Dove's Eye View

Muslims Denounce Terrorism

Unfortunately, a flame war/heated discussion has arisen on one of my email listservs regarding the question "where are the Muslims who denounce terror?"

It's a spurious question. All you have to do is google Muslim Denunciations of Terror and you get about 115,000 links.

Start here: North American Muslim Scholars Issue Edict (fatwa) Against Terrorism.

Terrorism Repugnant To Islam: Muslim Summit

Read Juan Cole's roundup of Muslim responses to Osama Ben Laden - an answer to a mendacious Thomas Friedman column.

Muslim American Society Calls for End to Terror

Muslims Against Terrorism - a website with information about Islam, discussions of prohibitions against suicide bombing and terrorism in Islam, and links to more info.

Muslim blogosphere reacts to London bombings (2005)

No to Terrorism features anti-terrorist photos and placards sent in by regular folks, most of them seemingly Arab and/or Muslim. I think this blog started after the London blasts, then picked up more entries after the triple bombing in Jordan recently.

And so forth. Next time you hear somebody ask where the Muslim denunciations of terror are, send them these links.

Baheyya: Egypt Analysis and Whimsy بهية

This anonymous blogger from Egypt, a woman, comments on the recent election: Baheyya: Egypt Analysis and Whimsy بهية.

Most surprising of all is the tenacity and fearlessness of some Egyptian voters. Unfazed by knife- and stick-wielding thugs, intimidating police formations shooting rubber bullets and tear gas, and the sheer logistical hurdles and sense of doubt accompanying the act of voting, ordinary men and women have trudged to polling stations to demand their rights.

There is something deeply noble to me about this lone citizen trying to negotiate her way into this formidably fortified Alexandria polling station. Let me be clear and honest: if I were subject to the levels of intimidation and physical abuse that many voters endured, I would have paused for a very long time before venturing out of the house. Being an intellectual, I would surely overanalyse my fear and craft it into some pseudo-argument for why voting is futile in the first place. But, you see, the vast majority of Egypt’s people don’t have the luxury of overanalysing anything. Their life circumstances are much more pressing. The act of voting for them is a matter of survival and dignity. Says Alexandria voter Mustafa Rizk, “We all hate the government. They treat us like animals. It’s not Islamic the way they treat people. This is why we all want an Islamic government.”

I've been asking since 9/11 - what the hell are we getting for our aid money? We send Egypt billions every year, basically to "keep the peace." And yet the Islamists are the ones building hospitals and schools. The streets are unpaved and flooded. Infra-structure is overwhelmed and creaking, corruption runs rife, people don't get basic services. Our allies in the Egyptian government are fascist goons who can't even make the trains run on time. And their "elections" have been a bitter joke for generations.

What about this situation is in US interests? What part of this governing style is working? And how can we say our government is promoting democracy in the Middle East? What's going on in Egypt is a travesty.

The sign of hope is Baheyya's blog, and her reports of the courage and persistence of Egyptian voters.

How to Make a Neo-Con's Head Explode

Have him read this from the "global news source for the Jewish people", JTA: Israel: We prefer Assad.

Israel told the United States it fears the outcome of regime change in Syria.

At a strategic-dialogue meeting this week among senior officials, Israel laid out for the United States three scenarios if Bashar Assad is toppled: chaos, an Islamist regime or another strongman from Assad’s minority Alawite sect. Israel fears all those options, saying Assad provides a measure of stability.

U.S. officials told their Israeli counterparts that toppling Assad could be “transformative” and dismissed concerns about an Islamist regime taking his place. Israel and the United States favor pressure on Syria to force it to stop hosting Palestinian terrorist groups and supporting Hezbollah, a Lebanese terrorist organization.

Hat tip to Josh Marshall at Talking Points Memo.

Horror Movie About Iraq

In this Showtime (cable) movie by Joe Dante, the war dead arise from their graves and pursue a lying, duplicitous president to get him turned out of office: Homecoming. Director Joe Dante weighs in on Iraq and the nation's reaction to the war:

"You don't have to be a rocket scientist to see what a fucking mess we're in," he continues. "It's been happening steadily for the past four years, and nobody said peep. The New York Times and all these people that abetted the lies and crap that went into making and selling this war—now that they see the guy is a little weak, they're kicking him with their toe to make sure he doesn't bite back. It's cowardly. This pitiful zombie movie, this fucking B movie, is the only thing anybody's done about this issue that's killed 2,000 Americans and untold numbers of Iraqis? It's fucking sick." While gratified by the warm reception to Homecoming in Turin, Dante says he's eager for the right-wing punditocracy back home to see it: "I hope this movie bothers a lot of people that disagree with it—and that it makes them really pissed off, as pissed off as the rest of us are."

The Dove rarely swears on this blog, but when I talk about Iraq, among friends, I sound just like Joe Dante.

I can't handle horror films - I'm too sensitive. But if this is a genre you like, and you have cable, check it out. It received a five minute standing ovation at the Turin Festival.