Comments

You have commented 339 times on Rantburg.

Your Name

Your e-mail (optional)

Website (optional)

	My Original Nic Pic-a-Nic Sorry. Comments have been closed on this article.
Foto

Submit your comments on this article

Olde Tyme Religion

Arab Columnist: Let's Accept the Truth of Our Own Defeats

2007-07-16

The following article by Khairi Abaza appeared in the Lebanese English-language daily The Daily Star on July 4, 2007.(1)

"Arabs Will Not Progress Before They Face The Truth About Their Own History"

"As the current situation in Palestine worsens, let Arabs not forget their past. Events that are portrayed as victories by Arab politicians are not always victories for the Arab people. Last month, the Arab world remembered one of its greatest defeats of the 20th century: the June 1967 war, which marked the end of the hope to wipe out Israel and the loss of East Jerusalem, the West Bank, Gaza, the Sinai, and the Golan Heights.

"Despite the memory of those losses, Arab media, from Al-Jazeera to Dubai TV, still tried to find an honorable excuse for the Egyptian president in 1967, Gamal Abdel-Nasser. This same distorted logic has been applied to movements such as Hizbullah and Hamas, whose defeats are often transformed into victories. No independent commission has ever assessed any of Abdel-Nasser's, Hamas's, or Hizbullah's declarations of victory. The Arab people must dig for the truth in the statements and behavior of these leaders or groups. We have allowed politics in the Arab world to be defined by slogans, not results. Our judgment of leaders can only be truly determined by what they do not just what they say.

"Arabs will not progress before they face the truth about their own history. In memorializing the 1967 defeat, Arab media organized numerous talk shows, documentaries, and interviews. But none clearly defined who was responsible for the Arab loss.

"Instead, the media tried to remind us how Abdel-Nasser gave Arabs a voice and pride. They failed to remind us that because of his bluff and provocation, in June 1967 Israel was able to win a devastating war. They failed to remind us how Abdel-Nasser encouraged King Hussein of Jordan to take part in the war only hours after he knew that Egypt had been defeated providing Israel with a reason to occupy East Jerusalem and the West Bank. And they never mentioned that in 1970 Abdel-Nasser was considering accepting the Rogers Plan for a peace settlement with Israel, with terms less favorable than the Camp David agreement later signed by his successor, Anwar Sadat. Instead, Arab media tended to stress that it was Abdel-Nasser who had planned the October 1973 war, which took place three years after his death, removing all credit from Sadat, who had truly led the battle.

"Some claim that while the June 1967 war was a military loss, the spirit of armed Resistance endured. They believe that Resistance is still the strategic choice of Arabs. We have seen the results of the strategic choice of violent Resistance by Hamas: an ugly Israeli barrier depriving Palestinians of ever more land that has made their lives even grimmer. The slogans of Resistance may incite support, but the consequences of these very slogans cannot be accepted by the Arab public. No one in the Arab world today would accept that Hamas' actions were a large part responsible for the Israeli barrier. There has not been and nor will there be independent assessment of Hamas' strategy. Slogans continue to trump the actual results of actions.

"The same strategic manipulation of public opinion can be seen in Hizbullah's 'victory' against Israel in summer 2006. But what was this victory? A victory that left around 1,200 Lebanese dead, led to billions of dollars in damages and losses in tourism income, and the entry of United Nations troops in Southern Lebanon? With such a balance sheet, how could Hizbullah and its Arab supporters mislead the Arab public and claim victory? Was any inquiry made? Where is the independent commission that studied Hizbullah's actions? Yes, the party's secretary general, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, was left standing, just as Abdel-Nasser was. But is that enough when their nations and people were left battered?

"When Will Arabs Have Independent Commissions to Look Into Their Mistakes and Evaluate Them Transparently"

"How can Arabs improve their lot if they do not face up to their truths? Why is it that Arabs have such a propensity to live amid lies? Why is it that so-called 'free' or 'independent' Arab media are apologists for those who mislead the Arab public? When will Arabs have independent commissions to look into their mistakes and evaluate them transparently?

"Don't expect any of the authoritarian Arab states or their client organizations to produce such commissions. Independent intellectuals and experts in the Arab world should work to create these uncontrolled commissions as a first constructive step in any broad Arab action to improve transparency and accountability. We deserve to understand our history and to learn about the realistic options for our future. Victories in the Arab world must reflect reality not derive from hollow slogans."

Endnote:
(1) http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=5&article_id=83503 .

Posted by:anonymous5089

#10 There is a Lasarus Long's sayin that IMHO, mutatis mutandis,fits the current situation.
"I don't understand gangster mindset---I just know what to do about gangsters."

Posted by: gromgoru 2007-07-16 21:11

#9 All the points above prove to me that Islam is completely incompatible with modern societies and is doing its best to destroy them so it doesn't have to compete (and get beat). Islam needs a reformation or it will be destroyed.

Posted by: DarthVader 2007-07-16 18:17

#8 Thomas Friedman posits...

Islam has a long tradition of tolerating other religions, but only on the basis of the supremacy of Islam, not equality with Islam. Islam's self-identity is that it is the authentic and ideal expression of monotheism. Muslims are raised with the view that Islam is God 3.0, Christianity is God 2.0, Judaism is God 1.0, and Hinduism is God 0.0.

