The Crusades, Christianity and Islam by Jonathan Riley-Smith
Jonathan Simon Christopher Riley-Smith is the author of scores of material regarding the Crusades.
This easy-to-read book is divided into four chapters. The first two present the idea that the Crusades were deeply rooted and justified for polities which claimed adherence to Christianity and the individual Christians who participated. The third chapter described the role of European protocrusader, pseudocrusador rhetoric in 19th century imperialism.
The fourth chapter basically claims that the only reason we view the Crusades as a particularly gruesome, unusual period of history is an anti-religious, anti-imperial period of European intellectual history, particularly after World War I. Muslims, who had hardly noticed the Crusaders, misappropriated this European production for their own nationalistic purposes. This misappropriation culminates in the widespread, erroneous ideas prevalent among Muslims that the West continues its Crusades to this day.
Matthew Gabriele identified one problem with this view, namely that it implies that there was no reason at all for the mid-twentieth century Arab intellectuals to popularized the contemporary view of the Crusades. My other concern is that the author does not actually cite any Muslim or Arab Christian historians to support his view that they promote a distorted view of the Crusades and modern history. The author presents the view of Osama bin Ladin and Ayman al-Zawahiri and Hizb al-Tahrir, which is the equivalent of presenting the rhetoric of the KKK and the John Birch Society and Rush Limbaugh as the pinnacle of the U.S. historiography. Amin Maalouf's The Crusades through Arab Eyes is listed as a source, but it is not discussed in detail. I did not recognize any contemporary Arab historians of the Crusades in the sources list. The author does not list any Turkish or Arabic sources. Finally, I think the author exaggerates when he claims that pre-modern Muslim historians ignored the Crusades. I think it would be worth a look at al-Maqrizi's works to see how serious he regarded the Crusaders. I am no expert, in this or any field :-), and perhaps the publishing requirements limited the author in this regard. In this case, I'd appreciate comments directing me to sources supporting the author's contentions.
A particularly annoying passage relies on Bernard Lewis and Hizb al-Tahrir to maintain that Muslims could not possibly know anything about the Crusades since they were unconcerned with anything non-Muslims did (p. 71).
The author does not address how modern Christian Arabs and Muslims are supposed to regard Christian Zionism and U.S. military religious zeal. If saliibi (modern Arabic for Crusader) is the wrong word, and colonialist and imperialist are out of style since the collapse of communism, then by all means suggest a more accurate term for ongoing Western military intervention.
Wednesday, November 04, 2009
Review: Change from Within: Diverse Perspectives on Domestic Violence in Muslim Communities
Change from Within: Diverse Perspectives on Domestic Violence in Muslim Communities
Edited by Maha B. Alkhateeb and Salma Elkadi Abugideiri
ISBN-10: 0979138906
Peaceful Families Project www.peacefulfamilies.org
This book is a collection of essays and documents related to domestic violence among Muslims, primarily in North America.
It's not an easy read, but it is important. I particularly liked Zainab Alwani's The Qur'anic Model for Harmony in Family Relations and Imam Mohamed Magid's Affecting Change as an Imam. There are also accounts from survivors of domestic violence.
I acquired my copy from the Peaceful Families Project. It included a video which was used in a domestic violence awareness program at my local masjid.
Edited by Maha B. Alkhateeb and Salma Elkadi Abugideiri
ISBN-10: 0979138906
Peaceful Families Project www.peacefulfamilies.org
This book is a collection of essays and documents related to domestic violence among Muslims, primarily in North America.
It's not an easy read, but it is important. I particularly liked Zainab Alwani's The Qur'anic Model for Harmony in Family Relations and Imam Mohamed Magid's Affecting Change as an Imam. There are also accounts from survivors of domestic violence.
I acquired my copy from the Peaceful Families Project. It included a video which was used in a domestic violence awareness program at my local masjid.
