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February 22 Part IIAs a result of the appearance of Israel in the Middle East, a batch of leaders--Arab nationalists, Palestinian guerrillas, fundamentalist mullahs, and academics, West-hating terriorists, created a powerfully appealing new movement: militant Islamism.
"In the name of the one God, the Compassionate One, the Merciful One, " begins the Koran, Islam's founding document and holy book. These words were first set on paper in the 7th Century A.D. Within a century this new faith spread throughout the Middle East. In another 200 years, it had taken root as far away as Spain and India. Today, Islam has 1.5 billion adherents worldwide.
Much of Islam's growth was achieved at the point of a sword, and from the begining, Islam's followers won fame for ferocious courage in combat. But, from the start Islam's rulers also earned a reputation for tolerance and moderation, they treated Christians, Jews, and others in their midst with respect. This toleration has not been know between its two sects--Sunnis and Shi'ites and the wounds have never healed.
This respect and tolerance for others seems to have gone missing in the great fundamentalist revival that has swept the Islamic world in recent years. Islamist terrorists insist that all humans must submit to the will of Muhammad's God, and that believers must make war on those who do not share their beliefs.
It is true that Islamist terrorists make up a small minority of the Arab world and an even tinier fraction of the global Muslim world. But, while their hideous deeds resound everywhere, a troubling silence persists. Where are the voices of Islam's moderate clerics and scholars, denouncing terriorism as the perversion of a great religion? February 20 The Birthplace of Modern ReligionsThe desert environment and soaring sky of the Middle East seems to nourish the life of the spirit, for here three great faiths were born, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. All three religions trace their ancestry to Abraham, the Old Testament figure, and followers of these three Abrahamic religions regard Jerusalem as one of their holiest sites. This epicenter of the human spirit is one of the most hotly contested political locations on the planet.
Islam burst from its birthplace on the Arabian Peninsula across the Middle East after the death of its founder, Muhammad, in AD 632. Islam spread from Spain in the west to India in the east and in those days of its glory, Muslims led the civilized world in arts, sciences, and great cities such as Baghdad, Cairo, and Damascus. For centuries, while Europe languished in the Dark Ages, Muslim scholars, artists, astronomers, and mathematicians flourished.
However, when Europeans emerged from their long stagnation, their energies found a direction across the Mediterranean. Liberation of the historic sites of Christianity from the hands of Muslims became a sacred duty. A series of long, bloody, often inconclusive Crusades followed and the scars of dishonor left on the Islamic world have never faded. Even today, al-Qaeda kingpin Osama bin Laden refers to the US and European leaders as "Crusaders."
After the Crusades, the Muslim world entered a long period of decline and by the end of the 19th Century, most of the Middle East was in the grip of the Ottoman Empire. When the Ottoman Turks took the losing side in World War I, a new map was created by victorious Britian and France, and nations that emerged--Iraq, Kuwait, Palestine, and others--were creations of European political necessity, bearing no resemblance to the diverse cultures, religions, and loyalties of the inhabitants. The results was anger and instability.
From the shattering wreckage of World War II and the Nazi Holocaust, a new nation was born: Israel. This homeland fulfilled the dream of a people long scattered in the Diaspora, but from the moment of its creation, it has been despised by its Arab neighbors. Arabs have waged a constant struggle against "the Zionist entity." And, the plight of the Palestinian refugees has made peace a stranger to modern Middle East.
The Middle East remained outside of world politics, but that was shattered by the fact that its desert sands concealed vast deposits of the single most important commodity of the 20th Century, OIL. Within decades of this discovery, the Middle East was utterly transformed. Newly dependent Western world has left Middle East peoples far wealthier and more involved in global politics than ever before. But, it has also left them unmoored from their past and often unsure of their place in the modern world.
HateHATE
A while back I was discussing the politics of the Middle East with a person at work. He stated that he didn't understand how factions in the Middle East hated each other so much that they have murdered each other daily for decades. So, I was trying to show him how hate is planted and cultivated from one generation to another, sometimes to the point that it is automatic to hate.
