2/27/2005
In the Arab world, dislike of al Qaeda grows daily
This post at Crossroads Arabia is very encouraging.
Michael Doran, of Princeton University, has a good article up in the Wall Street Journal (a for-pay site) entitled “The Iraq Effect”, which run counter to much “received wisdom” concerning the war in Iraq. In it, Doran states that while intense dislike of the US combat in Iraq continues unabated, in much of the Arab and Muslim world, the dislike of Al-Qaeda and its supporters grows daily. In their efforts to see only evil in the Arab world, many American critics (as well as European critics) are failing to note the deliberate changes which they should be applauding.
To me, with the idea of al-takeyya and hudna, I am very hesitant to believe there are changes that will make differences in the long run. Right now we have problems on our own soil with honor killings and murders of Christians. To think or imagine these things will stop is going to take a lot of convincing.
John writes:
The war that is going on through the Islamic world is one for the heart of Islam. It is decidedly to our benefit, as Americans, to realize just what is happening and to give appropriate support–mostly moral and verbal–to those reformers who are trying to create in their countries the conditions necessary to co-exist with a modernizing world.
Most assuredly, I am in favor of change in Iraq; in the Middle East in general–I’d like to see women voting in Saudi Arabia, for example. I hesitate to mention what exactly I think those things should be, but will consider and watch as time goes on. As someone said in Iraq, they might not see the freedom they dream of in this lifetime, but at least they can see it happening for their children. It will be interesting to see if the Shiites’ represented in Iraq will be Shiites supported by the mullahs in Iran.
NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and educational purposes only.
February 28th, 2005 at 2:26 pm
Cao,
Thanks for the link, and noticing this post. I think you should step back from the allegations of “taqqiya”, though.
Shi’i Muslims, those who follow the Shi’a schools, acknowledge “taqqiya” as a legitimate practice when faced with death. The Sunni Muslims do not accept that concept and use it as a bludgeon to club the Shi’a.
Rather than cloaking it in religious vocabularly–as some anti-Muslim sites tend to do–I think you can safely call “lying” just that: “lying, not telling the truth.”
It’s not a religious matter; people (including Muslims) lie for exactly the same people all people lie. It serves their goals.
February 28th, 2005 at 2:37 pm
Lying is not sanctioned by the bible, under any circumstances. Al Takeyya is lying for the sake of Islam and is supported by Sunnis and Shias alike. It is, in fact, what Mohammad taught. Lying is acceptable if it’s to further the Islamic cause. It is an Islamic concept that is unfamiliar to American Christians (Although Coptic Christians are quite familiar with this concept) who were brought up on the story of George Washington who cut down his father’s cherry tree. “I cannot tell a lie, yes I cut down the cherry tree”, he said. We were brought up to tell the truth, no matter what the consequences.
So I find that very interesting. Our culture–at least most of our culture–Christian culture–does not support lying in any form, to my knowledge. And if it does, it’s news to me.
To dismiss al-takeyya as–’everyone lies in every culture’ isn’t true and you know it. The statement itself cleverly does not acknowledge what al-takeyya really is. Al-takeyya is lying for the sake of Islam. And every culture does not do it.