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The Weekly Standard's House Muslim (Islamist critic Stephen Schwartz is a Sufi convert)
Slate ^ | July 3, 2002 | Timothy Noah

Posted on 07/09/2002 12:21:52 PM PDT by Stultis

The Weekly Standard's House Muslim
What William Safire probably didn't know.
By Timothy Noah
Posted Wednesday, July 3, 2002, at 3:54 PM PT

On July 1, William Safire published a column denouncing the Voice of America for providing a soapbox to supporters of Islamic terrorism. Safire was particularly exercised about the firing of VOA staffer Stephen Schwartz, which Safire attributed to the fact that Schwartz

is an outspoken dissenter from the news director's views. Schwartz, a contributor to the conservative Weekly Standard, is critical of Saudi and Syrian support of terror: in September, Doubleday will publish his likely best seller, The Two Faces of Islam: The House of Saud From Tradition to Terror. The abrasive reporter, 53, who covered the war in Bosnia and Kosovo firsthand, was unpopular with deskbound colleagues. Nor did he join the 100 V.O.A. employees who signed a petition last year supporting the news director's defense of its offer of a platform to [Yasir] al Serri and Mullah [Muhammed] Omar.

A wrinkle of which Safire was probably unaware, however, is that Schwartz, blistering critic though he is of Islamist terrorism, is himself a convert to Islam. To Schwartz's mortification, a statement he made about his conversion has found its way onto the Web and has become the source of some shock to his erstwhile neoconservative allies.

One neocon who isn't at all shocked is Weekly Standard editor William Kristol.  "I don't think it's at all fair to say he's anti-Islamic," Kristol told Chatterbox, noting that Schwartz has long had extensive ties to Muslims opposed to the Saudi regime. Schwartz is an outspoken critic not of Islam but of Islamic fundamentalism and Islamist terrorism. The branch of Islam that Schwartz has embraced, Sufism, is a notably peace-loving sect.  Here is what Schwartz himself has to say (he says he will say no more on the subject):

One, my religious views are mine alone. They are personal to me, and I'm not prepared to discuss them in public at this time.

Two, I am a Sufi, and as a Sufi I believe in the ultimate unity of the Abrahamic faiths.

Three, there is no contradiction whatever between being involved in Sufism and opposing Saudi-funded or other forms of Wahhabi terrorism.

Four, I stand by all my journalism as honest and accurate reportage on the topics I have covered and I reject the notion that my personal religious beliefs are relevant to the public any more than anyone else's.

Chatterbox finds little to argue with here, except perhaps Schwartz's prior reluctance to identify himself as a Muslim—and even there, Chatterbox blames not Schwartz, who is welcome to his privacy on such matters, but the broader taboo within much of the Muslim world against criticizing Islamist terrorism. (Schwartz himself made a related point in a Nov. 12 Weekly Standard piece titled, "In Search of the Moderate Sheikh.") Is that taboo the reason Schwartz stayed silent? Or was he worried about the corresponding (less openly acknowledged) taboo within the neoconservative world against associating with Muslims? Schwartz is precisely the sort of Muslim of whom neoconservatives are always saying there are too few of in public life. If they shun him now, it will be hard to attribute it to anything other than religious bigotry.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial; Foreign Affairs; Israel; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: antiislamists; islam; jihadinamerica; moderatemuslims; stephenschwartz; sufism; wahhabism; weeklystandard
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To: Publius
Yeah! Gnosis was GREAT magazine!

Sufis will give you different answers depending on whether an Islamic cleric is present. Those Sufis who maintain that their faith pre-existed Mohammed claim an origin point common to the Greek mystery cults and the Kaballah.

The ancient gnostic Christians were also known to dissemble in this manner, at first because of the pagan Emperors (who were out to kill all Christians) and later because of the Christian emperors (who were out to kill all "heretics")

Ya just can't win...

21 posted on 07/09/2002 2:18:17 PM PDT by eshu
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To: eshu
the following story gives some insight into the motives of those sufis who conceal their true beliefs from secularists and fundamentalists:

The Watermelon Hunter
(a Parable from Idres Shah's "Way of the Sufi")

"Once upon a time there was a man who strayed from his own country into the world known as the Land of Fools. He soon saw a number of people flying in terror from a field where they had been trying to reap wheat. "There is a monster in that field," they told him. He looked, and saw that the "monster" was merely a watermelon.

He offered to kill the "monster" for them. When he had cut the melon from its stalk, he took a slice and began to eat it. The people became even more terrified of him than they had been of the melon. They drove him away with pitchforks, crying, "He will kill us next, unless we get rid of him."

