| Submit your comments on this article |
| Middle East |
| Commies, Islamists in hollering match at Lebanese University |
| 2003-03-19 |
| The confrontation between the Muslim Student League (MSL) and secular student organizations at the Lebanese University (LU) in Tripoli is expected to escalate, as MSL pressed charges against the Peopleâs Rights Movement and the Communist Party and which in turn prompted a meeting in Beirut Tuesday for 25 secular and leftist student groupsâ representatives. Wissam Alam, a supporter of the Communist Party and a student at the university, was physically assaulted three days ago while circulating the publication, Studentsâ Rights, on LUâs campus. Oooh. A commie bully boy gets beaten up by Islamist bully boys. I hope there were lots of bruises on both sides... Fares Shoufani, from the Peopleâs Rights Movement, a national non-student body and the publisher of Studentâs Rights, told The Daily Star that âMSL has always objected to the circulation of the publication claiming it encourages indecent behavior.â "Indecent" meaning something the turbans don't agree with... âThis magazine contains blasphemy and atheism which only a handful of people believe in,â a statement by the MSL said. âThey are attempting to propagate among students and this is against the Lebanese constitution and laws.â The MSL also said that it had requested the administration to prohibit circulation because it contains âscornful statements against the divine being and sarcasm against Muslim rituals, the veil, prayer and worshipers and because it encourages sin, sex and sarcasm.â The statement added that the attack on Wissam Alam was because of his âinsistence on distributing the publication on purpose and in a provocative manner.â They're commies. They're supposed to be atheists. Feeling a little uncertain, are we? Expecting all the devout young Islamists to flock to the red flag so they can indulge in sin, sex and sarcasm, instead of piety, chastity, and small arms practice? According to the statement âsome zealous (Muslim) youth who have enough sentiment to defend their religion, even with their souls, became involved in a fight with the offenders.â Sounds like there were move of the Islamists on hand than there were commies, so, being bully boys, they did what bully boys do best... The MSL called on the judiciary and security forces to âface this ferocious atheist offensive,â saying that the attack began with a recent column by An-Nahar journalist Aql Awit and that it would not end with the Studentsâ Rights magazine. Awitâs column prompted negative reaction among northern religious figures last week after he published a column entitled: A Letter to God. Oh, dear! An article! In a magazine! On paper! Heavens! What if somebody read it, instead of the Koran? The confrontation between the two parties also has its roots in a story published in Studentsâ Rights, in which LU Arts School in Tripoli is described as âthe Islamic World.â Under the title Between Religion and Politics at the (LU) Stage, Dina Jouny fell heavily on the Muslim groupsâ behavior in the different LU branches in Tripoli. In her article, Jouny claimed that in MSL-dominated branches, the MSL harasses women who âthey think are not decently dressed.â The writer also describes a ceremony on campus celebrating the veiling of nine female students and relates a story in which the president of the student council, a member of the MSL, orders a couple to keep âthe legal distanceâ as they hang out on campus. Being an Islamist lets you be in charge of everybody else... Sources from the Communist Partyâs youth department denounced the MSLâs behavior and said that even if MSL swept the branchâs recent student elections, that did not grant them the right to impose their rules on LUâs campus. Sources said the Studentsâ Rights magazine did not only criticize Muslim factions on campus as it also attacked what it called âsectarian practices as opposed to religious activity.â Once they're in charge, they make the rules for everybody, Charlie, and they enforce them ruthlessly. Kinda like commies do, in fact... âHow come only the MSL was offended? The publication also criticizes Hizbullah, Amal and Christian student factions,â said Rami, a communist student who preferred not to give his last name. âThis reminds us of the dark ages in Europe. They appointed themselves the defenders of God and the prosecutors of all others who profess different opinions.â It's not the dark ages in Europe, though. It's the dark ages in the Middle East. Have a nice time. Oh, and don't forget to oppose American imperialism, now. You know they push concepts foreign to Arabs, like freedom of the press, freedom of religion, and individual liberty. Couldn't have that sort of thing imposed on us, could we? |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |
| #2 "Awitâs column prompted negative reaction among northern religious figures last week after he published a column entitled: A Letter to God." Which came back unopened, marked "address unknown"... |
| Posted by: mojo 2003-03-19 14:03:36 |
| #1 âThis magazine contains blasphemy and atheism which only a handful of people believe in,â "...and, since this is not a democracy, the minority has no rights and will be quashed forthwith!" |
| Posted by: Dar Steckelberg 2003-03-19 13:56:18 |