DrBenway
13th March 2003, 02:57 PM
Sorry this rambles a bit. I'm on my way out to dinner.
It's very difficult to talk about the war, because everyone listens for certain shibboleths in order to identify who's in what camp. The camps are: "conservative," "liberal," "arrogant American," "hypocritical European Unionist," "Islamophobic," "Islamofascist," "corporate crook," "communist," "bleeding heart idiot," "fundie Christian," "zionist apologist," and so on.
Because I'm still trying to sort out my understanding of the proposed war in Iraq, I don't like being stuck in any group. Next week, I may change my views. So if my ideas today offend, I hope someone will point out where I'm off, without merely labeling me as a member of one misguided camp or another.
There's the little war and the big war. The little war is the proposed invasion of Iraq to remove Saddam from power. The big war is the war on Islam. That's not a very smart thing to say. It sounds bigoted and immediately incites hysteria, left and right. I'm too much of a coward to ever say such a thing in front of a TV camera, or in print using my real name.
Yet it's my belief that Islam is the raison d'etre for 9/11, the Bali bombing, the ricin plot, al-quada, Hamas, Hesballah, the oppression of women in Saudi Arabia, the suicide bombers in Israel, and so on, and so on. More importantly, Islam is the reason that more moderate Muslims have little power to oppose or speak out against the rise of militant fundamentalism.
Specifically, these three things within Islam have to go:
1. Islamic law, or the Shari'at. This is a system of cruel and unusual punishment that effectively suppresses dissent or criticism of Islamic leaders.
2. The belief that Allah requires Muslims to kill apostates.
3. The belief that bid'ah or "innovation" of Islam as it's now formulated is an unforgivable sin that must be punished by death.
The little war obtains its greatest significance from the big war. Iraq is important because it is a toe hold in the Muslim world, where successful secular reforms might inspire similar reforms in neighboring regions.
Somehow, the mainstream Muslim community must embrace the notion that Islam can exist in a fully valid, Allah-approved form without the three things above. Non-Muslims won't be effective in selling secularist reforms to Muslims. The reformation movement has to arise within the Muslim community itself. All the West can do is provide a window of opportunity for reformers to win the hearts and minds of their fellow Muslims. The West can support the establishment of a free press within Iraq, access to print, television, Internet, to as many people as possible, but it's up to the Muslims themselves to make the move away from fundamentalism and toward secularism and human rights.
Is this possible? I believe so. Rejection of the religion of one's birth happens all the time, where there's no heavy price to pay for changing one's beliefs.
I don't think the west has to insist upon specific forms of government within Iraq. What the west ought to insist upon is respect for basic human rights under any government within Iraq.
Iran has suffered under decades of theocratic rule, and will be watching what happens in Iraq with interest. Nothing cures fundamentalism better than a big ol' taste of it.
It's very difficult to talk about the war, because everyone listens for certain shibboleths in order to identify who's in what camp. The camps are: "conservative," "liberal," "arrogant American," "hypocritical European Unionist," "Islamophobic," "Islamofascist," "corporate crook," "communist," "bleeding heart idiot," "fundie Christian," "zionist apologist," and so on.
Because I'm still trying to sort out my understanding of the proposed war in Iraq, I don't like being stuck in any group. Next week, I may change my views. So if my ideas today offend, I hope someone will point out where I'm off, without merely labeling me as a member of one misguided camp or another.
There's the little war and the big war. The little war is the proposed invasion of Iraq to remove Saddam from power. The big war is the war on Islam. That's not a very smart thing to say. It sounds bigoted and immediately incites hysteria, left and right. I'm too much of a coward to ever say such a thing in front of a TV camera, or in print using my real name.
Yet it's my belief that Islam is the raison d'etre for 9/11, the Bali bombing, the ricin plot, al-quada, Hamas, Hesballah, the oppression of women in Saudi Arabia, the suicide bombers in Israel, and so on, and so on. More importantly, Islam is the reason that more moderate Muslims have little power to oppose or speak out against the rise of militant fundamentalism.
Specifically, these three things within Islam have to go:
1. Islamic law, or the Shari'at. This is a system of cruel and unusual punishment that effectively suppresses dissent or criticism of Islamic leaders.
2. The belief that Allah requires Muslims to kill apostates.
3. The belief that bid'ah or "innovation" of Islam as it's now formulated is an unforgivable sin that must be punished by death.
The little war obtains its greatest significance from the big war. Iraq is important because it is a toe hold in the Muslim world, where successful secular reforms might inspire similar reforms in neighboring regions.
Somehow, the mainstream Muslim community must embrace the notion that Islam can exist in a fully valid, Allah-approved form without the three things above. Non-Muslims won't be effective in selling secularist reforms to Muslims. The reformation movement has to arise within the Muslim community itself. All the West can do is provide a window of opportunity for reformers to win the hearts and minds of their fellow Muslims. The West can support the establishment of a free press within Iraq, access to print, television, Internet, to as many people as possible, but it's up to the Muslims themselves to make the move away from fundamentalism and toward secularism and human rights.
Is this possible? I believe so. Rejection of the religion of one's birth happens all the time, where there's no heavy price to pay for changing one's beliefs.
I don't think the west has to insist upon specific forms of government within Iraq. What the west ought to insist upon is respect for basic human rights under any government within Iraq.
Iran has suffered under decades of theocratic rule, and will be watching what happens in Iraq with interest. Nothing cures fundamentalism better than a big ol' taste of it.