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Bones, Season 5, Episode 4-Good Portrayal of Muslim in Workforce
I had reviewed quite negatively the 2nd episode of Bones in 2005, but I actually have some good things to say about the latest episode, The Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, Season 5, Episode 4. Actor Pej Vehdat plays the minor character Arastoo Vaziri, a lab intern at the Smithsonian. Prior to this episode, his cheesy foreign accent and the writing which constantly highlighted his being Muslim irritated me. In this episode, in a fit of anger when his boss Dr. Camille Sorayan wonders whether he can sift through remains which include pig bones and whether he should take a break to do his ritual prayer, Arastoo drops his affected accent and tells her to just let him do his job. Later in the episode, he reveals that affecting a foreign accent allows him to avoid questions from his mostly nonreligious colleagues about his religion. In other words, scientists would accept that a "fresh off the boat" Third Worlder would cling to archaic religious beliefs but they would be less tolerant of a religious scientist who grew up in the United States. The episode ends with a rather honest conversation about Arastoo's religious beliefs and practices.
Now while the episode was not perfect, I think it highlighted well the following workplace issues:
1. Muslims can function well in workplaces provided some simple accommodations are made. And by the way, these accommodations are mandated by law. So allow Muslims 10 minutes away from the factory line to do their ritual prayers. Or give them 10 minutes away from the support line. Let them take an extra hour for Friday congregational prayers and work an extra hour some other time. And there are plenty of Muslims doing science.
2. Some scientists do exhibit a bias against religious co-workers. See some of the reaction to the documentary Blast!.
3. Non-Muslims should simply ask their Muslim co-workers questions rather than make assumptions or act weird. Now don't do this in the interview and hiring process. That's illegal. Obviously, if you ask a question and don't like what you hear, then be man or woman enough to adjust and respect another person's opinion.
The Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) has published guides to Islamic religious practices for the employer, the health care worker, the prison administrator, the school administrator and the law enforcement official.
So kudos to the writers of this episode.
Now while the episode was not perfect, I think it highlighted well the following workplace issues:
1. Muslims can function well in workplaces provided some simple accommodations are made. And by the way, these accommodations are mandated by law. So allow Muslims 10 minutes away from the factory line to do their ritual prayers. Or give them 10 minutes away from the support line. Let them take an extra hour for Friday congregational prayers and work an extra hour some other time. And there are plenty of Muslims doing science.
2. Some scientists do exhibit a bias against religious co-workers. See some of the reaction to the documentary Blast!.
3. Non-Muslims should simply ask their Muslim co-workers questions rather than make assumptions or act weird. Now don't do this in the interview and hiring process. That's illegal. Obviously, if you ask a question and don't like what you hear, then be man or woman enough to adjust and respect another person's opinion.
The Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) has published guides to Islamic religious practices for the employer, the health care worker, the prison administrator, the school administrator and the law enforcement official.
So kudos to the writers of this episode.
Law & Order Episode "Great Satan"
National Broadcasting Company's long-running series Law & Order's episode "Great Satan" (Season 20, Episode 3) portrays the use of an informant to convict a group of New York City Muslims for a terrorist plot against a synagogue.
The episode does an excellent job of portraying the informant in a sympathetic light. The informant, a career petty criminal, testifies despite his testimony's revealing a crime he committed before naturalization, thus condemning him to losing his U.S. citizenship and deportation to Syria. He does this after Lt. Bernard says that the World Trade Center used to have a prominent place in his favorite panoramic view of Manhattan from Brooklyn.
I think it's appropriate to remind viewers that the argument for informants, namely that these "anti-American" plotters would eventually figure out how to put a bomb together and that the use of informants (aka instigators) to move a plot forward towards conviction puts dangerous people in jail, is laughable if it were not today's standard law enforcement technique.
