A rchive Date
[ 30-07-2004 ]
Category
[ International Relations ]
sub-Categoy
[ Canada ]
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[http://www.canoe.ca/Columnists/feuer.html
Terrorists intimidate fellow Muslims
By ED FEUER - Winnipeg Sun
October 16, 2001
After the trauma of Sept. 11, discussion abounds about religion as people struggle to find answers and discern motivations. Unfortunately, more heat than light is often generated.
But let's look at one verse from Holy Scripture.
"And remember when Moses said to his people, 'O my people! Call to mind the goodness of God towards you when he appointed prophets among you, and appointed you kings, and gave you what never had been given before to any human beings: Enter, O my people! the Holy Land which God hath destined for you. Turn not your back, lest ye be overthrown to your ruin.' "
So what, you say. Tell us something we don't know.
Its just another one of these numerous biblical verses that show the connection of the Jews with their ancestral homeland. The sort of thing that those who favour the return to Zion talk about when they say Israel is the place of the Jewish future, where Jews will not be assimilated - or overthrown to their ruin.
But this verse is not from what the Jews call the Hebrew Bible. Nor is it from the book Christians call the New Testament.
In fact, it comes from the Qur'an, from Sura V: The Table.
Definitely not one of the favourite verses of Islamic fundamentalists.
But that's just the point. Like the Hebrew Bible and New Testament, the Qur'an contains material that can be pulled out of context to support a lot of ideas.
Osama bin Laden and his ilk favour quotations about killing infidels, removed from the historical context of the early struggles of Islam.
But in societies where religion is politics and politics is religion, such verses are emphasized by fiery mosque preachers whose salaries are paid by extremist organizations or the local regime, and emotions can be raised to a frenzy.
Related to this is fallacy of the "Arab street" - supposedly the grass-roots opinion of the masses that Arab leaders ignore at their peril.
The trouble with that claim is that governments control the media in those countries and what the local dictator or king orders the press to print or the broadcast outlets to put on the air has a major impact.
Egypt is the prime example of the abuse of the "Arab street" excuse.
President Hosni Mubarak feels he must divert opposition to the failings of his own regime.
He views old traditional scapegoat Israel as the safety valve, and his media are given their marching instructions. That's why they discharge constantly, in sewer fashion, a torrent of hateful incitement against Israel, including some of the most vile anti-Semitic material since the Nazis.
But when the Americans come calling, Mubarak tells them he dare not offend the "street." He doesn't mention, of course, that he had a great deal to do with creating those passions.
There is another fallacy that needs dispelling. The worst terrorism Islamist organizations commit has not been against the United States and not against Israel.
It is against their fellow Muslims who are intimidated by their extremist views.
Any moderate who thinks about criticizing their views and actions is fearful of reprisal - death is a very real possibility. Anyone who would advocate the development of a more liberal theology in Islam and democratic pluralism is cowed into silence.
This is not a new phenomenon. This reign of terror has been going on for decades. Unfortunately, the fear it generates has not been limited to Muslims in the Middle East.
Ed Feuer is a Winnipeg Sun copy editor; reach him at efeuer@wpgsun.com
 World Fact Book (CIA)]
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