https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0tGbiFbF6w https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ntHNQIkQSw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ibKWVTFSak https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VrmWgkeIVE
On Sunday, January 25, 2015 at 9:50:49 AM UTC-6, Travis wrote: > > > > > > > > http://jerusalemchannel.tv/islam-terror-rainfall-flooding/ > > > Islam is to Terror as Rainfall is to Flooding > > admin <http://jerusalemchannel.tv/author/admin/> / January 23, 2015 > > > > [image: Internet screenshot of Islamic State (ISIS) terror tactics on the > move] <http://jerusalemchannel.tv/islam-terror-rainfall-flooding/> > > *Internet screenshot of Islamic State (ISIS) terror tactics on the move* > > *Into the Fray > <http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Into-the-fray-Its-Islam-stupid-387171>: It’s > Islam, stupid!* > > *By Martin Sherman (reprinted with the author’s permission)* > > *One out six people all over the world is a Muslim… trying to say anything > in general about this huge community – 1.5 billion people – will be wrong… > The vast majority of these populations are not involved with all what’s > happening with violence and terror all over the world…. I don’t think there > is anything essential that connects between this huge and historically > important religion and all the terrorism that’s going on.* > – Sami Abu Shehadeh, secretary-general of Balad, Tel Aviv-Jaffa > > With these words, Sami Abu Shehadeh, of the anti-Zionist Arab party Balad, > commenced a debate with me on “The rise of anti-Muslim sentiment in the > West,” which took place in the i24 News studios last month. > > Clearly, recent events in Paris, in which 12 people were brutally gunned > down, gave the topic new and urgent relevance. > > *Islam is to terror as rainfall is to flooding * > > Of course, there is much truth in Abu Shehadeh’s claim that most Muslims > are not actively involved in terrorism. While this claim is factually > correct, substantively it is meaningless. > > For anyone with an iota of intellectual integrity and reasonably informed > of world affairs, the answer to whether Islam and violence and terrorism > are causally connected should be unequivocally clear. To ask whether Islam > is associated with terrorism is a little like asking if rainfall is > associated with flooding. Of course it is – as can be irrefutably deduced > from Abu Shehadeh’s attempt to exonerate it. > > After all, if one in six people in the world is a Muslim, it would mean > that five out of six are not. Right? So if there were no inordinate > affinity of Islam for violence/ terrorism, Muslim acts of terrorism should > be one-fifth of those of non-Muslim terrorism – i.e. if Islam had no > greater propensity for terrorism, one would have to expect non-Muslim acts > of terrorism to be five times (!) those perpetrated by Muslims. > > This is clearly not the case, and terrorist attacks committed by adherents > of Islam far outweigh those carried out by non-Muslims. > > It would therefore seem that – in stark violation of the protocols of > political correctness – there is little choice but to conclude what many in > the West sense instinctively: There is a disproportionate causal connection > between Islam on the one hand, and acts of ideo-politically motivated > violence against civilian populations, i.e. terrorism on the other. > > *Writing on the wall? * > > Without wishing to appear callous, the carnage in Paris could hardly be > considered unexpected. In many ways the writing has been on the wall for > several years. > > After all, it comes in the wake of a string of incidents of murderous > Islamic-motivated violence across the country. > > In mid-March 2012, several off-duty soldiers were gunned down in Montauban > and Toulouse by a French-born Muslim of Algerian origin. > > A few days later, he slaughtered a rabbi and three children, aged three to > eight, in an attack on a Jewish day school in Toulouse. > > More recently, just before Christmas, France was racked by a spate of > “lone wolf” terrorist attacks, in Dijon, Nantes and Tours, which prompted > the British Independent to report the incidents under the ominous headline > “France gripped by fear at Christmas after third street attack in three > days.” (December 23, 2014) In both the Dijon and Tours incidents, the > attacker is reported to have shouted “Allahu akbar,” dispelling any > suspicion that the assaults were perpetrated by Buddhist extremists. > > Muslim violence has been simmering in France for years, boiling over > regularly around Christmas and New Year, when hundreds of cars are torched > in Muslim-majority neighborhoods to usher in the start of the Gregorian > year. > > Typically, reports in the mainstream media studiously avoid mention of any > connection between this criminal arson on a massive scale and the culprits’ > ethnic origins. > > *Catalogue of carnage * > > The slaughter in Paris takes its place in a long list of acts of butchery, > all committed in the name of Islam. > > Consider the following (and decidedly partial) catalogue of carnage, of > the gory events that took place across the globe over the past two decades > and shocked the world with their brutally. > > New York – Cataclysmic destruction of the Twin Towers Washington – Attempt > to demolish