T. J. Winter, Olivier Roy & Irshad Manji in Dialogue

A friend sent me this link to the transcript of a dialogue that took place on the BBC last December:

The Search for Certainty
BBC Transcript of a Recorded Documentary

This interesting exchange is hosted by Bruce Clark and includes quite an interesting cast of characters, some of whom are:

• Olivier Roy, prominent French academic and author of Globalized Islam: The Search for a New Ummah (2003) and The Failure of Political Islam (1996).


• Irshad Manji, victim of dyspepsia and author of The Trouble with Islam: A Muslim's Call for Reform in Her Faith (2004).


• Tim Winter, Sheikh Zayed Lecturer in Islamic Studies, and Fellow of Wolfson College, Cambridge University, and editor of The Cambridge Companion to Islamic Theology (forthcoming in 2005).

Don't get your hopes up, since Irshad Manji doesn't contribute much to this otherwise interesting exchange. Indeed, her only significant statement is an unqualified generalization that Muslims are "not taught to ask questions", which proves once again that not only are her thoughts on Islam all but useless, but so-called "Progressives" remain their own worst enemy.

In regards to Olivier Roy, years ago I remember wondering (rather unfairly) about what a French neo-Orientalist had to contribute to my understanding of the contemporary Muslim World. Since then, I've developed a healthy respect for his thoughtful and informed writings. Although I certainly don't endorse everything he says, quite often his analyses of the Muslim World, Muslim psychology and the appeal of extremist Islamic movements are right on the money.

Indeed, one of the main points that Roy tries to make (and makes rather convincingly) is that modern fundamentalist Islamic movements are far from a manifestation of Islamic revival in the traditional sense, but rather these movements are reactions to the post-colonial era, are heavily influenced by Western revolutionary ideologies, and are ultimately products of the modern industrial era of nation-states. As such, they really don't have anything to do with traditional Islam -- in spite of their oft-abused slogan of returning to the way of the noble Salaf.

But make no mistake -- Olivier Roy's criticism of so-called Islamism sometimes overflows into a critic of Islam itself, so he's certainly not writing in order to please Muslims. However, when one considers all of the bigoted and shallow books that have been published by so-called "experts" on Islam and the Middle East in recent years, Roy's books tend to stand out amongst the most cogent of them. The mere fact that the likes of Daniel Pipes gave The Failure of Political Islam a one-star rating (out of a possible five) should be enough to demonstrate that the book contains a modicum of truth -- since Pipes' main line of work seems to be criticising anyone who doesn't buy into his own triumphantly anti-Islamic and rabidly pro-Zionist worldview

I remember reading a rather shallow review of Roy's The Failure of Political Islam in which a hot-headed Muslim critic repeatedly, and rather dogmatically, reminded the reader that Islam has not failed. Unfortunately, had the reviewer in question conducted a more careful reading of the book's title, or had even actually read the book itself, it would have been made clear that Roy's thesis in no way asserts that Islam has failed. Rather, Olivier Roy points out how Political Islam -- a heretical modernist distortion of Islam -- has failed. As I've said before so-called "Political Islam" should never be confused with Islam being political, since Muslims (both as individuals and as state actors) can certainly be rightfully involved in politics without buying into the entire worldview and fundamentalist ideology (in the worst sense of both words) of the Islamists. That having been said, I recommended picking up one of Olivier Roy's books since he offers some interesting insights that are likely to enhance your understanding of what's going on in the world today. If you don't agree with him, as I sometimes don't, at least he'll make you ponder and reflect on why you don't -- so be careful or you might actually learn something.

Anyway, here are some key excerpts from the dialogue:

Roy: "So this shows that the revolt in the name of Islam is not I would say backlash of the traditional Muslim identity against liberalisation, but on the contrary; it is seen by many uprooted young boys as the new cause to fight Society with a big 'S' and the US imperialism."

Clark: "Among Muslim scholars, too, there are those who regard fundamentalism as modern, in the worst sense of the word. Tim Winter sees a huge difference between traditional or orthodox readings of Islam on the one hand - and the views on the other of a militant fringe that is both unrepresentative and very recent in origin."