The fact that the actual, convicted plotters could hardly find their way out of a wet paper bag does not seem to deter law enforcement personnel from beating their chests over their heroic defense of our safety and then extending their hands to the public treasury for more money to combat "home-grown" terrorists. Meanwhile, police are extending their surveillance beyond Muslims to include vegans, anti-globalization activists, environmental activists and other "dangerous" groups.
I think the show sent a very poor civil rights message. I'm preparing now a wiki with a page about the proper role of local police departments in anti-terrorism. When it's ready, I'll hopefully link to it. In the meantime, I'd recommend following the blog Muslims in the Law.
The episode does an excellent job of portraying the informant in a sympathetic light. The informant, a career petty criminal, testifies despite his testimony's revealing a crime he committed before naturalization, thus condemning him to losing his U.S. citizenship and deportation to Syria. He does this after Lt. Bernard says that the World Trade Center used to have a prominent place in his favorite panoramic view of Manhattan from Brooklyn.
I think it's appropriate to remind viewers that the argument for informants, namely that these "anti-American" plotters would eventually figure out how to put a bomb together and that the use of informants (aka instigators) to move a plot forward towards conviction puts dangerous people in jail, is laughable if it were not today's standard law enforcement technique.
The fact that the actual, convicted plotters could hardly find their way out of a wet paper bag does not seem to deter law enforcement personnel from beating their chests over their heroic defense of our safety and then extending their hands to the public treasury for more money to combat "home-grown" terrorists. Meanwhile, police are extending their surveillance beyond Muslims to include vegans, anti-globalization activists, environmental activists and other "dangerous" groups.
I think the show sent a very poor civil rights message. I'm preparing now a wiki with a page about the proper role of local police departments in anti-terrorism. When it's ready, I'll hopefully link to it. In the meantime, I'd recommend following the blog Muslims in the Law.
Saturday, August 15, 2009
My Modern Interpretation of John Donne's Sonnet 14-Batter My Heart
John Donne (1572-1631)
Holy Sonnet XIV: Batter My Heart, Three-Person'd God
Batter my heart, three person'd God; for, you
As yet but knocke, breathe, shine, and seeke to mend;
That I may rise, and stand, o'erthrow mee,'and bend
Your force, to breake, blow, burn and make me new.
I, like an usurpt towne, to'another due,
Labour to'admit you, but Oh, to no end,
Reason your viceroy in mee, mee should defend,
But is captiv'd, and proves weake or untrue.
Yet dearley'I love you,'and would be loved faine,
But am betroth'd unto your enemie:
Divorce mee,'untie, or breake that knot againe,
Take mee to you, imprison mee, for I
Except you'enthrall mee, never shall be free,
Nor ever chast, except you ravish mee.
The text of this sonnet is taken from http://www-personal.ksu.edu/~lyman/english233/Donne-Batter_My_Heart.htm. There is an accompanying study guide as well. You can hear a reading of the sonnet at http://beemp3.com/download.php?file=3491882&song=Holy+Sonnet+14+-+Batter+my+heart%2C+three-personed+God... I've shortened the URL to http://bit.ly/5Vjkv
Ayman Fadel's Modern InterpretationMy system does not meet specifications
My compiled code produces an endless loop
The DLL I took from the outsourced corporation
Gives me runtime errors and gobly gook
Lord, I've got your proposal to fix this situation
Your references check out, and I'm good to go
But my shareholders are locked in litigation
And my IP rights are held in escrow.
The hadith in Sahih al-Bukhari:
صحيح البخاري، الإصدار 2.03 - للإمام البخاري
الجزء الأول >> 4 - كتاب الوضوء. >> 75 - باب: فضل من بات على الوضوء.
