Beheading in the Name of Islam (TROP™ folkways)

Images of masked terrorists standing behind Western hostages in Iraq and Saudi Arabia have become all too common on Arabic satellite stations such as Al-Jazeera and Al-Manar. Islamist websites such as Muntadiyat al-Mahdi [1] go further, streaming video of their murder.

The February 2002 decapitation of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, true to its intention, horrified the Western audience. Chechen rebels, egged on by Islamist benefactors, had adopted the practice four years earlier, [2] but the absence of widely broadcast videos limited the psychological impact of hostage decapitation. The Pearl murder and video catalyzed the resurgence of this historical Islamic practice. In Iraq, terrorists filmed the beheadings of Americans Nicholas Berg, Jack Hensley, and Eugene Armstrong. Other victims include Turks, an Egyptian, a Korean, Bulgarians, a British businessman, and a Nepalese. Scores of Iraqis, both Kurds and Arabs, have also fallen victim to Islamist terrorists' knives. The new fad in terrorist brutality has extended to Saudi Arabia where Islamist terrorists murdered American businessman Paul Johnson, whose head was later discovered in a freezer in an Al-Qaeda hideout. A variation upon this theme would be the practice of Islamists slitting the throats of those opponents they label infidels. This is what happened to Dutch filmmaker Theo Van Gogh, first gunned down and then mutilated on an Amsterdam street, [3] and to an Egyptian Coptic family in New Jersey after the father had angered Islamists with Internet chat room criticisms of Islam. [4]

The purpose of terrorism is to strike fear into the hearts of opponents in order to win political concession. As the shock value wears off and the Western world becomes immunized to any particular tactic, terrorists develop new ones in order to maximize shock and the press reaction upon which they thrive. In the 1970s and 1980s, terrorists hijacked airliners to win headlines. In the 1980s and 1990s, the car bomb became more popular; Palestinian terrorists perfected suicide bombings in the 1990s. But what once garnered days of commentary now generates only hours. Decapitation has become the latest fashion. In many ways, it sends terrorism back to the future. Unlike hijackings and car bombs, ritual beheading has a long precedent in Islamic theology and history.

Nadz Online
http://nadz101.blogspot.com/

I've always found it ridiculous how people in the Middle East manage to deflect all criticism by pointing out problems with America. For example, if you complain about the lack of political freedom in Saudi Arabia, people say, "well, the system in the US isn't perfect either." If you say that women's rights in the ME are awful, people say "well, women have problems in America as well."

My reply is, "so what?" How is that relevant at all? Just because no place on Earth is a flawless utopia doesn't let us off the hook. It's interesting how people who hate America so much are also so keen to compare the Middle East with America at every opportunity. They are simply deflecting the argument, and trying to change the subject in order to ignore the fact that the ME is, frankly, a mess. Socially, politically, economically, there are problems across the board.

But people get touchy. They get defensive when outsiders and insiders alike get critical of Arab countries. This hypersensitivity is evident now in the stories about the Koran in the toilet and Saddam's undies. The lesson of this seems to be that Arab and Muslim men have the most fragile egos on the planet - any slight becomes a terrible "humiliation" that has to be avenged. For all of the talk about pride and dignity, we seem to be a very thin-skinned group.

Take the Quran desecration story. Now, it is wrong, of course, to flush holy books down the toilet. If that happened, it's disgraceful and an insult to American values. But that certainly does not justify mass murder, as these assholes clearly think. Check this bit out:

Led by a man on a megaphone, they chanted, "USA watch your back, Osama is coming back" and "Kill, kill USA, kill, kill George Bush". A small detail of police watched as they shouted: "Bomb, bomb New York" and "George Bush, you will pay, with your blood, with your head."

Yeesh. So these guys want to protest the desecration of the Quran by calling for beheadings and bombs? If anything is desecrating the Quran and the image of Muslims, it's those people. Of course, they thought this way long before the Newsweek story came out - no one is going to change their opinion. Oh, and check it out - the hijab squad showed up!

