Muslims around the world remain largely silent on the Mumbai attacks.
NY Times Op-Ed writer Thomas Friedman took some time off from his global warming alarmism and decided to write about something important — the lack of outrage in the Muslim community over the Mumbai attacks.…
Article comments
26 - Baronius
The Indian Muslim Council has called on all muslim graveyards to refuse to bury the Mumbai terrorists. To their culture, that's just about the strongest denouncement possible. I'm no supporter of Islam, but bravo, guys.
27 - Sanjay
Regarding the argument that the Muslim community shouldn't be associated with these attacks -
as an Indian, I'll point out that many Indian Muslims support appeasement policies towards Pakistan (eg. let's beg the Pakistanis for peace; let's beg them reunify with us on their terms; let's give Kashmir to Pakistan; let's stop antagonizing Pakistan; etc, etc).
The voting patterns of the Muslim community reflect this, and the political activism within the Muslim community certain does too.
That's why the left-wing politicians go out of their way to court the Muslim vote by promising to water down security laws, by appointing pliable incompetent loyalists to key security posts, etc.
Strange how when Muslims were killed in riots which spontaneous erupted following the burning of a traincar carrying Hindu pilgrims, the Muslims want to rant about that event endlessly. Oh, they don't want that issue put to rest ever, and insist that wider Hindu society is to blame.
I personally feel there's deep hypocrisy in the politics practiced by the Muslim community in India.
28 - Ruvy
I would suggest that you all read this article at Desicritics, "A View from Pakistan: I Am a Mumbaikar Today". Then come back and look at this article.
29 - Jordan Richardson
I personally feel there's deep hypocrisy in the politics practiced by the Muslim community in India.
There's deep hypocrisy in all politics, Muslim or not.
30 - Cindy D
Thanks Ruvy. That is excellent. I hope Chris Jones take a minute to read that link.
31 - Ruvy
You're welcome, Cindy,
I'm very conflicted about this whole attack on Mumbai. I work with colleagues in Mumbai and can feel, as any former Jerusalemite can, the pain, rage and horror that all Mumbaikars feel at having their home so viciously and brutally attacked.
In that sense, I sympathize with Indians and generally with their desire to attack the terrorist bases in Pakistan.
But my interest in South Asia is not solely commercial or mercenary. The Pashtun, the people who live in Afghanistan, northwest Pakistan and small scattered communities throughout the rest of South Asia, are bani israel - that is to say that they are the descendants of the Tribes of Israel whom the Assyrians forced into exile. The Taliban are Israelites.
G-d certainly has one hell of a sense of humor.
Even though these people largely view themselves as enemies of the Jewish people today - they sniff at us like trash from the wrong side of the tracks, largely - they are still my brothers, by blood, if not by sentiment. And in the future, they will rid themselves of the Taliban bullshit, and come home.
I have an Indian friend who is a Pashtun, and a Pakistani friend one who is also a Pashtun, and it is the knowledge of our shared links as Children of Israel that is the basis of that friendship.
The link I seek to send you to to read has nothing to do with all this. It merely indicates, as I have been saying for a long long time, that many Moslems (including many Arabs) are decent, peace-loving people.
When there are Arab terror attacks here, I am no different from Mumbaikars in feeling rage and wanting vengeance. But I am always forced to reconsider the realities of who leads, and who incites, and who persecutes and who discriminates. Taking a Kalashnikov and killing all the Arabs living down the hill may slake my anger, but it will accomplish nothing aside from contaminating the land with more blood shed (notice I didn't say innocent blood).
When you look at my news analyses, note who I go after. It is usually not Arabs. It is usually Jews or Americans. This, in spite of the fact that the immediate enemy at hand appears to be Arabs.
And you never see me saying bad things about Islam either. I always attack the Wahhabi-influenced terrorists. The Wahhabi are fake Moslems, hiding behind the robe of Islam and spreading a hatred of mankind that is so palpable I can feel it even here on a mountaintop.
If I want anybody to die, it is the Wahhabi - and the European and American scum who are their sympathizers or business partners, enabling their machine of death to keep killing.
32 - Glenn Contrarian
Ruvy -
That's a heck of a post...and of interest to anyone who enjoys a healthy sense of irony. I would never have suspected the Taliban to be bani Israel. That's as ironic as Bush's successor being named 'Hussein'....
