ANTI-MOSLEM PROPAGANDA ON THE RISE

by JD » Mon Sep 18, 2006 12:46 am

<a href="http://www.malcomlagauche.com/id1.html" target="top">www.malcomlagauche.com/id1.html</a> Sunday/Monday, September 17-18, 2006 ANTI-MOSLEM PROPAGANDA ON THE RISE Since 9-11-2001, we have seen anti-Moslem feelings rise immensely. Today, Moslems suffer the brunt of sick jokes and racist remarks, as well as violent actions. The general public in the U.S. is becoming much better at a trait in which it leads the world: xenophobia. A day doesn’t go by that is free of anti-Moslem statements, whether in a joke or in a speech of a politician. I am the president of the Atheist Coalition of San Diego and I am active in civil rights for atheists. By law, in the U.S., we are not equal to believers. Atheists do not believe in God. It’s a simple philosophy that believers have a hard time understanding. For some reason, people with a religion (mostly Christians) try to preach to us and show us the errors of our ways. Maybe someday they will have real faith in their religions and realize they don’t have to mouth off every few minutes about their faith. We have a Yahoo group in which people post relevant articles. For instance, an atheist family in Oklahoma has recently undergone a terrible ordeal. The daughter, a high school cheerleader, was cut from the squad because she refused to say a prayer before a performance. When the father protested, he was accused of assault. Then, school officials made a "deal" for them. They would drop all charges if the family left town within one week. The family did not leave town. They fought the accusations in court and won. They did not back down. Stories like this are posted on our Yahoo group. But, a few days ago, I was shocked to read a posting of an interview with a French film-maker. It is one of the most disgusting pieces I have seen about Moslems. Here is the piece. It is fairly long, but well worth the read. The psychology behind suicide bombings. By - Pierre Rehov, documentary filmmaker On July 15, MSNBC’s "Connected" program discussed the July 7th London attacks. One of the guests was Pierre Rehov, a French filmmaker who has filmed six documentaries on the intifada by going undercover in the Palestinian areas. Pierre ‘s upcoming film, "Suicide Killers," is based on interviews that he conducted with the families of suicide bombers and would-be bombers in an attempt to find out why they do it. Pierre agreed to a Q&A interview here about his work on the new film. Q - What inspired you to produce "Suicide Killers," your seventh film? A - I started working with victims of suicide attacks to make a film on PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) when I became fascinated with the personalities of those who had committed those crimes, as they were described again and again by their victims. Especially the fact that suicide bombers are all smiling one second before they blow themselves up. Q - Why is this film especially important? A - People don’t understand the devastating culture behind this unbelievable phenomenon. My film is not politically correct because it addresses the real problem, showing the real face of Islam. It points the finger against a culture of hatred in which the uneducated are brainwashed to a level where their only solution in life becomes to kill themselves and kill others in the name of a God whose word, as transmitted by other men, has become their only certitude. Q - What insights did you gain from making this film? What do you know that other experts do not know? A - I came to the conclusion that we are facing a neurosis at the level of an entire civilization. Most neuroses have in common a dramatic event, generally linked to an unacceptable sexual behaviour. In this case, we are talking of kids living all their lives in pure frustration, with no opportunity to experience sex, love, tenderness or even understanding from the opposite sex. The separation between men and women in Islam is absolute. So is contempt toward women, who are totally dominated by men. This leads to a situation of pure anxiety, in which normal behaviour is not possible. It is no coincidence that suicide killers are mostly young men dominated subconsciously by an overwhelming libido that they not only cannot satisfy but are afraid of, as if it is the work of the devil. Since Islam describes heaven as a place where everything on Earth will finally be allowed, and promises 72 virgins to those frustrated kids, killing others and killing themselves to reach this redemption becomes their only solution. Q - What was it like to interview would-be suicide bombers, their families and survivors of suicide bombings? A - It was a fascinating and a terrifying experience. You are dealing with seemingly normal people with very nice manners who have their own logic, which to a certain extent can make sense since they are so convinced that what they say is true. It is like dealing with pure craziness, like interviewing people in an asylum, since what they say, is for them, the absolute truth. I hear a mother saying "Thank God, my son is dead." Her son had became a shaheed, a martyr, which for her was a greater source of pride than if he had became an engineer, a doctor or a winner of the Nobel Prize. This system of values works completely backwards since their interpretation of Islam worships death much more than life. You are facing people whose only dream, only achievement goal is to fulfill what they believe to be their destiny, namely to be a Shaheed or the family of a shaheed. They don’t see the innocent being killed, they only see the impure that they have to destroy. Q - You say suicide bombers experience a moment of absolute power, beyond punishment. Is death the ultimate power? A - Not death as an end, but death as a door opener to the after life. They are seeking the reward that God has promised them. They work for God, the ultimate authority, above all human laws. They therefore