19/1/2007 - Strong opinions - Martin Amis in The Independent

Martin Amis: You Ask The Questions - The Independent, 15 January 2007

Are you an Islamophobe? ALISDAIR GRAY, Edinburgh

No. What I am is an Islamismophobe. Or better say an anti-Islamist because a phobia is an irrational fear, and there is nothing irrational about fearing someone who professedly wants to kill you. The form that Islamophobia is now taking - the harassment and worse of Muslim women in the street - disgusts me. It is mortifying to be part of a society in which any minority feels under threat. On the other hand, no society on earth, no society imaginable, could frictionlessly absorb a day like 7 July.

Can the war on terror be won? AMBER ALWAN, by email

When historians come to write about this era, I persistently imagine, they will begin by saying that, at first, the West panicked and wildly overreacted, and that the strategy for prevailing was slow to crystallise. Remember the axiom: the danger of terrorism lies not in what it inflicts but in what it provokes. September 11 could be contained and survived; the ramifications of the Iraq war are still unknowable, and are already vast and multiform. Islamism has received a great boost from its rejection of reason and its embrace of death, both of which are hugely energising, as Lenin and Hitler well understood. But Islamism is simply too poisonous to survive for very long. What happened within Islam was not a civil war (between the moderates and the radicals); it was more like a revolution - a revolution which is already starting to devour its children. We won't "win", exactly. But there will come an end to the Age of Vanished Normalcy.

What is the most depressing thing about Britain you have observed since your return? And the best? GRANT MULLIN, Surrey.

The most depressing thing was the sight of middle-class white demonstrators, last August, waddling around under placards saying, We Are All Hizbollah Now. Well, make the most of being Hizbollah while you can. As its leader, Hasan Nasrallah, famously advised the West: "We don't want anything from you. We just want to eliminate you." Similarly, when I went on Question Time the other week, a woman in the audience, her voice quavering with self-righteousness, presented the following argument: since it was America that supported Osama bin Laden when he was fighting the Russians, the US armed forces, in response to September 11, "should be dropping bombs on themselves!" And the audience applauded. It is quite an achievement. People of liberal sympathies, stupefied by relativism, have become the apologists for a creedal wave that is racist, misogynist, homophobic, imperialist, and genocidal. To put it another way, they are up the arse of those that want them dead.

The best thing has been to find myself living in what, despite its faults (despite a million ills), is an extraordinarily successful multi-racial society. This is a beautiful idea, with a good chance of becoming a beautiful reality, too.

For the full article, see http://news.independent.co.uk/people/profiles/article2154795.ece

With thanks to The Australian for mentioning and quoting from the article

16/1/2007 - Strong opinions - Tanveer Ahmed in The Australian

I just read an opinion article by Tanveer Ahmed in The Australian, titled: Not bedfellows, but a political attraction, about the strange and alarming marriage between Islamism and the extreme left:

'As a new year begins, the combination of Saddam Hussein's execution, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca by Muslims and another outburst by the cartoon-like Sheik Taj Din al-Hilali maintain the place of politics and Islam at the centre of world affairs.

Meanwhile, many progressive groups are increasingly finding common cause with radical Muslims.

Political outrage towards international conflicts, especially with regard to the Middle East, conjures up some odd images in the modern era. For example, during protests against last year's war in Lebanon, alliances between left-wing and Muslim groups produced images of union leaders wearing the kaffiyeh, the headgear made famous by Yasser Arafat, of the Socialist Alliance marching adjacent to the Hezbollah flag, and of environmental supporters trying to mouth an occasional "Allahu Akbar". '

For the full article, please go to:

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,21063691-7583,00.html

Over the past year, this Sydney based psychiatry registrar and writer has become my favourite voice within moderate islam in Australia. Tanveer Ahmed describes things as they are, without hiding behind the eternal excuses of victimhood, 'racism' and 'words being misinterpreted'. For me he is the embodiment of how a modern Western lifestyle can go hand in hand with being a muslim and living according to the principles of one's faith.

20/12/2006 - Strong Opinions - 'Taking a stand for all animals' by Katrina Sharman

Well, today seems to be the day for politics. I just read the following article by Katrina Sharman on On Line Opinion. I don't want to spoil your Christmas (most probably I will eat meat myself), still it is something to think about every now and then. Mankind in general still thinks they can do with animals whatever they like. Repulsive!

'Approximately 9.5 billion animals are slaughtered every year in the US. Take a moment to consider that number, because it is truly staggering. Many of these intelligent, sentient animals never see the light of day and never feel the earth under their feet. If America is a beacon of freedom and justice for its human inhabitants, it seems that its beneficial rays have never reached the nation’s farm animals.

Of course, back home in the lucky country, our animals are faring little better. As Australians and as legal professionals, we should not be lulled into a false sense of security by the presence of our state and territory anti-cruelty legislation or “talk” of animal welfare. While it’s proper to acknowledge that the government has committed $6 million to the implementation of an Australian Animal Welfare Strategy, this project is unlikely to serve as a clarion call to end the suffering of millions of animals in our factory farms.'

For the full article, go to

http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=5257

You can also sign the RSPCA petition 'Fair go for farm animals':

http://www.rspca.org.au/campaign/fairgo.asp

Thanks.

KC

20/12/2006 - Strong Opinions - Ayaan Hirsi Ali in the Los Angeles Times

Why they deny the Holocaust

 

28/11/2006 - Strong opinions - Stephen Schwartz in The Australian

'Who, aside from the Syrians, could be serious suspects in the death of Gemayel? Hezbollah would, of course, be the second on most lists. In the logic of Nasrallah's Mussolinian march to power, yet another unexpected assault on Lebanese peace makes sense. Such a move would illustrate a distinction between Islamo-fascism as a form of established state ideology, such as we see in Saudi Arabia, and Islamo-fascism as a road map to dictatorship.

Muslim intellectuals in the Middle East do not, let it be noted, huffily reject the term Islamo-fascism as a slur on their religion, as British and US Muslim leaders are wont to do. As one authoritative Iranian told me, "There is clearly a fascistic reading of Islam, and it is absurd to deny it. Western academics may believe fascism is limited in space and time, but we Muslims who have experienced fascist tendencies in the Islamic world know better." '

Stephen Schwartz: Syria becomes the usual suspect again - The Australian, 25 November 2006.

For the full atricle, please go to

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,20815883-28737,00.html

16/11/2006 - Strong opinions - Denis MacShane on Patrick Cockburn in Prospect Magazine

I just read Denis MacShane's very interesting review about two books on Iraq: The Occupation: War and Resistance in Iraq by Patrick Cockburn and State of Denial: Bush at War, Part III by Bob Woodward. I found this review in Prospect Magazine very helpful.

I think the handling of the Iraq occupation has been a disaster, with devastating effects for the population. I have always been very well aware of the hidden agenda of the Bush administration and as such, I have been very ambiguous towards the invasion, an ambiguity that stems from many factors, the most important ones being: the inevitability of a high number of civilian casualties, unfamiliarity with the deeper social structures in Iraq, the danger of instability, especially with Iran as neighbouring country and the danger of bringing two enemies, Saddam and Bin Laden, closer together. At the same time there were the many reports about the terror under Saddam, the random killings, the fear factor, the abysmal treatment of thousands of prisoners. This was no American spin, a simple look into Amnesty International's reports was sufficient.

I think the situation in 2002 was not as simple as many want us to believe. And the fact that Bush and co. had their ulterior motives, doesn't mean that Saddam is any single bit less the monster that he always has been.

