Daniel Pipes
Mobile Edition
Regular Site

Man can see a tiny sliver in the eye of another yet not a plank in his own
Reader comment on item: Strange Logic in the Lebanon War
in response to reader comment: RE: Strange Logic in the Lebanon War

Submitted by RPaine (Australia), Aug 25, 2006 at 23:38

Dear Mr. Ghulam Muhammed,

Thank you for your response. To answer your statement that I have "Strange logic," and respond to your implication that I am alone and somehow confused about the facts, I'm going to break it down for maximum clarity.

...but before I get into it, the most desirable outcome would be for all of us to get along and make the world a better place, but that is not the trajectory of events even though we have been extremely patient, and even persistent in our efforts to get along with Muslim populations, who simply have never wanted to join us or get along with us. And as long as Islamic Fascists control Islamic countries and continually blame the West for their own mismanagement, shortcomings and ruthlessness even towards Muslims, Islam is headed towards a lesson in steely determination and backbone. I am always hopeful but will no longer accept feeble arguments from Muslims. The time for negotiations is pretty much gone.

As you said, Ghulam, in your first claim: "This is strange logic coming from RP who puts the onus of all misinformation and disinformation campaigns of the world on Muslims, while it is common knowledge that Muslims do not own or control the world media. ..."

Answer:

No, I did not say that at all. In fact I said that the media was manipulated by many different groups and that when done effectively this shifted the advantage in favor of the orchestrator – in Hezbollah's case, the deceptor. So I'm just as upset with the media for promoting the disinformation as I am at Hezbollah for orchestrating it. The fact that Muslims are never willing to take responsibility for its actions; its always someone else's fault (the scapegoat, i.e. the US), never something rotten in Islam (why can't you guys police your own?), as well as the double talk like when Muslim spokesman try to confuse the Western populations: "that a suicide bomber is not a true Muslim" but when speaking in Arabic about the same bomber "that young courageous Jihadi Muslim [suicide bomber] is a Martyr, praise be to Allah", or "killing innocent civilians is not permitted by the Koran" yet in Arabic the same Muslim spokesman/Mullah has been known to say "those were not innocent civilians they were agents of the Great Satan."

In fact, there are so many double standards, deceptions ("Taqiyya") that Muslims want us to be blinded to. How about the constant rant about Human Rights for Muslims, yet Muslims are the worst violators of Human Right, killing and humiliating ("Dhimmitude") all non-Muslims in Muslim countries as well as anywhere else that has been generous and welcoming – i.e. Sudan/Darfour, India, Palestine, USA, UK, Australia. Where is the Muslim outrage when Muslims commit crimes against civilians, women and children? How can it be possible that the "moderate majority" are silent at those times? Are you guys afraid to speak, or just supportive of those crimes?

It has been said that terrorists are only a tiny percentage of the Muslim population but I don't buy that as an excuse. This paradigm suggests that the up to 10% of Muslims who are "Radical" are somehow out of the norm or off-track, but in reality these are the ones who have chosen to be warriors which means that they are the military of Islam. This suggests that Islam has 100 to 150 million soldiers; and the US has 1.5 million soldier or so. So, I ask you Ghulam, who is begging for a fight here?

What I didn't get into in my original comments and I should have is that Muslims are making a big mistake, and that is that you all have mistaken kindness for weakness when it comes to the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, the West generally. The Muslims are counting on us falling over in guilt, in fear and/or in weakness. Do you really see us as fools? Please don' judge us from our TV programs or our moving, for that is not reality.

The major issue we have in resolving this issue with Islam is that the West is divided on how to solve it. Some think that appeasement is the answer (i.e. Jimmy Carter) yet others believe that Islam must be confronted. The fact of the matter is that appeasement has been counter productive, in Irans case it has allowed a predatory regime to become established that indanders all parts of the Middle East and as to North Korea it has made the whole globe more dangerous for us and our children; appeasement has only emboldened the Islamic Fascist mentality – like some sort of sick contest to see who can do the most damage to the West, Israel, the United States, etc. Make no mistake, we are pissed off negotiations just turn into deceptions, making us out to be fools - we ready for war!

