The Qu'ran, Kool Aid and a modern Jim Jones
A little more than a year ago, the United Nations compound in Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan was raided and set ablaze by riots that were a visceral, if deadly and inappropriate, response to the burning of a Koran by an American "pastor." Two UN workers were beheaded, others were shot to death. The blood spilled by the rioters is on their hands but also on the hands of the pastor, that despite almost universal and bipartisan condemnation, proceeded to burn the Holy book of Islam, the Qu'ran.
Terry Jones is at it again. At 5PM Eastern, Jones has vowed to not only burn the Qu'ran but also images of the Prophet Mohammed. Jones claims to be fighting for the freedom of Youcef Nadarkhani, a Christian pastor in Iran sentenced to death for apostasy. Nadarkhani converted to Christianity as a child and led devotional services in his home, and with fellow Christians in Iran.
Nadarkhani's desire for religious freedom is courageous. Extremists in the Iranian government may find Jones' irresponsible and incendiary act as reason enough to carry out the death sentence given to Nadarkhani by the court in Gilan, Iran. Jones' threats to the Iranian government may hasten the death rather than prevent it. He knows this and chooses to disregard it.
Freedom and equality require reciprocity through calm, deliberative actions and speech. If Jones' extremism and seeming desire for fame proceed as scheduled this evening, any blood spilled will be on his hands as much as the extremists who commit the crimes. He will be partnering with those who commit heinous attacks on innocent civilians, and is in fact, embodying the evil he pretends to fight.
There are people of good conscience in every country, in every faith. To save lives we look first to fundamental rights, respecting sovereignty and the power of diplomacy and passionate advocacy. Nadarkhani deserves to live, be released from prison, rejoin his wife and sons, and practice his faith. That is a freedom Jones' enjoys, with no consequence beyond the public scorn and shame he earns by jeopardizing a man of faith.
And of course the blood of each innocent person who dies when he incites a riot.
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Comments:
Dec '10
Re: The Qu'ran, Kool Aid and a modern Jim Jones
And just for the record (because I know someone is going to say this), I find the way that Muslims treat their women and each other to be totally reprehensible.
However, the only way to fix the problem is to break the back of the system that supports it.
Islam is very much akin to Communism in that you cannot "reform" the system, you have to beat it (or force it to collapse) and then try to steer the reformation in a positive direction.
I very much would like to see women in Muslim countries live better lives, but it seems to be an impossibility for them to do so while Islam/Sharia remains the law of the land.
Apr '11
Re: The Qu'ran, Kool Aid and a modern Jim Jones
When I left the Trade Bank of Iraq, my Iraqi boss was a Sunni woman, who reported to a Shia woman (the CEO). My secretary was a brilliant Shia woman, educated in Michigan. All were dignified, respected, educated, decent women whose company I enjoyed as much as I have any colleagues.
Of course there are horror stories, but those are as much about class and civilization as they are about religion. People in backward countries treat their women in backward ways; womanhood in Christian or animist rural Congo is hardly a model of dignity. The Emirati cultural problems are the normal adjustment problems of the newly rich. There are exacerbating aspects of Islam, but it's wrong to paint with too broad a brush.
Apr '11
Re: The Qu'ran, Kool Aid and a modern Jim Jones
CoolHand:
I very much would like to see women in Muslim countries live better lives, but it seems to be an impossibility for them to do so while Islam/Sharia remains the law of the land. · 1 hour ago
Under Early Saddam (roughly 70s to early 90s), Baathist rule was deeply anti-Islamic. The current rule is vastly improved. For most Muslim countries, the alternative is despotic leftism (Ms. Belinski has written about this in a Turkish context, explaining why secular businessmen so often support the AKP there). In general, I'd rather see them Green than Red, although there are exceptions (a communist Iran would probably be better... Maybe Pakistan, too?)
Nov '11
Re: The Qu'ran, Kool Aid and a modern Jim Jones
Ever read anything about how the Ahmadis are treated in Pakistan? Here's a start:
Oct '10
Re: The Qu'ran, Kool Aid and a modern Jim Jones
Christians are being repressed, attacked, killed every day in Muslim lands. You only hear about it when it fits comfortably into a Leftist narrative, which blames Muslim violence on either Christian fanaticism or Western imperialism. One “foreseeable good consequence” is to get inside our enemy’s head, as Aodhan suggests. The Jihadist network has learned how to preempt us, to keep us off balance and on the defensive in the information war it’s waging. Elizabeth accepts whole-cloth the Jihadi theme that we are the authors of our own victimhood—that if we’d only self-censor about Muslim behavior we wouldn’t be victimized. This (sadly) is a message favorably received by some even here on ‘center right’ Ricochet. When you add everyone to the left of Ricochet, it becomes quickly clear why the West is currently on its knees before such pathetic enemies as al Qaeda, the Taliban, and the Muslim Brotherhood. In Ameritopia, Mark Levin quotes Lincoln: “If destruction be our lot we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen we must live through all time, or die by suicide.”