Some quotes from the review:

'Patrick Cockburn’s book on Iraq is a joy to read after plodding through Woodward. Less than half the length of Woodward, it distills a quarter of a century’s worth of Cockburn’s profound knowledge of Iraq and the middle east. Cockburn reports for the Independent, but unlike his more famous confrère, Robert Fisk, he does not go in for intemperate rants, nor does he blame everything on the efforts of the Jewish people to survive in their tiny state of Israel.

Instead, he reports that, “For years, people I knew well enough in Baghdad… were desperate for a normal life free of Saddam and sanctions.” He writes that, late in 2002, the majority of Iraqis “wanted an end to the regime even if this involved an American-led attack.” He quotes a young architect in Baghdad. “We are even ready to live under international tutelage. We have nothing to lose, and it cannot be worse than our present condition.” This is deeply honest reporting from a writer who does not seek wisdom after the event. His book is the most excoriating exposé of the almost unbelievable catalogue of errors the Americans made in the running of Iraq after the fall of Saddam, and is made all the more powerful because he acknowledges that the fall of Saddam was a liberation for the Iraqis.

The Pentagon and Rumsfeld, who demanded full control over Iraq, made every mistake it was possible to make. If war is too important a matter to be left to the generals, than occupation should never be contracted to a defence ministry. Cockburn travelled all over Iraq in the postwar period. He carefully and unsentimentally describes the developing tragedy. The precision and brevity of his prose—which has in each chapter more wisdom and good judgement than all three of Woodward’s bloated Washington-obsessed books—contributes to the strength of his indictment.'

For the full review you can go to http://www.prospect-magazine.co.uk/article_details.php?id=7981

13/11/2006 - Strong opinions - Philip Mendes, On line opinion

Today I read a very good and objective article about the Iraeli-Palestinian conflict on On line opinion:

After Lebanon: a personal reflection on Israel and Palestine by Philip Mendes:

'I have supported a two-state solution for over 23 years since I was caught up as a naïve 17-year-old first-year university student in the ill winds and polarisation of the Lebanon War debate at Melbourne University.

Desperately I sought some mid-way compromise between the rigid anti-Zionism of much of the political Left, and the parochial pro-Israel patriotism of much of the Jewish community. After a short but intense investigation I identified two states as the only solution that would potentially meet both the minimum security needs of Israel and the minimum national aspirations of the Palestinians.'

'There is no doubt that the international community has to find some way of convincing the Israelis to permit the establishment of a viable, sustainable Palestinian state leading to a two-state solution, and perhaps the current introduction of an international peacekeeping force into Southern Lebanon also suggests a potential way forward in Gaza and eventually the West Bank that will satisfy both sides.

This is not to deny the obvious barriers to a two-state solution including the Israeli settlements and the reluctance of Israel to withdraw from the West Bank, Palestinian demands for a right of return, the current domination of Palestinian politics by the hardline Hamas party, and the violence from both sides. But there are arguably potentially creative means of overcoming these barriers in the longer term. Having just read former Palestinian Prime Minister Abu Ala’s excellent book From Oslo to Jerusalem, it is possible to see how quickly things can change from conflict to peace making.

And all the alternatives are far worse. On the one hand, the Greater Israel project involves a racist denial of the existence let alone legitimate national aspirations of the Palestinians. And alternatively the so-called one-state solution favoured by some Palestinians can only be called “Genocide with a human face”.

Of course, the two-state solution will never work unless or until the Arab world ends its 58-year-old military, political, trade and intellectual siege of Israel. This siege is not about what Israel has actually done - good or bad - during its existence. It is simply - as noted by the famous French Trotskyist Nathan Weinstock - about what Israel symbolises to the Arab world in terms of the reversal of the traditional role of Jews as an inferior, second class minority (known as dhimmis).'

For the full article, please go to:

http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=5121

3/11/2006 - Strong opinions - Bashir Goth and Alan Matheson, On Line Opinion

Today I read two very interesting articles in On Line Opinion, Australia's free Internet journal of social and political opinion. [Home page: www.onlineopinion.com.au.] 

