people, engaged his country in three disastrous wars (two with Israel and one in Yemen) in furtherance of his imperial pan-Arabist dream. Arafat, instead of building a viable Palestinian state out of the Oslo Accords, tacitly collaborated with the Islamist terrorist groups in order to further an imperial dream that must ultimately involve the destruction of the Jewish state. The charges may be debatable, but they are convincingly argued. |
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I got sick to my stomach when the Reuters' Arab 'journalist' at Yahoo posted a picture of the Hamas Despicable Bloody Butcher |
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Haniyeh defiant despite aid cuts to Palestinians By Nidal al-Mughrabi GAZA
(Reuters) - Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh said on Saturday his government would
not bow to foreign pressure to recognize Israel and disavow violence despite
funding cuts that are pushing the Palestinian Authority to financial collapse.
...The United States and the European Commission suspended direct aid on Friday
to Haniyeh's new Hamas-led government until it renounced violence, recognized
Israel's right to exist and supported internationally backed Middle East peace
initiatives...
Yes, we all read the "heroic" big guys of Hamas & how "strong" and defiant they are, oh yea, really impressive, well, maybe for some kids in Gaza. |
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But that Reuters' Arab journalist from Gaza: Nidal al-Mughrabi contemptible bold inserting of a "humane" picture as the Hamas mass murderer jokes with a little girl? |
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'That Muslim woman could be happier than you...' |
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| If you ever see a greater cogging anywhere, let me know. I always thought that happiness comes from freedom of choice, but apparently, living in oblivion makes one a lot happier. And, Na'ima, would you mind explaining us why the honour killings are 'pre-Islamic', while Muslims keep commiting them in the name of God? Moreover, to justify this outrageous misunderstanding of their religion they actually quote Qur'an! Any explanation? |
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Na'ima B Robert likes to see her devotion to Islam as similar to eating in a fresh, organic restaurant, while we non-believers make do with the greasy-spoon cafe. Unfortunately, sometimes they do say more than they intend to. Essentially, the non-believers are being summarized as 'dirty unbelievers', and the Judaism and Christianity are, respectively, dirty, untrue religions. Where did Na'ima get this from if she adheres the faith promoting mutual understanding and cultural dialogue?"It's something I want to share. You are free to eat where you like, but I would like to offer an invitation to the restaurant." Hmm. Usually people try to induce others to follow their footsteps when their conscience is telling them they're on the wrong track. When someone else does the same, you don't feel as guilty. That's why drinking teens always persuade their sober friends to 'try it out'. Now the question is: why do Jews keep their religion so closed to outsiders and have no record of involvement in religious terrorism? A strange coincidence?The trouble, though, is that to many people in multi-cultural Britain today, Islam is seen as the greasy-spoon cafe in terms of religious restaurants. To some, it represents suicide bombers and honour killings and the oppression of women. Of course this is a rude misconception! Or do you really believe the Zionist-controlled AP, AFP and Reuters? Or the Police reports? Keep in mind, the Zionist lobby is everywhere.How to change this perception of Islam? Na'ima is a pretty good start. Sure she is. After all, it is in tradition of a devoted Muslim to tell half-truth and avoid bringing up controversial issues.Until six years ago, the 27-year-old married mother of two ate in greasy-spoon cafes. She was born in England, to non-believing parents, before moving to Zimbabwe with them, where she had a typical adolescence, partying hard, listening to pop music and reading fashion magazines. |
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When she returned to Britain to study at the University of London, she had hopes of becoming a successful career woman who perhaps married and had children sometime in her thirties. But then she went to Egypt and everything changed. |
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While she was there, she couldn't stop noticing the women in hijab (headscarves) and she was appalled. She could not understand why they allowed themselves to be so dominated by men; couldn't fathom why they wouldn't want to show themselves off. When she eventually asked a woman in hijab why she wore it, she was told simply: "Because I want to be judged for what I say and what I do, not for what I look like." Poor Na'ima. If she at least had a bit of critical thinking she would have asked a question of why this woman might say this. Did she say it sincerely? Or did she say it because she is forced to dress like this by her husband, and it is forbidden to discuss the internal family matters with strangers? Also, didn't it occur to you that Egyptian religious authorities excel at brainwashing people? If free thinking puts a person under the risk of being accused of 'blasphemy', what is she going to do?It struck a chord with Na'ima, and she began reading about Islam. While many of her contemporaries were partying and meeting men, Na'ima made the decision to convert - or rather "revert" as it is known in the religion - to Islam. She has just completed writing From my Sisters' Lips, an extremely thought-provoking book about her experience that challenges Western preconceptions of Islamic women. |
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BBC: Attacks Question Dutch Multiculturalism |
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| Another article from BBC full of pity towards those islamo fascists. |
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Head teacher Jeanne van der Voort was at home watching television when she got the news that her school was on fire. |
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By the time she arrived at the scene in Uden, a small town in southern Holland, the building was engulfed in flames. It took firefighters until 2am to extinguish the blaze. |
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No one was hurt, but over 100 children of the Bedir Islamic primary school were left with nowhere for their lessons. |
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