the Pentagon London – Coordinated attack on the public > transport system; the beheading of an off duty soldier in broad daylight in > full public view Madrid – Bombing of crowded commuter trains at rush hour > Nairobi – Seizure of Westgate shopping mall and murder of scores of > innocents Burgas, Bulgaria – Bombing of a tourist bus Mumbai – Murderous > attack on the Taj Mahal Hotel, Chabad House and other sites Boston – > Bombing of the city’s annual marathon Bali – Bombing of crowded tourist > locations Buenos Aires – Deadly attacks on Jewish institutions and the > Israeli Embassy Ottawa – Assault on the Canadian Parliament Sydney – Recent > seizure of a downtown café and murder of two customers In-Amenas, Algeria – > Seizure of a gas facility and murder of dozens of civilians Chibock, > Nigeria – Abduction of almost 300 schoolgirls, reportedly to serve as sex > slaves This bloodcurdling list is in no way complete, and numerous other > incidents could be added. It certainly does not include all the attempted > attacks that were foiled by security services in various countries, > preventing the commission of even more gruesome atrocities by adherents of > Islam. > > *Horrors of intra-Muslim strife * > > Try as one may, there is no way that, in the modern world, any other > faith/creed can be associated with such violence/ terror – in scope, size, > frequency or ubiquity of occurrence. > > But as appalling as Muslim violence against non-Muslims might be, it pales > into insignificance when compared to violence between Muslims themselves. > > It would be impossible to give a comprehensive survey of the intra-Muslim > carnage that has raged – and still rages – across vast swathes of the > globe, from the shores of the Atlantic Ocean to the islands of > Asia-Pacific. A brutally condensed synopsis will have to suffice. > > Even before the unspeakable barbarism of al-Nusra and Islamic State began > to sweep across much of the Levant, merciless massacres of Muslims at the > hands of Muslims abounded. > > For example, in the almost 10-year Algerian civil war, internecine > frictions between rival Islamist factions resulted in massive fratricide – > with a death toll reaching, by some estimates, 150,000. Acts of > unimaginable brutality were perpetrated with entire villages wiped out and > victims’ bodies mutilated. > > Likewise, regular bombings of markets and mosques across countries such as > Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan have produced massive loss of Muslim life at > the hands of belligerent brethren – yet hardly generate a footnote in the > mainstream media. The intra-Muslim conflict seems so intense and > complicated that even a reasonably informed layman would find it almost > impossible to figure out who is killing whom, and why… > > As a gauge of the scope of the slaughter, the Pakistani site Dawn reported > in a post titled “Islam at war – with itself” that al-Qaida affiliates and > other extreme Islamist groups “have perpetrated indiscriminate violence > against civilians…resulting in over 48,000 deaths…” > > *The majority of Muslims…* > > The pervasive violence in the Muslim world inevitably raises the question > of the general character of Islam and the kind of behavioral patterns it > seems to generate. > > It also raises the thorny question of minority actions vs majority > inaction. > > Thus, while Abu Shehadeh is probably right when he claims that only a > minority of Muslims are engaged in abhorrent acts of terrorism, it is > highly unlikely they would be able to sustain this activity without the > support – or at least the tacit approval – of much larger segments of the > population. > > Even if the majority does not actively endorse the conduct of a delinquent > minority, there is little evidence of effective disapproval, let alone > active opposition to it. (In this regard one can only hope that the > extraordinarily courageous speech by Egypt’s president Abdel Fattah > al-Sisi, calling for a “religious revolution,” will prove to be a harbinger > of some radical change in the course Islam is currently set upon.) So, > although, as Abu Shehadeh contends, it is difficult to formulate accurate > generalizations for 1.6 billion people, several edifying measures are > available that paint a daunting picture of the views held by much of the > Muslim world. > > The reputable Pew Research Center has conducted numerous in-depth surveys > across much of the Muslim world. Its findings show solid – at times, > overwhelming – majorities in many countries (and significant minorities in > others) in favor of harsh corporal punishments (whipping/amputation) for > theft/robbery; death by stoning for adultery; and death for apostasy. > > With such a propensity for violence as a widely accepted cultural norm, it > is not implausible to assume that wide sections of the Muslim population > would not find the use of violence and terrorism totally incompatible with > their core beliefs. > > *Attempts at apologetics: The ‘colonialism’ canard * > > Numerous attempts have been made to explain away much of the prevalence of > violence in the Muslim world and conflict with the West. > > Arguably the most prominent among such apologists was none other than > President Barack Obama. In his 2009 “outreach address” in Cairo, he offered > the following explanation for the sad