Sunday, July 01, 2007

Desmond Tutu Vs Bernard Lewis

If I had to vote for my favourite personalities in the contemporary world, one of them would be the Archbishop Emeritus of Cape Town, South Africa, Desmond Tutu. Via the ever efficient Islamophobia Watch:

"I would hope that you in the media would be passionate about letting people judge for themselves, that you would be careful about some of the language that you do actually use," he said. "'Muslim terrorism' – have you ever read anywhere 'Christian terrorism'? – as if Islam propagates violence, but you have never spoken about what happened in Northern Ireland as Christian terrorism," he said.

Tutu added that understanding different religions required peoples of all faiths to understand different perspectives. "We Christians ought to get off our high horse and learn to be a great deal more humble, when you look at our history, the bloody things that we did in the name of religion," he said.
Contrast these well-informed and constructive comments by Desmond Tutu with those of the anti-Muslim and rabid Zionist so-called historian Bernard Lewis, a Barnes and Nobles dusty job. This is from his book 'The Crisis of Islam: Holy War and Unholy Terror' (p. 137), suitably titled for right-wing appetites:

Most Muslims are not fundamentalists, and most fundamentalists are not terrorists, but most presend-day terrorists are Muslims and proudly identify themselves as such.
Does that ring a bell? This was a regular Sept. 11, 2001 commentary, and you don't have to guess the origin. The vile Orientalist Bernard Lewis lays claim to most of all controversial albeit celebrated sayings in the media. It wasn't George Bush or any of his criminal henchmen who conceived the idea that Iraqis would receive their oppressors with flowers but Bernard Lewis, the big mouthpiece of intellectual dishonesty and political hubris who waved America's bombers toward Iraq. There is a definite association between Lewis and the "Western Reformation" fascists in Washington and Tel Aviv, in their genocidal campaign for world dominance.

Understandably, Muslims complain when the media speak of terrorist movements and actions as "Islamic" and ask the media why the media do not similarly identify Irish and Basque terrorists and terrorism as "Christian". The answer is simple and obvious - they do not describe themselves as such. The Muslim complaint is understable, but it should be addressed to those who make the news, not to those who report it.
Bernard Lewis himself has participated in acts of terrorism, though in a more dastardly and malacious fashion. Bravo, he wrote the damn the script for it! And he has the temerity to talk about 'Islam in Crisis: Holy War and Unholy Terror', ignorant of the fact that there is no concept of holy war in Islam. What can you expect from someone who has befriended several racist, murderous Israeli politicians; American neocons of death and destruction; coined the catastrophic Cold War propaganda phrase "the clash of civilizations" and led a nation (he isn't even an American) to war against an innocent people? I will write a detailed critique of his book. For now, I will draw your attention to the person to whom he has dedicated this Orientalist junk: Harold Rhode. Who is Harold Rhode? From a source on Juan Coles's blog:

"He considered Lewis his real mentor. Later, [I was told by someone in the know that] that Lewis helped him get a job in Richard Perle's office at the Pentagon. The rest is history....

Some writers are asking about what the connections are between various individuals and groups in the Iraq/Iran/Israel/etc. mess. Were there ever to be a serious investigation of the Israeli infiltration of the Pentagon (unlikely, of course), one would certainly have to examine Bernard Lewis's role here.

Even though Edward Said raised the issue 25 years ago, in view of recent events, it seems high time that a scholarly society promote a frank and more balanced discussion of the political agenda driving Lewis's scholarship as well as his advice to leaders as a supposed senior scholar on the Islamic world. (On the other hand, I am not aware of any reputable treatment of his non-academic side; a Google search only reveals some rather unsavory publications that question his non-academic affiliations.)"
And finally Juan Cole on Harold Rhode:

Rhode participated in the meetings in Europe with the proto-fascist Italian military intelligence organization, SISMI, and the rightwing Italian Defense Minister, along with fraudster Manuchehr Ghorbanifar, at which suspected spy Lawrence Franklin also was present.

9 comments:

zanjabil said...

"Most present-day terrorists are Muslims"

FACT: "The majority of terrorism is not related to the Middle East, Muslims, or Arabs." Read Myth Number 1

And read:

Terrorism myths continued

Wa salaam

Anonymous said...

The huge difference here is that there are no Christians who have ever thought God told them to fight and kill until they rule the world with Christianity. The people in Ireland were not bombing and killing everyone in the world, saying that their God told them to fight and kill until they ruled the world with Christianity. Most see this huge difference.

