Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Arabs Shouldn't Have to Apologize (Editorial)
San Antonio Express-News ^ | July 29, 2005 | Mansour El-Kikhia

Posted on 07/29/2005 7:12:56 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin

Mansour El-Kikhia: Arabs shouldn't have to apologize

I am fed up with the ceaseless requests by columnists, religious personalities and other American public figures for Arabs and Muslims to apologize for terrorist acts committed by thugs and murderers in the name of Islam.

As far as I am concerned, the final straw came a couple of weeks ago when the Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR, paid for a national advertisement repudiating terrorism in the name of Islam.

As soon as the advertisement was broadcast on America's media, I read a column by one of the nation's most ardent Islam-phobic columnists, Cal Thomas, now also a FOX News personality, which plowed into CAIR's reconciliation efforts. Long before 9-11, Thomas' writings were full of venom for Arabs and Muslims. He represents a despicable and ignorant attitude that, unfortunately, a sizable segment of America has come to share. There is nothing American Muslims can do to satisfy this group short of packing up and leaving the United States.

I disagree with what CAIR did, and I also disagree with this groveling and begging for forgiveness, as though American Arabs and Muslims are responsible for those atrocities. CAIR knows better, and those running it know that Islam rejects all acts of violence outside self-defense. Arab and Muslim Americans are responsible for neither the twin towers nor the London subway bombings, and as Americans they should never accept responsibility for actions they did not instigate, commit or condone.

Furthermore, in spite of the fact they are constantly condemned for one thing or another, they — like other Americans — are victims of these murderers. Does anyone think they are pleased to have their movements and telephone conversations monitored or that coercive and freedom-depriving laws are tailored for them? Does anyone in his or her right mind really believe that being an Arab American or a Muslim is pleasant in America today?

The United States has lost 3,000 souls to terrorist thugs, but that figure is miniscule compared to the 60,000 Algerians or the 25,000 Iraqis who also have died at their hands. These thugs don't differentiate between Muslim and non-Muslim, Arab and non-Arab when they plant a bomb or enter a village at night and murder everyone.

It is rejection of U.S. and British policies in the Middle East, not Islam, that has promoted terrorism against America. And for the benefits of those who do not know, 95 percent of Middle Easterners are Muslims. Hence, it is only natural that those opposing the United States and Britain in the region would be Muslims. In India, they would have been Hindu; in Latin America or Northern Ireland, they would have been Catholic.

More important, it was the British and the United States that drew first blood. The Middle East didn't come to America or go to Britain; rather, America and Britain went to the Middle East. Both powers used and abused regimes, toppling some and keeping others in power. They never thought that the people they were helping suppress were human beings with needs, beliefs and emotions. They didn't care as long as their interests were served.

America's experience in the Middle East is no different from its Southeast Asia stint, and look at the mess it left in that region.

However, while the calamity of Vietnam, Laos and Kampuchea might be rationalized by the Cold War or even a domino theory, there is nothing to rationalize the invasion of Iraq except ideological stupidity. The United States illegally invaded and decimated a country that did not threaten its security and, in the process, unleashed one of the most vile and ruthless insurgencies the region has ever seen. And as it did in Vietnam, when the going got tough, it is planning to pull out. The result will be a protracted instability and turmoil that no country in the region can escape.

Future turmoil in the region is exactly what the instigators of the Iraq invasion have planned all along. They had made their desire for strife in the Middle East known long before the invasion of Iraq. Yet they underestimated the consequences of their lunacy and set into motion processes and events that will make the United States less secure and threaten the lives of Americans for many years to come.


TOPICS: Editorial; Foreign Affairs; Politics/Elections; US: Texas; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: islam; islaminazis; islamisevil; muslim; nomoderatemuslims
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061-80 ... 101-120 next last
To: Diana in Wisconsin
To: Sourman El-Kahkah
From: avg

Perhaps you could stop blowing things up in order to kill us? That would sure be a definite plus.

Thanks!

21 posted on 07/29/2005 7:25:50 AM PDT by avg_freeper (Gunga galunga. Gunga, gunga galunga)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: All

Interesting article.

My response would be to the author of this trash:

Up yours and good bye !


22 posted on 07/29/2005 7:26:02 AM PDT by imintrouble
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 15 | View Replies]

To: ShadowAce
This guy helps to confirm the suspicion that many folks have of Muslims. That suspicion is that everytime an American interest is harmed by Islamic terrorism, American Muslims are secretly happy about it.

That suspicion is what makes the need for American Muslims to speak out against terrorism so pressing. Their silence on the matter sends a message loud and clear...