state of affairs between the West and > Islam which, he alleged, followed “centuries of coexistence and > cooperation.” (Really?) Obama suggested that “more recently, tension has > been fed by colonialism that denied rights and opportunities to many > Muslims.” > > This of course holds no water. > > For while it is true that much of the Middle East was under imperial rule > for centuries, this was mostly Muslim imperialism – i.e. the Ottoman Empire. > > After all, with perhaps the exception of North Africa, Western colonialism > was imposed for a relatively short period after World War I, and ended soon > after World War II. This hardly seems sufficient to engender the obdurate > Islamic enmity we see today. > > So if complaints are to be lodged regarding colonialist deprivation of > Muslim rights and opportunities, shouldn’t they be directed at the Muslim > imperialists? Strangely, the the crucibles of today’s most extreme > anti-Western Islam were barely touched by colonialism – the Arabian > Peninsula and Iran. > > Although neither has endured any imperial – including Western – rule of > any consequence, the former birthed the Sunni-derivative version of Islamic > radicalism and the latter the Shia-derivative. This fact sits uneasily with > the diagnosis ascribing ongoing tensions between Muslims and the West to > colonialism. > > *No call to ‘Kill for Krishna’? * > > Moreover, one might well ask why the iniquities of colonialism have not > afflicted, say, the Hindu-majority in India, whose people were certainly > “denied rights and opportunities” under the yoke of British imperialism in > the same way as the Muslims of Pakistan. > > Yet, somehow we hear no cries of “Kill for Krishna” or “Ganesh is Great” > from embittered Hindu terrorists, blowing themselves up in crowded buses, > markets, cafes and mosques, as we do across the Muslim world – including in > neighboring Pakistan. > > Nor do we see aggrieved followers of Shiva embarking on a global holy war > to subjugate all to the Hindu creed. > > Why has India been able to put its colonial past behind it, and become a > vibrant economic juggernaut? Why has it not allowed itself to remain > tethered to the past and mired in homicidal frustration? Since by far most > victims of Muslim violence are other Muslims, rights and opportunities > allegedly denied by foreign occupiers seven decades ago seem a poor > explanation for current conduct. > > *Modernity as culprit? * > > Some have tried to contend that the onset of modernity and globalization > has created a sense of threat to Islamic values, which has precipitated the > tensions with the West. > > Thus, in Cairo, Obama suggested that “the sweeping change brought by > modernity and globalization led many Muslims to view the West as hostile to > Islamic traditions.” > > This too is difficult to accept. > > After all, Islam is the youngest of all major religions, founded centuries > – even in some cases, millennia – after Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism and > Christianity. Why would the newest religion find that the developments of > modernity threaten its traditions in a manner that, apparently, does not > threaten the traditions of faiths far more ancient? Why do they not > generate the same tensions with the West that we find in the case of the > Muslim faith? Could it perhaps be that Islam is fundamentally incompatible > not only with modernity but with anything that is not Islam, and that many > cannot – or worse, refuse to – recognize this? > > *A clarion call * > > Europe in general and France in particular are on the cusp of a grim, > probably gruesome, future. > > European leaders would do well to heed the clarion call from someone who > has intimate knowledge of Islam – the Somalian-born former Dutch MP Ayaan > Hirsi Ali, who was forced flee to the US because of threats from Muslims > who objected to her criticism of Islam. She warned: “Islam is not a > religion of peace. It’s a political theory of conquest that seeks > domination by any means it can. Every accommodation of Muslim demands leads > to a sense of euphoria and a conviction that Allah is on their side. They > see every act of appeasement as an invitation to make fresh demands.” > (March 21, 2009) > > Europe had best heed this dire caveat and tailor its policies accordingly, > for if not, the consequences will be dire. > > > > > __._,_.___ > ------------------------------ > Posted by: "beowulf" <[email protected] <javascript:>> > ------------------------------ > > > Visit Your Group > <https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/grendelreport/info;_ylc=X3oDMTJmN2RyaTU3BF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzIwMTk0ODA2BGdycHNwSWQDMTcwNTMyMzY2NwRzZWMDdnRsBHNsawN2Z2hwBHN0aW1lAzE0MjIxOTUwNTc-> > > > > [image: Yahoo! Groups] > <https://groups.yahoo.com/neo;_ylc=X3oDMTJlNG5vcDJjBF9TAzk3NDc2NTkwBGdycElkAzIwMTk0ODA2BGdycHNwSWQDMTcwNTMyMzY2NwRzZWMDZnRyBHNsawNnZnAEc3RpbWUDMTQyMjE5NTA1Nw--> > > • Privacy <https://info.yahoo.com/privacy/us/yahoo/groups/details.html> • > Unsubscribe <javascript:> • Terms of Use > <https://info.yahoo.com/legal/us/yahoo/utos/terms/> > > __,_._,___ > > > -- -- Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more. --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "PoliticalForum" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