Take for instance my grandfather, who served in World War II. Not a day went by without him telling us, "don't trust those slant-eyed Japs." (His quote not mine.) This quote was passed down to my parents, who in turn passed it down to my brothers, cousins, and me. This is how misconceptions of other races have been fostered. My step-father worked in construction and it was okay to work with blacks; but, they were not allowed in our home. When my husband's daughters were small, they would spend several weeks in the summer with us. His middle daughter would tell me every year, "You're fun to be with, but my mother hates you, so we have to hate you too." Always made for a wonderful visit.
But, my point is that babies are not born with hate. Hate is something that we are taught--something that we learn from those around us. And, the tribes in the Bible didn't always get along. The Jews and the Paletinians have always been at war. And, this hate has been passed down from one generation to another. It isn't something that is going to go away overnight, if ever.
So, I'm going to blog about the history of this area in hopes of enlightening some folks out there.
February 15 I'd Like to ApologizeI'd Like to Apologize
for not keeping my blog up-to-date!
I just haven't had the time. I've also been having health issues that have kept me off my feet for awhile. This coming Monday, 19 Feb, I'm finally having some outpatient surgery on my back which I hope will help. I've also started a new job as an analyst and this has taken quite a bit of my time. I hope to get things back on track after all of this is over. Thanks for dropping in.
Bobbi Child AbuseIn New Mexico, child abuse is a big issue. It occurs everyday. In my opinion it's on the same level with cop killers.
I've noticed that child abuse in the US is on the rise, or is it just being reported on more in the news?
I wanted to comment on a case I read about last week. I've lost my source, so I'm not sure where it occurred; however, the father awoke to find his toddler daughter playing in the hallway. He became angry when she wouldn't go back and stay in her bed, so he hit her hard enough to knock her out. Then he wrapped her in a blanket and carried her to a nearby wooded park where he left her. She came to and walked around some, as the police found her footprints in the snow. It was below zero outside and it didn't take long for the toddler to freeze to death.
I just can't fathom why anyone would do this to a baby. Their baby or anyone elses baby. What is wrong with people out there? Does anyone have any idea of what this toddler probably went through out in the freezing cold without shoes, a coat, mittens, anything to keep out the elements? I'd like to have just one minute alone with the father of this child. IranIran
It has been known for quite some time that Iran has been arming and supplying the insurgents in Iraq. I'm not in favor of a war with Iran, I think that we are stretched too thin as it is, but the only way to stop some of the murders in Iraq is to stop Iran. But, then, we have to stop the Iraqi Prime Minister from negotiating, behind our backs, with the Iranian goverment. Good Luck. February 14 Intel Reports Changed Along the WaySo, they finally got around to saying that the Intel reports given to the White House are changed along the way. Well, isn't that a surprise!!!!! I've been saying for years that the reports that passed my desk were not the reports that ended up at the White House. And, if the folks at the White House didn't like the way intel reports read, they just found someone to change them to their way of thinking, go figure. February 13 Happy Valentines' DayHAPPY VALENTINES' DAY
TO
EVERYONE!
May you all have a great Valentines' Day. Remember to tell those you love, Happy Valentines' Day. February 01 Groundhog's DayTomorrow is Groundhog's Day. Pennsylvanians will be lined up in the cold morning air waiting for Phil to come out and see his shadow so that we'll know for sure that winter isn't over yet. Like we need Phil to tell us.
Well, it's also my 57th birthday, and I'm not getting up to look for my shadow. I'm getting up to go to work all day and arrive back home in time to catch Numbers on TV. Damn, I just can't wait.
Has anyone out there seen "Groundhog's Day" with Bill Murray? In case you haven't it's a movie about a weatherman who goes to Pennsylvania to cover Phil coming out to see his shadow and he gets stuck living Groundhog's Day over and over until he learns some humility. Well, this year I feel like I'm living the same day over and over until I get so sick of it, I take the easy way out. So, don't call me and ask me if I saw my shadow this year because I'm not looking for it and I don't care if it's winter until hell freezes over. |
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