69 million page views

trying to understand this world

Reader comment on item: A Nike e o 11 de Setembro
in response to reader comment: raheel khokhar

Submitted by raheel khokhar (United Kingdom), Sep 20, 2006 at 14:51

Dear Zack,

thanks for your reasoned words concerning my post. The point i was trying to make with regards to racism in the US, was that you cannot expect a country as young as the US to "get over" its behaviour towards blacks. I believe that abberant behaviour such as this remains in the national psyche of a nation state for generations (notable exceptions being Germany and Japan). The same is true of the UK; colonialist attitudes still exist among some people here (don't get me wrong though, it's a great place to live).

So how do Bush's policies affect the world? Fundamentalists of both Christian and Muslim stripes use US policies as an excuse for terrorism. Let me give you an example. I am not a fundamentalist, in fact i'm about the most open-minded, liberal muslim you could hope to meet. But even so, i was shocked to see a report on the BBC a couple of weeks ago concerning the war in Lebanon;while the bombs were raining down on Lebanese and Israeli citizens, ABC News in the US chose as it's main story, featuring the "person of the week" as a woman who had gone over to Lebanon to help with the relief effort...to save dogs. This was highlighted by certain sections of the media here as how the US reports from war zones.

Ok so it was unfair to single out this report, after all propaganda is done by all sides. What i'm trying to say is that there are people out there who see dispatches like this and think that the US cares more about the safety of dogs than people. Absurd, i know but you and i are reasonable guys, i hope. There are many out there who are not. Bush and Blair's hesitancy in calling for an immediate ceasefire made the US and UK look like collusionists in the war.

Like you, i will not lie. Muslims are their own worst enemies. I know this and i am sick of telling my fellow muslims to get their heads out of the sand and acknowledge that there are many hard-right fundamentalists within our midst who have hijacked Islam and are using it for their own nefarious ends. I believe that before you can accuse someone else of something, you need to look at yourself first. I was dismayed to see muslims protesting against the Pope's words recently, carrying banners outside Parliament saying that Jesus was the slave of Allah. Sigh, these people don't know the meaning of their own religion and only serve to inflame tensions.

It's the classic chicken-egg case; which came first? Muslims say they are only reacting to the US's policies in the Middle East, while the US says that all it wants is to help sort out the mess there. Palestinians say they have been kicked off their land, Jews say they've been there for 1000's of years. Who has an original claim.

Perhaps i am rambling now, but i'd just like to say that this polarisation that we are witnessing around the world dosn't bode well for any of us,

Regards and Peace, Raheel

Submitting....

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 and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".

