Spy Vs. Spy
Now that we're living in the new dark ages, a MAD Magazine comic becomes a reality -- except adapted into "Nutbag Vs. Nutbag," as Muslim clerics in Spain issue a death warrant for Bin Ladin while the country marks the first anniversary of the Madrid train bombings:
They accused him of abandoning his religion and urged others of their faith to denounce the al Qaeda leader, who is believed to be hiding out near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.The ruling was issued by the Islamic Commission of Spain, the main body representing the country's 1 million-member Muslim community. The commission invited imams to condemn terrorism at Friday prayers.
The fatwa said that according to the Koran "the terrorist acts of Osama bin Laden and his organization al Qaeda ... are totally banned and must be roundly condemned as part of Islam."
Finally. Too few Muslims have spoken out. Now, how about a few "moderates" show their heads -- and maybe even open their lips and say something...not so positive...about Osama?
Count me among the choirs and legions saying, "It's about time!"
New Dark Ages, indeed. We may need to build battlements around the libraries yet.
Deirdre B.
Deirdre at March 16, 2005 5:55 AM
Hi Amy-
>>Too few Muslims have spoken out.
Living over here in Europe, I am not convinced by a long shot that, should many Muslims "speak out", Americans would be happy about what they hear.
L'Amerloque
L'Amerloque at March 16, 2005 7:37 AM
No, no. Let's hear what they Euro-Islamists have to say, be they moderate, radical, or backsliding in their faith. We would love to hear what they really want. Enough of this guessing game of whether we are wasting our time saving their butts from their fascist freedom hating leaders. The Lebanese seem to be speaking up pretty well. Not that they are asking for help. But they are definitely making freedom noises. Especially after that pro-Syrian gun-waving crowd thought they would cower the Lebanese nationalists by a show of force out in the streets last week. So, sure, let's have a show of hands across Europe and the Mideast.
l'karaoke at March 16, 2005 5:33 PM
Hi –
>>We would love to hear what they really want.
They are saying what they want. No one seems to be listening to them, beginning with the American media.
>>Enough of this guessing game of whether
>>we are wasting our time saving their butts
>>from their fascist freedom hating leaders.
That's up to them to decide, of course. History will tell us … oh, wait, history has already spoken but, once again, no one in the US seems to be listening.
>>The Lebanese seem to be speaking up pretty well.
Lebanon is hardly an "Arab country". It's almost 40% Christian. If we look at, say, the CIA factbook at:
http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/le.html
we find:
Population:
"Muslim 59.7% (Shi'a, Sunni, Druze, Isma'ilite, Alawite or Nusayri), Christian 39% (Maronite Catholic, Melkite Catholic, Armenian Orthodox, Syrian Catholic, Armenian Catholic, Roman Catholic, Protestant), other 1.3%
note: seventeen religious sects recognized"
Legal system:
"mixture of Ottoman law, canon law, Napoleonic code, and civil law; no judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction"
Political parties and leaders:
"political activity is organized along largely sectarian lines; numerous political groupings exist, consisting of individual political figures and followers motivated by religious, ethnic, clan, and economic considerations"
>>But they are definitely making freedom noises.
No, that's not a "freedom noise". That's a "Let's return to the status quo before the 1971-1991 Civil War" noise. Once again, no one in the American media seems to be listening and reporting. The American people are kept in abysmal ignorance about the real world, again.
Gosh, you don't think the obfuscation could be deliberate, do you ? (smile)
L'Amerloque
L'Amerloque at March 16, 2005 11:26 PM
Note that the Lebanese Civil War was 1975-1991 and not 1971-1991 ! Sorry for the typing error.
Didn't drink enough morning coffee today ... (sigh).
L'Amerloque
L'Amerloque at March 17, 2005 12:07 AM
I like to hope that the Lebanese come out of this uprising with a secular democratic pro-western (or at least not anti-western) outlook. Because that means that I am wrong to think that a free arab populace would be worse for the US than a subjugated one. It will mean that the thousands of Americans in Iraq didn't die for nothing, which is really what I want.
But I'm not expecting it.
Little ted at March 17, 2005 12:41 AM
Hi –
>>But I'm not expecting it.
Nor am I. (sigh)
L'Amerloque
L'Amerloque at March 17, 2005 3:18 AM
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