23 posted on 07/29/2005 7:27:33 AM PDT by shempy (EABOF)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: Diana in Wisconsin

Another set of lies condoned by the Koran. We must remember that there are NO moderates in the Mosque.


24 posted on 07/29/2005 7:28:02 AM PDT by JayAr36
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Diana in Wisconsin

Mansour El-Kikhia, a Libyan who fled the Gadhafi dictatorship

25 posted on 07/29/2005 7:28:18 AM PDT by kcvl
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Diana in Wisconsin

"And for the benefits of those who do not know, 95 percent of Middle Easterners are Muslims."

For the benefit of Mansour El-Kikhia, there was a time when there were precisely zero muslims in the Middle East. I wonder if he's thought about how that transformation happened?

Maybe then we can talk more about who's conquered whom, or been enslaved, or brutalized, at the hands of foreign occupiers.

Or maybe I can distill it all down to one question: why can't I worship at the Hagia Sophia?


26 posted on 07/29/2005 7:28:38 AM PDT by Gefreiter ("Are you drinking 1% because you think you're fat?")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Diana in Wisconsin
Attention Homeland Security investigators:
seemingly a lot of good terror cell leads in this author's bio:

Mansour El-Kikhia

Dr. Mansour El-Kikhia is an associate professor of political science at the University of Texas at San Antonio, where his specialty is Middle Eastern politics and international relations.
A native of Libya, he received his undergraduate degree in political science from the American University of Beirut.
After coming to the United States, he received his master of arts and Ph.D. in international relations from the University of California at Santa Barbara.
Before coming to UTSA in 1989, he taught at the University of California at Riverside and the University of Arizona.
The author of two books, he is working on a third.
27 posted on 07/29/2005 7:30:04 AM PDT by GMMAC (paraphrasing Parrish: "damned Liberals, I hate those bastards!")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: starfish923
"What is a "dirt nap"?

Dead

28 posted on 07/29/2005 7:30:49 AM PDT by ncountylee (Dead terrorists smell like victory)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 14 | View Replies]

To: KarlInOhio
dirt nap = burial.

Thank you.

29 posted on 07/29/2005 7:33:12 AM PDT by starfish923
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 17 | View Replies]

To: CHARLITE; Cornpone; Salem; American in Israel; IAF ThunderPilot; Nachum; Sabramerican; timsbella; ..

Get a load of this - ping!

Warning, the article's author is doing a real shuck and jive job, keep Pepto handy!


30 posted on 07/29/2005 7:37:37 AM PDT by Convert from ECUSA (tired of all the shucking and jiving)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Pyro7480; Alexander Rubin

Get a load of this! Ping!


31 posted on 07/29/2005 7:38:10 AM PDT by Convert from ECUSA (tired of all the shucking and jiving)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Diana in Wisconsin

I guess I just imagined Arab women cheering when the twin towers were destroyed. Please forgive me.


32 posted on 07/29/2005 7:39:45 AM PDT by Eric in the Ozarks (Scratch a Liberal. Uncover a Fascist)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Diana in Wisconsin
More important, it was the British and the United States that drew first blood.

The muslims have been spilling blood for centuries, it's part of their religion.

Their stated aim is world domination, our stated aim is freedom from domination.

It is not possible for American muslims to declare neutrality on this one.

33 posted on 07/29/2005 7:40:27 AM PDT by oldbrowser (The MSM is a cancer on our society)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Diana in Wisconsin
It is rejection of U.S. and British policies in the Middle East, not Islam, that has promoted terrorism against America.

This guy either doesn't understand or identifies with the fanatic mindset behind terrorism.

What causes fanaticism and why is it dangerous?

The fanatic has an elitist view of himself. He holds a firm belief that he is "special" and has something that others, not like him, do not and that this unique "something" imparts an unquestionable and unassailable power to himself. Because of this basic self-view any disagreement with the elitist or any resistance to his actions causes anger. This "supreme" view of himself is an excuse for justifying his anger and thus justifying any act from deception to murder against those who disagree or refuse to comply with him. He is comfortable with hatred, revenge, lying or any gross deception in defense of his "superior" position and will act out against those who do resist or refuse to validate his view.

It is impossible to reason or negotiate with someone who holds the POV that they are morally and/or ethically superior by virtue of the belief that they are inherently so. Everything you do to accomodate his "concerns" (demands), short of complete capitulation, will be discounted due to your "inherent" inferiority. Any resistance to him, anything other than complete submission, becomes self-evident proof of his superiority. The elitist's POV presupposes the rationale of rightness and righteousness as inherent to himself by virtue of his personal belief not as a measure of the quality of his actions or the resulting consequences. His belief that he is superior may hang on an ideology or philosophy but regardless of whether the doctrine supports his view or not he is simply never wrong about himself. Of course the opposite is true for non-elites in the fanatic's mindset. You can never be right if you're not one of the "righteous" simply because you are not. More precisely; you are not "him."