Anyway, the point is that these people choose to blame the US for the "humiliation" of Muslims and the Quran, instead of the terrorists who behead, kill, maim and bomb in their name. It's always the outsiders who are to blame. So, I've decided to list the areas that the AlJazeera types choose to blame on others and my response.

The Violence in Iraq:

The problem: Constant car bombings and bloodshed in Iraq is killing thousands of innocent Iraqis as they work, pray and try to live their lives.
AlJazeera pundit says: Blame America! This is the fault of the American imperialist occupation forces and their puppets. If they hadn't invaded, Iraq would still be a happy utopia under Saddam Hussein. The insurgents are desperate, humiliated victims who are legitamately responding to an illegal occupation.
Nadz replies: Idiot. So, are the Americans the ones planting car bombs in marketplaces, targeting civilians and sawing people's heads off? If you're so concerned about the safety of Iraqis, then why are you apologizing for the people who are trying to continue the bloodshed and prevent democracy. As for puppets - has it occured to you that arab governments would love to see Iraqi democracy fail? That's why Syria is being so helpful to the insurgents. You're therefore be playing right into the hands of the autocracies you claim to dislike.

The Palestinian/Israeli conflict

The problem: That elusive peace.
AlJazeera pundit: Blame Israel! The zionist occupiers are driving the humiliated, subjugated Palestinian people with the only option they have left: to blow themselves up into crowds of people. The Israelis don't want peace, and they will do anything to continue their brutal oppression and occupation.
Nadz: Look, I'm Palestinian, and I don't like the way the Israelis are treating people in the Occupied Territories. I don't like the fact that they're occupied territories. But there is NO JUSTIFICATION for suicide bombers. None, nada, zip. It has done more to hurt our cause than anything the Israelis have done, and by coming up with excuses for it, you're allowing it to continue. There are two sides at fault here.
AlJazeera pundit: But Israel is the more powerful party - the Palestinians have no army, no defences, no rights. How can you expect them to take the initiative and control the militants? The ball is in Israel's court.
Nadz: Yeah, that's really gotten us far, hasn't it? I know the Palestinians have nothing - thanks for refusing to assimilate our refugees and using them as a bargaining tool, by the way, that really helped us there. It's hard to do a lot of things under occupation, but we can say no to the militants and choose non-violence if we have the motivation. The ball is in both of our courts, and blaming Israel for everything has gotten us nowhere.

Women's rights

The problem: Don't get me started. Ok, everything. Read my past entries for details.
AlJazeera pundit: Why do Americans always tell us what to do? There are problems for women everywhere around the world, so why focus on the fact that we treat women like shit? Because you have a hidden agenda to make Arabs look bad, and to control us! You want us to feel humiliated! Oh, I'm so humilated!
Nadz: So now you know what it's like, jerk. Think you're the only person on the planet who has felt embarrassed or degraded? The reason people criticize the ME over women is because we are one of the world's most mysogynistic regions. If that bothers you, don't tell others to shut up, change it! Instead of blaming colonialism and American imperialism, try demanding gender equality.
AlJazeera pundit: Ah, but they don't really want gender equality! They want us to be just like them, or else. We'll do it our own way, in our own time, on our own terms.
Nadz: Yeah, I'm sure women's rights are really high on your list. That's why you've either done nothing or apologized for doing nothing these past few decades. It's in everyone's interest to have a more egalitarian society - and women's rights are not just a "western concept". It is a universal issue.

MidEast Democracy

The problem: Democracy is gaining ground in the Middle East. People don't want to give Bush any credit for anything, so the conspiracy theories begin.
AlJazeera pundit: Bush is evil! Bush is evil! He must have a sinister agenda behind this push for democratic reform, which involves a combination of oil, Israel and humiliating Muslim virgin women. The American government does not really want freedom for Arabs - they only want their brand of democracy to be imposed on us.
Nadz: Firstly, if you I hear the word "humiliation" one more time, I will ram my keyboard into my monitor. Secondly, that's exactly what out oppressive Arab governments want us to think. I think Bush's motives are different from previous presidents, and that he genuinely wants to spread freedom to the Middle East in order to make the world safer and more stable. Is that a bad thing? Furthermore, do the motives even matter? Democracy is still a good thing.

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