Nonie Darwish at UC-Irvine

gary fouse on May 10, 2008 at 8:30 PM

You do occasionally find an eagle among the crows.

gary fouse on May 10, 2008 at 8:30 PM

There ya go, spreading hope.

Great post.

This week, I was fortunate to be able to hear Nonie Darwish speak at UC-Irvine as part of the week-long celebration of Israel’s 60th birthday. I have previously written about Darwish in my blog (Three Muslim Heretics). Briefly, she was born in Cairo and has lived in Gaza. Her father fought against Israel and was eventually killed by Israeli forces. Thus, she grew up hating everything about the Jewish state and Jews in general. Subsequent to 9-11, she rejected Muslim violence, broke with the religion and has become an active voice against Jihad. She is the author of a book entitled: Now they call me Infidel.

I wish I could say that there was a big crowd to hear her presentation (which was coupled with a film entitled: The Suicide Killers). However, the turnout was quite small-about 20 or so people-including her bodyguards. I was the only faculty member there.

Darwish began by describing her early upbringing in the Middle East and her feelings of hatred toward Jews, which she attributed to the death of her father as well as the way Arab youth were educated in Cairo to hate Jews. She also made some important observations about the general outlook on the part of Muslims that we in the West should be aware of. I will mention them below in no particular order.

The penalty for a Muslim who leaves the religion is death.

She quoted the part of the Koran that describes when Jews will hide behind trees and rocks and the tree will tell Muslims that there is a Jew hiding behind (the tree)-come and kill him).

In the Koran, according to Darwish, in 97% of the references to Jihad, it is the context of fighting against non-believers. Only in about 3% of cases is Jihad described as a struggle to be a better person, etc.

She described how in Israel, Muslims are free to practice their religion freely, unlike in Muslim countries, where a Jew would be killed if he walked down the street wearing a yarmulke or other item that marked him as a Jew.

She derided Muslim efforts to have American universities and airports install foot baths. In the Middle East, only Saudi Arabia has public foot baths to her knowledge. She also pointed out that many US universities receive funding from Middle Eastern sources such as Saudi Arabia- a nation that promotes Wahhabi teaching among Muslims in the West. (note: At UC-Irvine, the MSU receives funding from the university-taken from student tuition fees.)

In regards to Saudi Arabia, she recounted how just recently, a top religious leader has issued a Fatwa calling for the murder of two Saudis who had publicly called for moderation within Islam.

She also spoke of so-called “Honor Killings”, recounting the story of a young maid in her childhood home who had become pregnant as a result of being raped. After Darwish’s family assisted the girl to find refuge with a social services agency, they learned later that the girl had been returned to her family. Her father and her brother then murdered her-for the shame of being raped-in accordance with Shariah law. In Muslim countries, such “honor killings” are treated leniently under the law.

Perhaps most alarmingly, she warned against creeping Shariah in the West, which would impose Muslim rules within our countries.

In her mind, there is no real difference between anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism.

Darwish noted how America has struggled for many years to overcome our own prejudices and cautioned us against allowing new prejudices to enter our country (i.e.: Muslim prejudice against Jews).

I am sorry that so few people turned out to hear the words of this courageous woman. As I stated above, I was the only faculty member present (and I am only a part-time teacher at that). In contrast, fired DePaul professor and terrorist sympathizer, Norman Finklestein’s anti-Israel monologue this week was attended by Dean of Students, Sally Peterson, who took copius notes and Dean of Judicial Affairs, Edgar Dormitorio, who tried to get a pro-Israel supporter, Jonathan Constantine, to sit down while he was filming. But they could not bring themselves to hear the words of a woman who has put her life on the line to oppose Muslim terror. Dormitorio, for his part, was pacing outside the hall where Darwish spoke, yet would not come in to hear what she had to say. Why is this? Is it because they were unsympathetic to Ms Darwish’s point of view? Was it because they were afraid to offend the Muslim Student Union? A combination of the two? Ms Darwish’s theme was a rejection of hate. Yet, that was apparently not of interest to those who teach and lead UC-Irvine. They would rather pander to a tiny minority of students who have brought national disrepute to their campus.

What a collection of empty suits.

gary fouse
fousesquawk
adjunct teacher
uci-ext

http://www.gulfnews.com/region/Lebanon/10211899.html

Hezbollah militants ransacked the media offices of the pro-government Future Movement, headed by Saad Hariri, throughout Beirut. Make no mistake: this is an orchestrated attack. Hezbollah’s supporters have destroyed Future Movement TV antennas across the city and threatened pro-government journalists. They also invaded and set fire to the Future Movement newspaper, located in West Beirut. As has become routine, the Lebanese army stood by and watched while these offices were destroyed

.

Yep, they’re just a social movement providing services to the Shia’s in Lebanon while protecting the country from outside aggressors.

Nothing more than that.