Submit a comment on this item

<< Previous Comment      Next Comment >>

Reader comments (111) on this item

Title Commenter Date Thread
Wow to all of you who do not know anything about Islam [525 words]MasudaNov 7, 2007 19:26113361
Fat, lazy and proud, I American [864 words]D WilliamsOct 21, 2006 01:2763361
India's Choice [82 words]r kumarSep 27, 2006 03:3557815
Professor Pipes [892 words]John PhilipsSep 20, 2006 22:1856738
sadly thinking [111 words]danSep 16, 2006 16:4456181
911, Will it become this Generations Pearl Harbor? [212 words]Janet SidewaterSep 16, 2006 16:3456180
Question [22 words]John RSep 16, 2006 10:1256159
answer [5 words]HamzaJun 20, 2009 11:0056159
Conservative Concerns [243 words]K.H. AhmedSep 16, 2006 08:4456150
It's War [304 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
John RSep 15, 2006 21:4956100
Did it change "us?" It surely changed the Left and the leftist-run media, and in a really bad way! [584 words]Dr RJPSep 15, 2006 14:4556054
Comparing liberals with conservatives [108 words]Frank VoslerSep 13, 2006 14:0755824
Liberals....YUK! [110 words]Fred FryeSep 16, 2006 04:1755824
You touched the heart of the matter (EOM) [1 words]Frank VoslerSep 13, 2006 10:3255812
DID IT CHANGE US ? 9/11 AND FIVE YEARS LATER [103 words]V. RAJAGOPALANSep 13, 2006 04:2955794
Can India join us? [192 words]PatSep 18, 2006 17:4155794
The Hindu Dilemma [74 words]Vairagi KoushikSep 19, 2006 07:2155794
DID IT CHANGE US 9/11 [113 words]V. RAJAGOPALANSep 25, 2006 09:2655794
Check Facts & Sequence of Events [158 words]IRMar 7, 2007 23:2655794
You missed the point [402 words]PatMar 8, 2007 19:0855794
Change in Canada?? Only for the worse... [442 words]J.S.Sep 12, 2006 15:5355718
J.S. Great Article [42 words]InfidelSep 12, 2006 17:5755718
Is it "democracy" or the nature and philsophy of the people [340 words]rickSep 12, 2006 18:2155718
Pope's speech [61 words]PopeWatcherSep 13, 2006 00:4955718
Yes, Rick, it's a combination of factors... [307 words]J.S.Sep 14, 2006 14:3455718
O Canada [94 words]rickSep 14, 2006 17:4055718
It's simple - rick .. Muslims are silent when it serves them [374 words]JaladhiSep 15, 2006 12:3655718
Jaladhi, you really tell it like it is [275 words]rickSep 15, 2006 18:4955718
Rick, Violence has begun [54 words]PatSep 16, 2006 20:2355718
Indeed, the slogans *could* change if the NDP were to hold sway... [98 words]J.S.Sep 16, 2006 22:5255718
Too Optimistic [77 words]Howie MSep 12, 2006 15:3855717
post 9/11, a nation in blinkers [295 words]raheel khokharSep 13, 2006 14:5655717
Too Optimistic [44 words]Howard MirkinSep 13, 2006 17:4755717
A Slight Atonement [210 words]raheel khokharSep 15, 2006 16:0955717
Atonement for????? [374 words]Howard MirkinSep 15, 2006 22:0155717
Raheel, conspiracy theories are for the uninformed [805 words]PatSep 18, 2006 19:0055717
raheel khokhar [344 words]Zack MaxwellSep 19, 2006 05:3455717
trying to understand this world [524 words]raheel khokharSep 20, 2006 14:5155717
Stinky [1 words]StinkyDec 21, 2006 23:2855717
I used to think so [63 words]Dave PetteysSep 12, 2006 15:0555714
قــصـــيــدة تـــضـــامن [395 words]mohamed.mSep 12, 2006 13:1955702
An atrocity of terrible proportions? [174 words]PatSep 12, 2006 10:2255672
How about Bill and Hillary Clinton and Janet Reno? [227 words]Fred FryeSep 16, 2006 04:5355672
We Changed Hardly at All [338 words]Arnold J. ShawSep 12, 2006 08:0355645
Dr. Pipes, you're right [69 words]concernedSep 12, 2006 05:4855639
Terrible atrocities don't always wake people up [237 words]Saul GreenSep 12, 2006 05:0955636
liberals [50 words]sylvia caplowSep 12, 2006 01:4355629
why? [333 words]JoanSep 12, 2006 01:0655625
Joan, understanding Islam and the Qur'an [199 words]InfidelSep 12, 2006 23:2355625
For Joan: and the untimate sin in Islam! [94 words]dhimmi no moreSep 15, 2006 07:1055625
Joan's response [415 words]JoanSep 17, 2006 22:5755625
Hmm [26 words]blankOct 4, 2006 22:5355625
For blank... ! [95 words]dhimmi no moreOct 6, 2006 18:2555625
In response [126 words]blankOct 9, 2006 00:1155625
Is Victory Inevitable? [173 words]Ed HalperSep 12, 2006 00:2855623
Post 911 [132 words]YovenSep 11, 2006 23:4555618
Drop the "Liberal-Conservative" [80 words]Bob CSep 11, 2006 23:1955616
Wrong, Bob [29 words]LDCSep 12, 2006 16:5255616
are they dancing in the streets now? [106 words]Donald OSep 11, 2006 22:4255612
Not changed , More attentive! [184 words]John ManittaSep 11, 2006 22:1155610
Did It Change Us? 9/11, five years later. [198 words]steven LSep 11, 2006 21:3355607
Yes, but... [35 words]LDCSep 12, 2006 09:0855607