The mistake the West has made is to believe that we are all operating in essentially the same paradigm, which based on the Judeo-Christian teaching of "individual choice and freedom are paramount" and that each individual will have to answer to their God when they pass on. We don't offer 72 virgins for people to commit murder suicide, Martyrdom. Of course, these beliefs are not possible in Islam, I am convinced, because the way that Islam interpreted or driving events has the need to CONTROL ALL and control of others (especially all non-Muslims, including organizations, religions, countries, etc.).

Freedom is the biggest threat to Islam's absolute control of its Muslim slave populations, is it not?. And if you might want to suggest that it is unfair for me to refer to Muslims as slaves then consider the facts that Muslims do not have choice – i.e. "Honor Killing" where fathers (or brother) often kill the daughters (or sister) if she marries a non-Muslim male, or the fact that even the Koran states that it is incumbent upon any/all Muslim to kill a Muslim who changes his/her religion to (say) Christianity ("Apostacy"). Where is your freedom in this?

Furthermore, every facet of a Muslim's life is ultimately controlled through fear. This is SLAVERY, absolutely! The opposite is true about Christianity or Judeo-Christian based legal systems, the individual may have certain laws which he/she must follow but the rest is up to him/her to freely choose through out life - their partner in marriage, their career, where they live, if they go to church or not, what they eat, etc. This understanding of freedom is something that is obvious to us but alien to the un-free souls of Islam: to us, freedom means being free to choose, not free to obey!

As you said, Ghulam, in your second claim: "The point that Dr. Pipes wants to highlight: how this all had happened that the enemy --- here Hezbollah --- is being painted in glowing colors by world media and the angels in Israel are demonised."

Answer:

Yes, Dr. Pipes did refer to Hezbollah, but Hezbollah is only one face/head to the multi headed beast of Islamic Fascism. Hezbollah, which is only one appendage of the whole enemy (Islamic Fascism), has hijacked truth in the information flow by controlling the media in Lebanon (the media that remained truthful were not given access or kidnapped, i.e. FoxNews team, Mr. Steve Centanni and Mr. Olaff Wiig - there should be Arab outrage over this kidnapping because here Muslims are creating more resolve in the American population...release them now! Due to political opportunism many media companies (i.e. Al Jazeera, BBC, Reuters, MSM, etc.) have jumped to use this warped information in their broadcasts because it suited their political position…the UN, France and the Arab League, etc. have also jumped onto the bandwagon and pushed to legitimize this disinformation (staged photos, etc.) because it suits their politics.

So, Ghulam, my patience has waned when it comes to listening to one sided arguments. We believe in transparency, which means that when we make a mistake we admit to it and when one of our people does something wrong we police it and fix it. Until Islam can also learn to be evenhanded in its approach to its own actions. The Middle East which once boasted a wonderful diversity which included Islam and Christianity, exotic paradise, and until Islam reforms itself - accepts diversity and is willing to learn responsibility - unfortunately, it looks like our conflict will escalate.

The ball is in your court.

RP


Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened for relevance, substance, and tone, and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome, but comments are rejected if scurrilous, off-topic, vulgar, ad hominem, or otherwise viewed as inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the Guidelines for Comments. For informational purposes, we identify countries from which comments are sent.

Submit a comment on this item

Search by Enter name or date
Search Forum Comments:

