Pres Bush Appointee to Commission on International Religious Freedom, Warns Against Reelecting Bush

MEMRI ^ | 11-26-03

[observer5]

You can't trust any Muslim. They are all only loyal to their mass-murder prophet.

[jempet]

This jerkoff needs to be fired right away. He is aiding the enemy. I can not believe this crap. Why did Bush appoint him to anything? We gotta stop fooling ourselves to think that any Muslims are with America. In the end, they all go crawling back to their roots.

[SJackson]

If you'd like to be on or off this middle east/political ping list, please FR mail me.

A solid choice! Wonder who vetted this guy.

Dr. Khaled M. Abou El Fadl

Dr. Khaled Abou El Fadl has been described as the most important and influential Islamic thinker in the modern age.  He is currently a Visiting Professor at Yale Law School, where he teaches National Security law, Islamic law and Immigration law.  He is also a Full Professor of law at the UCLA School of Law.  Dr. Abou El Fadl holds degrees from Yale University, University of Pennsylvania Law School and Princeton University.  An Islamic jurist and scholar, Sheikh Abou El Fadl received formal training in Islamic jurisprudence in Egypt and Kuwait. 

A world renowned expert in Islamic law and an American lawyer, Dr. Abou El Fadl was recently appointed by President Bush to serve on the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom.  He is a strong proponent of human rights and is on the Board of Directors of Human Rights Watch.  He regularly serves as an expert in a wide variety of cases ranging from human rights and political asylum to international and commercial law.

Dr. Abou El Fadl is a prolific author and prominent public intellectual on Islamic law and Islam most noted for his scholarly approach to Islam from a moral point of view.  He writes extensively on universal themes of morality and humanity, and the notion of beauty as a moral value.  Dr. Abou El Fadl is a staunch advocate and defender of women’s rights, and focuses much of his written attention on issues related to women.  As the most critical and powerful voice against puritan and Wahhabi Islam today, he regularly appears on national and international television and radio, and is published and cited extensively in all media venues.  His most recent works focus on issues of authority, terrorism, tolerance, Islam and Islamic law.  His latest book is entitled, Islam and the Challenge of Democracy, forthcoming by Princeton University Press in January 2004.

Other books by Dr. Abou El Fadl include: Conference of the Books: The Search for Beauty in Islam (University Press of America/Rowman and Littlefield, 2001); And God Knows the Soldiers: The Authoritative and Authoritarian in Islamic Discourses (UPA/Rowman and Littlefield, 2001); Speaking in God’s Name: Islamic law, Authority and Women (Oneworld Press, Oxford, 2001), Rebellion and Violence in Islamic Law (Cambridge University Press, 2001), and The Place of Tolerance in Islam (Beacon Press, 2002).  Other forthcoming books include: Reasoning with God: Rationality and Thought in Islam (Oneworld Press, Oxford, 2003) and Jihad in Islam (Cambridge University Press, 2004).

 

[pgkdan]

One of these days W. is going to wake up...I hope like hell he does soon.

[BayouCoyote]

Well someone needs to tell this slackjaw that Bush will not be re-elected in 08.


Muslim POS.

[CaptRon]

Aside from being a liar, this guy has delusions of grandeur. Send him packing.

[Dolphy]

"I have the authority and promises from the American administration that what I say is taken into account, and that it is of interest. I do not waste my time. I told them this and I added: 'Either the promises you are giving me will be realistic, or everything is a lie, and I'll quit and go back to my academic post.'"

What an ego maniac. It seems to me that his resignation would not be the threat he intends but rather a welcome development. I encourage him to get Nader to run again so that his newly enlightened groupies can cast their vote in accordance with his wishes.

[Donna Lee Nardo]

I pray the door doesn't hit him in the as* on his way ut, which I hope is real soon. He should have resigned/been removed already.

[You Gotta Be Kidding Me]

"Dr. Khaled M. Abou El Fadl Dr. Khaled Abou El Fadl has been described as the most important and influential Islamic thinker in the modern age. He is currently a Visiting Professor at Yale Law School, where he teaches National Security law, Islamic law and Immigration law. He is also a Full Professor of law at the UCLA School of Law. Dr. Abou El Fadl holds degrees from Yale University, University of Pennsylvania Law School and Princeton University. An Islamic jurist and scholar, Sheikh Abou El Fadl received formal training in Islamic jurisprudence in Egypt and Kuwait. A world renowned expert in Islamic law and an American lawyer, Dr. Abou El Fadl was recently appointed by President Bush to serve on the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. He is a strong proponent of human rights and is on the Board of Directors of Human Rights Watch. He regularly serves as an expert in a wide variety of cases ranging from human rights and political asylum to international and commercial law."

