Independent Thought

'The Annunciation' by Bernardo Strozzi 1643-44, Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest

 

'From Beirut to the Beltway' has a refreshing take on Hezbollah's struggle for acceptance at home:

What happened since the Syrian withdrawal, and the latest war, was the gradual descent of Hizbullah from a high plateau engineered by Assad and local elements into the dungeons of domestic politics. This war may not have destroyed Nasrallah's rockets, but it flushed their holiness down the chute of the Lebanese sectarian system. Hizbullah's weapons, once holy and beyond  criticism, are now accused of being foreign tools, and regarded with suspicion. [...]

The "party's" monopoly over all matters resistance and sacrifice is slowly ending. [...]

It is my opinion that Nasrallah is a criminal for keeping us all in his freezer.

Hizbullah constantly markets itself as something better than the militias that reigned during the civil war. Since that war ended, Hizbullah repackaged itself as a resistance movement and placed itself on a higher moral ground, above all other militias and political movements in the country. The alleged "purity" of this militia was employed to advance the notion that their political representatives are honest and above all others.

Even Michel Aoun believes that, and has defended Hizbullah's allegedly untainted record in Lebanon in a recent interview with Elaph. Aoun, like many others, is delusional, for Hizbullah did use their weapons against other Lebanese. I lived in a Beirut neighborhood that saw some of the fiercest fighting between Amal and Hizbullah. In fact, armed clashes between Amal and Hizbullah continued until recently (somehow, these clashes are seen as friendly clashes between brothers or some nonsense like that). Many southern villages are divided along Hizbullah and Amal lines, and there have been numerous incidents that were largely ignored by the media. [...]

In short, Hizbullah is not better than the others. They did kill other Lebanese in the past and their "strategy" continues to kill them in the present. While most parties now look beyond the war, and are making amends, Hizbullah is still stuck in one that is partly of its making.

You can easily get lost in the jungle of Lebanese politics and recent history. As usual, we only see the tip of the iceberg and understand even less. But understanding the intricate dynamics of Lebanese politics as they are unfolding in front of our eyes is more important than I had initially realized, for it serves as a test-bed of things to come in the region and in Europe, set so disasterously on its way to demographically evolve into 'Eurabia'.

Nasrallah and Hezbollah clearly wish to 'convert' Lebanon into the next Islamic Republic, modeled closely after its Iranian Masters. And, as usual for the fundamental Muslims, 'convert' means accept Shari'a law or die. As such, Nasrallah is the only remaining militia warlord in Lebanon today, fully armed and ready to use violence to spread the Caliphat. Who were the others and where are they today?

Well, there is Samir Geagea, the formerly imprisoned leader of the right wing Lebanese Forces (LF) militia, who has basically retired; Walid Jumblatt, the current leader of the Progressive Socialist Party of Lebanon and the most prominent leader of the Druze community, laid down weapons since the early 80'ies. And then there is Nabih Berri, the current speaker of the Lebanese National Assembly, who heads the mostly Shi'a Amal Party, which clashed so often with rival Hezbollah, despite being yet another puppet of Syria. Well, apart from being largely responsible for diluting UNSC Resolution 1701 to suit Syrian goals, all you need to know about Berri is what the Middle East Intelligence Bulletin has to say about him:

Berri is unusually corrupt, and is known for extorting money from the prime minister in situations of government crisis. The rest of his family has also used its positions to generate great personal wealth. But his personal qualities must not be underestimated. In order to survive in his important position as long as he has — in reality longer than any other 20th century Lebanese — sharp intelligence, and abilities for both manipulation and cooperation are needed. He has put loyal partners in important positions, and has not yet been stabbed in the back. Berri's unpopularity with Shi'is is one of the reasons for the success of the alternative Shi'i group, Hizbullah. [emphasis added]

There you have it. The Middle East summed up in a nutshell, with the same characteristics displayed in Muslim communities all over the world.

How come? To put it bluntly, because women are excluded from their societies. And for that to change, feminist Muslims are calling for the revival of, what they claim was Islam's lost tradition of independent thinking called 'Ijtihad' (pronounced “ij-tee-had”).

Nowadays, there are some groups that claim for the implementation of a codification of the Sharia that goes back to the 10th century, and which in practice means corporal punishments, justification of domestic violence against women, dress codes that restrict freedom, highly chauvinistic and discriminatory family laws restricting women’s right to divorce or inheritance or to exercise certain professions.

In front of this situation, Islamic feminism declares that this alleged “Islamic Law” is not “God’s law”, as is claimed by those who promote it, but a human creation codified centuries ago in the context of societies in which women were considered to be the property of men and religious discourse lay in the hands of men. This movement considers that a degradation of Islamic tradition and distortion of the Sacred Text has taken place. Moreover, Islamic feminism affirms that true Islam contains important elements of liberation and calls for the recovery of those elements as a framework for social emancipation.

Independent thinking is what the Holy Father is advocating, for dialogue can only flourish in a 'thinking' environment. Independent thinking is not afraid of Opera but welcomes creative expression. Independent thinking opposes violent Jihad and foments growing opposition against the evil inherent in "jihadists' brutal tactics and ultraconservative ideology".

Let's celebrate independent thinking, for our survival depends on it.