حدثنا محمد بن مقاتل قال: أخبرنا عبد الله قال: أخبرنا سفيان، عن منصور، عن سعد بن عبيدة، عن البراء بن عازب قال
قال النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم: (إذا أتيت مضجعك، فتوضأ وضوءك للصلاة، ثم اضطجع على شقك الأيمن، ثم قل: اللهم أسلمت وجهي إليك، وفوضت أمري إليك، وألجأت ظهري إليك، رغبة ورهبة إليك، لا ملجأ ولا منجى منك إلا إليك، اللهم آمنت بكتابك الذي أنزلت، وبنبيك الذي أرسلت، فإن مت من ليلتك، فأنت على الفطرة، واجعلهن آخر ما تتكلم به) قال: فرددتها على النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم، فلما بلغت: اللهم آمنت بكتابك الذي أنزلت، قلت: ورسولك، قال: (لا، ونبيك الذي أرسلت).
(مضجعك) فراشك ومكان نومك. (ألجأت) أسندت. (رغبة) طمعا في ثوابك. (رهبة) خوفا من عقابك. (منجى) مخلص. (الفطرة) الدين القويم، وهو الإسلام الذي يولد عليه كل مولود. (لا، ونبيك) أي لا تقل ورسولك، بل قل ونبيك كما علمتك، وفيه إشارة إلى التزام الألفاظ الواردة في الأدعية والأذكار
I also think I misspoke in the video when I said tawba nasuuh is God's intervention to help us straighten ourselves out. Without getting into too much detail, we humans should do tawba nasuuh, or sincere and genuine repentance to God from our mistakes. God's tawba towards us is not called tawba nasuuh, since it would be beneath God's majesty to do something ungenuine or imperfect or unwise. God's tawba is to forgive our sins. See al-Tabari's commentary on Sura 2, Verse 128:
أما التوبة فأصلها الأوبة من مكروه إلـى مـحبوب، فتوبة العبد إلـى ربه: أوبته مـما يكرهه الله منه بـالندم علـيه والإقلاع عنه، والعزم علـى ترك العود فـيه. وتوبة الربّ علـى عبده: عوده علـيه بـالعفو له عن جُرْمه والصفح له عن عقوبة ذنبه، مغفرةً له منه، وتفضلاً علـيه.
As an FYI, I composed the first draft of this under the auspices of the Augusta Chapter of the Quality Poets Society. So credit goes there, although it is obviously not responsible for my work's defects!
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Review: Islamic Science and the Making of the European Renaissance by George Saliba
Islamic Science and the Making of the European Renaissance by George Saliba.
MIT Press: Cambridge, MA and London, UK; 2007.
ISBN: 0-262-19557-7. Hardcover, 315 pages with endnotes, a bibliography and a subject index.
This monograph is a series of lectures which challenge the dominant narrative of the history of science culminating in the European Renaissance. The dominant narrative is that Muslim rulers in the early Abbasid period, under the influence of the Mu'tazila theological school (aka rationalists), sponsored a translation of Persian, Indian and Greek scientific and philosophical texts. When the ahl al-hadith theologians (aka irrationalists), who in large part adopted the Asha`ari theology and who are most identified later with Imam al-Ghazali, persuaded later Abbasi rulers to cease sponsoring rationalist theology, scientific production began to decline. Finally, the Mongol destruction of Baghdad in 1258 CE combined with religious hostility to science to cement cessation of scientific thought and production throughout Muslim lands. In key contact points, such as Sicily and al-Andalus, Europeans were able to reacquire the Greek scientific and philosophical legacy which had been faithfully transmitted by Muslims, and these Europeans later used this legacy to develop the Renaissance. In short, Muslims were a storage facility for Europeans' intellectual property, supplemented with unclaimed items left by the ancient Indians and Persians, until the Europeans could complete renovations.
Professor George challenges this narrative at the following points:
MIT Press: Cambridge, MA and London, UK; 2007.
ISBN: 0-262-19557-7. Hardcover, 315 pages with endnotes, a bibliography and a subject index.