It so happened that shortly afterward another man also strayed into the Land of Fools. But instead of offering to help the people with the "monster," he agreed with them that it must be dangerous, and by tiptoeing away from it with them he gained their confidence. He spent a long time with them in their homes until he could teach them, little by little, the basic facts which would enable them not only to lose their fear of melons, but eventually to cultivate melons themselves."

22 posted on 07/09/2002 2:21:43 PM PDT by eshu
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To: Stultis; *JIHAD IN AMERICA; Clovis_Skeptic; ladyinred; veronica; Travis McGee; harpseal; Nix 2; ...
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23 posted on 07/09/2002 2:38:17 PM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach
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To: Publius
Thanks.

My connection is through the philosophy of Aristotelianism, and the breakdown of tragedy in Aristotle's "Poetics." False pride being the key element to all tragedy. A blueprint used by Shakespere and Thomas Hardy with great success because it so accurately reflects real life.

Not only is this a constant theme in the Christian Bible, but later you find Thomas Aquinas also fixated on Aristotle as well.

It is however cloudy, since Christianity was popularized with the Romans through their relationship with Greek culture.

For my money, however, it is a great philosophical and theological milestone, that must have had influence on all the cultures of the times. That would be about 384-322 BC.

24 posted on 07/09/2002 3:55:13 PM PDT by Bogie
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To: Stultis
Thjis is part of a smear campaign against someone who can hurt the Islamists and their Arabist and leftist toadies.
25 posted on 07/09/2002 6:36:48 PM PDT by rmlew
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To: philosofy123
Muhammad Asad, born Leopold Weiss, was an important Islamic political and religious figure of the 20th century.
26 posted on 07/09/2002 8:29:15 PM PDT by x
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To: x
I sent an e-mail to Steve Schwartz; here it is!

Dear Steve, I read with interest your article "My coming to Islam" I am certainly impressed that a Jewish person from the west was convinced that Islam is a better religion. If the rest of the Jews in Israel would follow your example, it would definitely bring on world peace. The jihad would go from the Middle East to Europe than to the USA? You know these people in the west don’t really have lots conviction. They would convert in droves to this wonderful Islamic religion. Especially, if their women had no voice, since the men get all the preferential treatments! My problem is not with Islam as much as it is with Moslems. As a westerner, I am sure you know that all religions were invented essentially by men, and consequently tends to oppress women. Christianity and Judaism over the years have progressed dramatically due to reformists. They swept the barbaric part of their theologies under the carpet, and attempted to forge equality for all humans. For example stoning to death a woman adulterer, or considering a woman on her period to be untouchable.....Jews, and Christians did not drop these nonsense out of their books, they simply ignored them; with the help of their clergies! On the other hand, Islam is unable to reform, unable to drop the barbaric rhetoric, unable to treat women as an equal human, unable to drop the violence against others who are not Moslems, unable to allow its intellectuals to voice their thinking without the threat of killing them. Take for example a young American girl in her wedding ceremony, the priest may commend her to honor and “obey” her husband! However, the priest, her husband and she know for sure that this request is just BS/formality—a remnant from the stone-age. If her husband ever commended her to obey, you know what she is going to tell him! And, you know if her husband went back to the priest complaining that she does not “obey” his commends, the priest would laugh in his face! This kind of new thinking of modern age thinking allows human beings to have free thinking and mutual respect without declaring their stone-age books invalid. Moslems and their clergies are too rigid in their faith; they don't allow themselves or others to question or think about a better way to create harmony on this planet. Harmony is when they concur or force-convert the nonbelievers to Islam. You certainly acknowledge that after a thousand years or so things have changed a little, and you must adjust to them? May be as an intellectual, you can bring this news to your Moslem brothers; they need to change with the time. The Koran or the other holy books are just guides written in the stone-age to help humans conduct themselves in a civil way toward each others! This rigid theology needs to be diluted a bit to allow for modern thinking, as well as respect of ALL humans. You well know that the whole thing about religions, in general is MARKET SHARE! If these jokers want to maintain market share, they have to market themselves to 50% of the earth’s population, the women! Otherwise, they are doomed. All the Jihad and suicide bombing in the world will not assure continuity of this backward faith that systematically discriminates against 50% of their faithful. To this end I welcome you to the "Straight Road / Al Sorat Al Moustaquim" to heaven, where you will find 72 virgins awaiting you! HE HE HE! Ask your self Steve, what about a good Moslem Woman, what is she going to get in heaven? Best of luck---- Phil

27 posted on 07/10/2002 8:21:30 AM PDT by philosofy123
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To: philosofy123
Sorry readers, I forgot to format the paragraphs!
28 posted on 07/10/2002 8:22:34 AM PDT by philosofy123
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To: philosofy123
Dear Steve, I read with interest your article "My coming to Islam" I am certainly impressed that a Jewish person from the west was convinced that Islam is a better religion. If the rest of the Jews in Israel would follow your example, it would definitely bring on world peace. The jihad would go from the Middle East to Europe than to the USA? You know these people in the west don’t really have lots conviction. They would convert in droves to this wonderful Islamic religion. Especially, if their women had no voice, since the men get all the preferential treatments!