Kosovo [28 words]Henk TwerdaSep 11, 2006 20:3855603
ON 9/11: TERRORISM IS ALIVE AND WELL [2040 words]FERN SIDMANSep 11, 2006 19:3455599
Did 9/11 change us - too simplistic [167 words]Gunther SchiffSep 11, 2006 17:3355589
I see the split as just more politics [393 words]Rick HouseSep 11, 2006 16:0855573
Rick House, It's politics and MONEY [123 words]InfidelSep 12, 2006 16:2355573
Money, Money, Money [220 words]Rick HouseSep 21, 2006 23:1455573
Bipartisanship [117 words]DANSep 11, 2006 15:4355571
Knowledge is Strength [233 words]Shirley SacksSep 11, 2006 16:0955571
Thankyou Shirley [56 words]InfidelSep 12, 2006 23:3755571
I'd appreciate answers [96 words]Shirley SacksSep 13, 2006 16:5155571
Being too certain [326 words]Helge OgrimSep 11, 2006 15:3855570
Unlikely Propositions [263 words]LDCSep 11, 2006 16:4655570
Conservatives blunt & direct? Are you kidding? [133 words]nycSep 12, 2006 08:5255570
ABC-TV Docu-Drama and The American Government as Failures in Understanding What the Stakes Were [174 words]rickSep 11, 2006 14:5355562
9/11 - The day Islam entered America: The Irreconcilable cleft between the "right" and the "left" [180 words]Jeff BurkeSep 11, 2006 14:4555561
praising the conservatives? [122 words]G. VishvasSep 11, 2006 14:4455560
10 Litmus tests for people I don't quite trust in Middle Eastern affairs [365 words]rickSep 11, 2006 16:5655560
Response to "praising the conservatives?" [70 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
John StaufferSep 11, 2006 17:2955560
One more for the road [52 words]JaladhiSep 12, 2006 09:5555560
You're right about Pakistan but I like Musharaf [341 words]rickSep 12, 2006 17:1055560
why I like Musharraf [1082 words]Anubhav SinghSep 13, 2006 07:2055560
Litmus test [128 words]Anubhav SinghSep 13, 2006 07:5655560
Musharraf's speeches on joining war on terrorism with USA after 9/11 [438 words]JaladhiSep 13, 2006 11:3555560
Musharaf is also only a very questionable "ally" [88 words]MosheSep 13, 2006 16:1155560
Anubhav, Hard reading your comments because they probably are true [507 words]rickSep 13, 2006 17:4855560
Musharaf [191 words]rickSep 13, 2006 18:0255560
to Moshe [73 words]rickSep 13, 2006 18:0855560
al-Qaeda arrests in Pakistan [259 words]Anubhav SinghSep 15, 2006 04:5155560
To John Stauffer [442 words]G. VishvasSep 23, 2006 07:3855560
Busharaf [154 words]BuzkushOct 22, 2006 03:4555560
I believe some one is crazy at Home Land Security Department [450 words]nagarSep 11, 2006 14:4055559
"Liberal": a perjorative for "Stupid, blind, bleeding-heart, etc." "Conservative": a synonym for "Perfect." [310 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
Dr RJPSep 11, 2006 14:1655558
name that loon.. [218 words]donvanSep 14, 2006 14:2155558
The differences between liberals and conservitives in light of 9/11 [149 words]John StaufferSep 11, 2006 14:0955557
The liberal confusion [513 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
Denis MacEoinSep 11, 2006 14:0555556
Jew Hatred is the basis of all this [121 words]M CohenSep 11, 2006 22:4255556
Speaking My Language [77 words]Pro-israeli DemocratSep 16, 2006 13:4855556
I understood your post..... [497 words]Mari.....Sep 28, 2006 02:1555556
Liberal suicide in Eurabia [96 words]TonyOct 16, 2006 16:4355556
An atrocity of terrible proportions. [115 words]Jeff DavisSep 11, 2006 13:5355555
Pipes Continues as National Treasure [56 words]LDCSep 11, 2006 13:4255554
change from fear to resolve [55 words]rebecca mcmurrySep 11, 2006 13:1955553
right on! [24 words]Dan LenardSep 11, 2006 13:1855552
Change [16 words]GudrunSep 11, 2006 13:1755551
interesting divide [67 words]Gabriel NewhouseSep 11, 2006 13:1155547
Dr. Pipes: Your first paragraph says it all-completely, yet succinctly [99 words]Bryan TaplitsSep 11, 2006 13:0755546
9/11 did not change Democrats - they still live in foggy bottom [198 words]JaladhiSep 11, 2006 13:0055544
Change... [42 words]Paul DavidSep 11, 2006 12:4855543
Liberals and conservatives [66 words]Jeffrey BlusteinSep 11, 2006 12:4155542

Follow Daniel Pipes

Facebook   Twitter   RSS   Join Mailing List

All materials by Daniel Pipes on this site: © 1968-2024 Daniel Pipes. daniel.pipes@gmail.com and @DanielPipes

Support Daniel Pipes' work with a tax-deductible donation to the Middle East Forum.Daniel J. Pipes

(The MEF is a publicly supported, nonprofit organization under section 501(c)3 of the Internal Revenue Code.

Contributions are tax deductible to the full extent allowed by law. Tax-ID 23-774-9796, approved Apr. 27, 1998.

For more information, view our IRS letter of determination.)