LCCC ENGLISH
DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
September 5/07
Bible Reading of the day
Holy Gospel of Jesus
Christ according to Saint Luke 4,31-37. Jesus then went down to Capernaum, a
town of Galilee. He taught them on the sabbath, and they were astonished at his
teaching because he spoke with authority. In the synagogue there was a man with
the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out in a loud voice, Ha! What have
you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who
you are--the Holy One of God! Jesus rebuked him and said, "Be quiet! Come out of
him!" Then the demon threw the man down in front of them and came out of him
without doing him any harm. They were all amazed and said to one another, "What
is there about his word? For with authority and power he commands the unclean
spirits, and they come out." And news of him spread everywhere in the
surrounding region.
Opinions
Crossfire War - Fighting Ends at Nahr al-Bared - Iran-Syria ...NewsBlaze.
September 4/07
Better late than
never: Iraq's prime minister finds a better way to rule.The
Daily Star.September 4/07
Make the Palestinians an
offer they can't refuse.By
Anat Kurz.September 4/07
Searching for a Palestinian
Mandela.
By Byron Bland.September 4/07
Religion is
pluralistic, so let's make sure it stays that way.By
Ali Noer Zaman.September 4/07
Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources
for September 4/07
U.S. denies
removing North Korea from terror list.AFP
Kucinich Meets with Lebanon Leaders.Campaigns
& Elections (press release) - USA
Chinese peacekeepers return from Lebanon mission.Xinhua
- China
Lebanon says 222 militants killed in camp battle.Reuters
Solana to Hold Talks in Lebanon on Mideast Conference-Naharnet
Drawbacks of Berri initiative.Gulf News
Syria blasts US 'unconstructive role' in Lebanon.Middle
East Times
Saniora: Army Commander Will Go Down in History-Naharnet
Through The Eyes of A Lebanese Soldier-Naharnet
Lebanon may gain new authority after camp victory.AFP
For Nahr al-Bared, a light
at the end of the tunnel.(AFP)
Aoun confirms candidacy, however Lebanon's
presidential election proceeds-Daily
Star
Army quashes attack by Fatah al-Islam remnants-Daily
Star
Fadlallah urges release of four in Hariri case-Daily
Star
Army chief lauds his 'brave men' for triumphing
against terro-Daily
Star
'Frustration:' the life and times of Shaker
al-Abssi-Daily
Star
Prosecutor accuses five Palestinians of planning
to attack UNIFIL-Daily
Star
Smiles all around after army win at Nahr al-Bared-Daily
Star
Lebanese partners plan first plush hotel in Iraqi
Kurdistan-Daily
Star
Tunisian oud virtuoso Anouar Brahem leaves Music
Hall audience speechless-Daily
Star
Briefly banned play traces sects' political
morphings-Daily
Star
Olmert 'not sure' deal on
principles can be reached with Abbas before summit-Daily
Star
Tehran 'will never bow to
any intimidation' on nuclear drive.(AFP)
France and Jordan to tackle
Mideast crises 'hand-in-hand'.
(AFP)
sraelis outline plan for
five-year military build-up.(AFP)
Jordan mulls tighter rules
for Iraqi refugees.(AFP)
Iran dismisses reports of
shelling into Iraq.
(AFP)
Saniora: Army Commander Will Go Down in History
Prime Minister Fouad Saniora said army commander Gen. Michel Suleiman will go
down in history for winning the war on terror after the Nahr al-Bared refugee
camp fell to a final massive assault against diehard Fatah al-Islam militants.
"I tell the army commander that history will write about the battle and the
duties that you performed," Saniora said in a statement at the end of a
ministerial-security meeting late Monday that focused on the Nahr al-Bared
victory.
The daily An Nahar, quoting ministerial sources, said the meeting focused on the
need to reequip the Lebanese army as well as to set the standards for the
desired performance and define the dangers facing Lebanon.
Saniora said that when the history of these days is written, it will tell about
Suleiman's achievement as well as that of the Lebanese army and the Internal
Security Forces.
"I call on everybody to learn morals and lessons" from the Nahr al-Bared battle,
Saniora appealed in the statement that was read by Information Minister Ghazi
Aridi.
He stressed that the 105-day confrontation at the northern refugee camp was "not
a battle against our Palestinian brethren."