Winter: "Well I think everybody can see that twenty or thirty years ago, nobody had really heard of the kind of fundamentalist movement that we see today in the Islamic world. The mosques were still full, but this kind of targeting of civilians, for instance, the aberrant use of terrorist violence is something that really is very new. It's novel in the history of the religion and it reflects a particular decadence in Muslim religious discourse in certain places."

The critical point of the entire exchange, and it's an extremely important point for understanding what's going on within the Ummah today, is when Shaykh T. J. Winter asks the key question of our age: How do we reassert orthodoxy in the face of a growing groundswell of fundamentalist revolt? That, my dear brothers and sisters, is indeed the challenge of our oft-confusing and disconcerting times and a goal that all of us should busy ourselves in accomplishing...with Almighty God's help.

Assumption – The Mother of All Screw Ups

I recently deleted a comment, seemingly from a self-avowed Muslim apostate, which was posted under one of my recent blog entries, because it contained some assertions about the Prophet -- salla Allahu 'alayhi wa salam -- that were both slanderous and factually incorrect. In conjunction with that, the poster of the comments invited me to debate an issue which they, rather conveniently, consider "a self evident fact that needs no proof". However, I see no value in debating anyone who seemingly doesn't recognize that one of the most recognized and basic principles of logical debate is: "He who asserts must prove". Thus if such a person is convinced that they've proven something, although they've actually only made assertions, the first thing that would need to happen prior to any debate would be for them to prove their claims -- not challenge someone to refute their mere assertions before they've even been objectively proven.

Unfortunately for them, simply claiming things as "proven", just because they think they are, just doesn't cut it. Thus what they need to do is select something from the life of the Prophet, salla Allahu 'alayhi wa salam, and prove that it is objectively wrong or immoral. Indeed, in a logical world where the principle of "He who asserts must prove" is given some value, this is what they must do.

Such an approach would stand in sharp contrast to their current methodology, which is to simply assert that something is "wrong", conveniently consider that to be "proof", and then challenge people to "prove" that it's not. Ah, it must be comforting to live in such a world. However, I don't and the clock is ticking, thus to avoid a debate made up of personal assertions that could go on ad infinitum, if not cut short by one of the premature claims to victory that they seem fond of, I'll remain on the sidelines until they actually objectively prove something about Islam is morally wrong (and again, this shouldn't be confused with simply asserting that it is or appealing to the whimsical values of the postmodern 21st Century West).

The reason for the flawed approach of these atheist apostates is that they subscribe to a morally relativistic worldview in which there is no objective right or wrong. Therefore, in an attempt to gain the high ground from the start and establish something of an objective moral standard (which rather conveniently ends up being their own personal opinions), they essentially claim: "We've declared ourselves right, so now prove us wrong". This can be manifestly seen in a statement from their website which claims that "Firstly none of those charges are or can be proven wrong". Gee, whatever happened to proving your own assertions (i.e. "charges") right in the first place instead of just assuming that they are? As a wise man once said: "Assumption -- the Mother of All Screw Ups". Based on all of this, please consider the cowardly attempt of FaithFreedom.org to establish a debate on their own slanted and illogical terms, and thus put their opponents inescapably on the defensive, to be hereby exposed for the folly and deceit that it is.

It seems that these self-proclaimed intellectuals still need to enroll in a basic logic and formal reasoning course (1, 2), since they consistently confuse assertions made from within a moral vacuum with "proof" -- and the question of how one proves something as right or wrong from within the confines of their morally benign and godless world is still begging to be answered. As I see it, all of this is just a ploy to appeal to the postmodern nihilistic fancies of their like-minded readers in order to make them feel intellectually superior -- all the while hoping that no one ever notices the logical flaws undermining their entire approach.

One would think that before entering into debates and making vacuous claims about "right" and "wrong" one would at least have the intellectual veracity to establish what they believe the basis for right and wrong actually is -- but don't hold your breath. On the website in question, the definition of "right" seems to be what some nihilistic atheists feel is right, and "wrong" is whatever they assert is wrong (which happens to be just about everything Islamic).

I just wanted to spend a few minutes to expose the flawed methodology of a website which seems to be a trap deceitfully setup to cast doubts in the minds of unwary Muslims and just another forum for making Muslim apostates feel good about themselves.

