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Arabs Know What's Going On in Darfur, But Don't React. Why?
From MEMRI, a translation of an article by Abu Khawla, a human rights activist and former chair of the Tunisian section of Amnesty International..... the Arab silence [about Darfur] could only be explained once we understand the true nature of the twin fascisms of Islamism and pan-Arabism that continue to wreak havoc on Arab land, and the impact they are having on the ignorant masses. To obtain credible information, Arabs turn nowadays to satellite TV channels, especially Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabiya, a tool of communications that is so far completely monopolized by Fundamentalists. In the case of Al-Jazeera, Preacher Youssef Al-Qaradhawi (a leading figure of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood) is one of its most influential founding members. And Fundamentalists are in charge of its news programs and talk shows... Why did these fundamentalist havens try to hide the truth about the Darfur massacre? For starter, we should notice that the matter wouldn't have raised an eyebrow among Muslim public opinion had the slaughter targeted non-Muslims. Fighting infidels until they either convert to Islam or submit to Muslims as 'Dhimmis,' i.e., citizens of second class status under Islamic rule, and pay the 'Jezya' (a poll tax), is still considered by Islamists to be a religious duty. .... But Darfur is different, since it is a slaughter of Muslims even though they are non-Arabs of African descent. Why? In order to be able to answer this question, we need to make a difference between theory and practice. In theory, Muslims aren't allowed to slaughter other Muslims. .... Islamists refer to the Islamic 'Ummah,' considering Arab nationalism as a source of 'fitnah' (sedition). The practice, however, tells a very different story. Slavery is among the most horrendous means by which Arabs subjugated non-Arab Muslims, especially those of African descent. .... Posted by: Mike Sylwester 2004-12-27 |
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