Reader comments (132) on this item

Title By Date
If Israel was grandstanding, then it was like the proverbial tree in the forest. [204 words]Dr RJPSep 17, 2006 12:10
the new image of israel [70 words]ToteSep 3, 2006 03:23
For whom the bells toll [506 words]GFAug 27, 2006 02:56
Straight from the Pakistan Armed Force website [577 words]Vishnu GuptaSep 22, 2006 03:25
Reuters News Ownership [22 words]Bobby FeldmanAug 23, 2006 17:01
The key of muslim strategy [43 words]RenĂ© FRANCKAug 22, 2006 10:04
Patton was reprimanded during WW II for his fervor: nowadays he wouldn't be allowed in uniform [187 words]Edo Van EdeAug 21, 2006 19:45
Strange logic in the minds of the media: morons and oxymorons [286 words]Dr RJPAug 21, 2006 19:35
Today, victimhood wins wars [299 words]PatAug 21, 2006 18:10
Jewish Conundrum [132 words]InfidelAug 23, 2006 13:12
Infidel's "Jewish Conundrum" [808 words]Edo Van EdeAug 24, 2006 00:51
strange logic? [60 words]seth halpernAug 21, 2006 16:16
This is Islamic Taqiyah [169 words]cynicAug 21, 2006 06:02
Why is that so? [217 words]Farid H.Aug 21, 2006 03:10
Israel, too, is fighting a war of "resistance" [650 words]Dr RJPAug 20, 2006 18:48
Fraudulence, And Our Enemies Who Commit It [237 words]orange yonasonAug 20, 2006 00:53
Foolish Democrats [152 words]JaladhiAug 22, 2006 16:43
Jaladhi - More Food For Thought [9 words]oramge yonasonAug 27, 2006 20:51
NBC News (Nasrallah Broadcasting Company) does it again! [257 words]DrRJPAug 19, 2006 19:39
I'm a 'Believer', Dr RJP [64 words]orange yonasonAug 20, 2006 21:11
Dr. RJP [13 words]RussNov 2, 2006 15:23
The other 2/3 of us [33 words]DrRJPNov 3, 2006 21:05
The higher the price ,the bigger the manipulation of the media [44 words]David GoshenAug 19, 2006 16:15
Israel needs to sharpen its language at the UN and in the media; Masters of the English language are needed [353 words]Kenneth GrossAug 19, 2006 10:54
Welcome To The 21st Century Islamic Warfare [1252 words]Abdul RahmanAug 18, 2006 21:33
Islam cannot win: Abdul Rahman on 21st century Islamic warfare [380 words]Peter HerzAug 19, 2006 22:21
Cheating has consequences [129 words]Don MeakerAug 20, 2006 00:55
If They Don't Believe You, Then Who? [9 words]orange yonasonAug 20, 2006 03:20
AN ABSOLUTE DEADLY TRUTH WHICH ALL THE NON-MUSLIMS ARE STILL DENYING. [255 words]TTSAug 21, 2006 01:27
Re: Welcome to the 21st Century Islamic Warfare [336 words]IBKAug 21, 2006 16:25
Re: Welcome To The 21st Century Islamic Warfare [477 words]Abdul RahmanAug 22, 2006 02:23
The Crescent Manifesto [552 words]GFAug 22, 2006 03:02
The Al-Qaida Manual Translated [72 words]GFAug 22, 2006 08:02
The disease [200 words]JackalAug 22, 2006 13:05
Re: Reply to Abdul Comments - Welcome To The 21st Century Islamic Warfare [350 words]IBKAug 22, 2006 19:21
Dictatorship takes many forms [84 words]Who wants to knowJun 23, 2009 02:36
What Idiocy - we must change the language of debate. [89 words]Jack TellerAug 18, 2006 20:35
Public Opinion [64 words]Marcia WellerAug 18, 2006 14:24
Clear Goals Come Before PR [104 words]Jonathan KeilerAug 18, 2006 10:00
RE: Strange Logic in the Lebanon War [137 words]Ghulam Muhammed, MumbaiAug 19, 2006 13:55
Just like in the Balkans [157 words]obilicAug 18, 2006 09:37
That Was Apparently Their 'Dry Run' [318 words]orange yonasonAug 20, 2006 03:05
CRANK UP THE VOLUME AND LET ISLAM HEAR OUR CADENCE [717 words]RPaineAug 18, 2006 05:28
Swift and Merciless Retribution! [534 words]GFAug 19, 2006 07:08
RE: Strange Logic in the Lebanon War [77 words]Ghulam Muhammed, MumbaiAug 19, 2006 13:30
Death before Dhimmitude ! [65 words]RPaineAug 20, 2006 02:29
Impassioned but utterly unheard [607 words]Reuben HorneAug 20, 2006 19:40