This monograph is a series of lectures which challenge the dominant narrative of the history of science culminating in the European Renaissance. The dominant narrative is that Muslim rulers in the early Abbasid period, under the influence of the Mu'tazila theological school (aka rationalists), sponsored a translation of Persian, Indian and Greek scientific and philosophical texts. When the ahl al-hadith theologians (aka irrationalists), who in large part adopted the Asha`ari theology and who are most identified later with Imam al-Ghazali, persuaded later Abbasi rulers to cease sponsoring rationalist theology, scientific production began to decline. Finally, the Mongol destruction of Baghdad in 1258 CE combined with religious hostility to science to cement cessation of scientific thought and production throughout Muslim lands. In key contact points, such as Sicily and al-Andalus, Europeans were able to reacquire the Greek scientific and philosophical legacy which had been faithfully transmitted by Muslims, and these Europeans later used this legacy to develop the Renaissance. In short, Muslims were a storage facility for Europeans' intellectual property, supplemented with unclaimed items left by the ancient Indians and Persians, until the Europeans could complete renovations.
Professor George challenges this narrative at the following points:
- Scientific activity among Muslims and others in the areas Muslims ruled began during the period of the Bani Umayyah when the ruler `Abd al-Malik ordered the state administration to use Arabic rather than Syriac and Persian. Scientific activity was the result of competition for a more efficient bureaucracy among the educated Arabic-speaking Muslims, Syriac speakers and Persian speakers. This persisted through the ascension to power of Bani al-`Abbas. Rulers' sponsorship of scholars was not the main force for scientific activity.
- Byzantine science was not the source of scientific knowledge. Science was too far in decline in Byzantine-ruled areas. Scientists in Muslim-ruled areas used ancient Greek sources to supplement their scientific production.
- Despite an attachment to an Aristotelian cosmology, scientists quickly discovered errors in the ancient Greek sources. In fact, as they translated them, they corrected them to correspond to their own astronomical observations and mathematical advances. In particular, by the 13th century, no serious astronomer wrote without challenging ancient Greek sources like Ptolemy's Almagest, and many advocated different mathematical models to predict the motions of the planets and stars. Furthermore, new instruments and observational methods were developed.
- Most of the scientists were religious functionaries as well. Religion's main impact on astronomy was to force its separation from astrology and to compel attempts to harmonize Aristotelian cosmology and Ptolemian physics. Theology compelled astronomers to deny the universe's objects divine attributes, and thus their motions had to be explained according to the mathematical laws of their models. In short, theology did not obstruct science.
- While more research is needed, it is likely that Renaissance Europe pursued the knowledge contained in the astronomy books written in Arabic in the 13th century and that Europeans studied these books in Arabic and that Copernicus himself had access, through someone knowledgeable in Arabic, to the advances made by astronomers in Muslim-ruled areas in the 11th through 13th centuries CE.
- The so-called age of decline in Muslim-ruled countries after the 13th century is filled with scientific production and advances. It was a decline only relative to the Europeans' tremendous advances brought about through their interactions with the Americas.
Thursday, August 06, 2009
Houston, TX-Dr. Ezzat's Paintings on Display Until Sept 30
Clear Lake City-County Freeman Public Library in Houston, TX is hosting a display of Dr. Ezzat Abouleish's paintings until September 30. Here is a note I received from him:
The opening ceremony went very well, Alhamd LELLAH, on Monday 8.3.2009. The show has been well received by Moslems and non-Moslems alike. The high spirituality and beauty of Islamic art was astonishing to the show visitors and expressed in their written comments. If you have not seen the exhibit yet, I recommend to visit and to take along the family. I feel our children need it more than us. The venue is Freeman Library of Clear Lake, 16616 Diane Lane (off Bay Area Blvd), Houston Texas, 77062. Tel. 281 488 1906. The display will continue to Sept. 30Th, but the sooner the better.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Film: Christian Zionists: On the Road to Armageddon by Stephen Sizer
Christian Zionists: On the Road to Armageddon. By Stephen Sizer. Distributed by Presence Media. http://www.presence.tv/dvd
2 DVDs with six 20-minute segments.
These six segments are lectures by Dr. Stephen Sizer (http://www.stephensizer.com/) which trace the historical roots, theological bases and political consequences of Christian Zionism. The DVDs come with a study guide to facilitate discussion.
