| Submit your comments on this article |
| Home Front: Culture Wars |
| NYP Arab writer finally holds Islam accountable for 9-11 |
| 2006-09-12 |
| Good points, and it is a start. September 12, 2006 -- WELL, here it is, five years late, but here just the same: an apology from an Arab-American for 9/11. No, I didn't help organize the killers or contribute in any way to their terrible cause. However, I was one of millions of Arab-Americans who did the unspeakable on 9/11: nothing. The only time I raised my voice in protest against these men who killed thousands of innocents in the name of Allah was behind closed doors, among the safety of friends and family. I did at one point write a very vitriolic essay condemning their actions, but fear of becoming another Salman Rushdie kept me from ever trying to publish it. Well, I'm sick of saying the truth only in private - that Arabs around the world, including Arab-Americans like myself, need to start holding our own culture accountable for the insane, violent actions that our extremists have perpetrated on the world at large. Yes, our extremists and our culture. Every single 9/11 hijacker was Arab and a Muslim. The apologists (including President Bush) tried to reassure us that 9/11 had nothing to do with Islam, but was a twisting of a great and noble religion. With all due respect, read the Koran, Mr. President. There's enough there for someone of extreme tendencies to find their way to a global jihad. There's also enough there for someone of a different mindset to find a path to enlightenment and peace. Still, Rushdie had it right back in 2001: This does have to do with Islam. A Christian who bombs an abortion clinic in the name of God is still a Christian, at least in his interpretation, and saying otherwise doesn't negate the fact that he has spent a goodly amount of time figuring out his version of the one true and right thing to do. The men who killed 3,000 of our citizens on 9/11 in all likelihood died saying prayers to Allah, and that by itself is one of the most horrific things to me about that day. And, while my grandparents never waged a jihad, their attitudes toward Jews weren't that much different than Mohammed Atta's. No, they didn't support the Holocaust, but they did believe that Jews were trouble in many different ways, and those sorts of beliefs were passed on to me before I'd ever actually met a Jew. I'm sorry for that, for ever believing that anything that my grandparents or other relatives had to say about Jews or Israel, for that matter, had any real resemblance to truth. It took me years to realize that I'd been conned into believing the generalizations and stereotypes that millions around the Arab world buy into: that Jews, America and Israel are our main problem. One look at the average Arab regime should alert us to the fact that the problem, dear Achmed, lies not overseas or next door in Tel Aviv, but in the brutal, corrupt despots that we have bred from country to country in the Mideast, across the span of history. That history and its corresponding economic devastation is the main reason I reside on New York City's West Bank - New Jersey - not the one near Jerusalem. On my worst day, I'm happy about that fact. I'd rather be here than there, and experience the freedom and boundless opportunities that were mostly unknown to so many generations of my family in the Mideast. For as long as I live, the image of those towers falling, as I watched in horror and disbelief from the corner of 40th and Fifth, will be for me my Pearl Harbor, for in that instant I recognized that not only was our city under attack - so was our freedom. It still is. And will continue to be for years to come. And the threat is not from within, but from Islamic fascists who desperately want to destroy the freedom and opportunities that millions the world over still seek. Five years after that awful day, it's time for all Arab-Americans, and Arabs around the world, to protest against Islamic fascism, to raise our voices - and, where necessary, our arms - against these tyrants until their plague of terror has been driven from the face of the earth forever. Emilio Karim Dabul is a freelance writer and PR consultant living in New Jersey. |
| Posted by:DarthVader |
| #12 What people forget about the Jewish Bible is that it is a collection of historical documents written over time, documenting the history, the poetry and the laws of the people that started out as the Tribe of Abraham (the Hebrews--> the Israelites), settled down to become the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, and then developed over some more centuries into the Jews. Our understanding of what Abraham's covenant with God entailed changed over that time, as the Bible records: from cleaving to the single god only, to worshipping the only God to, in Amos (I think -- mcsegeek1 or other experts, if you would correct/confirm please?) "Do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God." Or as the Rabbi Hillel said to the pagan a century before Christ, "Love your neighbor as yourself. All the rest is commentary -- now go and study." |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2006-09-12 20:30 |
| #11 Did Jesus Christ ever tell his followers to massacre all males, enslave the children and rape all the women? Did Jesus Christ ever set out to conquer the world by the sword? Mohammed did. So, why is this man still a muslim? |
| Posted by: TMH 2006-09-12 20:22 |
| #10 Until then, All taqiya all the time. Bottom line, SR-71. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2006-09-12 19:38 |
#9 Maybe the tide will have turned when jihadis like Osama and al-Zalwahiri have more to fear from their fellow Muslims than from anyone else, as in this story by Kipling: 'But our Mullah is a holy man. He has helped two score of us into Paradise this night. Let him therefore accompany his flock, and we will build over his body a dome of the blue tiles of Mooltan, and burn lamps at his feet every Friday night. He shall be a saint: we shall have a shrine; and there our women shall pray for fresh seed to fill the gaps in our fighting-tale. How think you?' |
| Posted by: Ulelet Uniting8249 2006-09-12 19:21 |
| #8 #7: "It is moral equivalency to say that since there's 'violence' in the Bible, that it's no better than the Koran. One's an accurate historical record, and generally considered by even non-religious types, to be a masterpiece of literature. The other....well nevermind." We can certainly agree on that. If I were forced to choose a religion from one of those two, it wouldn't be Islam, even a "lite" version. |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2006-09-12 19:12 |