⇒ Man can see a tiny sliver in the eye of another yet not a plank in his own [1415 words]RPaineAug 25, 2006 23:38
The media in the UK [106 words]Colin SpencerAug 17, 2006 14:27
The fake photos and articles try to portray the civilian Lebanese as victims while hiding the casualties among Hezbollah [105 words]Mr. SmithAug 17, 2006 13:45
The Strange Logic is just altruism applied to warfare [214 words]Steve RogersAug 17, 2006 11:44
one day they will wish they had listened [136 words]LauraAug 17, 2006 11:15
The Jews Have Always Caused All The Wars [43 words]Vishnu GuptaAug 17, 2006 07:14
Pakistani & Palestinian Muslims are the most fanatic muslims in Islamic World [69 words]NotiusjAug 19, 2006 05:13
We have to counter this Pro - Islamist Media Jehad [108 words]NokkarAug 17, 2006 03:06
moral inversion of warfare [294 words]Determined_in_DallasAug 17, 2006 00:32
Israel's Proportionate War [126 words]InfidelAug 17, 2006 17:09
Jewish perception needs to be changed [143 words]Determined_In_DallasAug 18, 2006 01:19
Don't bet on any radical disparity of military power to save us when the chips are down. [91 words]Reuben HorneAug 16, 2006 21:38
spin v logic [265 words]staffordAug 16, 2006 21:11
Pipes is right as usual... [224 words]Edgar Malcolm ErvinAug 16, 2006 18:05
CNN is not that bad [168 words]SamAug 17, 2006 00:41
Thanks Sam... [82 words]Edgar Malcolm ErvinAug 17, 2006 16:00
Perhaps CNN is not promoting Jew or Israel Hatred Openly but their correspondents are either ignorant ... [327 words]Jeff BurkeAug 19, 2006 14:59
CNN's Jihadists apologist & Jew-hater: Christianne Amanpour's FAKE 'Jewish warriors' [733 words]AlOct 31, 2007 22:22
Kudos to Dr. Pipes for a unique look at modern warfare [30 words]Bruce BirnbergAug 16, 2006 16:59
Is this a war on "Terrorism" or on "Radical Islamism"? [95 words]Gordon AntenbringAug 16, 2006 16:06
Global Coalition of Civilised Nations to fight Militant Islam [128 words]KukaAug 17, 2006 03:54
Biased reporting in Mainstream Media has consequences [125 words]ex-liberalAug 16, 2006 15:56
they haven't killed enough of us yet [288 words]Allen CAug 16, 2006 20:56
To the last lebanese [144 words]Yuval Brandstetter MDAug 19, 2006 08:58
Thank The Conservitive Blogs For Exposing Propaganda [67 words]AnneMAug 16, 2006 14:52
Think You Have This Figured Out? Think Again! [649 words]orange yonasonAug 16, 2006 14:29
fraudulent photos [93 words]jeff davisAug 16, 2006 14:07
pseudo-civilians [183 words]Andy B.Aug 16, 2006 14:02
A Predilection for Children [256 words]MosheAug 18, 2006 03:26
Strange Logic is understandable [105 words]George EustermanAug 16, 2006 13:44
One reason why the media is one sided [128 words]bernard rossAug 16, 2006 11:49
Whining is not winning [147 words]john w. mcginleyAug 16, 2006 11:22
We do not need recycled politicians like Bibi. We need Elon! [700 words]Dr RJPAug 16, 2006 16:54
I Vote For Benny, Too! [101 words]orange yonasonAug 20, 2006 01:06
Marketing war? [62 words]SharronAug 16, 2006 10:52
The Leftist Media [13 words]DonnaAug 16, 2006 10:50
Sanity must prevail [144 words]HammadAug 16, 2006 09:56
The News Anti-Merchants [161 words]LDCAug 16, 2006 09:37
Change Arab minds through the media honestly. [150 words]Michael VisnovAug 16, 2006 09:34
I can't believe you just said that in the shadow of littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog [116 words]Dr.T.RoderickAug 18, 2006 02:46
The deeper reason why. [140 words]concernedAug 16, 2006 08:26
Perception and reality [34 words]Ed GershensonAug 16, 2006 08:01
What about 'Guardian'? [31 words]Saikat BiswasAug 16, 2006 07:35
frustration [312 words]irwin grossAug 16, 2006 06:28