Hezbollah did what it did against the Sunni element in the government because the government tried to take away one its most prized assets

You mean it’s weapons? RPGs, Mortars, Rockets and Car Bombs.

Now why would a perfectly innocent group of do-gooders need stuff like that?

Israel tried using its air force and army to wipe out Hezbollah and had their asses handed top them on plate

Really?

It will be years before the damage caused by Hezbollah in Lebannon will be fixed. The Israeli’s fixed their stuff within a couple of months after it was over.

OK Steve MG name one group within Lebanon which hasn’t used force within Lebanon to protect the interests of its constituents.

Why did they turn their guns against the government? I thought they were simply a movement that emerged to protect Lebanon from the Israeli threat?

There was no threat coming from the government against Hezbollah interests. The government is too weak and divided to do anything about them.

Some savior of Lebanon they are.

They turned control of the army back to the government because they de-fanged it. It’s a toothless entity that no longer is a threat to them.

They know it.

They’ve set up a state within the state of Lebanon in the southern parts of the country from which they waged war against Israel. They care not a whit about the Lebanese people who don’t follow their cause.

But instead of overthrowing the government, they’ve created a force above and beyond the reach of that government.

It’s a government by name only.

If you are correct and these guys are just terrorists then why do they have such a large following whcih includes lots of non-Shi’ites?

lexhamfox on May 10, 2008 at 5:34 PM

FEAR (and ignorance too)

Yeah Limerick… I work for the Obama campaign …ha ha.

lexhamfox on May 10, 2008 at 4:03 PM

Thanks for clarifying how the Obama administration would view Hezbollah. Very enlightening.

Exit question two: What lessons might this display of force hold for those eager to pull out of Iraq and let the Iraqi government take its chances with that country’s Iranian-backed militias?

Perhaps they expected more from the Lebanese Christian “forces”. It wouldn’t be the first time, as the IDF knows only too well.

Hezbollah’s actions – turning its weapons inward and against the Lebanese people – should put to rest forever this notion that it is some sort of nationalist movement protecting Lebanon from Israel.

It’s a wholely owned entity of Syria and Iran and does the bidding of those two regional powers.

It’s declared war against the pro-western government and the Lebanese people who do not wish to live under its control.

Exit question one: How is it that Sunni Arabs, forever nervous about Shiite influence, have stood by idly for so long while Iran’s built a proxy force capable of crushing the Sunnis in Lebanon in literally half a day?

I do not think the Lebanese want outside influence. They have an indentity of being Lebanese. Hezbollah members do not neccesarily have a Lebanese identity. Hezbollah wants outside help, that why they get it.

The Saudi’s concentrate their efforts on culturally exporting Wahhabism, not using proxies. Also Arabs are moe concerned with keeping themselves in power. Perhaps thew Saudis see using proxies as bad for business.

Exit question two: What lessons might this display of force hold for those eager to pull out of Iraq and let the Iraqi government take its chances with that country’s Iranian-backed militias?

People in favor of a pullout would never, ever think to ask the question. If it is asked during a debate watch Barack stumble all over himself to answer it.

*

Debbie Schlussel: Lebanon, Er. . . Hezbollahstan, Today; America, Tomorrow, Er . . . Today

Witness the Shiite rebellion in Iraq, a result of our own fairy tale reasoning that if the Shiites only had parliament seats in direction proportion to their percentage of population, kumbaya would break out all over.

These people are true believers. How many times do they have to tell us: you love life, we love death. When will we hear them?

Israel tried using its air force and army to wipe out Hezbollah and had their asses handed top them on plate. Do you think using force enhanced Israeli security or enhanced Hezbollah’s position and support? The answer is pretty obvious and I think it is funny that so many here are merely advocating another war which will result in another victory for Hezbollah and further enhance Iran’s position in the region (yeah… just like the Iraq did). Hezbollah did what it did against the Sunni element in the government because the government tried to take away one its most prized assets. Hezbollah is not merely a gang of militants. It is a social and political organization with deep roots and support among most of the population in South Lebabnon.

He wants (who doesn’t?) to pull our troops out of Iraq, and therefore remove a card from the table in any talks that he wants to have face-to-face with Iran.

Now that’s dumb.

Obama’s Kennedy, the setting is Vienna, and everyone else is Khrushchev.

As for our next president’s reaction to all this

He might as well have said. “Boobies not bombs”

- The Cat

McCain has given his criticism of Obama’s inexperience and lack of judgment demonstrated here.

Did I miss McCain’s or Obama’s comments on these developements?

Zorro on May 10, 2008 at 3:12 PM

The press hasn’t woken up from their fainting at seeing their messiah in jeans. I’m sure they’ll ask important questions as soon as they get over their stupor.

I don’t see any positive resolution here. Either the government capitulates to Hezbollah’s demands (unacceptable) or the Sunnis and Christians band together to try and disarm them (and drag the entire country into another 20 year civil war) Like I said, extremely depressing.