Now that the proverbial ball is in their court...we're anxiously awaiting to see their objective proof that something in Islam is morally wrong. In the mean time, readers are encouraged to read a couple of books (1, 2) and articles (1, 2, 3) dealing with the subject of moral relativism -- not necessarily from the point of view that I agree with -- in order to establish a sound intellectual foundation for what is really at the heart of this "right" and "wrong" issue.

The Straw Men of the PMU

I've been wanting to write something regarding Hussein Ibish's response to Dr. Hina Azam's outstanding and generally well-argued article A Critique Of The Argument For Woman-Led Friday Prayers, but I simply haven't had time. Due to this, a more Rested Heart has beaten me to the punch and done a fine job at that:

The Straw Man and the Progressive Muslim Union

While I think there are some assumptions and other serious flaws that undermine Ibish's attempted refutation, especially for those of us who value the eternal more than the temporal, it seems that my points in this regard will have to wait for a later day, insha'llah.

Before closing, I'd like to mention that the other day I read the comments of a self-professed liberal Muslim who said that they were yet to read a convincing argument that woman-led prayer is not allowed. I'm not sure if going through life putting the cart before the horse whenever it suits your own fancy necessarily classifies as self-delusion, but it certainly could. Self-delusion is a scary thing because one is inherently unaware that one is suffering from it. I pray that Almighty God protects us all from that...

More on the Dershowitz Saga

In the past, I've made mention (1, 2) of the dishonest antics of professor Alan Dershowitz. I guess this is because I can't resist feeling satisfied when a prominent Islamophobe and pro-Zionist bigot -- who seems to have so many people duped -- is exposed as a liar. Well the other day I came across these two pieces, which are worthy additions to the ongoing Alan Dershowitz saga:

More lies from Dershowitz

The Case Against Alan Dershowitz

Enjoy...

My Upcoming Lectures in the Toronto Area

Well since both SAFSpace and Barefoot Sunni have let the proverbial cat out of the bag, I guess I'll go ahead and post the details of my upcoming -- insha'llah -- trip to Toronto, Canada. Yes, I've agreed to give two lectures in the Toronto area the weekend of April 30th - May 1st. This is the second time that I've been invited north of the border by my friend Shabir Ally so that I could give a public lecture (or two) and appear on his television show Let The Quran Speak. Although the pre-recorded television shows will air later at a still undetermined time, the details of the public lectures are as follows:

"Progressing, Regressing & Confusing Islams"
6 p.m. on Saturday, April 30th
River Grove Community Centre
5800 River Grove Avenue
(Britannia Road & Creditview Road)
Mississauga, Ontario

"The Quran: A Miracle of Prophesy"
6 p.m. on Sunday, May 1th
Burlington Seniors' Centre
2285 New Street
Burlington, Ontario

In the first lecture, I plan to address some of the challenges facing the Ummah today and express my ideas on some of the house-cleaning that needs to take place in the Dar al-Islam. The heart of this lecture, as I now perceive it, will be loosely based on my "Monkey See, Monkey Do" - Not An Islamic Ideal rant. The other lecture, entitled The Quran: A Miracle of Prophesy, will be a discussion of various Qur'anic verses (ayat) and how these offer tangible proof that it's not only a revelation from Almighty God, but that it has been preserved as well. Depending on how much time I'm given, I'll also try to discuss some alleged New Testament prophecy fulfullments and why they, once some scrutiny is applied, aren't very credible and don't carry much weight.

I'm more of a writer than a public speaker, which is why I didn't publicize these lectures here, but hopefully what I have to say will be of some benefit, insha'llah. If you attend the lecture(s) and know me from this blog, please come up and say "Salam", since it's always nice when CyperSpace and reality meet. I'm looking forward to it...

Getting to Know the Messenger -- salla Allahu 'alayhi wa salam

On this blessed twelfth day of Rabi`a al-Awwal, we should all take some time to increase our knowledge of the life, example and teachings of the Prophet of Mercy -- salla Allahu 'alayhi wa salam. This isn't something that should be limited to just today, but we should put a plan into place to increase our knowledge of the Prophetic biography (sîrah) by either attending classes, reading books or listening to audio lectures.