The meeting came shortly after Lebanese troops hunted down fugitives, killing
four militants hiding in the sewers of the bombed out Nahr al-Bared camp on the
outskirts of the northern port city of Tripoli.
Lebanese soldiers continued on Monday to sweep the devastated camp for
explosives and hunting for any surviving members of Fatah al-Islam, an army
officer said.
He said soldiers had also captured four militants in the camp on Monday,
including one hiding in an attic.
An army spokesman said at least 41 militants had been killed and more than 20
captured in the army assault on the camp, an operation Saniora called the
"biggest national victory over terrorists."
Bulldozers cleared sandbags from around Nahr al-Bared, which remained off-limits
to civilians on Monday, while troops in armored carriers cordoned off an area
south of the camp and traffic on the main coastal highway to neighboring Syria
was diverted.
AFP correspondents at the camp on the Mediterranean coast saw troops remove at
least seven bodies from Nahr al-Bared. An officer said one corpse was also
recovered from the sea.
Palestinian clerics added that the dead include at least two Fatah al-Islam
spiritual leaders: Abu Baker, a Palestinian-Syrian; and Abu al-Hares, a Saudi.
An Nahar said that a huge military parade will take place in Byblos north of
Beirut on Tuesday for the soldiers who took part in the battle.
A total of 163 soldiers died in the confrontation, including five on Sunday, and
between 400 to 500 soldiers were wounded, many of them permanently disabled,
according to the army spokesman.(Naharnet-AFP) Beirut, 04 Sep 07, 06:52
Syria Slams U.S. for 'Unconstructive' Role in Lebanon
Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem has accused Washington of playing an
"unconstructive" role in Lebanon where he said upcoming presidential elections
would be a chance for reconciliation.
"There are parties such as the United States which are still playing an
unconstructive role concerning Lebanon," Muallem told the Lebanese opposition
newspaper Al-Akhbar while on a visit to powerful regional ally Iran.
Both Iran and Syria, under fire by the United States for their alleged meddling
in Lebanon and Iraq, are close regional allies with their leaders meeting
regularly.
"Lebanese leaders should put the interests of Lebanon and the Lebanese people as
a first priority, and if this happens - and we hope it does - the presidential
elections will be a chance for reconciliation in Lebanon," Muallem said.
Muallem, whose country was the main power broker in Lebanon until it was forced
under international pressure to end 29 years of military domination in 2005,
said "any solution in Lebanon should not be imported."
"It has to be Lebanese in order for it to stand. This solution should be based
on the formula of 'no winner and no loser,'" he said in an apparent appeal on
rival Lebanese sides to accept a compromise solution.
Lebanese "Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri has announced a Lebanese initiative,
which Lebanese parties are still studying, and we hope that they reach an
understanding which would help Lebanon avoid plunging into a very uncomfortable
situation," he said.
Berri has said his Syrian-backed camp was willing to drop a longstanding demand
for a unity government if Lebanon's feuding political parties agree on a
candidate for the presidency.(AFP) Beirut, 04 Sep 07, 11:12
Solana to Hold Talks in Lebanon on Mideast Conference
European Union Foreign Policy chief Javier Solana arrived in Lebanon on Tuesday
for talks with officials on preparations for a major international Middle East
peace conference later this year.
Solana had a working dinner with Jordanian Foreign Minister Abdel Ilah Khatib on
Monday as part of a regional tour to prepare for the U.S.-sponsored meeting for
regional peace, an EU spokeswoman from his office told AFP.
"He is going to exchange points of view on the international meeting. We can't
let the conference fail and we should work to make it succeed," she said.
The conference, which is expected in November, was called for by President
George Bush as part of U.S. efforts to jumpstart the dormant peace process in
the wake of the takeover of Gaza by the Islamist Hamas movement in mid-June.
"His message for the region is that we have an opportunity for peace now and it
should be seized by all parties and that we should be realistic and cautiously
optimistic about peace in the Middle East."
Solana arrived in the Jordanian capital on a brief visit following similar talks
with Israeli and Palestinian officials, ahead of a New York meeting of the
Quartet of main players in the peace process -- Russia, the United Nations and
the United States along with the EU.
"The EU has a role to play in the Middle East peace process," the EU spokeswoman
said.