And I strongly agree with what you said about the Wahhabi...except for wanting them to die. I cannot condone such an emotion, and I've prayed many times that I will never feel such an emotion. The Wahhabi's beliefs are directly in opposition to several commands in the Qur'an. In fact, Sharia law also contradicts the Qur'an in several instances - such as mark the hands of a thief, not cut it off.
Good post, Ruvy - two of the joys in my life are learning things I didn't know before and coming to better understand those who have beliefs different from my own. Thank you, for both were in your post.
33 - Brooklyn
If your requirement for mistrusting an entire group of people can be so minimal than any group should be mistrusted.
How many Germans seriously spoke out against the Holocaust? Not many substantial cases, but were they banned from entering the U.S. OR were they at all seen as people to be feared and not trusted. Based on what you say we can't trust the white race as a result of indian removal, slavery and a whole host of other incidents commited by some radicals. Your agrument show an alarming intolerance
34 - Christopher Rose
I thought Blogcritics didn't publish factually inaccurate articles anymore? This article is pathetic in its ignorance. That may be OK for Thomas Friedman, who is a full time ass...
Oh, and The Taliban are Israelites? That would explain a lot as to why they are so moronically hostile to the people around them...
35 - Christopher Rose
Actually, I just took a look at the personal website of this author. The Hot Joints tags itself as "Breaking News and Opinion" but is basically a platform for more of the kind of thoughtful and informed ranting as we see in the article above. Ugly stuff...
36 - Mark Eden
I thought Blogcritics didn't publish factually inaccurate articles anymore?
Crap! I missed another memo.
Mark
37 - LK
This is hardly "superior writing". It has an obvous bias and the writing is simply poor.
38 - Ruvy
Oh, and The Taliban are Israelites? That would explain a lot as to why they are so moronically hostile to the people around them...
It also explains why they are still around - unlike the Alans, Vandals, Assyrians, Babylonians, Romans, Philistines, Hittites....
39 - Sanjay
The Taliban don't seem to be very favorably disposed towards their Israeli brethren. If Ruvy thinks their anti-Jewish dispositions are the future of Israel, then he might as well advocate their Right of Return ahead of any expelled Palestinians. The Taliban returnees can then bring down the Jewish state, thereby paving over any obstacles to Palestinian Return. (If that sounds senseless, it's because a lot of Ruvy's positions are.)
40 - Glenn Contrarian
Ruvy - #38 - LOL! Good rejoinder!
Sanjay - #39 - I disagree with Ruvy on many things (such as his suspicions about Rahm Emanuel)...but his positions are anything but 'senseless'. Wrong, maybe - for all of us (including thee and me) have 'wrong positions' in the eyes of others...but not 'senseless'.
I recommend that you try to understand a little better what led Ruvy to believe as he does, and perhaps do a little soul-searching yourself, and you might find that you would agree with him more often than you might expect.
41 - Christopher Rose
I'm familiar with the Vandals, Assyrians and Babylonians, but not those other bands.
42 - Clavos
One hit wonders, all of 'em...
43 - Ruvy
Sanjay,
You need to pay attention. I didn't anything about "Taliban" returnees. The whole Taliban ideology is a pack of oppressive bullshit imported from Deoband, from madrassas run by and funded by Wahhabi pieces of shit..
The Pashtun/Pakhtun will one day liberate themselves of that crap - or feel a Force that forcibly liberates of it.
Then they'll see things differently. What little there is of Jewish prophetic writings indicates that they will not be willing to rejoin the Fold of the Children of Israel at all, and events seem to bear out the prophetic writings so far.
44 - Clavos
Here's another perspective on the Bombay Blitzkrieg; this time from a Canadian Jew.
45 - Chris Jones
Here's a couple more stories that prove my point.
46 - Christopher Rose
Despite the fact that the original author and Clavos linked to the same article, some people need to learn about the perils of selecting reading matter that simply reinforces their own prejudices.
The author also needs to learn that other media articles expressing the same point of view as his own aren't proof of anything, except the folly of picking media that agrees with you...
47 - Ruvy
Chris,
The second article you linked to is proof that real Moslems can and do find the guts to condemn terrorist actions of the fake Wahhabi types.
I normally agree with Steyn on a lot of his articles - but he does not distinguish between the Wahhabi hereticism that now controls "Islam" and the actual religion - which is not a "religion of peace", but one that preaches perfection through submission to Allah.