In stark contrast to when I embraced Islam thirteen years ago, today we are blessed with a wealth of material in English that can assist us in this pursuit. In my opinion, Muhammad: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources, by Martin Lings, remains the best biography of the Prophet -- salla Allahu 'alayhi wa salam -- in the English language, in spite of some seemingly minor flaws due to its perennialist outlook. Sidi Hamza Yusuf Hanson has done a set of lectures based on this book, which can be purchased as a 24-tape series entitled The Life of the Prophet Muhammad -- salla Allahu 'alayhi was salam -- which is extremely worthwhile and highly recommended. A helpful summary of each lecture in this course can be found here [408K Adobe Acrobat .pdf file].

Another worthwhile book is Aisha Bewley's translation of Qadi 'Iyad's Kitab ash-Shifa bi Ta'rif Huquq al-Mustafa (Book of Healing by the Recognition of the Rights of the Chosen One), probably the most beloved book of Prophetic biography in the Muslm World, where it is simply known as ash-Shifa. While this work by the renowed scholar Qadi 'Iyad Ibn Musa al-Yahsubi al-Maliki (died 544 AH) discusses the life of the Prophet Muhammad -- salla Allahu 'alayhi wa salam -- in great detail, it is not a typical chronological biography. Rather it is organized by subject (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9) in order to provide a great amount of details on the Prophet -- salla Allahu 'alayhi wa salam, including his various qualities, his appearance, his miracles, his exalted position, his protection from error and other aspects such as the necessity of loving him and the benefits of asking for blessings upon him -- salla Allahu 'alayhi wa salam. It's also very useful because it discusses various issues about the Prophet -- salla Allahu 'alayhi wa salam -- and thus clarifies what a Muslim should believe about him. In this age where many rationalist Muslim sects downplay the importance and status of the Prophet -- salla Allahu 'alayhi wa salam, this book is indispensable.

While not really a book of sîrah as such, And Muhammad Is His Messenger, by the late Dr. Annemarie Schimmel, is a worthwhile and interesting study on the status of the Prophet -- salla Allahu 'alayhi wa salam -- in Islamic society. It discusses and analyzes his unique status in Islam, his role as intercessor and his place in not only popular piety but in the Islamic mystical tradition as well. There's even a chapter dedicated to poetry written in honor of the Prophet -- salla Allahu 'alayhi wa salam.

Last, but not least, the audio series (CD - Cassette) entitled The Life of the Last Prophet, by Yusuf Islam, is a worthwhile addition to every English-speaking Muslim's library -- and there's an accompanying book that comes with it as well.

I pray that Almighty God gives everyone tawfîq in this endeavor...Amîn.

Links, Books, Comments and Other Tidbits

Since I've been somewhat busy lately, both due to work and some extra-blogical writings that I'm working on, I haven't had time to post anything too substantial. However, I have been doing some web-browsing and have posted some rather lengthy comments on this blog as well. Due to this, I just wanted to share some of the useful links and books that I've recently come across — and provide a brief outline of my recent comments as well.

Well I really enjoyed the very funny and creative Why (Public) School is Good for You post that I found via Seeker's Digest. Likewise, I found a couple of interesting articles (1, 2) in The American Conservative magazine and another which discusses a recent travesty of justice in al-Mamlakah al-'Arabiyyah al-Wahhabiyyah. I also came across a very nice French website — with lots of articles, links and books — entitled Saveurs Soufies. I've added about ten more links to the bottom of my LINKS page, so please take a look at them.

As far as books, I've come across some interesting ones on psychology and child development, and two very worthwhile works on Jalal al-Din al-Rumi (1, 2) — and I'm currently reading an informative biography of the often misunderstood mystic Ibn 'Arabi.

In regards to my recent comments, I've posted some clarifications of my view of Pope John Paul II and have clarified my statement that those who reject Islam are "hellbound disbeliever(s)" as well. Some insightful thoughts posted by some readers resulted in some more comments by me in regards to God's forgiveness as understood by Christianity and Islam — and eventually to some details on the influential Roman Catholic theologian Hans Küng.

Also, I finally got around to posting some responses to the comments of The Flanstein — an infamous Islamophobe who regularly posts comments on various Islamic blogs. The longest of my comments, which I conclude by asking Flanstein to help promote "what is best and what is just" can be found here. A short exposé of his double-standards and ignorance of Islam can be found here, as well as a follow-up which demonstrates that he was being dishonest in one of his previous postings.