Part of what seems to be going on with these young Muslim males is that they are, on the one hand, tempted by Western society, and ashamed of being tempted. On the other hand, they are humiliated by Western society because while Sunni Islamic civilization is supposed to be superior, its decision to ban the reform and reinterpretation of Islam since the 12th century has choked the spirit of innovation out of Muslim lands, and left the Islamic world less powerful, less economically developed, less technically advanced than God 2.0, 1.0 and 0.0.

Posted by: John Frum 2007-07-16 15:54

#7 PlanetDan hits closer than he realizes.

Islam tries to sell itself as the religion of WINNERS. Any thought that a godly man may suffer in any way is strictly forbidden. The Koran itself is full of re-writes of bible stories that amount to sanitation: Jesus never died on the Cross, Joseph was never unjustly imprisoned, Moses didn't smash the first set of the 10 commandments when he saw the Israelites dancing around the golden calf, and Abraham didn't "sacrifice" Isaac, but Ishmael. No account in the Koran has any "true" Muslim sinning, losing, or being defeated. As such, it is an infantile religion incapable of hardening its adherents tot he realities of life.

Victory in war is held up as being the proof of Islam. The one loss they suffered is whitewashed as due to poor strategic planning: do it right, and Allah will always give victory.

The 1967 war is more, in their eyes, than just a defeat of Arabs by Jews: it was a REFUTATION of Islam's veracity, using THEIR OWN MEASURE OF VERACITY. Thus, the spin, spin, spin to maintain the illusion that Islam has not been refuted by repeated military defeats.

Islam does not prepare its adherents to handle defeat, setbacks, or problems. In my opinion, Islamism is, partly, a coping mechanism to handle the disjunction between what the Koran tells the Muslim their place is in the world, and what reality tells the Muslim. "The defeats are due to the fact that you are not practicing a pure enough form of Islam." is the message, "return to the fundamentals of Islam and imitate Mohammed in word and deed, and you will have the same success as Mohammed had."

Islam is a religion that is incapable of

Posted by: ptah 2007-07-16 15:42

#6 I find one aspect of the arab experience to be incredibly ironic:

Every statement (or nearly every one) is ended with "inshallah" -- may it be G-d's will.

And, the arab world remains ignorant and unproductive despite the riches bestowed on it -- a failure by most measures.

Inshallah, even terror attacks are thwarted.

Perhaps it really IS G-d's will that these people are losers!

Posted by: PlanetDan 2007-07-16 14:26

#5 Deception and death are built into the islamic religion and culture. Islam is the only religion that implies in it's scriptures that it's ever permissible to lie--Taqiyya.

Posted by: JohnQC 2007-07-16 13:22

#4 Guess where Khairi Abaza doesn't live.

Posted by: ed 2007-07-16 13:03

#3 We have allowed politics in the Arab world to be defined by slogans, not results. Our judgment of leaders can only be truly determined by what they do not just what they say.

Sounds like somebody finally got gobsmacked by Mr. Cause & Effect.

Where is the independent commission that studied Hizbullah's actions? Yes, the party's secretary general, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, was left standing, just as Abdel-Nasser was. But is that enough when their nations and people were left battered?

The author inadvertently identifies the real problem. Namely, that Nasrallah was left standing. This twisted maggot will lead Lebanon, Hezbollah and anyone else who follows him straight through the flaming gates of Hell without a backward glance.

Why is it that Arabs have such a propensity to live amid lies?

Its the only way that any of them can possibly ignore how Islams much vaunted moral purity has led to over a thousand years of comprehensive cultural and economic stagnation. One might as well declare a flat baked empty plain of desert as having greater purity than a well-run metropolitan city because it represents the original state of Gods creation. Islam lives a constant lie and kills anyone who has the audacity to point it out.

Independent intellectuals and experts in the Arab world should work to create these uncontrolled commissions as a first constructive step in any broad Arab action to improve transparency and accountability.

This last statement contains numerous oxymorons. Independent intellectuals are more frequently put to death than given any public prominence in Muslim lands. Were it remotely otherwise, by now Islam might have undergone even a minor degree of reformation. The functions of critical thinking and analytical reasoning are violently discouraged by a culture that consistently rewards rote memorization over free thought. Similarly, the idea of "uncontrolled commissions" is in direct opposition to the authoritarian nature of Islam's theocratic rule. It is likewise with any vestiges of Arab transparency and accountability. Such notions demand a level of intellectual integrity that high context societies like Muslim cultures simply cannot endure. The rampant corruption, graft, bribery and selective legal enforcement enjoyed by Islams privileged elite could not survive legitimate scrutiny.

That which taints Islam is not a superficial blot upon it but a stain that permeates through all levels. It is dyed-in-the-wool and inseparable from the warp and weft of Muslim culture. Islams clerical aristocracy would no sooner abandon these crippling ethical deficiencies than they would convert to Christianity.

Posted by: Zenster 2007-07-16 13:00

#2 I read the Daily Star. Glimpses of reality often surface in selected articles...if you can stomach the "Occupied Jerusalem" datelines...

Posted by: borgboy 2007-07-16 12:58

#1 In English for the most sophisticated Arab audience, which is a start. Is anything similar being written in Arabic?

Posted by: trailing wife 2007-07-16 12:09

00:00