Moslems will generally argue that this state of perfection through submission is peace - an argument that makes linguistic, if not necessarily theological sense - the word shalóm in Hebrew really connotes a whole lot mere than "peace" - it connotes wholeness and completeness That is why the phrase shalóm aléikhem is not merely a greeting but a blessing as well, and when you wish to talk about greeting someone, the term is >i>l'varékh b'shalóm - to bless with peace, The Hebrew word cognate for Moslem is mushlám which means "perfect".
48 - Arnold
I am working in the UAE. I find there is no place here without a mosque in the direct line of sight. Every nook and corner you will find several of these. There are hardly any parks or libraries that are noteworthy of mentioning. There is little evidence to prove that the adherents of Islam have the intellectual capability for reform, the likeness we witnessed in Europe.
49 - Glenn Contrarian
Arnold -
Y'know, I remember drinking alcohol in a bar in the UAE...and there were Muslims drinking there too - and of course you know Muslims are prohibited from doing that. I've pulled inport to Jebel Ali at least twenty times and been to Dubai at least half that many times, and I can state there ARE places you can go in the UAE where you can't see a mosque.
There is a section set aside - not too far from Jebel Ali - where mainstream 'Christian' churches are allowed to build their chapels and hold their services. The Church of which I am a member doesn't hold with them, so we hold ours elsewhere in the country.
Parks or libraries. No, I didn't see any of either - but I also bear in mind that UAE citizens get a yearly stipend just for being citizens (ten years ago it was about 50K USD). So with all their money, do they really need free parks and libraries for citizens? I think you'll agree they care little for the foreign workers, but why would they build parks and libraries for them?
I've been to bookstores there (the Qur'an was for sale, but never placed in a position below the waist) and they're nice enough (but don't compare to Barnes and Noble, of course), and they do have plenty of diversionary activities from an ice rink to the golf course we always passed by (seemingly the only substantial stretch of green grass in the country).
As far as whites are concerned, the UAE is a nice and fairly safe place - but sadly, if your skin is darker than theirs (whether African, Indian, Pakistani, or Filipino), you get short shrift. I must wonder if that's a holdover from the slavery that was legal (at least in Saudi Arabia) well into the 1900's. I couldn't help but notice in the Gulf News (or is it Gulf Times?) how, when someone was fired, the business owner would place an advertisement and picture in the paper effectively saying "this person is no good - don't hire him/her."
In other words, the UAE isn't that bad, but they do have serious faults. If you want a truly nice place that is Muslim, go to Singapore - THAT place is FAR safer and cleaner than any city I've been to in America - it makes Seattle look like a third-world slum. Just make sure you get a permit to chew gum.
Do you see where I'm going with this? With most countries there are advantages and disadvantages to living there - it all depends on what you consider most important.
50 - Ruvy
I remember drinking alcohol in a bar in the UAE...and there were Muslims drinking there too - and of course you know Muslims are prohibited from doing that,
Heh!.. I hate to think of how many pounds of bacon I consumed eating bacon-egg-cheese croissants and bagel at BK when I worked there. The fact that I was a manager and got them all for "free" didn't help either.
Of course the food wasn't free at all. There is no such thing as a free lunch (or breakfast). I paid the price five years ago with a heart attack from all the cholesterol that lined my arteries and veins. I watch my consumption of hard fats and all, and I should get more exercise - but again, I'll pay the price if I don't - perhaps with my life this time.
But that ain't the point. Moslems, like Jews and Christians, don't necessarily follow what is written in their own "good book". That is one of the reasons for the "good book" in the first place - to remind us all to be humans created in the image of G-d and not animalistic brutes.
All the atheists on this site who refuse to acknowledge the source of their virtues amuse me. Were it not for the Bible, Qur'an or rules of Dharma, or some such, the basic question they'd have to answer each day is "who's for lunch?" (With the additional question, "would you like some salt or pepper to spice him up a bit, or fries on the side?")
51 - GOOD LORD PEOPLE OF SUCH FAITH
everyone practices there own faith...
do not be dormant to such harm..go on and live and change lives.let people be people and try to help them out but do not try to change there ways..what will happen is in the belivers hands and eyes.
good day to all.
52 - GOOD LORD PEOPLE OF SUCH FAITH-wtritien by:rinao
in these times of need to judge-be the one to help them cross to the better side of knowledge and rise to see it happen.
good day to all.
53 - astrogal
Friedman was talking about how he wished Pakistanis would speak out against those attacks not Muslims all around the world to speak out against it. It would be nice if you actually read the article you are quoting when you are writing an article such as this.
54 - red state insurgent in a blue state
only if it were a cartoon rather than a video...