Lastly, I've offered a brief explanation of why I continue to use American English on this blog rather than British English.

Enjoy...

This World Will Not Fulfill You

Yesterday, I visited the Zaytuna Institute website and listened to the latest community advice [2.2 MB MP3 file or streaming Real Audio] by Sidi Hamza Yusuf. In this short talk, the shaykh translates and discusses an awesome aphorism (hikmah) that is very relevant for those trying to attach their heart to Almighty God in this very materialistic modern age:

“If you seek in this world what suffices you,
then know that the least of this world will suffice you,
but if you seek from this world what will fulfill you —
because you are not fulfilled by what suffices you —
then there's nothing in this world that will fulfill you.”

May Allah give us the strength, wisdom and surety of faith to live our lives as if we're giving these wise words their due.

Umm Zaid's Mega Update...and More

I encourage everyone to take a look at the recently updated and redesigned SunniSister weblog by Muslimah author, poet and webmaster par excellence Saraji Umm Zaid. Not only does she contribute to quite a number of websites (1, 2, 3, 4) and weblogs (1, 2, 3, 4), but her I Profess.com site is the best resource that I know of for new converts to Islam (and even old converts like myself). This extremely useful site has recently been updated and is even being translated into Español, so check it out and pass it on to a friend...

Recommendations of an Ottoman Scholar & Sufi Master

Today, I came across the biography of the renowed scholar Hadrat Ahmed Ziyauddin-i Gumush-Khanewiturksi (1813-1893) while visiting the Seeker's Digest blog. This noble shaykh's Recommendations to his murids are certainly worth reading, considering and taking to heart.

Here are some excerpts from the beginning...

1. Consider yourself uninformed (ignorant) and ordinary at all times as required for humbleness and modesty.

2. Be scholars for your deeds, education, manners, and conduct. Tell people as much as they can comprehend.

3. Do not turn your backs to one another, nor do hate one another. Stay united as brothers. Do not envy one another.

...the middle...

24. Stay away from the meat of animals that have been slaughtered by infidels, pagans, and those who associate partners to Allah.

25. Stay away from those who use improper language towards the companions of Prophet Muhammad, the awliyâullah, great scholars, and the descendants of the Prophet.

26. Stay away from those who run away from the battlefield and from a place that has the plague or an epidemic fatal disease. Also, stay away from those who disobey their shaikh and their legitimate ruler or leader.

...and the end.

48. Stop committing offenses and turn to Allah in repentance for your wrongdoings.

49. Seek the consent of people who may have some due rights on you [pay them back if you owe them anything]. Never hurt or belittle anybody.

50. Correct your deeds and intentions.

Speaking of Ottoman scholars, there's a great book published by Al-Baz Publishing, Inc. entitled The Call to the Believers in the Clear Qur'an. It's an excellent (and, at 968 pages, rather lengthy) translation of Nida' al-Mu'minin fi 'l-Qur'an al-Mubin, by contemporary Turkish Shaykh Ahmad Fathu'llah Jami, which provides a "thorough and enlightening commentary" on each of the eighty-nine Qur'anic verses (ayat) which bear the explicit address: "O you who believe" (ya ayyuha 'lladhina amanu). I purchased a copy of this fine book at the Rumi Bookstore a couple of years ago and have enjoyed it thoroughly...and benefitted from it too, insha'llah.

And truly all success is from Allah Most High...

Pope John Paul II and Islam

I just read an interesting article (in English, although it's on an Italian news site which also has material in Arabic--which confirmed for me that they really do call the Pope al-Baba in Arabic) about Pope John Paul II and Islam. It documents how the Roman Catholic Church's view of Islam has changed over the years, especially under the reign of the recently deceased Pope John Paul II and his (not immediate) predecessor Paul VI. Even though in the past the RC Church rather unfairly charged Muslims with "moral laxity", things have come full circle these days and now we're condemned for being too sexually conservative by society at large--a Western society which is largely sunk in "depraved sensualism".