The weakest part of this DVD is the section on historical roots, and I think that is primarily due to the lack of time to explain to those unfamiliar with dispensationalism the importance of this doctrine. It was shocking to me to learn that many high-ranking British politicians, including Lord Balfour, the author of the Balfour Declaration, followed this strand of Anglo-Protestantism. Another piece of news to me was that the principal editor of the version of the Bible used by American fundamentalist Protestants, Cyrus Ingerson Scofield, was a disciple of John Nelson Darby, the leading proponent of dispensationalism.
The second section, theological bases, is best suited to an audience able to understand Christian doctrines. I believed Dr. Sizer did a good job, and I felt I understand this segment, but I think it would be difficult for someone unfamiliar with Christian theological doctrines. I hope that a reader with more background in this area might add some additional comments to this blog entry concerning this section.
The third section, political consequences, is accessible to all, and it is of course the reason why this video can appeal to those who seek some peaceful resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Book Review: A Deadly Misunderstanding: A Congressman’s Quest to Bridge the Muslim-Christian Divide by Mark D. Siljander
A Deadly Misunderstanding: A Congressman’s Quest to Bridge the Muslim-Christian Divide. By Mark D. Siljander. New York: HarperCollins; 2008. pp. 260. ISBN: 978-0-06-143828-8.
Mark Siljander served his Michigan district in the United States House of Representatives from 1981 to 1987. He came into office supporting Ronald Reagan’s, Newt Gingrich’s and Tom DeLay’s policies of economic deregulation, supply-side economics and confrontation with the Soviet Union and other communist and socialist nations. In a conversation with a trusted advisor, he revealed all he needed to know and all he wanted to know about Muslims and Islam:
… if I didn’t mind his asking, as a follower of Jesus, what was my strategy in relation to other people in my travels around the world? I replied without hesitation: it was to convert them to the Christian faith. [p. 16]
His advisor then asked him to produce a textual basis for this position from the Bible. Mark Siljander spent the next year searching, but at the end concluded that no single verse “stated or even implied that Jesus of Nazareth promoted, began or intended to begin any religion. … Following Jesus, according to Jesus’s own disciples, was not a matter of religion; it was about the revelation of God’s truth as conveyed by Jesus’s influence on the human heart.” [p. 18] This represented a crash in Mark Siljander’s personal life.
When President Reagan appointed Siljander an alternate delegate to the United States’s delegation to the United States, Siljander began to meet with representatives from forty-one nations, asking each one “about themselves and their lives; about their region of the world, what it was like, and what were their biggest challenges; and finally, what did they think the United States could do to improve our image in the United Nations and around the world?” [p. 20] These representatives told Siljander that previous
We don’t have conversations. The United States tells us how they suggest we vote, what they suggest we do. They’re cordial and friendly, and very polite. But they don’t ask us anything about ourselves or our countries, and certainly don’t ask for our opinions on how the United States can better its relations around the world. [p. 21]Interpersonal relationships were missing, Siljander concluded, and he spends the rest of the book describing how he uses his new understandings of the Bible and the Quran to build interpersonal relationships with Muslims and others around the world.
Siljander recounts meetings with Western Sahara rebels, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, the foreign minister of Libya, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf and others. In these meetings, Siljander would insist that his associates and he were not seeking to persuade these leaders to do anything, but instead they wanted to become their friends. As a way to initiate their friendship, they suggested that they discuss their mutual love and admiration for Jesus and his teachings. And then they would ask to pray together for a better relationship and peace.
