But, sadly, it starts out as just another Jew-bash.
From today's Turkish Daily News-
The Koran and non-Muslims – myths versus factsYou can read the whole thing and decide for yourself if there is any merit to the rest of Mr. Akyol's essay.
"Religious militants go angry and violent not because they read their religious texts, but because they focus on the harsher parts of those texts since they are already angry and violent for a myriad of reasons."
Mustafa Akyol
Many years ago, I came across a book, which claimed to explain “Israeli terrorism” in the light of the Hebrew Scriptures. It was full of photos showing Israeli soldiers attacking and harassing Palestinians, and presented huge captions that included verses from the Old Testament, and especially the Book of Joshua. If the Israelis were breaking the bones of a Palestinian youngster — a globally notorious scene from the ‘80s — (Huh?) then the caption would include a verse with something like “Thou shall break their bones.” The book's argument was blunt and simple: The Israelis were torturing a nation because that was what their religion ordered them to do.
The more I learned about the Old Testament and the politics of the Middle East, the more I realized that what the book presented was not analysis but anti-Semitic propaganda. It is true that Israel's 40-year-long occupation is a pretty brutal one, and that the Old Testament included some belligerent passages, but the reality was much more complex. I noticed that Jewish religious sources also include many words of wisdom and compassion, and that there are so many Jews who are willing to have peace with their Arab neighbors. Indeed the militants who advocate and even practice violence in the name of Judaism — as CNN's Christian Amanpour recently exposed in her superb documentary, “God's Warriors” — are pretty marginal. Moreover, the source of their hatred is actually not the confrontational passages of the Torah, but the political and social situation that they are in.
In other words, they go angry and violent not because they read their religious texts, but because they focus on the harsher parts of those texts since they are already angry and violent for a myriad of reasons.
The "Moderate" Voice says, "We need more people like him (Mr. Akyol)."
Nice.
Umh, you do know my writings right? That I am strongly pro-Israel?
ReplyDeleteDid you also actually care to read the entire article?
Do you also know how many people in that region of the world think (about Israel)? Basically, Mr. Akyol thought very negative about Israel until he actually communicated with Israelis. Yes, he is pro-Palestine, but that does not mean you have to dismiss everything he says.
More, many, many people in Turkey agree can recognize themselves in Akyol. If he writes columns bsically saying that most Israelis do want peace and that fundamenatlists interprete the Koran wrongly, he can have a positive impact.
You'll never get people in that region of the world to completely agree with the Western take on politics. But this is a relatively good start, isn't it?
Automatically dismissing what people like Mr. Akyol have to say is silly. If you act like that, the West can never communicate with those who think differently.
Michael- I am wondering how many in the "pro-Israel" crowd believe that:
ReplyDelete"Israelis were breaking the bones of a Palestinian youngster — a globally notorious scene from the ‘80s."
And, that:
"It is true that Israel's 40-year-long occupation is a pretty brutal one."
I would ask you to explain how exactly you are "pro-Israel" when you can allow comments like that to go unchallenged.
I also noticed that you are giving Amanpour a pass on her sick rants against Christianity and Judaism- equating both to radical Islam barbarism.
Sorry, I strongly disagree.
Mr. Akyol may have some fine ideas on Islam and on how to give strength to moderates in Islam.
Don't expect me to buy the rest of his junk... or to excuse it because he is somehow "promoting moderation."
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ReplyDeletewhy it is that while "voices" like those
of Mustafa Akyol are "freely" heard..
we have "selective freedom of
speech" @ WaPo & elsewhere..
Opus Akbar
PBS Censored Documentary - Islam Vs. Islamists - Trailer
Muslims, Americans, & Muslim Americans have been, and are being "silenced" from both ends of the spectrum.. :(
lots more @ following link..
AIFD
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The only solution is to move rapidly to open warfare on the basis of religious belief. I think it's high time that we Christians decide to take on these non-believers and send them to Sheol.
ReplyDeleteI make perfectly clear that I do not answer those charges because it's not hte place for that, and about Amanpour I wrote that I didn't watch the documentary and do not plan on doing so either because it sounded a bit too political correct for me.
ReplyDeleteAgain - read the post first. Think about it. Then write your post.
The subject wasn't Israel, the subject was Islam and non-Muslims / fundamentalist Muslims and moderate Muslims. If you want to make some progress, you have to accept that they look at the Israel-Palestine situation from a different perspective than we do.
This does not mean you cannot debate them on it, but that was not the intention of the post as I made clear.
Before you start playing the 'moderate' card (implying it's a liberal site), perhaps you should do a little bit more research. You would soon find out that I am actually right-of-center.
It's a bad idea to write a post like that, if you don't actually read what I write and think about why I chose to write it that way. I am sure some people write without thinking, but that's not my style.
Mark: that's perhaps the most idiotic comment I have ever read on any given blog. Time for Christians to start a religious war? Replace Christians with Muslims and you sound dangerously like certain terrorists.
ReplyDeleteMichael- I don't want to get into a spit and p*ssing match with you.
ReplyDeleteI have better things to do.
I hope next time you are confronted with vicious slander against Israel or the Jews that you have enough courage to stand up against it.
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ReplyDeleteMichael van der Galiën said..
"I am sure some people write without
thinking, but that's not my style."
albeit i understand where you're coming
from.. imo, you need think beyond that..
hence, i don't agree in totality..
that said, what is your style?? admittedly not doing your own research on something someone has posted & then commenting they're wrong??
why don't you try reading, watching & listening, absorb it all & then comment on the 'issue' presented vs the presenter..
btw: where something comes from or who said it matters not.. also matters not whether one is pro-Israel or pro-Palestine.. it's comprehending the entire content of what has been stated in context that counts..
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