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Saturday, 4 December 2004
The Tenth Crusade?
The Tenth Crusade
It is very disturbing to hear Sunni muslim clerics talk of of how the conflict in Iraq is turning young mulims, who had no previous propensity for violence into dedicated Mujahadeen who will stop at nothing in the fight against the western "crusaders". It is futher evidence of the incitement and instigation that the Sunni leadership uses to create as many "fronts" as possible...it is strategically... brilliant, and exactly what I would expect to hear. I have had the greatest opportunities over the last year and a half to see hear many perspectives in a war that has come to a decisive point after over 25 years of fighting. Many don't see the war in Iraq as a mere battle in a war of a much larger scale, but one only has to see and hear the perspectives of those who live in the region, primarily moderate muslims , who may not surprise you, but will , without question, offer historic insight that many of us may not have otherwise considered. I have spoken, via email to my friend and former interpreter in Iraq... Khalid (not his real name), whose entire family had been directly affected by the tyranny of the former Iraqi regime. Khalid, who is a more moderate Sunni, was always cautious, keeping his opinions subdued, an obvious symptom of years without basic civil liberties.
Salem Aleikum,
I have not heard for you in some time. I hope that you and your family are safe and secure.
How are things in Taji? I see that it is a busy and worrisome place. I am not sure of the direction that things are going but I do believe that it is more important than ever for us to stay the course. The insurgency has become a voice and that, I think, is a bigger problem than any other. Why is this happening? Do people so quickly forget about what it was like in Iraq before? How did the struggle for freedom for the Iraqi people and the security of its neighbors become a fight between Islam and the rest of the world? Often I wonder how much the Iraqi people are willing to endure...What is the frame of mind there, Khalid? What do you and your family, friends and neighbors think about all of this now? I talk to my Kuwaiti friends and their opinions have been disturbing, but they are not in the middle of a life and death struggle over which right... is right.
Do you know of what ever happened to the other ITs? I know the Mosul guys went back to Mosul. I think of Saleh when I hear of all the trouble in Baquba...what about Soadad? Anyway, let me know how you are doing and your thoughts, if you feel comfortable doing so. Please give my regards to your wife and your children. My family will come to Kuwait soon and I hope that a day will come that we can all meet in one place without worry.
a belated Eid Mubarak to you an yours...KD
as'salem aleikum msr K...
Is is real veri good to have you send me this e mails, I am in taji with msr bill and msr jon,
I do not like it here ..i wish to work for ford. I hear from people that ford of kuwaiit will come to iraq soon...could you tell them that I am a good worker and for they mite give for me a job...thank you msr K...I do not understand why these things happen here in iraq this way...my family do not understand this either.I do not speak for my neighbors. The people of iraq are good people but a scared. I think even the insurgence is a scared...they are afraid of what they do not know. Those Iraqi people who are part of this bad things only know bad things ther hole life... I think ther are many insurgence not from iraq who tell them to do these bad things and they do. i am a scared for my family and my children...and I am a scared for myself and everybody. I do not know of the other IT s. I hope they are ok. khalid.
I have been through 3 different interpreters in my current position. Our team of "ITs" are predominantly Shia. We work in an environment that is primarily moderate Sunni which has had its disadvantages in the past but everyone seems dedicated to making our relationships work. My current interpreter, Nawaf, is 35 years old, is in his second marriage, and recently welcomed his third child into the world. He is a Kuwaiti citizen, although he live in the United States for 13 years and is a graduate of the University of Oklahoma. For the last nine years he has been back in Kuwait. Nawaf and I usually have about an hour of every day that we end up dedicating to discussing and in some cases debating the situation across the middle east. From him I get multiple views...he is in a position where gets first look at unedited information from the news wire. He is , most definitely...an Arab...he was in the United States during the invasion of Kuwait while most of his family was enduring months of oppression from the Iraqi Army occupation. He is a rather devout Muslim, who has been a valuable source of information in regard to the history of Islam. While his American influenced thinking and sense of professionalism tells him to stay objective, what I hear when I talk to him is a deep seeded faith driven belief that a Christian/Zionist conspiracy is at the root of all problems in the Middle east. When we have this discussion, I know, from his tone and the many directions that our conversations move, that his perception is based on what he knows about Islam and of his interpretations of the Quran and is selective in its applications of beliefs from the Old Testament . It is a textbook illustration for me that shows the depth of devotion that muslims have to Islam... unfortunately,for most... it is truly a one sided story, considering the cynical nature of Arab culture with respect to the west. There is a belief in the Muslim world that events of the last 25 years are the beginnings of a new Crusade against Muslim people.
This "conspiracy theory" is an overwhelming belief among Arab muslims, and while most are not active "revolutionaries", it is at the core of the rights of Jihad. Jihadists tend to further distort it as being one of a conspiracy direct toward the destruction of Islam specifically.
Look at recent headlines...what comes into focus for the arab people is the videotaped killing of an Iraqi in a mosque in Fallujah...the detainee abuse at Abu Ghraib... These things dominate the Arab media and overshadows the grisly videotaped beheadings of innocent hostages, like Nick Berg, Kim Sun-il, Jack Hensley and Margaret Hassan, among others, by extremist groups in Iraq, not to mention the execution style murders of 49 Iraq Army Soldier enroute home for the observance of Ramadan. This is typical of Arab media but even more typical of Arab culture and when combined with Islamic culture, it creates an unbelieveable sense of paranoia.
I recently watched a CNN International interview with 2 muslim professors in Britain discussing the French Ban on obvious religious symbols. This law actually covers the wearing of Jewish skullcaps and Christian Crucifixes as well as muslim headscarves, however, the muslim professors in this interview took it as an opportunity to express it as a blatant attack on Islam. Another part of the conspiracy, and coming from the educated as well as the spiritual leadersip in the muslim community, highly regarded as truth to the muslim world.
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at 9:49 PM
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