Great, another foreigner lawya' come over here to "reinterpret" our Constitution for us. You see, we've been mistaken all along. The First Amendment enshrines Islam as the State religion, don'cha know.........

If we shot all the lawyaz in this country......we'd kill nothing but foreigners.

[Adder]

Fire his a** then deport him. Don't even let him resume his academic post. Or jail him as an enemy combatant.
What a wad.

[stylin19a]

I'm thinking if i was appointed to ANYTHING by President Bush, if I gave an interview, i would most certainly refer to him as President Bush.

Time to adios this guy.

[raynearhood]

"'20% of U.S. Soldiers in Iraq Suffer from Mental Conditions'

Question: "What is American public opinion on what is happening in Iraq?"

Prof. Abu Al-Fadl: "In Congress, I heard testimony by soldiers and officers regarding the mental illness and nervous conditions that have struck the American soldiers in Iraq. An officer who reported in his testimony on disorders that harmed soldiers [said] that this loss was greater than the military loss; the disorders [struck] 20% of the soldiers. Some of them were panic-stricken in their sleep and wet themselves, not only because of the [Iraqi] resistance, but also because of the lies of the government that had convinced the soldiers that the Iraqis would greet them with flowers... "

Bull S***!!! 20%?!! I don't believe it for a minute. Of course there are some soldiers that can't handle the anxieties of war, but I would believe that it was more along the line of 1 to 2%.
Most of us, although terribly homesick at times, were in good spirits, considering our situation. We did our job, we did it well, and we are proud.
By the way, this guy's right, we weren't greeted with flowers. After Baghdad fell into our hands, and the looting slowed to a slow rumble, we were greeted with hugs, kisses, handshakes, and waving of American Flags. In Nasiriya children ran from their homes while guns were being fired between buildings (Baathist vs. Anti-Baathist locals) to surround us with shouts and hugs. I met one young boy, about eight years old, who new only five English words: "F*** Saddam, I love U.S.A." His English speaking father told us, "I taught him that." I met one man at Balad, who worked as a tranlator, that spoke English better than me. He was educated in the U.S. in the eighties, and returned to Iraq to work in the government. Instead, he became an electrician. I spoke to him about how terrible the heat was. He said you get used to it, then told me that it was much more beautiful in Northern Iraq. He said that there were mountains that "put the Rockies to shame" (I'll never forget that). He was glad that America had finally come to Iraq and he hoped that in a few years Northern Iraq would become a resort for everyone. It would be good for the economy.
If we were lied to, it was that we were told that there was a great possibility we would be greeted by a cornered rat who would try to desperately fight for his life and unleash chemical hell on us. That's one "lie" I'm glad was a "lie."

[Peelod]

Islamic thinker <= oxymoron

[dmanLA]

GW!

The god of Islam and the Judeo-Christian God is not the same!

Realize it and quick!

[Blood of Tyrants]

Exactly.

[Agitate]

It's good to hear from a soldier who just returned from Iraq. God bless you, welcome home and my humble thanks for your great service to us all.

I hope you are able to post often, the truth about what's going on in Iraq needs to be heard.

[Tom Bombadil]

as if Islam was permitted to exist only provided that it was Islam according to American standards

Such as maybe not teaching children to hate and kill (as the Palestinians do), Or maybe not teaching young men to attack hospitals or girls schools (pakistan and afghanistan.

He may be right, American standards may be too high for his people.

[Stultis]

Why did Bush appoint him to anything?

Because he is a scholar, and traditionalist (but definitely not modernist!) Muslim, widely respected within the Islamic community, who refutes the extremism and puritanism of wahabbist/salafist Islam. In that respect his contributions are welcome. On the other hand it is apparent that he has little respect for real religious liberty. In that respect his appointment is indeed unfortunate.

(I don't buy the notion that all appointees to committees of this type need be loyal in general to administration policies, but they should be loyal to the principles of the commission they serve!)