Pope John Paul II never compromised his beliefs, but he did strive to find common ground—especially moral and ethical ground—with other religions. In an age where Islam is often unfairly maligned, Muslims ought to recognize the efforts of the late John Paul II, especially when contrasted with the hateful, bigoted and ignorant rhetoric that has come from prominent leaders of the Protestant community. In spite of our theological differences (even though we share a lot in common here as well), I feel that the late Pope's efforts conformed to the Islamic spirit of focusing on what we have in common in order to benefit humankind at large. Here are some key excerpts from the article Pope John Paul II and Islam--and the advice that it contains is certainly worth taking to heart:

John Paul II spearheaded a move by the Catholic Church towards respect conciliation and, most of all, dialogue with the Islamic faith, confident in the ethical values Catholics and Muslims share.

On the subject of Islam, the relevant entry in the 1912 edition of the Catholic Encyclopaedia, with its dire warnings against the "moral laxity and depraved sensualism of the Mohammedans" whose moral standards are "far inferior to those of Judaism and even more inferior to those of the New Testament", clearly draws inspiration from a view of the Islamic world that was widespread in Europe during the nineteenth century.

The Church now regarded Muslims "with esteem", the Declaration said, highlighting how they "adore the one God" and revere the figures of Jesus and Mary. In a turnaround from earlier views, the Declaration also pointed out how Muslims "value the moral life", and made a call "to forget the past and to work sincerely for mutual understanding" and to work together for "social justice and moral welfare, as well as peace and freedom".

Pope John Paul II never seemed to feel threatened by Islam. Indeed the Pope's frequent references to metaphysical parallels between the two faiths, were backed by a confidence in the ethical values Catholics and Muslims share. In fact, the Pope could rest confident in Islam's decisive stance on such questions as abortion and euthanasia, and its belief in family values not markedly different from his own; not markedly different, that is, when compared with those of an increasingly secularised western society which he and many other Catholics criticised frequently in terms not far-distant from the "moral laxity and depraved sensualism" once imputed to Muslims.

AUDIO: How Popes are Elected

I'm a big fan of The Teaching Company, since they offer some great university-level courses on a wide range of subjects, including history, literature, religion and philosophy, that are taught by leading professors in each field (although your mileage may vary, depending on the course and the professor). Overall, it's a great way to expand your knowledge while driving, traveling or just relaxing at home.

As they do once in awhile, a couple of days ago The Teaching Company sent out an email containing a link to a couple of free lectures that relate to an issue of current interest. The free lectures that they most recently informed me about deal with the question of How Are Popes Elected? I've listened to a portion of the first of the two lectures and found it rather interesting. Due to that, I just wanted to share it with my readers, both Muslim and non-Muslim—which The Teaching Company certainly encourages. So if you're interested, please listen to both How to Elect a Pope (Run Time: 31:50) and Papal Elections: Then and Now (Run Time: 31:59). Both lectures can be downloaded in MP3 format as well.

Please take note that every once in awhile I do manage to get something posted in a timely manner...

PBS Frontline Profiles Jewish Extremists

Tonight, PBS Frontline aired an interesting documentary entitled Israel's Next War, which focused on Jewish extremist groups in Israel. I'm confident that many viewers were shocked and surprised at what they saw and heard during this informative program—and I hope that it might cause dilemmas to form in the minds of some of these thinking, but heretofore uninformed, people. For one, these extremists seem to be the Jewish embodiment of the militant, self-righteous and narrow-minded literalism that most decent people abhor in various militant Islamic fundamentalist groups and sects. Not only that, but the documentary brought out the internal struggle going on within Israel between secular Jews and religious Jews, which is what the phrase “Israel's Next War” was really getting at. I think they could have done a better job of explaining the actual degree of this divide amongst Jews in Israel, but it was a good documentary nonetheless.

Many people don't realize that Israel, in spite of its nominal Judaism, is a secular state that ignores the requirments of the Torah in almost every respect, which is why many Orthodox Jews condemn the democratic secular government or, in some cases, even the existence of the State of Israel altogether. Far from being a righteous and religious Jewish State as many Evangelical Protestants would have us believe, public morality in Israel is about on a par with Eastern Europe since it's full of nightclubs, strip bars, prostitution and rampant nudity on television. It's these types of things, as well as flaunting the Sabbath as a day of rest (which seemingly should be punished by stoning) and other such religious code violations, that have the Orthodox conservatives in Israel in a sometimes-violent outrage.