The lesson Siljander drew from these encounters was that a non-sectarian understanding of Jesus and a commitment to living his teachings could facilitate conflict resolution in a way that the traditional conflict resolution focus on diplomatic, political, economic and military engagement could not.
Is Siljander so naïve to believe that this can work? Apparently, he is. Even when Israel’s attacks on Lebanon in 2006 destroyed the Muslim-Christian discussion group in which he participated, he wrote:
Am I made less hopeful with each new eruption of hostilities, each new incidence of suicide bombings, each fresh escalation in the seemingly interminable cycle of attack and retribution? Quite the opposite: I’m more hopeful. [p. 207]
He is looking for highly influential people to carry “the radical idea of reconciliation that Jesus taught two millennia ago and, in my view, that the Qur’an reiterated” until those ideas dominate the society.If being naïve in the hope for peace is the book’s only fault, then I’d say it’s a welcome flaw and I ask God to bless me with it. And if this book is taken as an attempt to get people to rethink their previous religious conceptions which made them think that conflict is good, necessary or inevitable, then I recommend it wholeheartedly.
I do think there are significant problems to Siljander’s specific approach, however. The most important is his attempt to modify Muslims’ understanding of Jesus to include the idea that he was crucified, he was the son of God and that he was divine. He promotes historically minority opinions of groups of Muslims regarding these doctrines and then claims that Muslims who believe these things can be “Messianic Muslims.” Messianic Muslims, who would never identify themselves in this way, “retain their cultural identity, … go to the mosque and read the Qur’an, and … pray in the name of Jesus and read the Bible.”
Even if I don’t read this as a backdoor attempt to “convert” Muslims, which Siljander vehemently denies, the inequality of this relationship is revealed by the fact that he never talks about a Muhammadi Christian, a Christian who is inspired by the example of the Messenger Muhammad ﷺ. Jesus ﷺ is important for Muslims to follow, but it is not important for Christians to follow Muhammad ﷺ.
The second big problem is that the impetus in the book is for Muslims to change. I find it hard to take this whole project seriously when Siljander associates with Islamophobe and ardent Zionist Cal Thomas. While I know the author may not be in complete control of a book’s jacket comments, one endorsement of the book comes from Edwin Meese, III, a fellow at the Islamophobic, neo-conservative and colonialist Heritage Foundation. He is quoted saying, “I cannot overstate the importance of Siljander’s strategic efforts to defuse the activities of radical Muslims worldwide.”
Real peacemaking efforts begin at home. Yes, there are plenty of Muslims who need to be converted to peace, but there are also plenty of warmongering heathens right here at home for Siljander to reach.
Finally, Siljander never addresses why a religious approach to peacemaking and relationship-building is better than a humanistic or an international law approach. Would it not be better to begin with the U.N. Charter of Human Rights and the Geneva Conventions than the Aramaic Bible and speculations on the Qur’an?
The author has a web site, http://www.adeadlymisunderstanding.com, for further information.
Review: Tears of the Desert by Halima Bashir and Damien Lewis
Tears of the Desert: A Memoir of Survival in Darfur. By Halima Bashir with Damien Lewis. 2008. One World Books. Hardcover. 316 pp. ISBN 978-0-345-50625-2.
Reading this book should strengthen one’s resolution to oppose the falsehoods that one person is better than another by virtue of one’s birth and that one person should usurp the rights of another if the opportunity presents itself. It is the failure of peoples of the world to nip these falsehoods in the bud which lead to the massive casualties the author Dr. Halima Bashir describes in Tears of the Desert: A Memoir of Survival in Darfur.
One could quibble with certain aspects of the book, most specifically its lack of analysis of Sudanese society, ecology and politics.For example, a map of the places Dr. Halima mentions should have been included. In addition, constructions like “black Africans” and “Arabs” are oversimplifications of Sudanese society.One hopes the reader will go on to learn more about Sudan before advocating counterproductive policy initiatives.