He will hold similar talks in Egypt on Tuesday, an EU statement said. Beirut, 04
Sep 07, 10:22
Through The Eyes of A Lebanese Soldier
A Lebanese soldier told of the 105-day battle against an invisible and fearless
enemy and how Fatah al-Islam militants in Nahr al-Bared refugee camp would
ambush besieging troops almost daily.
"They would hide behind small openings they had made in the walls and pick one
of us off before we even knew they were there," said the soldier, a member of a
commando unit that fought Fatah al-Islam militants holed up in the camp.
The 27-year-old, who spoke to AFP on condition of anonymity, was wounded in the
leg during the standoff with the Sunni Muslim extremists but later returned to
the front line.
"When soldiers captured or shot at one of them, five or six would then attack us
from left and right," he said outside the camp in the north of the country a day
after the army claimed victory over the militants.
A Lebanese army spokesman said 163 soldiers had been killed in the fighting that
began on May 20 and that 400 to 500 had been wounded, including many who were
now permanently disabled.
Snipers accounted for a large number of the soldiers who fell at Nahr al-Bared,
according to army sources.
The soldier told AFP that the army command on Sunday had warned troops the
Al-Qaeda-inspired militants still inside the camp planned to try and break the
siege so their chief Shaker al-Abssi could escape.
"Abssi gave money to his militants and told them 'you're on your own'," he said,
adding that he had been told this by a militant he captured near the camp on
Sunday.
"The guy told me he was fighting Jews and Christians, but I told him I was a
Sunni Muslim and asked him whether he was battling against Muslims a well," he
said. "He never answered me."
Despite his training as a commando, the soldier said he sometimes wondered
whether the army would finally manage to overcome Fatah al-Islam.
"A few days ago my fellow soldiers and I began to wonder how long the battle
would last," he said.
"We thought the Lebanese were only concerned about the upcoming presidential
elections. 'That's it -- they're going to forget about us', we told ourselves
considering that the standoff was in its fourth month."
The soldier said that when helicopters launched air raids against the militants,
"they would charge at us because they knew that if they were in close proximity
to the troops the helicopters would not open fire."
The militants were very well-supplied, he said.
"Once we captured an underground shelter and inside we found a large amount of
food and power generators," he said. "They were really prepared for battle."
The commando said soldiers had fought the militants day and night, taking little
time to rest or to think of fallen comrades.
"In battle you remove the body of a fellow soldier and you continue fighting,"
he said. "You don't have time to cry.
"But when I went to the funeral of three fellow soldiers who came from the same
village it was just too much," he added, his voice trembling with emotion.(AFP)
Beirut, 04 Sep 07, 09:21
Camp Victory Could Give Lebanon New Power
The Lebanese army's victory over an Islamist militia in a Palestinian refugee
camp may help the government extend its authority over other off-limits camps,
poverty-stricken shantytowns that have become breeding grounds for extremism,
analysts said.
Troops may have crushed Fatah al-Islam in Nahr al-Bared in a final showdown on
Sunday, but fears persist that violence may spread through the country's dozen
camps where hardline groups have gained influence as their impoverished
residents despair of ever seeing an end to their plight.
"Fatah al-Islam has been defeated. But every 'martyr' and every event is a
source of inspiration for new jihadists," said Bernard Rougier, a French expert
on jihadist movements.
"There is no reason for the jihadist movement to stop in Lebanon, or that it is
used by some parties for their own interests," he told AFP on a visit to Lebanon
on Monday.
Fatah al-Islam first surfaced in the seafront camp of Nahr al-Bared late last
year, triggering the drawn-out standoff with the army after attacking military
posts in and around the camp on May 20.
Its fighters, who are said to be inspired by Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida terror
network, are of various Arab nationalities, not just Palestinian.
MP Farid al-Khazen, political science professor at the American University of
Beirut, said it was the absence of Lebanese government authority over the camps
-- which under a tacit agreement were in the control of armed Palestinian groups
-- that allowed a militia like Fatah al-Islam to spawn.
"After this costly battle, there cannot be any justification to keep these
security islands outside government control, especially as today there is no
link between the armed presence inside the camps and the struggle to regain
occupied Palestinian lands," he told AFP.
But Khazen said extending government control to the camps was not easy to
achieve, nor likely in the near future.
"It needs a big political momentum. It is a delicate matter that needs a strong
government and a more stable situation than today when the country is going
through a deep political crisis and is facing looming presidential elections,"
he said.