Newspeak - The Indepenent style [178 words]VijayAug 16, 2006 03:52
The Independent [75 words]MCAug 16, 2006 16:23
RE: Strange logic in the Lebanon war - [118 words]Ghulam Muhammed, MumbaiAug 16, 2006 03:10
Ghulam Muhammed, Strange Logic [295 words]InfidelAug 16, 2006 18:36
GHULAM MUHAMMED, MUMBAI [142 words]BarbaraAug 17, 2006 14:04
International laws need to change [37 words]samAug 18, 2006 10:14
Anybody out there got a bottle opener? [694 words]BarbaraAug 16, 2006 02:57
RE: Strange Logic in the Lebanon War [106 words]Ghulam Muhammed, MumbaiAug 19, 2006 13:37
Yeah, I got one! [74 words]BlackspeareAug 19, 2006 20:59
Ghulam Muhammed, shariah (Islamic laws). are barbaric [325 words]BarbaraAug 20, 2006 03:47
Blackspeare [88 words]BarbaraAug 20, 2006 20:21
Shades of nazification of Germany [216 words]VijayAug 25, 2006 12:38
What about Nazification of Hindutva? [634 words]Ghulam Muhammed, MumbaiAug 26, 2006 03:15
Ghulam Mohammed's obfuscations [805 words]VijayAug 26, 2006 18:11
In support of Vijay [726 words]Rakshas 10 AnanAug 28, 2006 01:20
Muslims have decided bank accounts and insurance unislamic [280 words]VijayAug 30, 2006 07:09
Cutting through the disinformation sludge [378 words]Rakshas 10 AnanAug 31, 2006 12:58
Ghulam Muhammed, meet the Hitlers of Mumbai! [506 words]Rakshas 10 AnanSep 3, 2006 02:02
Meet the Hitlers of Mumbai [338 words]Ghulam Muhammed, MumbaiOct 21, 2006 22:09
Asymetric warfare [282 words]J. Keen HollandAug 16, 2006 02:20
What is Asymetric Warfare? [10 words]InfidelAug 16, 2006 17:46
Response to "Infidel" re "... what asymetric warfare is" [468 words]J. Keen HollandAug 17, 2006 01:24
Marshall Plan & Possible Sources of Enmity
[w/response] [94 words]
IBKAug 16, 2006 01:08
30-Year Plan for mideast oil + US Meddling in Iran in late 1940's Early 50's [481 words]IBKAug 17, 2006 15:41
Right On IBK [103 words]BlackspeareAug 20, 2006 20:17
HISTORY REPEATING ITSELF [190 words]Fred KellerAug 16, 2006 01:05
Strange logic.Press corp and all [479 words]JayAug 16, 2006 00:26
can the U.S. and Israel really adapt to the new realities? [32 words]raymond arkingAug 16, 2006 00:16
Why buy what so many don't want? [82 words]David W. LincolnAug 15, 2006 23:47
News Media [71 words]Brian PollockAug 15, 2006 23:25
THE FIFTH COLUMN - AMERICAN MAINSTREAM MEDIA [141 words]PETER J. MUSTACCHIAAug 15, 2006 22:06
If you're wondering why Fox News isn't as good anymore [10 words]ex-liberalAug 16, 2006 16:24
assumption [179 words]Dave GoodwinAug 15, 2006 21:42
HUGE Chinese flag [45 words]Robert H. YaugerAug 15, 2006 21:42
Interim Israeli forces. [165 words]Marc TretinAug 15, 2006 21:37
Realization [43 words]ThePastorSep 2, 2006 00:02
American media KNOW they are shills for Arabic propaganda, and they WANT to make Israel look bad. [456 words]Dr RJPAug 15, 2006 20:46
Is Cronkite dead ? [22 words]AlbertAug 18, 2006 19:16
the press war [134 words]Lucy ChambersAug 15, 2006 20:39
Strange new warfare? [44 words]Jascha KesslerAug 15, 2006 20:27
Why should normality exist in abnormal situations? [107 words]Marc MayersonAug 15, 2006 19:56

Comment on this item

Name
Email Address (optional)
Title of Comments
Comments:

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened for relevance, substance, and tone, and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome, but comments are rejected if scurrilous, off-topic, vulgar, ad hominem, or otherwise viewed as inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the Guidelines for Comments. For informational purposes, we identify countries from which comments are sent.

See the 25 most recent outstanding comments.

Back to top of page