experience this single delusional second of absolute power, where nothing bad can ever happen to them, since they become God’s sword. Q - Is there a suicide bomber personality profile? Describe the psychopathology. A - Generally kids between 15 and 25 bearing a lot of complexes, generally inferiority complexes. They must have been fed with religion. They usually have a lack of developed personality. Usually they are impressionable idealists. In the western world they would easily have become drug addicts, but not criminals. Interestingly, they are not criminals since they don’t see good and evil the same way that we do. If they had been raised in an Occidental culture, they would have hated violence. But they constantly battle against their own death anxiety. The only solution to this deep-seated pathology is to be willing to die and be rewarded in the afterlife in Paradise . Q - Are suicide bombers principally motivated by religious conviction? A - Yes, it is their only conviction. They don’t act to gain a territory or to find freedom or even dignity. They only follow Allah, the supreme judge, and what He tells them to do. Q - Do all Muslims interpret jihad and martyrdom in the same way? A - All Muslim believers believe that, ultimately, Islam will prevail on earth. They believe this is the only true religion and there is no room, in their mind, for interpretation. The main difference between moderate Muslims and extremists is that moderate Muslims don’t think they will see the absolute victory of Islam during their lifetime, therefore they respect other beliefs. The extremists believe that the fulfillment of the Prophecy of Islam and ruling the entire world as described in the Koran, is for today. Each victory of Bin Laden convinces 20 million moderate Muslims to become extremists. Q - Describe the culture that manufactures suicide bombers. A - Oppression, lack of freedom, brain washing, organized poverty, placing God in charge of daily life, total separation between men and women, forbidding sex, giving women no power whatsoever, and placing men in charge of family honor, which is mainly connected to their women’s behaviour. Q - What socio-economic forces support the perpetuation of suicide bombings? A - Muslim charity is usually a cover for supporting terrorist organizations. But one has also to look at countries like Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Iran , which are also supporting the same organizations through different networks. The ironic thing in the case of Palestinian suicide bombers is that most of the money comes through financial support from the Occidental world, donated to a culture that utterly hates and rejects the West (mainly symbolized by Israel ). Q - Is there a financial support network for the families of the suicide bombers? If so, who is paying them and how does that affect the decision? A - There used to be a financial incentive in the days of Saddam Hussein ($25,000 per family) and Yasser Arafat (smaller amounts), but these days are gone. It is a mistake to believe that these families would sacrifice their children for money. Although, the children themselves who are very attached to their families, might find in this financial support another reason to become suicide bombers. It is like buying a life insurance policy and then committing suicide. Q - Why are so many suicide bombers young men? A - As discussed above, libido is paramount. Also ego, because this is a sure way to become a hero. The shaheed are the cowboys or the firemen of Islam. Shaheed is a positively reinforced value in this culture. And what kid has never dreamed of becoming a cowboy or a fireman? Q - What role does the U.N. play in the terrorist equation? A - The U.N. is in the hands of Arab countries and third world or ex-communist countries. Their hands are tied. The U.N. has condemned Israel more than any other country in the world, including the regime of Castro, Idi Amin or Kaddahfi. By behaving this way, the U.N. leaves a door open by not openly condemning terrorist organizations. In addition, through UNRWA, the U.N. is directly tied to terror organizations such as Hamas, representing 65 percent of their apparatus in the so-called Palestinian refugee camps. As a support to Arab countries, the U.N. has maintained Palestinians in camps with the hope to "return" into Israel for more than 50 years, therefore making it impossible to settle those populations, which still live in deplorable conditions. Four hundred million dollars are spent every year, mainly financed by U.S. taxes, to support 23,000 employees of UNRWA, many of whom belong to terrorist organizations (see Congressman Eric Cantor on this subject, and in my film "Hostages of Hatred"). Q - You say that a suicide bomber is a ‘stupid bomb and a smart bomb’ simultaneously. Explain what you mean. A - Unlike an electronic device, a suicide killer has until the last second the capacity to change his mind. In reality, he is nothing but a platform representing interests which are not his, but he doesn’t know it. Q - How can we put an end to the madness of suicide bombings and terrorism in general? A - Stop being politically correct and stop believing that this culture is a victim of ours. Radical Islamism today is nothing but a new form of Nazism. Nobody was trying to justify or excuse Hitler in the 1930s. We had to defeat him in order to make peace one day with the German people. Q - Are these men traveling outside their native areas in large numbers? Based on your research, would you predict that we are beginning to see a new wave of suicide bombings outside the Middle East ? A - Every successful terror attack is considered a victory by the radical Islamists. Everywhere Islam expands there is regional conflict. Right now, there are thousands of candidates for martyrdom lining up in training camps in Bosnia , Afghanistan and Pakistan . Inside Europe, hundreds of illegal mosques are preparing the next step