Prime Minister Fouad Saniora insisted on Sunday that Nahr al-Bared would be
under the sole authority of Lebanese security forces.
Lebanon's 12 Palestinian refugee camps have been off-limits to the army for
decades under a 1969 accord even though it was annulled by parliament in 1987.
Three days after the fighting erupted, the Palestine Liberation Organization
representative in Lebanon, Abbas Ziki, said the PLO would not object if the
Lebanese army decided to send troops into the camp.
But it took the army weeks of bombardments from outside the camp -- as well as
much political wrangling -- before troops moved in to Nahr al-Bared, the first
such move by the military in decades.
"The PLO leadership as the representative of the Palestinians in Lebanon is
adamant that the Palestinians and the camps in Lebanon be under Lebanese
authority," Ziki's deputy Kamal Nagi told AFP.
"When the residents of the camp return, we will reach an understanding on all
issues, primarily on security," he said.
Nagi said "any security breach may drag the camps into troubles, so we will
cooperate with the government and the army to prevent any party from harming the
security of the camps."
But Rougier said threats from Islamist extremists were not exclusive to the
Palestinian camps.
"Lebanon is not safe from these movements. Lebanon is not safe from terrorism,
especially that it is being mentioned by many jihadists, including (al-Qaida's
fugitive number two) Ayman Zawahiri," he said.
"But I don't think there will be problems with jihadist movements from inside
the other Palestinian camps, as they have become more realistic and have gained
experience in the political game," he said.
"After what happened in Nahr al-Bared, they will not jeopardize their enclaves,
in addition to the fact that there is a lot of vigilance from stabilization
forces both inside and outside the camps," he said.(AFP) Beirut, 04 Sep 07,
06:34
Lebanon says 222 militants killed in
camp battle
Tue 4 Sep 2007, 7:54 GMT
[-] Text [+] BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanon's defence minister said on Tuesday the
army killed at least 222 al Qaeda-inspired militants in a 15-week battle at a
Palestinian refugee camp in northern Lebanon. The army finally took control of
the Nahr al-Bared refugee camp on Sunday after more than three months of fierce
battles, including air, sea and land bombardment against the entrenched Fatah
al-Islam militants.
Defence Minister Elias al-Murr also said 202 militants were captured in the
battles while an unknown number were buried in mass graves inside the largely
destroyed camp. "This victory uprooted the biggest threat that faced the
Lebanese people because Fatah al-Islam was spreading like cancer cells to target
each part of the nation," Murr told a news briefing. "The organisation was
aiming to isolate the north from Lebanon to create a terrorist emirate," he
said.
At least 42 civilians and 163 soldiers died, bringing the death toll to more
than 400 - Lebanon's worst internal violence since the civil war ended 17 years
ago.
Although Fatah al-Islam has no organisational ties to al-Qaeda, it shares the
ideology to Osama bin Laden's network. Most of the militants were foreign Arab
fighters and some had fought in Iraq.
Army chief lauds his 'brave men' for
triumphing against terror
Suleiman praises military's perseverance against fatah al-islam
By Rym Ghazal
Daily Star staff
Tuesday, September 04, 2007
BEIRUT: Lebanese Army Commander General Michel Suleiman on saluted his "brave
men" Monday after the army declared victory in its three-month struggle against
Fatah al-Islam militants at the Nahr al-Bared refugee camp. "In the name of
national unity, you overthrew terrorism through your victory," the general said
in an official address to the army. In what is being hailed as a historic
victory for the Lebanese Army against terrorism, Suleiman praised the army's
relentless perseverance in the face of the Al-Qaeda-inspired militants, whose
leader, Shaker al-Abssi, was confirmed dead Monday after his wife and others
identified his body.
"The whole nation now looks up to you with the great pride and confidence ...
and this victory is a gift to the spirits of the army and resistance martyrs,"
said Suleiman.
The Lebanese Army said on Monday it lost 163 soldiers in the battle and between
400 to 500 soldiers were wounded in the fighting, with many of them permanently
disabled. The victory, he said, is also a gift to troops wounded in action as
well as "to all the Lebanese and Palestinian brethren who rejected the
phenomenon of terrorism and stood by your side throughout the confrontation."
Suleiman praised the troops for their "extraordinary" performance in battle,
stressing that victory "belongs to the whole Lebanese people."The army commander
also called on his troops to "abide by the national principles and adhere to
discipline."The commander urged his men to "keep your rifles aimed in the proper
direction at the Israeli enemy and at terror ... until it is fully uprooted."He
said sacrifices made in the confrontation that broke out on May 20 "remain much
less than the price that the nation would have paid had the hand of terror
remained loose and continued its meddling."Praise for the army continued to pour
in for the second day since its victory Sunday, with and officials across the
political spectrum and religious figures phoning and congratulating the head of
the army.
Syndicates, professional orders, the Maronite League, the Armenian Tashnak
Party, and the vice president of the Higher Shiite Council, Sheikh Abdel-Amir
Qabalan, all praised the army and its victory.
Qabalan said the army and the resistance, constitute the "formidable fortress"
protecting Lebanon, adding: "The victory proves that our army is unbeatable and
is the shield of this country against all plots." The Maronite League called the
army the backbone of the constitutional institutions as it is the best
representative of the unity needed in the country. "Let politicians learn from
the army's unity ... and how that unity serves best in protecting the country,"
said a statement released by the League.
In an interview with OTV on Sunday night, MP Michel Aoun also praised the army
and commented on the "great difficulty" it faced due to years of "neglect."
"It was a costly victory ... the army was not being supported enough to be able
to combat terrorism," said Aoun on Sunday night. "We need to accept the reality
the army faces ... and the intelligence apparatus that needs to be updated and
supported."In addition to Lebanese figures, praise for the army flooded in from
Palestinian officials.The head of the Joint Lebanese Palestinian Committee,
Khalil Makkawi, praised the army's victory, calling it a victory for "the law,"
and adding that the army proved its ability to protect Lebanon's
sovereignty."Refugee camps will no longer be open to such incidents," Makkawi
added. "There will be an internal force in coordination with the army."
'Frustration:' the life and
times of Shaker al-Abssi
Compiled by Daily Star staff
Tuesday, September 04, 2007
Who was Shaker al-Abssi, this enigmatic figure who spawned Fatah al-Islam - a
group of polite, classical-Arabic-speaking, bearded fanatics, prepared for
martyrdom, constantly reading the Holy Koran? Abssi was a medical school dropout
and trained fighter pilot and squadron leader in at least three air forces,
according to the Palestinian Information Center Web site. Back in the 1980s,
Abssi served in the secular Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), flew MiG
fighter jets for Libya in its war with Chad, and fought Israeli forces which
invaded Lebanon to drive out the PLO, his brother Abed said. But later Abssi
turned to radical Islam out of both religious conviction and "frustration" over
the failure of the Palestinian cause, Doctor Abdel-Razzak al-Abssi, Shaker's
brother, said last month. "My brother is an Islamist. He thinks maybe Islam is
the way to liberation. Everything else failed," he said.
In addition to being sought by Lebanese troops, Abssi was wanted by both Syria
and Jordan for radical activities.
Born in the Ain Sultan refugee camp near the West Bank town of Jericho in 1955,
Abssi fled with his family to Jordan after Israeli forces occupied all of the
West Bank in the 1967 war. In his youth, Abssi joined Fatah, the main PLO
faction, which sent him to Libya to become a pilot of Russian-built MiG fighters
at the air force academy in the North African country.
During the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982, he fought in the Bekaa Valley as
the PLO did not have any aircraft, before returning to serve in the Libyan Air
Force.
In 1982 when PLO fighters left Lebanon, Abssi broke away from the main Fatah
movement and helped establish a movement known as Fatah al-Intifada.
In 2002, the Syrian authorities threw him in prison for belonging to a banned
Islamist group and for plotting attacks. During his three years in jail, a
Jordanian court sentenced him to death in absentia for having taken part in
organizing the 2002 assassination in Amman of US diplomat Laurence Foley.
Released in 2005 he left for Lebanon, where he was a leader for the
Fatah-Intifada group, which was close to Syria, in the Palestinian refugee camps
of Sabra and Shatila in Beirut. But months later he chose the path of radical
Islam and led 100 armed men to set up beside the Nahr al-Bared camp. There he
founded Fatah al-Islam. In an interview with the New York Times in March, Abssi
pledged allegiance to Osama bin Laden, the fugitive leader of the Al-Qaeda
network, and said that killing American and Israeli civilians is justified."We
have every legitimate right to do such acts, for isn't it the US that comes to
our region and kills innocents and children? It is our right to hit them in
their homes the same as they hit us in our homes," he told the daily. - Agencies
Religion is pluralistic, so
let's make sure it stays that way
By Ali Noer Zaman
Commentary by
Tuesday, September 04, 2007
One of the much-debated religious issues in Indonesia today is that of
pluralism. Its opponents, such as the Indonesian Ulama Council (MUI), believe
that pluralist theology is harmful for Islamic theological foundations, as it
would undermine the idea that a particular religion is supreme and that other
religious beliefs are apocryphal. A MUI fatwa of 2005, which called for the
abolishment of pluralistic theology, alarmed the Muslim community of the danger
of pluralist theology. The fatwa did nothing to appease the controversy. It only
made the debate fiercer.
Adian Husaini, from the Indonesian Council for Islamic Propagation (or DDII),
represents another view also calling for the abandonment of pluralistic
theology. The DDII highlights the fear that such theology tends to make Muslims
regard Islam as relative, making some fear that Muslims will convert to other
religions easily, or at least accept and even adopt other religions' practices,
such as attending common prayer sessions or celebrating other religions' holy
days.
The plurality of religion is an inevitable fact of humankind. Multiple religions
have existed alongside one another throughout history. While recognizing the
existence of other faiths, founders of religion and their adherents generally
provided guidance on interfaith relations based on their own experiences.
Stories of these interactions were usually documented only after years of oral
tradition and subject to change. In most holy books, stories of contentious
interactions with people of other faiths can be easily misinterpreted or seen as
instructive of anti-pluralism.
At present, all such paradigms need to change. High rates of human mobility have
brought adherents of various religions into sociable relations within different
contexts, such as in the educational or business realms. Multicultural
communities are found in the world's big cities. Now with the help of
user-friendly information and communication technologies, people have
opportunities to get to know others of different faiths through empathy-driven
correspondence and dialogue among religions.
For Paul F. Knitter, a Catholic theologian from the United States, different
religious teachings and forms of worship can be resources for a dialogue to
enrich one's religious experience. Every religion can maintain or deepen its own
integrity through encounters with other faiths. Making this materialize,
however, requires a shift from the old religious mindset. For example, in
Christianity Jesus is divine and the savior of the world. However, in a global
context, he is not the only God and savior, because God has also inspired other
communities.
Muslims need to apply a similar approach. Muslims should not consider the Koran
as the only revelation to hold the absolute religious truth. A human being is
merely a limited interpreter, while God is an infinite entity with far more
wisdom to impart than the human mind can process. What a human being receives
from God is only the reduction of God's word in the frame of an individual's
socio-cultural language, which might be incongruent with that of others'. There
are revelations other than the Koran, and indeed the Koran itself confirms this.
The messages of the Koran, the Bible, the New Testament, and the Vedas, among
others, are directed in each case to all humankind and are aimed at creating
spiritual prosperity and peace for all. In other words, the aim is not the
conversion of other believers, as has been the attempt for centuries.
Let conversion become a personal issue, influenced by a person's own social,
cultural and individual considerations. Rather than forbidding someone from
leaving his or her faith, conversion should be the result of his or her own
decision.
According to John Hick, a British theologian and religious philosopher,
pluralist theology tries to understand that different faiths are different
responses and perceptions of various communities toward the materialization of
God. Pluralist theology wants to change the religious view from focusing on
one's own tradition to seeing God as the source of all faiths.
Based on this perspective, one would not judge another faith from one's own
religious perspective, but from a universal standpoint. This does not require
individual believers to abandon the teachings of their respective traditions.
What does need to change, however, is the individual's standpoint toward other
traditions. Pluralist theology has no intention of undermining the faith of
religious adherents; in fact, it seeks to strengthen it.
Through religious diversity, God has given blessings without any preference.
Pluralist theology is a gift with which to eliminate discrimination against
fellow humans for their religious beliefs. In such a context, every religious
believer has the same opportunity to gain salvation. Pluralist theology,
therefore, has no relation to the conspiracy theories upheld by certain groups,
such as the DDII, that believe that there are concerted efforts trying to
conquer adherents of their faith.
