Some questions

Cowboy Kahlil is debating on why the US attacked Iraq. Also why they hate US.He says

What irritates me about this is the way the Bush administration tiptoes around the key issue here. We heard about WMDs and ties with Bin Laden. But the Dreyfuss article gets to the roots with the Likud/neocon ties, which go back to where the neocons originated, as aides to the staunchly pro-Israel Henry Scoop Jackson. The clear message to the Middle East is the long record of anti-Semitic propaganda and anti-Semitic terrorism that gets promoted throughout Arab and Iranian countries will not be tolerated anymore..It appears that Bush will push Sharon to surrender the settlements in return, at least that's what the early signals indicate. The practice of Arab governments talking peace while privately provoking Jewish hatred is what's being challenged, and not just in the Arab nations hostile to us, but the ones we've created alliances with.

This is a very difficult and also political matter to talk about in this weblog. It seems many Arabs are disappointed. Some believed that he was in front of Arabs- Israel battle, even though Saddam was a brutal dictator. They say he was the only Arab leader who defended Arabic world. Meanwhile many Arabs are angry since cheap dictators run their government and they can survive by US support. In fact, a democratic country is a complex system in compare to a non-democratic one. This war was a good example. Regimens in Qatar and Kuwait offered all they had. Do you know why? Because in these countries only one person decides what the other should do. However, even in a semi-democratic country like Turkey, there is a parliament and they discuss for the best option. A dictator is concerned about his benefits but in a democratic state the national interests and security is more important!! . Which one is better for US?
Kahlil wonders why Bush doesn't tell the truth

What I'm opposed to is the fact that Bush won't say it right up front that this may be the major point of our overthrow of the government of Iraq.

He remarks other points about the neocons and pro-Israel schemes.
But I would like to pinpoint very important issue. Kahlil continues:

The wars with Israel, the suicide bombers, the long record of hijackings and murders at least as far back as the 72 Munich Olympics, the dream of Hossein [Saddam] to become a modern Saladin uniting all the Arab states - these are not found in the Quran. They are found in the hearts of many Arabs, who seek to drive the Jews into the sea. They are tribal impulses, not religious. Many Arab clerics have lifted parts of the Quran to provide cover for the tribalism, but the hate does not originate in those sacred texts.

I do agree. If you basically think that there is something right or wrong and think every right is good and every wrong is evil or bad, It is easy to draw this conclusion that if I am right and good, so the bad and evil side is a threat. In this case, it would be easy to find documents showing the bad side is doing evil!.Yes you cannot find anything about fascism, racism and nationalism in Quran. In the beginning of every Surah (chapter) in Quran, you read “ In the name of God, the merciful and compassionate”. But extremists usually look for those parts about War and killing other people. In fact, they are trying to find justification for their inhuman actions.
Tolerance, pluralism, human rights and democracy are modern thoughts. I do not think there is such a thing in any Abraham religions. All of them and many other religions and ideologies say the same thing: We are right and the rest are on the wrong track. So I think violence, terrorism and many other things have other reasons. As Kahlil quotes

After 9/11, many folks asked, "why do they hate us?" Folks advanced many reasons. They are poor, they envy us. Islam is evil.

As a Middle East inhabitant, I think this concept is not right. All humans like to live in a free country and have a comfortable life without any restriction. You can find many of these things in a developed country. This is the reasons why many people who live in the third world, like to immigrate to the developed world!. Indeed, living in a country run by dictator is not interesting.
Why do many Muslims hate western governments? Good question. Do they hate west because of development? Or Muslims envy them? Or because westerners do not respect Islamic rules? This is a very fact that development in the west has brought Muslims misery and war. If you add other facts like censorship and oppression, low level of education, tribal system, overambitious leaders, you can draw a clearer picture. Kahlil says

This is blowback from our government's past policies. These and other rationales have been advanced. But the major reason they hate us is because of our defense and support of Israel.

Whether this thought is right or wrong, I would like to draw your attention to a simple fact: I think all ordinary people in the world are similar. They don’t like thinking but rather they prefer other people think and they just follow whatever they say. However, there is a difference between westerners and people who live in the third world. The first group has taught to respect rules and follow exactly what their governments tell them. In other cases, however, they are the same. They do not like to think about anything but their personal life. All of them think they are right, they have the best country, best religion and ….
Americans are good example. many of them trust their media and politicians. I saw many Americans denounced Mr. Blix because he couldn’t prove what they believed!. Many think that Saddam backed the 9/11. Why? Because media say. Many think that US invaded Iraq to liberate Iraqis. Why? Because their politicians say.
Look at the opposite side: I asked an extremist Muslim why he supported suicide bombers since they kill many innocent people as well. He said, this is the responsibility of victims’ parents. They should leave Israel. No matter how many innocent are killed!!.. I received a similar reply from an American Jew. He believed there is only one solution: Palestinians should leave the region otherwise they should be killed!! . Both of them were ordinary person. I recall I talked to a European guy. We were talking about ways that governments can prevent the crime in the society. He believed that we should kill all offenders!!. You may say these are extreme cases. Unfortunately, many ordinary people think like this. Even if they themselves do not kill or punish any body, they support people who do these. OK. Now let’s find a simple answer for all problems in the Middle East. Many Arabs and Muslims are told that US and Israel are the main cause of their misery. This is simple answer and they can find many evidences supporting this idea. They do not care about this fact that we cannot find a simple answer for a complicated case.
I think there are many reasons why many Muslims hate America. Look at the past history of this region. Us supported and still support many dictators in the region. Shah before revolution in Iran, Saddam during Iran- Iraq war. Saudi royal family. Do the dictators in the region survive without US support? Of course not. There are other alternatives in these countries. But they may cause some problems in future. If US let Muslims run their countries through a democratic way, it may be problematic. They certainly won’t follow US. They do according to their national interest, which may be inconsistent with US foreign policy. It is possible that they will not support the doctrine of independent Israel state!! I think this is the main question. What is the meaning of democracy?

(posted by Iman)

Posted:Friday, April 18, 2003 |