But this book does not need to include these things to be valuable. Regardless of the accuracy or precision of the expressions of Dr. Halima’s claims about the place of the Zaghawa (Dr.Halima’s tribe and the tribe of most members of the Justice and Equality Movement), the Masalit, the Fur and the other “black African” tribes relative to the “Arabs,” no government should institutionalize discrimination against groups within the society it governs such as those she experienced becoming a physician, and certainly no government should use scorched-earth counterinsurgency tactics. Finally, no government should encourage rape, which is among the most shocking practices of the Sudanese government’s war against peoples it identifies as sources of rebellion in Dar Fur.The book’s final chapters discuss Dr. Halima’s efforts to win asylum status in the United Kingdom. I hope that United States pro-Dar Fur activists would focus more of their energy on opening the United States to more refugees, simply because the solution of the actual civil war is, as of my writing these words, beyond the influence of these activists.
One of the more interesting themes in Dr. Halima’s book is her criticism of city Arabs. Their privilege allows them to be weak, foppish, lazy and generally unproductive. What strikes me about her descriptions is that they appear to have adopted entirely the habits of the British colonizers. This phenomenon of an elite class which perpetuates the patterns of colonial rule is common in nearly all formerly colonized nations.Another detail worthy of note is the difference between al-Khartoum and the rest of the country. This focus on the capitol city and perhaps the neighborhoods of the provincial capitols where the government-sponsored elites live is also a frequently reproduced pattern in the global south.
Dr. Halima’s descriptions of her early childhood were also important. There may have been some elements of nostalgia and tribal pride, but her family members truly came to life in her narration and provided an authenticity to the narrative.The authors have produced a well organized, easily followed and engaging narrative.
May Allah ﷻ have mercy on the victims of the crimes described in Dr. Halima’s book. May Allah ﷻ restrain those criminals and prevent them from continuing their oppression. May Allah ﷻ forgive us for our weakness and inactivity in supporting the victims of this genocide.
Additional Resources:
- Video Interview with Authors on Muxlim.TV
- Tortured , but not Silenced, NY Times Column by Nicholas Kristof
- What to Do About Darfur, by Nicholas Kristof
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Review: This is Palestine by George Azar
This is Palestine is a data CD collection of photos by George Azar, with commentary by Mariam Shahin and accompanying music. It is published by the United Nations Development Programme, Programme of Assistance to the Palestinian People. It is compatible with Windows and Macintosh personal computers.
I bought my copy from Palestine Online Store. It took nearly five months for it to fulfill the order, so if you need it soon, call ahead and confirm that it is in stock. When I placed my order electronically, an employee contacted me and alerted me to its being out of stock and asked me if I would prefer to cancel my order or receive the item later. So, I thought the customer service was OK.
The photos themselves show the Palestinians as human beings in various phases of life, including the political. It also shows Muslims and Christians. The pictures are from a variety of locations in Palestine.
There is a also a collection of photos of fashion and jewelry.
If you are having a public event about Palestine, I'd recommend using this slide show to play while people are waiting for the program to get started and/or after the program is over and people are milling about.
I have not seen the companion book, Palestine: A Guide. The UN also maintains a photo gallery.
I bought my copy from Palestine Online Store. It took nearly five months for it to fulfill the order, so if you need it soon, call ahead and confirm that it is in stock. When I placed my order electronically, an employee contacted me and alerted me to its being out of stock and asked me if I would prefer to cancel my order or receive the item later. So, I thought the customer service was OK.
The photos themselves show the Palestinians as human beings in various phases of life, including the political. It also shows Muslims and Christians. The pictures are from a variety of locations in Palestine.
There is a also a collection of photos of fashion and jewelry.
If you are having a public event about Palestine, I'd recommend using this slide show to play while people are waiting for the program to get started and/or after the program is over and people are milling about.
I have not seen the companion book, Palestine: A Guide. The UN also maintains a photo gallery.
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