ARABS WHO SUPPORT ISRAEL

HERE IS ANOTHER MUCH longed for website that purports to support Israel, the United States, peace, and harmony. And the Palestinians. It purports to be non-confrontational. It seems to be a legitimate response to the radicalized Islam now challenging the West with violence and sedition.

Let us celebrate such a group of Arabs with an poignant excerpt from an essay found on the site that echoes some of the same realizations that other websites such as Jihad Watch have tried to suggest to the misinformed who apologize for the ruthless behavior of the so-called jihadists of Al Qaeda, Hams, Hezbollah, CAIR, and other unrepentant, aggressive groups. Let's hope that other Muslim groups will take notice, and come to the same conclusions as Mr. Tashbih Sayyed, author of this essay has done:

Christian Europe was fortunate to have lived through the throes of reformation, counter-reformation, movements that brought in enlightenment and cause the French revolution. This experience allowed them to see the benefits of democracy, pluralism and tolerance. Muslims on the other hand, since they had never experienced a political, cultural or military setback, up until Napoleon invaded and conquered Egypt in 1798, never felt a need for self-evaluation and self critique. The very fact that they remained in control of much of the world as rulers gave them a sense of superiority and deprived them of an ability to learn from others. The long Muslim political supremacy contributed in the creation of a false sense that their faith represents the absolute truth and all other faiths are inferior.

In the aftermath of Ottoman Empire’s demise, radical Islam built its campaign of terror on this premise of Islamism being the absolute truth. The whole concept of the world being divided in two house; dar ul Islam (House of peace) and Dar ul Harb (House of war), is based on this ideology.

In order to ensure that radical Islam remains in control of the Muslim heart and mind, Islamist state joined hands with the dogmatic mosque that preached the most rigid and the most exclusivist interpretations of Islam—Deobandi, Salafis and Wahhabis. Saudi Petro-Dollars helped this un-holy alliance gain legitimacy and hijack the mainstream Islam. This radical ideology is possessed by a destructive passion—it wants to control the world by overwhelming all open societies.

Radical Islamists are aware that they can control the hearts and minds of Muslim street only so long as they somehow suppress the desire among Muslims to seek modern education. They know that the United States of America and the state of Israel – being open, pluralistic and democratic—are the only two entities in the world that can thwart their Fascist designs. That’s why they want to destroy them. As a first step in this direction, they have launched a smear campaign against Judeo-Christian civilization.

Radical Islam’s job has been made easy by a long Muslim tradition of misinterpreting the Holy Scriptures as condemning Jews. The custom of accepting fabricated fables demonizing Jews and Christians as Prophets Traditions has also empowered the fundamentalists. Using these manipulated Holy Scriptures and fabricated traditions, radical Islamists projected Judeo-Christian powers as responsible for Muslim defeats, setbacks and downfall.

By spinning the history, Islamists have labeled all the traits of freedom and openness as a Zionist conspiracy to undermine the Islamic values and culture. The concept of nation-states is condemned as a conspiracy to divide the Muslim Ummah (faith based Muslim nationhood). Radical Islamists realize that their spin and mesmerism will only work so long as the Muslim street is not exposed to the truth—as contained in modern and scientific knowledge and the principles determining the directions of open societies.

To prevent the Muslim masses from gaining insight, they have made certain that modern education does not reach the grass roots level. And they have succeeded in achieving this goal by labeling all modern education as un-Islamic. As a result, the Muslim world is plunged into an abyss of darkness, anti-modernity, anti-Americanism and anti-Semitism.

I am convinced that the only way to save the Muslims from being permanently consigned to the dustbin of history is to destroy the basis of anti-Semitism from the Muslim traditions and liturgy. And this can be done only by exposing the Islamist.

In my view, to expose radical Islam, Muslims have to be introduced to the real reasons of anti-Semitism. This can only be done by creating an alternative source of information and education from within the Muslim community. Only a Muslim challenge to the dark ideology of Islamism can undo the damage done to the Muslim mind.

Since only Jews represent over five thousand years of human pursuit of knowledge, struggle to prevail over bigotry and absolutism and persevere against a perpetual desire on the part of evil forces to destroy them, their history if presented in an honest fashion to the Muslims can go a long way destroying anti-Semitism.

I consider the creation of the Jewish state as a blessing for the Muslims. Israel has provided us an opportunity to show to the world the Jewish state of mind in action; a mind that yearns to be free; a mind that longs to see the humanity enjoy life, liberty and pursuit of happiness. If the American civic faith has given the world a hope to be able to live with dignity, self respect and honor in peace, the Jewish traditions and culture of pluralism, debate, acceptance of dissension and difference of opinion have manifested themselves in the shape of the state of Israel to present the oppressed Muslim world with a paradigm to emulate. And if we want this world to be free of any kind of terror, we will have to defend this state of mind, whether it is seen in the shape of Israel or in the form of the United States of America.

Mr. Tashbih Sayyed is editor-in-Chief of Pakistan Today and the Muslim World Today, California-based weekly newspapers, President of Council for Democracy and Tolerance and adjunct fellow of the Hudson Institute.