It should be obvious why a fanatic is dangerous. Any and all negative and evil acts can be justified on the basis of any disassociation with his self-view and the "inherent authority" he carries with that. The intent and motivations of an outsider are irrelevant no matter how positive. The results of an outsider's actions are irrelevant no matter how accomodating or constructive. The non-elites are always wrong because they don't hold or submit to the fanatic's view.

The world is full of fanatics of every kind and they can base their elitist self-view on any pretext. Some belong to large groups of "like-minded" fanatics and some are individuals who cling to the delusion that they alone are "special."

In today's world the United States in particular, and western civilization in general, is under a concerted assault from two separate groups of fanatic elitists. Fundamentalist Muslims and leftists. The Islamo-nazis and the Marxists. Both leftists and Islamo-fascists hold a firm belief that they have something that rednecks and infidels don't have that carries a special authority with it. For leftists it is "intellect" and "social sophistication" and for Islamo-nazis it's a "call from Allah," a "holy annointing."

Both groups are manifestations of a mass psychological disorder resulting in fanatic elitism. Both are extremely unstable and are unfounded upon and unaffected by reasoned logic. Convinced of their own "inherent" superiority they will both press their respective agendas as far as they can without regard for the consequences to themselves or to others. In both cases the blame for all of their actions will "logically" fall on the shoulders of others, the "outsiders." Negative consequences of their actions simply become another tool for self-vindication.

The fanatic elitist mindset is the same as the mindset of the rabid dog. Nothing else exists for them except for their personal perception of themselves. Nothing else can; their POV is, by design, unaffectable by outside influence. Change can only occur from within and this means a change in the "prime directive." Change requires the abdication of their most basic point of reference, their self-view, the view that they are unique in a superior, inherent and authoritarian way. This is a view that reasonable people must either completely reject or ultimately submit to. Those are the only choices the fanatic will leave to "the others."

TigersEye - 7/27/05


34 posted on 07/29/2005 7:41:16 AM PDT by TigersEye (Regime change in the courts. Impeach activist judges!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Diana in Wisconsin
Mansour is as crazy as a shithouse rat. He is seething contempt for America and the west. He legitimizes the deeds of the terrorists by blaming them on the "British and US policies in the middle east" and cites the war in Iraq as further provocation. To him and a large percentage of Muslims resistance and action against the west has become an honor revenge because the wests existence is clear and ever present evidence of the inferiority of the Muslim faith and the Arab culture.
35 posted on 07/29/2005 7:41:47 AM PDT by Natural Law
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Diana in Wisconsin

"America's experience in the Middle East is no different from its Southeast Asia stint, and look at the mess it left in that region. "

El-Kikhia ... is that arabic for FONDA?


36 posted on 07/29/2005 7:43:18 AM PDT by timsbella (Mark Steyn for Prime Minister of Canada!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Diana in Wisconsin
No, They want us to appologize, or be punished:

JWR Columnist off the air after ABC/Disney is intimidated by CAIR

37 posted on 07/29/2005 7:44:06 AM PDT by null and void (Be vewwy vewwy qwiet, we're hunting wahabbits...)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Diana in Wisconsin

What strikes me is his appeal that it's not pleasant to be a Muslim in America today. If it's so bad, he would leave. They came here for a reason: things are better here. That's why people are willing to risk death to smuggle themselves across the border. Hell, how many people even DRIVE into Iran or Saudi Arabia, seeking asylum or a better life?

You want to take about a hard life? Try being a Christian (let alone a Jew) in Saudi Arabia. Or Syria. Or Jordan. Or the "West Bank". Or Iran. Or Yemen. Or Qatar. Or UAE. Need I go on?


38 posted on 07/29/2005 7:45:08 AM PDT by Alexander Rubin
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Diana in Wisconsin
I also disagree with this groveling and begging for forgiveness

So do I! I'm sick of the pandering to Islam and the "religion of peeeeece" mantra and the excessive hand-wringing about "racial profiling" and the whining and moaning over "backlash" that never happened.

Oh--that's not what he was talking about.

Never mind.

39 posted on 07/29/2005 7:47:47 AM PDT by Alouette (Learned Mother of Zion)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Diana in Wisconsin

I don't remember any Vietnamese coming to the U.S. to commit terrorist acts.


40 posted on 07/29/2005 7:48:04 AM PDT by liberallarry
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061-80 ... 101-120 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson