A Less than Anonymous Response

It’s been a while since I’ve been compelled to write in response to a comment, but, well…here we go!

On the Fourth of July, I got this comment about my “Superman, and Defense of the American Way” blog entry (for July 3):

Anonymous to me

“don't you think your comments about the 'islamic way' are quite racist? have you seen the secular 'islamic way' in Turkey? close minded remarks such as 'jihad jihad jihad' show quite a bit of ignorance and lack of understanding of the Islamic faith.”

First off, Anonymous, do you remember Yasser Arafat? He was the Palestinian terrorist who just couldn’t quite decide between giving up killing Jews or advancing his people toward peace and statehood.

“Jihad, jihad, jihad” is actually a direct quote from this late failure of a Muslim "leader":

“We know only one word: jihad, jihad, jihad. When we stopped the intifada, we did not stop the jihad for the establishment of a Palestinian state whose capital is Jerusalem.” - Arafat remarks at Dehaishe refugee camp, October 21,1996.

Didn’t you read, and not just skim this post? I said, and I quite proudly quote:

“Some of this is straight from the horse’s mouth. Why make this stuff up, when the truth has spoken for itself time and again?”

Is there any source better than those who say these things themselves?

By the way, let's talk more about the Barbary Pirates (mentioned in the last entry). They committed acts of piracy in the late 18th and early 19th century, and enslaved people, based upon the necessity of conducting al-jihad fil-bahr - "the holy war at sea". There it is, jihad again. These weren't a bunch of fanatics, mind you - they were just following religious doctrine.

If you wanted to, Anonymous, I could pull out the copy of the Koran I bought while on a family trip in Cairo…we could talk about jihad, Islam, and modern times…you up for that? Of course not – you’re Anonymous. I don’t know who you are.

Secondly, Anonymous: How could my legitimate criticism of Islam be labeled as racist?

Islam is not a race, it is a religion. In fact, many Muslims go beyond the simple “religion” label, shun your description of it as a “faith”, and simply call it a “way of life”. There are all kinds of Muslims, including Arab Muslims, Persian Muslims, Asian Muslims, Black Muslims, Turkish Muslims, Kurdish Muslims, and even White Muslims – Cat Stevens springs to mind (or as he is called now, Yusuf Islam). You might know that. You might even be a Muslim.

And compared to the many libelous and slanderous statements – and utterly racist (yes, racist) cartoons – Muslims have been known to make about Jews, my criticism was mild.

Look at this, for instance:

“During this holiday, the Jew must prepare very special pastries, the filling of which is not only costly and rare – it cannot be found at all on the local and international markets....For this holiday, the Jewish people must obtain human blood so that their clerics can prepare the holiday pastries....Before I go into the details, I would like to clarify that the Jews’ spilling human blood to prepare pastry for their holidays is a well-established fact, historically and legally, all throughout history.” - Dr. Umayma Ahmad Al-Jalahma of Saudi Arabia’s King Faisal University in the Saudi government daily Al-Riyadh on March 10, 2002, speaking about Purim.

Thirdly, did you even read my entry all the way through? Of course I’m aware of that secular Muslim ally of America and Israel, Turkey. But did you read any further than my comments about “The Islamic Way”? (Which, by the way, I stand by – you want to talk about that Islamic Jihad suicide bombing I heard on April 17 in Tel Aviv?). If you had, even just peeked, at what was written right below my comments about “The Islamic Way”, you would have seen this:

“Alright, that’s enough. Of course, many of the above are stereotypical generalizations…mostly of governments, not necessarily applicable to every citizen of the societies, cultures or religions mentioned. And yes, I fully admit, they are my brazenly biased opinions too…especially about the French.”

Technically, there was no need for me to respond to the Anonymous comment because…well…the above said it right there.

Finally, I have the courage to voice my opinions using my name – not a nickname, but who I am. If it was an issue of not wanting to have to sign up to post a comment about my entry, that’s one thing. But if it was a desire to keep your identity a secret, whether you know me or not…Anonymous…what cause have you to do that?

Recap?

“…close minded remarks such as 'jihad jihad jihad' show quite a bit of ignorance and lack of understanding of the Islamic faith.” – From whoever anonymously sent a comment to me

“We know only one word: jihad, jihad, jihad…” – Yasser Arafat, Muslim

“…Of course, many of the above are stereotypical generalizations…mostly of governments, not necessarily applicable to every citizen of the societies, cultures or religions mentioned…” – Me

“…I would like to clarify that the Jews’ spilling human blood to prepare pastry for their holidays is a well-established fact, historically and legally, all throughout history...” – Dr. Umayma Ahmad Al-Jalahma, in a Saudi Arabian government run newspaper

“Some of this is straight from the horse’s mouth.” – Me

You want to talk about racism, Anonymous?

I’m all ears.

Or am I big-nosed and intent on world manipulation and domination?

I dunno. Ask the Muslims who drew the above pictures about Jews.