Comments

[nofate]

I thought about this for a whole day. I showed it to several of the women at work, and they were as outraged by it as I was, so I decided to put it up. Some of you may have seen it but it was a first for me. I've heard mention of it here but this article is the first one I've seen that lays it all out fairly graphically. This all came out of a context of conversations with folks that thought Islam was a religion of peace, and myself trying to give them another side of the picture.

[Lady Vorzheva]

Thanks for the information about these brave women. It's necessary that their example is underlined. The position of women in society is very important, not only as human beings but also because normally the mothers are the ones who are teaching their sons how life should be lived. It is very important to consider that the more a society shows a bad treatment for women, the less developed it is. [That is not diminishing the importance of the father, though, but if the mother is bad treated at home since she is born, she will transmit that same feeling to her sons, with very rare exceptions].
But these women will achieve nothing if Western societies are not supporting them. And for that, we must know they exist. The problem, from my point of view, is that normally Western MSM are not covering the events in which these brave women play the principal role.
By the way, I like very much the color of the website, Alexandra. The change has been for good.
Regards.

[Red Violin]

Iran: Seven Women Risk Death by Stoning

September 27, 2006
Amnesty International
Urgent Action

Islamic jurisprudence hard at work

[Jeremayakovka]

Bravo! Bravo!!

[Ghost Dansing]

A beautiful painting of BVM and Gabriel...thank you Alexandra.

The religious veneration of Mary was culturally transformative. Both as woman and prototype of the Church the ideal of Mary was greatly responsible for transforming the Germanic Warrior code into the Code of Chivalry.

Early representations show Mary as the "Throne of Heaven" with Mary and the Child Jesus both crowned as Royalty. She was further identified with the Bride in the Old Testament Song of Solomon, by such noted theologians as St. Bernard of Clairvaux. She became the prototype for the Church itself. During the Middle Ages, and especially in France, the great Cathedrals were thus named for Mary. The Marian Rosary was popularized by the followers of St. Dominic.

The image of Mary as Queen was softened somewhat by Mary as Mother of the Child Jesus. St. Francis of Assisi popularized the image of the Nativity scene using live animals. This representation of the helpless Jesus suckled by his mother brought Christmas into the hearts and homes of the people. And, as journeys to the Holy Land became difficult, Mary's role in the Passion (Christianity) story became part of the popular Stations of the Cross as the Mother of the suffering Jesus. During the great plagues such as the Black Death, Mary became greatly popular as a compassionate intercessor and protector of mankind against the just judgment of God.

Devotion to the Virgin Mary as the "new Eve" lent much to the status of women during the Middle Ages. Women who had been looked down upon as daughters of Eve (first woman), became to be looked upon as objects of veneration and inspiration.

This reinterpretation of women flowered in the Courtly Love poetry of Medieval and Renaissance France. Mary, as the original "vessel of Christ" may have also influenced the legends of the Holy Grail. Her selflessness, obedience and virginal humility were reinterpreted in the literary figure of Sir Galahad, finder of the Grail.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marianism
http://www.scborromeo.org/saints/bvm.htm

[Francis W. Porretto]

Independent thinking requires the capacity for thought.
Independent thinking requires that one be able to differentiate among facts, opinions, desires, and dreams.
Independent thinking requires that one not fly into a homicidal rage at a perceived insult.
Independent thinking requires that the phrases "it's never been done before," "but we've always done it this way," "what would others think," and "that's unthinkable" be unceremoniously shoved to the sidelines.
Independent thinking, in short, is not something we should expect of persons who believe that Muhammad was exempt from all the laws he promulgated, that conversion by the sword is a nifty idea, or that any contact with pork products or the flesh of an "infidel" will cost them admission to Paradise.

[Red Violin]

From Ayatollah to Pope

http://amir.irani-tehrani.com/

[Red Violin]

“Democracy means if the people want something that is against God’s will, then they should forget about God and religion,” he said in July 1998. “Be careful not to be deceived. Accepting Islam is not compatible with democracy.”

[Red Violin]

Brillian post as usual. A bit off topic but I think you'll find valuable information regarding women in Islam. In order to change these attitudes regarding women, you need to change the Sharia laws which is as un-islamic as you can get.I remained convinced once again that the fundamental problem moslems face in Iran is in fact in the letter and the spirit of the Sharia law - medieval in its jurisprudence, feudal in its tenets, patriarchal and undemocratic in the very fabric of its lexicon and written into the skeletal vertebra of arbo/islamo culture (Imperial, Nationalist and Islamist).

http://www.iranian.com/Women/2006/September/Study/index.html

[brian]

This kind of dialogue is what is sorely needed between the religions. Sadly, I remain pessimistic. I expext this brave woman and her compatriots will make the headlines again, victims of some savage retribution for their "crimes against Islam", such as having the temerity to speak their minds without supervision and editing from "higher authorities", like the Iranian clerics or that lovely Sunni philosopher, Sheik Qaradawi, who is known at Clarity and Resolve.com for "Rocking the Mosque".

If you haven't visited Patrick the Kafir at C&R, you're missing a great blog chronicling the jihadist violence around the world. He's great at trademark phrases, like Carswarm, Jihad denied, infidel war machine, Splodeydopes, jihad work accident, and many more. I think you would appreciate his combination of looking at this threat comprehensively, with irreverent and decidedly un-P.C. humor. Right up your alley, Alexandra!

Show a Kafir some love, and go check out C&R!

http://clarityandresolve.com/
Clarity & Resolve: pay any price, bear any burden

You might like his K-9 Defense Forces, too!