Pluralist theology should be fostered and protected, not abolished.
***Ali Noer Zaman is a writer on socio-religious issues. THE DAILY STAR
publishes this commentary in collaboration with the Common Ground News Service.
Crossfire War - Fighting Ends at Nahr al-Bared - Iran-Syria Control
Lebanon
By Willard Payne
Crossfire War - TEHRAN - BEIRUT - DAMASCUS WATCH - West Asia Theatre: Tehran -
Damascus - Riyadh - Amman - Beirut/Paris - Rome - Jerusalem - Cairo; Lebanon
Opposition Ends Demand for Unity Government - US Convinced PM Siniora to Agree
and Depart - Berlin Waiting - Fighting at Nahr al-Bared Ends - Syria
Congratulates Lebanon as Beirut Now Within Sphere of Influence of
Iran-Syria-Riyadh
Night Watch: BEIRUT - Recent events in the past few days have indicated Lebanon
is now within the sphere of influence of Tehran-Syria-Riyadh. One of the
Lebanese opposition leaders, Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri, has just
announced the opposition, which has been demonstrating in downtown Beirut since
December, has dropped its demand for a Unity Government and will instead agree
to a Consensus Candidate. The opposition knows and their state sponsors,
Iran-Syria-Saudi Arabia, the candidate will not be Prime Minister Fouad Siniora
as a result of the three hour visit a couple of days ago by U. S. Chief of
Central Command Admiral William Fallon. It was reported at the time Fallon may
be acting under orders to prepare an evacuation of Lebanon's leaders who have
close relations with the West. The next day it is then announced Siniora will
make a visit to Berlin on Wednesday September 5. I suspect Fallon may have been
acting on the recommendations from the French who realize Siniora's position is
untenable and perhaps he could be saved before the fighting expands beyond the
Palestinian refugee camp-city Nahr al-Bared outside Tripoli in northern Lebanon
near Syria's border. The fighting has been preparation for Syria's entry into
Lebanon in support of Hezbollah. That is why the war began near Syria's border.
[ALJAZEERA]
Having left Lebanon already, realizing a major war is about take place, much
more devastating than last summer's is the Ambassadors from Saudi Arabia and the
UAE. Other embassies and foreign missions have reduced their staff and Damascus
told its citizens in Lebanon, right after fighting began May 20, to leave the
country. With these agreements Tehran had most of the remaining fighters of the
suicide unit Fatah al-Islam, some of whom were from Saudi Arabia, attack a
Lebanon army position near the Nahr al-Bared from three directions knowing they
would suffer heavy losses and that is enabling Siniora to declare victory and
pronounce he will rebuild the destroyed camp. He is fully aware with his
departure the last remaining influence of the West in Lebanon departs with him.
France Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner may have told Siniora, when he visited
Siniora during the fighting, the European forces in UNIFIL were not at all
prepared for this and could do nothing to help him, in effect admitting UNIFIL
is not a serious security presence, just there. [ALJAZEERA]
Debka is now reporting Lebanon's army, though moving into the camp, will not be
in control of the underground bunker complex, which still contains some
well-supplied fighters of Fatah al-Islam. East German military engineers
constructed the subterranean complex during the 1980s for Yasser Arafat and his
Fatah gunmen to protect them from Israeli air strikes. That is why when the
fighting began one of Fatah al-Islam's leaders said they could resist for
months, since the bunkers probably contain living quarters and huge
food-ammunition storage areas, which can be supplied through tunnels. And that
is probably the reason the death of Fatah al-Islam's leader cannot be confirmed.
[DEBKA]
Lebanon was quickly congratulated by Egypt Foreign Minister Ahmed Abu al-Ghait,
which is not surprising because Fatah al-Islam represents political forces in
Egypt, which would want to see Egypt's government replaced by one no longer
cooperating with the West. But what was especially interesting was the statement
by Syria Foreign Minister Walid Muallem congratulating the "army on winning this
fight against a terrorist group, which distracted the Lebanese army from their
enemy Israel." Syria-Iran and the House of Saud now have control over Lebanon so
I suspect the new residents of the underground bunker will be Hezbollah leader
Hassan Nasrallah, his staff and perhaps their families. This will probably be
one of the first targets of Israel's nuclear weapons.
The military footnote UNIFIL will be caught in the crossfire.