This is probably an extremely difficult concept for you to understand, but there are different forms of Islam just like there are different forms of Buddhism, Christianity & Judaism.

In this case, Sufism is an esoteric, mystical expression of Islam, while Wahhabism represents the expression of an exoteric, fundamentalist impulse - the two strains are as different as night as day (or as different as Quakers are from Crusaders).

29 posted on 07/10/2002 10:56:06 AM PDT by eshu
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To: eshu
Islam is based on the Koran, and Mohamed. Both are a source of hate and violence. Sufis or not, it is the same s##t.

Are you insinuating that you are an expert on Islam? Ppppplease!

30 posted on 07/10/2002 11:33:13 AM PDT by philosofy123
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To: philosofy123
Islam is based on the Koran, and Mohamed. Both are a source of hate and violence. Sufis or not, it is the same s##t.

Like I said, this is probably an extremely difficult concepts for you to understand. I could draw another analogy and point out that Unitarian-Universalists and Serbian militia members both base their beliefs on the same Bible, but that might be assuming too much about your ability to infer from context.

Are you insinuating that you are an expert on Islam? Ppppplease!

No, I am not insinuating that I am an "expert on Islam" - I am reasonably well-educated and the proud owner of a public library card, something you might consider yourself one of these days.

31 posted on 07/10/2002 12:22:15 PM PDT by eshu
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Comment #32 Removed by Moderator

To: zhabotinsky
Generally, whenever I read that some Westerner has become involved in a more or less, non-violent form of a non-Western religion, I think it has a lot more to do with his having ingested a few too many hallucinogens in his college years. While Sufism is probably the most appealing form of Islam, since it encourages non-violence and it does support free market capitalism, it still is a branch of an essentially evil religion and is more than weird enough on its own. In its defense, it must be said that Sufism is making great strides among Turks who want a form of Islam that endorses the West, and its belief in technological progress and democracy.

I am not a sufi, but their ideas about learning - the implicit aknowledgement that people have to be introduced to certain ideas slowly, for example, or their willingness to discard the outer form and adapt their teaching to whatever culture they find themsleves in - are difficult not to admire.

Yes there are some weird ideas in sufism, eg., the idea that God creates the universe from instant to instant - IMHO this is no weirder than many Christian ideas. De gustibus non disputandum est

Apparently the Sufi poet Jaladin Rumi has been the best-selling poet in the US for a few years now. I've read the Nicholson and Barks translations (Two semesters of classical Arabic 10 years ago don't do me much good nowadays!) and I can see why - as far as mystical poetry goes, it is equalled only by Blake, IMHO.

I am sorry to report that I did not discover hallucinogens until many years after college, however.

33 posted on 07/10/2002 1:13:21 PM PDT by eshu
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To: eshu
My favorite Sufi story:

A Greek, an Arab, a Persian, and a Turk were walking from one city to another. They had only one coin between them, and they were deciding what food to get from one of the roadside vendors.

The Greek said that they should get stafil.

The Arab wanted inab.

The Persian asked for angur.

The Turk demanded uzum.

They began to argue, and eventually to fight. In the meantime, a literate man walking near them took the coin from them and bought a big bunch of grapes and gave it to them, for that is what they all wanted.

The metaphor is about conflict between religions.

34 posted on 07/10/2002 1:32:52 PM PDT by denydenydeny
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To: denydenydeny
Not Christian or Jew or
Muslim, not Hindu,
Buddhist, Sufi, or Zen.
Not any religion

or cultural system. I am
not from the east
or the west, not
out of the ocean or up
from the ground, not
natural or ethereal, not
composed of elements at all.
I do not exist,

am not an entity in this
world or the next,
did not descend from
Adam and Eve or any

origin story. My place is
the placeless, a trace
of the traceless.
Neither body or soul.

I belong to the beloved,
have seen the two
worlds as one and
that one
call to and know,

first, last, outer, inner,
only that breath breathing
human being.

sufi mystic - jelaluddin rumi - 13th century
35 posted on 07/10/2002 2:49:40 PM PDT by eshu
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