This PBS Frontline documentary didn't spend much time trying to explain what Jewish extremists feel should be done to solve the problem of the presence of secular non-observant Jews in Israel, since it largely focused on their views regarding what needs to be done as far as a “Final Solution” (which is what some secular critics have called it with very intentional irony) to the Palestinian problem. This solution, as the statements of the Jewish extremists made perfectly clear, amounts to driving the Arabs out of Israel or simply killing them. This, it was explained, is what the Torah requires and is what Zionist Jews will need in order to have enough land for their settlements. I found it ironic that the justification used for seizing more Palestinian land, especially when coupled with racist and dehumanizing statements about their Arab enemies, is very similar in ideological tone to Hitler's quest for lebensraum (i.e. "living space") for the German people. Needless to say, there's a lot of irony in all of this.

It was made clear that most, if not all, of the Jewish extremists that this PBS documentary chose to focus on were followers of the late Rabbi Meir Kahane, who was an advocate of forcing all Arabs out of the land of Israel. In conjunction with this, he also waged a campaign to rid Israel of all Christian missionaries and pseudo-Christian cults. This brings out yet another irony, since the Dispensationalist Evangelical Christian who staunchly support Israel will end up having their so-called "Good News" banned from it. Not only that, but many of the Arabs that Rabbi Kahane and other Jewish extremists want to expel from Israel are Arab (Palestinian) Christians. The irony here being that Dispensationalist Christians will only be able to get the "righteous" Israel which they so fervently desire if grave injustices are committed against fellow (albeit Arab) Christians. As I've explained in my Forgotten (Palestinian) Christians posting, a Christian would have to ignore the seemingly obvious point that since Christians (even Arab ones) follow the New Covenant and not the Old, then they as the “New Israel” have at least as much right to live in the land of Israel as any Jew—at least according to the New Testament.

Speaking of the Bible, I was relieved that one of the young Jewish extremists who was interviewed for the documentary made it clear that he felt that the revenge attacks which he and his fellow extremists advocate against Palestinians were scripturally justified. He clearly said that the Psalms call for revenge much more often than they call for peace, and one of their prominent rabbis made it clear (although not mentioned on the program) that hatred and vengeance for God's sake can certainly be justified from the Torah. When Muslim extremists speak in such terms and offer Qur'anic references, regardless of how twisted or out of context, the so-called "experts" and talking-heads start wondering out loud whether Islam is inherently violent, often concluding that Islam itself is to blame for militant extremism and terrorism. However, when it comes to Jewish extremists, they are largely portrayed as a small minority of fanatics who have just managed to twist and misinterpret an otherwise peaceful and wholesome religion.

Even though I liked this PBS Frontline episode overall, since I think it provided a lot of information that most people need to be aware of, it certainly had some shortcomings. For one, it seemed to imply that Palestinians started all the violence and that they're the ones who started using terrorist tactics—which simply doesn't match the facts. Likewise, they showed quite a few grisly pictures of Israelis who had been killed and maimed by Palestinian suicide bombers. However, no such heart-wrenching images were shown of Palestinians, including women and children, who have been killed or wounded when Israel jets or tanks intentionally fire into occupied Palestinians homes while carrying out the same type of "collective punishment" operations that Hamas implements by suicide-bombing. Targeting civilians is wrong regardless of who is doing it and how they're delivering the bomb—so condemn it in both cases O Ye Hypocrites! The cold hard facts tell us that each year a lot more Palestinian children (usually about three times more) are violently killed than Israeli children. However, this simply went unsaid on the program and not knowing any better, one might well have concluded quite the opposite.

Now I'd have to watch the entire Israel's Next War program again in order to actually jot down accurate statistics on this, but it seemed that when they were talking about the various deaths, it was exclaimed that Israelis had been "murdered" although Palestinians were merely "killed". They definitely did this at least once, and it's a rather common trend of media coverage of Israeli-Palestinian violence, so keep any eye out for it. One obvious proof of this is that Israel's targeted assassinations of certain Palestinian leaders are called "targeting killings" rather than "targeted murders" even in the mainstream American media, although these assassinations violate both U.S. and international law.

Another thing that was conspicuous in its absence was any discussion about how these Jewish extremists were not tortured by the Israel Security Services (Shabak). While the documentary showed that the Jewish extremists were held in isolation for long periods and heavily interrogated, nothing suggested that they were tortured. However, one would be safe in assuming that if these were Palestinian Islamic extremists, they would have been brutally tortured wholesale (and there's so much information regarding this on the web that there's no need for me to even provide a set of links).