1] Bashir Goth: Whenever a Muslim writer takes up a pen he tiptoes in a minefield

'Even worse than official censorship is censorship imposed by the community, which then becomes self-censorship. Friends, colleagues and even ordinary acquaintances all try to impose strict censorship rules on me under the guise of being concerned about my personal safety or honour. They demand I tone down my strong views about sensitive issues.

Freedom of the press in the Muslim world cannot be separated from freedom of expression in general. Journalists, due to their conspicuous public role, risk their lives everyday. They have been targeted and killed in Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Palestine, Somalia, Sudan and other countries. The Muslim world is not a friendly place for freedom of speech at all.

Journalists, creative writers and artists all share the same fate. The writer in a Muslim society is in shackles. Every time I put pen to paper it is a struggle against the tyranny of community-imposed self-censorship. Nowhere is Rousseau's statement that "Man is born free; and everywhere he is in chains," truer than in the House of Islam.

Everything is a taboo. Whenever a Muslim writer takes up a pen he starts tiptoeing in a minefield. You have to follow the flag signs of religious, cultural and social taboos. You should tread carefully to avoid shame, social estrangement or even death.

The beheading of the Sudanese journalist Mohamed Taha Mohamed Ahmed in early September was the latest example of community punishment of a journalist-writer.

Writers have to endure internet blockages and black ink splashed on their art magazines and school textbooks. One of the most bizarre censorship actions I have ever seen was the blotting out of the sexual organs of a historical picture of donkey standing in an old Arabian market.'

For the full article, please go to

http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=5059

2] Alan Matheson: Cash and chaplains: the continuing seduction of the church

'The announcement of the Federal Government’s $90 million “God Squad” (National Schools Chaplaincy Program), and the response by the churches, was depressingly predictable.

For the Howard Government, there is no separation between church and state. While the treasurer lectures the Muslim community about their need to accept “the separation of church and state in Australia”, he is propping up the religious establishment by pouring millions of dollars into their pockets.

The God Squad is but the latest program which ensures, in the eyes of government, the rightful role and place of religion, and especifically, churches in Australian society.

And the response was equally predictable. Take the money and run according to a leading Sydney Anglican. Not only should churches be applying “for any funding that’s around”, but also churches should be writing “to the government to thank them”.

This is a seduction, which in the end leaves everyone very satisfied. The government gets to extend its “soft theocracy”, and the churches, fast losing members, balance yet another budget. Evangelical entrepreneurs and astute religious financial managers tapping into the market fundamentalism of the Federal Government, now keep the churches in business.

Never have so few Christians been paid so much from the Federal Treasury to survive.'

For the full article, please go to

http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=5105

2/11/2006 - Strong opinions - Martin Amis in Lateline, ABC

British writer Martin Amis has recently written the story The Last Days of Mohammad Atta. In this fictionalised account of the last hours of the leader of the September 11 attacks, Amis tries to get into Atta's mind.

In a recent essay in The Observer, he traces the roots of Islamic extremism and critiques the West's hesitant response to it. The essay was called The Age of horrorrism.

Martin Amis on Islamism:

'We must never lose sight of the fact that this is like other movements that we're familiar with, Nazism and Bolshevism. This is an ideology that has freed itself from reason, and you get a huge push when you do that because suddenly everything is possible, and it has freed itself from reason and it is feeding on death.

Now, this is what people find so difficult. It is effortful to come to an understanding of that. Much, much nicer to wallow in rationalist naiveté and say that it is our fault. In England, there were middle class whities walking around during August with signs saying "We are all Hezbollah now .” Well enjoy it, enjoy being Hezbollah while you can, because its leader, Hassan Nasrallah, famously said of the West, "We don't want anything from you, we just want to eliminate you."'

For a full transcript of Tony Jones' interview with Martin Amis, you can go to:

http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/content/2006/s1779157.htm