Night Watch Information Service
http://www.crossfirewar.com
The War of Ideas: Jihad against Democracy
By Walid Phares
New York: Palgrave, 2007
Middle East scholar Walid Phares in his recent book The War of Ideas: Jihad
against Democracy outlines the ideological basis in which the jihadists use to
perpetuate their anti Western agenda. Phares who was born and raised in Lebanon
brings to the table his personal experience as a Middle Easterner as well as his
academic career as professor of Middle East Studies and terrorism.
One of the key factors the author reveals here is the methodology whereby the
hearts and minds of young students become engrossed in Jihadism which is sold to
them in what the author defines as “spiritual yoga.” Moreover, to say that Jihad
is “holy war” is too simplistic. The definition of jihad and its meaning has
become one the most common misconceptions today as we battle the war of ideas in
the war against the jihadists. These debates on whether jihad is a psychological
battle or whether it has an actual military connotation have become the center
of debate in many university departments specifically in Middle East departments
post-September 11th.
The fact of the matter is that Jihad has always had a military connotation
despite what many would like us to believe. As David Cook underscores in his
study Understanding Jihad, “to maintain that jihad means ‘the effort to lead a
good life’ is pathetic and laughable in any case. In all the literature
concerning jihad – whether militant or internal jihad – the fundamental idea is
to disconnect oneself from the world, to die to the world whether bodily (as in
battle) or spiritually (as in internal jihad). The priorities of jihad in Islam
here are exactly reversed from the historical and religious realities: the armed
struggle - aggressive conquest – came first, and then additional meanings became
attached to the term.”[1]
As a result of the above, we have seen the spread of an academic jihad which is
growing across North American universities. Consequently, students and donors
are blinded by Saudi and Wahabi money which has been fueling the system since
the 60’s in an effort to what they consider to be “a fair and honest depiction
of the Middle East” – this couldn’t been further from the truth. Phares’
experience as a professor who taught about the Middle East and terrorism is
astonishing when one considers what he had to do in order to survive in his
department. As he writes, “I have observed with amazement American students
stripped of their basic rights to be educated accurately about the main
geopolitical and ideological threats to their homeland. Instead of using
classroom time to profoundly analyze the rise of what would become al-Qaeda or
the Khomeini regime’s long-range strategies, we professors had to ‘clean up’ the
diseducating process that blurred the intellectual vision of a whole
generation.”[2]
Furthermore, academic freedom has been used as a shield and a
"get-out-of-jail-free card" when speakers are dismissed as
conservatism-revivalism. The modern notions of free speech and academic freedom
stem from John Stuart Mill's On Liberty. Mill argued that free speech originates
in society's want to discover the truth. By vetoing a right opinion, we deprive
ourselves of the opportunity to exchange an error for truth. But by banning a
false opinion, Mill stated, we lose something almost as precious — a clearer
perception of truth that is produced by its clash with error. If no foes are
available to put your ideas to the test, Mill argues that one should invent
arguments against your own beliefs.
Today, whatever goes on in a classroom is deemed protected by "academic
freedom," whether it is academic or not. Only sexual harassment appears exempt
from this blanket protection. Gradually, the entire campus has become an
"academic freedom" zone, where protests and other activities now qualify as
academic "speech." The freedom to critique is, predictably, directed mostly at
the twin Satans, Israel and America, although efforts to curtail speech that
academics find unpleasant and unacceptable have been long standing in the form
of "speech codes" and restrictions on "hate speech." Clearly, academic freedom
is a one-way street; only those having the correct opinions may claim it.
Finally, Phares’s book is an important contribution to continuing battle against
the academic jihad which is infesting university classrooms. His book is an
added value to Martin Kramer’s Ivory Towers on Sand: The Failure of Middle
Eastern Studies in America where Kramer chronicled the takeover of American
Middle East Studies by a cohort of politicized scholars who blamed the Middle
East’s problems on the West and dismissed the threat of Islamist terror.
Winning the war against Jihadism necessitates winning the war of ideas as well
as the war on the ground, and Phares book serves as a useful guide to make that
happen.
NOTES:
[1] Cook, David. Understanding Jihad, Los Angeles: University of California
Press, 2005, P. 42.
[2] Phares, Walid. The War of Ideas Jihad against Democracy, New York: Palgrave,
2007, P. 161