news details |
|
|
| Mr Bush’s fascist vocabulary | | |
- By Khaled Almaeena
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia: An Italian friend of mine recently telephoned to ask whether Islam was a fascist religion. I wondered why he had asked such a question until of course he gave me the explanation that anyone these days could have guessed.
"Well," he said, "we have all heard US President George W. Bush use the phrase ‘Islamic fascists’ to say nothing of equally defamatory expressions used by his colleagues and associates. Because of who uttered the phrases, they were naturally given wide circulation."
Well, I told him not to worry, because first of all, Mr Bush has no idea about Islam; he is unable to make the imaginative leap that would enable him to understand what Islam means, how it is practised or why it is of such vital importance to people all over the world. My Italian friend was in agreement with what I said, but he still wanted to know why I thought Mr Bush had used that particular phrase at this particular time.
"Well, let’s start from the beginning," I said. "Mr Bush used the word ‘crusade’ in the terrible confusion after September 11, 2001. What Mr Bush knew about the Crusades and how they are viewed, rightly or wrongly, in West Asia is another matter, but his use of the word was widely criticised in the western press. Obviously, somebody knew something which Mr Bush did not. And then there was Mr Ashcroft, Mr Bush’s born-again Christian attorney-general. He made the most ridiculous and absurd statement about Islam: that it was a religion in which God required you to send your son to die for Him. Anyone with even the most rudimentary knowledge of Islam would have known that statement was completely false. And then we had Lt. Gen. William Boykin of the US Army who, while in uniform, made public statements about Islam which outraged both Muslims and non-Muslims all over the country. The list goes on, so I am not in the least surprised that Mr Bush should have now got himself a place on it.
"At the same time, let us not lose sight of the fact that the neocons are upset, very upset in fact. Thirty-six days of Israeli attacks in Lebanon failed to produce the desired results, the expected results, the results that Washington had been told would come. Hezbollah was not eliminated, far from it in fact; Hassan Nasrallah was not killed and the two captured Israeli soldiers have still not been released. As the Americans might say, ‘The situation is back to square one.’ Or, as I see it, quite a long way before square one."
"Why then," my Roman friend asked, "does Mr Bush support Israel so blindly and uncritically?"
"Well, let me tell you what I read some years ago. In 1998 Mr Bush as governor of Texas went to Israel. He went with Matthew Brooks, a director of the Republican Jewish Coalition, and three other Republican governors. On the trip, Mr Bush met Ariel Sharon and Sharon took him on a helicopter tour of the occupied territories. Brooks says, ‘If there’s a starting point for Bush’s attachment to Israel, it’s that day in late 1998 when he stood on a hilltop, eyes brimming with tears and heard his favourite hymn read aloud’." He brought Israel back home in his heart.
"In a speech in 2005, Mr Bush recalled his helicopter tour with Sharon. ‘It’s interesting how history works, isn’t it?’ he said. ‘The future President of the US and the future Prime Minister of Israel were flying across that country, with him describing to me how to keep Israel secure.’
"In addition to undoubtedly being brainwashed on that trip, who knows how many other ideas and plans Sharon planted in Mr Bush’s head? There is, however, another major problem — those in the Republican Party with ideological and political connections with Israel. For example, the person who coined the oft-used and oft-condemned phrase ‘Axis of Evil’ was a strong supporter of Israel. Many in the US administration share the same beliefs. And this is according to US media reports."
Personally, I don’t believe that the religious affiliations of those high in government should be a political issue. Unless of course, it interferes with the way they do their job and keeps them from working in what is perceived by the majority to be the national interest. I am certainly not a believer in any of the all-too prevalent conspiracy theories, but I do believe a large number of problems is created by certain people who are well-entrenched in the administration and whose sole objective seems to be to create misunderstandings and confusion between the good people of America and the world’s Arabs and Muslims. Also, it is worth pointing out here that the Muslim world was always allied with the US in its fight against Communism. Despite Russia’s many overtures, Muslims rejected Communism.
I was very pleased that at its last meeting, our Saudi Council of Ministers expressed dissatisfaction with the unfortunate phrase, "Islamic fascists," and its negative and detrimental effects. People in Saudi Arabia must realise, most of them do, that the Jews rant and rave and go into virtual hysteria if there is even the mildest criticism, not of their religion but of Israeli policies in the occupied lands. No matter what the atrocity or how bloody and savage it is, Israeli actions are not to be condemned or rebuked. To do so is to commit what has become one of the worst sins in our modern world — to be guilty of anti-Semitism.
The reasoning is that we must accept whatever Israel does since to question it would be anti-Semitic (we Arabs are just as Semitic as the Jews) and anti-Semitism inevitably leads immediately and directly to a Second Holocaust.
We should learn from the most avid supporters of Israel and how they react to criticism. Any insult to us should be met with the highest-profile media backlash, though of course we must take the greatest care to prevent any kind of violent response. We should employ the same tactics as our adversaries since those tactics have served them well. Why should they not serve us just as well? And our intellectuals, those who are well-educated and well-informed and who understand social and political nuances, let them reply. Make so much noise and commotion that no one will dare to use such an offensive phrase as "Islamic fascists."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