May '11
Re: The Qu'ran, Kool Aid and a modern Jim Jones
HVTs
One “foreseeable good consequence” is to get inside our enemy’s head, as Aodhan suggests. The Jihadist network has learned how to preempt us, to keep us off balance and on the defensive in the information war it’s waging.
Yes, the mainstream media needs to face up to the existence of homicidal fanaticism. The question, though, is how best to go about combating it. Christians in the Middle East, not fanatics, are going to be the victims of Mr. Jones' rhetorical stunt. What he proposes to do is also, frankly, offensive. Whether many American conservatives like it or not, there are good things about Islam (e.g., fasting, almsgiving, prayer), and many Muslims are decent human beings. Yes, there are also problems with the tradition, but the fastest way to get someone not to listen is loudly and obnoxiously to abuse their religion.
Oct '10
Re: The Qu'ran, Kool Aid and a modern Jim Jones
L.T. Rahe
What he proposes to do is also, frankly, offensive. [We can't very well ban giving offense, can we? I find Obama and the whole of Hamas extraordinarily offensive ... so what?]
Whether many American conservatives like it or not, there are good things about Islam (e.g., fasting, almsgiving, prayer), and many Muslims are decent human beings. [Are you merely patronizing or do you actually think "conservatives" don't comprehend the truth embedded in these platitudes? I’d be surprised if you know a single person with a high school diploma that doesn't understand that it’s only a small minority of Muslims that are fanatical murderers. But this observation has as much bearing on our current security challenge as the observation that many Nazis SS officers were good family men had in 1941-1945.]
Yes, there are also problems with the tradition, but the fastest way to get someone not to listen is loudly and obnoxiously to abuse their religion. [Which suggests Christians should have stopped listening to Islamist radicals long ago ... exactly the opposite of what you appear to recommend we do. Why do you suppose your thesis only works in one direction?]
May '11
Re: The Qu'ran, Kool Aid and a modern Jim Jones
HVTs
Of course not, but at least we can acknowledge it as offensive and destructive.
HVTs
I sometimes wonder. A Muslim member of Ricochet has posted concerning the tone of comments about his tradition.
HVTs
Do you really equate ordinary Muslims with the Nazi SS? If that is your intention, your comment supports my previous point.
HVTs
I do not propose that we listen to them.
Aug '10
Re: The Qu'ran, Kool Aid and a modern Jim Jones
Mobs operate by a different set of rules than individuals. Unfortunate, but true.
When one sees a mob threatening a weakling, one can try to fight the mob, call the police, or just keep on walking. One does not antagonize the mob with insults. The individuals in the mob are responsible for their individual actions. The antagonist is responsible for antagonizing the mob. Not legally, but morally.
When hooligans want to riot, the authorities can either send in the riot police or they can negotiate/capitulate. They do not taunt the hooligans from the safety of their offices. The individuals in the mob are responsible for their individual actions. The authorities are responsible for mismanaging the mob. Not legally, but at the ballot box.
Terry Jones is opposed to the global Islamist mob. Being one man, he cannot fight that mob directly. He doesn't want to capitulate or "just keep walking", and he also feels he cannot rely on the authorities. Frustrated, he feels the need to do something.
I can sympathize, however...
The individuals in the Islamist mob are responsible for their individual actions. Terry Jones is responsible for antagonizing the Islamist mob. Not legally, but morally.
Aug '10
Re: The Qu'ran, Kool Aid and a modern Jim Jones
L.T. Rahe
HVTs
I do not propose that we listen to them.
We must listen to the mob, so that we can predict how it will act and react, so that we can develop effective strategies to confront it.
One of the few nice things about the mob is that it's fairly open and honest about its intentions. We cannot feign ignorance when the mob telegraphs its own plans.
We must listen to the mob, but we mustn't negotiate with the mob.
As individuals, we are powerless against the mob. Only as a society/civilization can we confront the mob.
As individuals, we can engage with other individuals, but only if they divorce themselves from the mob.
Dec '10
Re: The Qu'ran, Kool Aid and a modern Jim Jones
Another nice thing about mobs is that it puts all the a-holes in one place, and then leaves just the one big crater to refill later.
If we could muster the fortitude to do it, a few such craters would greatly limit the size and ferocity of future mobs.
Perhaps the Muslim world does not self-regulate because we in the west have thus far failed to give them the proper motivation.