We hear Muslims saying every day that they are to rule over the rest of the world with their religion...a religion many others do not believe in. There are people who are calling themselves Muslims who are kidnapping, bombing, killing, raping others every single day. They have cut people body parts off, saying they did it in the name of Islam and their god, Allah. There are people calling themselves Muslims who are fighting in almost every single armed conflict in the world today, barring, maybe one or two.

There is no Islamophobia because phobia means an unreal fear. There is definitely reason for the world to fear and, therefore, fight against Muslim terrorists/ extremists. The world has actually been very careful to distinquish between the "real Muslims," those who are peaceful and good, and the barbaric Muslim terrorists/ extremists. The world can live with the real Muslims, but no one in the world can live with the Muslim terrorist/extremist animals.

zanjabil said...

"There is definitely reason for the world to fear and, therefore, fight against Muslim terrorists/ extremists."

Which terrorists should we fear and fight most, Anonymous? Tell us, please. The ones who have murdered 650,000+ Iraqi human beings? Or the ones alleged to have murdered less than 4,000 of "us"?

Your very use of the phrase "their god, Allah" demonstrates crass ignorance of Islam. Monotheists believe that there is only one God. "Allah" simply means "God". Arabic Christians use the same word "Allah".

Your arrogance, prejudice and ignorance are shocking. Kindly go out and learn something of Islam, befriend some Muslims, ask them questions. They won't bite. Then come back and leave your intelligent, thoughtful comments. And we can engage in a meaningful debate.

Anonymous said...

My values and standards are based on freedom - from and of - religion. Whether you're a Mormon or a Scientologist makes no difference to me - as long as you don't want to convert or kill me of course. I am an agnostic and when I die, I expect to go to the place from whence I came – nothingness. I am not angry at muslims – I am angry at islam for turning this flawed and imperfect world into a darker, less secure and more violent place.

I think it’s important that muslims know how many of us feel towards their religion. Islam, as Muslims love to point out to us, is not really a religion but 'a whole way of life' from the state apparatus down to the individual defecating at home. Islam as a 'whole way of life', as a political, social and economic ideology has proven time and again that it is an utter failure, producing corrupt dictatorial regimes, grinding poverty, illiteracy and intellectual backwardness, misogyny, hatred of the Other, debilitating fatalism, dysfunctional individuals, institutionalized hypocrisy and nihilistic terrorists. That IS Islam.

zanjabil said...

Conspiracy Smasher,

You talk of freedom. Yet you murder 650,000 Iraqi humans. You talk of illiteracy. Yet you seem incapable of thinking in anything other than cartoon cliches. You talk of anger. Yes, you talk of anger, because you are angry. You are so angry that your anger has clouded your mental faculties. It has stultified your heart. It has turned you into something altogether pitiable.

I shall pray for you.

Anonymous said...

"murder 650,000 Iraqi humans"

Nonsense. Most of the deaths in Iraq are muslim on muslim - sunni on shia. get your facts straight before you debate me again.

I also couldn't help but notice you were unable to dispute my examination of your death-cult. Maybe it's time you left this despicable "religion" and became a humna being?

zanjabil said...

Conspiracy Smasher,

Your heart is full of darkness. Your mind is full of darkness.

I have nothing more to say to you.

Anonymous said...

zanjabil won't have anything to say . No offence but is it not the time when people are lost at words start actually do something ,infact GB shaw coddled more doers than who teach. Now the truth about Islam has to be digested and assimilated.The miserable cultish practice leaves everone under a state , which is not to be questioned , Wish Muslims could havea little bit of free inquiry into realms of universe, not everything filtered through Koran and Hadith. Most muslims wont bite, most muslims wont behead you either . But the maxumum probability of loosing your head is telling something unflattering about Mohd.(no peace on somebody whom I cant document ever existed like most prophets). And It is actually happening in my own country India where a Muslim writer from Bangladesh has to be protected 24/7 for writing something ,which might had a grain of truth. Now islamists threaten to behead her (yes HER) , in the name of Allah. ONly a handful of people , including Muslims came to her defence .Poliiticians largely kept mum, for fear of losing muslim vote

Anonymous said...

FOR THEY WOULD EVEN BULLY CHRIST

It is irational: how to explain it?
It seems the wide majority impelled
By "faith-based" clarity so to disdain it,
Reason--they by illusive visions held.

Reason, if offering the best of theory
Empirical relies on evidence
To measure probability; but leery
Are they of reason, hostile to common sense.

Their creed remains at best exclusional:
One has to thump the same old passage from
The same old holy playbook, with effusion all
In unison, none different from his chum.

It is a faith, beyond even Tertullian,
For these but kowtow to the name of God,
When in reality they worship bullion;
Would even bully Christ, they are so proud.