| #7 "I'm not Christian, mcg, but I believe that's the New Testament, not the whole Bible. The Old Testament is pretty violent." Well yes, and there's violence in the New Testament as well. I was of course, only giving the Christian view of the Bible's overall theme. The Christian view is that Christ is spoken of and revealed specifically in both the Old and New Testaments. We take the Bible as a whole, and we find one common theme, that being Christ. As to violence in the Old Testament, in the sense of 'inquisition' at least, it is never advocated. Sure there are passages where War occurs. Israel had to take Canaan by force...the inhabitants weren't going to give it up willingly. There are other passages where violence and atrocities occur, and this illustrates that the Bible is an accurate historical record because it tells the whole story---warts and all. Anecdotal stories are nice. I have met many a nice, kind friendly muslim as well. But the question at hand is one of core principles, as reflected in one's religious tenets. Any cursory examination of the Koran reveals it's not even good literature, let alone good doctrine. And it has resulted in enslavement, degradation, barbarism and rot in every civilization that has followed it. It is moral equivalency to say that since there's 'violence' in the Bible, that it's no better than the Koran. One's an accurate historical record, and generally considered by even non-religious types, to be a masterpiece of literature. The other....well nevermind. As always, I enjoy the spirited discussion. |
| Posted by: mcsegeek1 2006-09-12 18:13 |
| #6 Nice sentiments, but talk is cheap, whiskey costs money. When Muslims begin to turn in the extremists, I'll consider taking them seriously. Until then, All taqiya all the time. |
| Posted by: SR-71 2006-09-12 17:48 |
| #5 Five years after that awful day, it's time for all Arab-Americans, and Arabs around the world, to protest against Islamic fascism, to raise our voices - and, where necessary, our arms - against these tyrants until their plague of terror has been driven from the face of the earth forever. Sorry, pal. You're a |
| Posted by: Zenster 2006-09-12 16:36 |
| #4 #3: "The Bible has one overriding, unifying message. It's one of love, peace, forgiveness and reconciliation with God through his Son." I'm not Christian, mcg, but I believe that's the New Testament, not the whole Bible. The Old Testament is pretty violent. No moral equivalency - there is none - just the facts. As for Mr. Dabul's finding "a path to enlightenment and peace" in the Koran, I know that is possible. Those who do ignore the violent jihad crap as ancient history not applicable to our time, and don't buy the women as property crap preached by the imami-clowns either. They avoid alcohol and pork, but don't care if others indulge in them at the same table, and the women (and men!) dress modestly, but no more modestly than a decent, non-trashy non-Muslim does. I'm not sure how they fit the prayer-time requirements into their lives, since I've never seen them pray, but they do. I know Muslims like this - though I don't think of them as Muslims but rather as friends. I do make sure to designate any food with pork, or drinks with alcohol, and make sure there are other choices, but I do that anyway, whether they're around or not. It's simple courtesy - observent Jews also don't eat pork, some people are vegetarians or can't eat/don't like pork, and not everyone can drink alcohol, or wants to. And by the way, they don't have any hatred of Jews, and do speak up against the islamonutz. I suspect there are many more Muslims in our country like Mr. Dabul, and my friends. I hope they continue to speak up, and speak out. Islam needs a Reformation - sooner rather than later, for everyone's good. |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2006-09-12 16:35 |
| #3 "He sees in the Koran a different path. If you look at the Bible there's a fair amount of violent crap in there that could, with the "right" mindset equate to a religious duty to force conversions" Oh, nonsense. There's nothing in the Bible about inquisitions. Inquisitions may have been many things, but they were never Christianity. Being espoused and practiced by the 'official' church didn't make them so. I'm so tired of this moral equivalency I could vomit. The Bible has one overriding, unifying message. It's one of love, peace, forgiveness and reconciliation with God through his Son. The Koran has many messages too, but here's a main theme: KILL THE INFIDEL. Apparently, Allan is such a weak and castrated God, he can't fight his own battles. Compare that with "Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord, I will repay" or "Bless those who curse you". If you cant see the difference, You've fallen victim to the MSM's never-ending bombardment of "Islam is a religion of peace....blah....blah....blah". Look in the Bible? I have. I've studied each and every book in it. I've read it through over 150 times. I'm not saying this to brag. I'm saying know a little about something before you talk about it. |
| Posted by: mcsegeek1 2006-09-12 15:22 |
| #2 WXJ, you missed this... "There's also enough there for someone of a different mindset to find a path to enlightenment and peace. " He sees in the Koran a different path. If you look at the Bible there's a fair amount of violent crap in there that could, with the "right" mindset equate to a religious duty to force conversions (see Chritianity circa 1400). Personally I put NO credence in any man's word about religion or what God wants, if God wants me to do/know something he can tell me himself, I ain't listening to human itermediaries. Christianity has moved on from the inquisition. Islam hasn't and I've seen nothing to suggest that it can. Apparently Emilio does and more power to him. This may be a true MMM sighting but I'll need more data to accept the true existence of such. |
| Posted by: AlanC 2006-09-12 14:42 |
| #1 So why doesn't Emilio convert to something else ? The kill-them-all movement doesn't allow for moderate muslims. He writes that the Koran is full of jihadi excuses, but he still lives by such a lunatic screed ? |
| Posted by: wxjames 2006-09-12 13:03 |