Another convenient oversight was the 1994 massacre of forty-nine Muslim worshippers in Hebron by an extremist Jew. Although the documentary did mention this Hebron massacre in passing, it didn't give any of the gory details. Maybe the number of Palestinians killed over the years compared to the number of Jewish settlers killed would make the numbers rather lopsided and show that Israel has a lot more blood on her hands. Also, the fact that the grave of Baruch Goldstein, the American Jew mass murderer who carried out the Hebron massacre, was turned into a shrine in Israel (which admittedly disgusted most secular Israelis) and was visited regularly by extremist Jews until it was destroyed by the Israeli government in 2000 might have been judged as just too much for American viewers, since it was not mentioned. However, even though they did show a group of Orthodox Jews holding a vigil at the grave of Rabbi Meir Kahane, who was killed by a Muslim extremist, the fact that up until the year 2000, similar vigils were held a the grave of "Jewish terrorist" Baruch Goldstein was conveniently left out.

Anyone wanting to know more about Jewish fundamentalism and extremism in Israel should read Jewish Fundamentalism In Israel, by Israel Shahak, but do so with a grain of salt. Even though most of the book is accurate, Mr. Shahak was a staunch secularist who seemed to have problems with not only Jewish fundamentalism, but religion in general. Due to that, I think it's fair to say that, at least in a few instances, he may have jumped to some hasty conclusions, misinterpreted facts or overstated things just a bit. Other useful studies of Jewish fundamentalism, militancy and political extremism in Israel are For the Land and the Lord: Jewish Fundamentalism in Israel, by Ian Lustick (published in 1988 by the Council on Foreign Relations Press and thus a bit dated); Brother Against Brother: Violence and Extremism in Israeli Politics from Altalena to the Rabin Assassination, by Ehud Sprinzak; and Zealots for Zion: Inside Israel's West Bank Settlement Movement, by Robert I. Friedman.

New Material at Masud Khan's...Finally

After surviving an article famine of quite a few weeks, I was relieved to discover that Masud Khan's website was updated today with quite a few new articles—covering everything from Islamic fiqh issues and worship to controversies over Christian theology. Primary amongst this new material is The Invocation of Blessings and Peace upon the Prophet of Allah, salla Allahu 'alayhi wa salam, which is a translation of Abwab al-Faraj by the late Sheikh Muhammad bin Alawi al-Maliki al-Hassani, may Allah forgive and be pleased with him, who passed away last Ramadan. Insha'llah, many Muslims will derive great benefit from the wisdom in this article.

Likewise, there's a very detailed article, entitled Hisab & Ru'yah or Matla' al-Budur, which addresses various moon sighting controversies and carries "Definitive Reply to the Moonsighting Controversy" as its subtitle—so make sure you read this one before next Ramadan.

Even though I don't plan to mention every one of the new articles that have been posted, I think Crying out on the Cross is worthy of a read, especially by non-Muslims. I also recommend the article by Abdal-Hakim Murad, which is the only one of these new articles that I'd previously seen, which intelligently discusses (which is one of the Shaykh's habits) some of the dilemmas, choices and problems facing Muslims in America these days: Tradition or Extradition? The Threat to Muslim-Americans.

Enjoy...

Updates - Books, Links and Magazines

Well in spite of how it may appear, I haven't been totally neglecting this blog for the past week or so. Please notice that I've added a new selection for my April 2005 Book of the Month and I've also added a list of recommended Islamic magazines in a new cell on the right-hand column. In addition to about a dozen or so pending blog postings that are now partially prepared, my links page has been updated as well—with ten new links down at the bottom. I'll probably continue to put new links down at the bottom, since not only is it much more convenient but I've also decided that I really don't want my links page to be organized in any particular way. Rather, it's really meant to encourage random exploring of other Islamic-related sites.

Since it might not be all that apparent, I'll also mention that I've posted a brief essay entitled Why “Mere Islam”? and added a few links to it from the main blog page. This essay is an expanded version of some thoughts that I posted in an earlier article which briefly explained why I chose the title Mere Islam for this weblog and the vision that I have for it.