of brain washing to lost young men who cannot find a satisfying identity in the Occidental world. Israel is much more prepared for this than the rest of the world will ever be. Yes, there will be more suicide killings in Europe and the U.S. Sadly, this is only the beginning. I was aghast that an atheist would post such an interview. I researched Rehov’s career and discovered he is a rabid anti-Arab person and a militant Zionist. In addition, those in the U.S. who admire him are of the far right wing and Christian Dominionists (those who believe that the end of the world is near). Also, Jospeh Farah, the biggest right-wing nut case alive is a supporter of Rehov. Farah makes Pat Robertson seem like a radical left-wing civil rights activist. It may seem odd that an atheist would be so upset about denigrating Islam, but atheists, for the most part, are not bigots. And, we are religiously neutral. Here is the response I sent to the person who posted the biased interview: I read the interview with Pierre Rehov that you published on the Atheist Coalition group page. Did you do any research into Rehov? Or into the U.S. Congressman, Eric Cantor, whom he cites? The interview is outrageous in its assumptions and supposed facts. Rehov is a radical Zionist Jew who has written mainly about the plight of Israel. His words are about as legitimate as if Osama Bin-Laden gave an interview on Jews. Cantor is a Zionist member of Congress who is considered the most pro-Israel member of the House. But, it is his other views that are scary: he is anti-immigration and supports the Minutemen; he supports the words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance; he opposed same-sex marriage and stem cell research; he has voted to eliminate any public funding for family planning (home and abroad); he voting record received a high 92% from the Christian Coalition. These are not the views of someone whom an atheist would cite for anything. I will only bring out a few inaccuracies in Rehov's article. It would take me too much time to refute them all. He puts all Moslems in the same bag for everything. If you notice his words, they all adhere to the exact same philosophy. Here is a preposterous statement: The U.N. has condemned Israel more than any other country in the world, including the regime of Castro, Idi Amin or Kaddahfi In reality, Israel has thumbed its nose at the U.N. Currently, there are at least 62 U.N. resolutions of which Israel is in violation. If the U.S. wants to bomb a country, it will cite one resolution of a country and use it as justification. However, it is mute on the 62 Israeli violations. He mentions the 72 virgins that Moslems get on entering heaven. This is not true. There is nothing in the Koran or in any Islamic works that mention 72 virgins. This is just a convenient story made up to denigrate Moslems. He says that Saddam Hussein paid suicide bombers' families $25.000. Again, this is a twisting of a fact. The Iraq government gave $25,000 to any Palestinian family who had a family member killed by Israelis. This included Christian families as well as Moslem families. From the time of 1999 to 2004, Palestinians killed 1,500 Israelis. This fact is brought up constantly by Israel. However, little mention is made of the number of Palestinians killed by Israel during this time. It exceed 10,000 deaths. That's a lot more than 1,500. Rehov says all suicide bombings are for religion, not land. He is way off. Not one Moslem wants to convert Jews to Islam, and not one Jew wants to convert Moslems to Judaism. It is all about land and oppression, not religion. Here is a ridiculous look at underlying causes of suicide bombing: Q - Describe the culture that manufactures suicide bombers. A - Oppression, lack of freedom, brain washing, organized poverty, placing God in charge of daily life, total separation between men and women, forbidding sex, giving women no power whatsoever, and placing men in charge of family honor, which is mainly connected to their women’s behaviour. First of all that is an insult to very Moslem. I know many Moslems through my writing and research. They come from all walks of life and from many countries. Not one fits the above description. Now, let's look at proper research. Robert Pape of the University of Chicago has performed more than 20 years research on the subject and in 2003 published the only definitive report on suicide bombings. I have included it as a PDF file. It is 19 pages long and goes into great detail. He is neither a Moslem nor an Arab. His work was done in a scientific fashion. And, Rehov never mentions the largest group of suicide bombers in the world: the Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka. They definitely are not fighting for Allah because they are secular and leftist. Pape states that the overwhelming number of suicide bombers are not at the fringe of society. They are normal people with normal jobs who have reached a boiling point of being thrashed around by foreign occupiers. There never was one suicide bombing in Iraq's history until after March 2003. If Rehov was right, there would have been many. Rehov makes illogical and incorrect assumptions because of his bigotry. Not one of his assumptions stands up under scrutiny. When I read such interviews, I do get upset. I am no fan of certain aspects of Islam. But, I know many Moslems who are the finest people one could know and meet. To read this crap is to insult me and the business owners, the authors, the diplomats, the engineers, the professors, the lawyers, the contractors, the taxi cab drivers and others who practice Islam. I know from your past posts that you do not like Moslems and consider them a world threat. However, use legitimate arguments to get your point across. Rehov is a bigot and his U.S. hero (a Jew) is held in high reverence by the Christian Coalition. In fact, Rehov is very right-wing and agrees with much of the U.S. neocon agenda. And, here is some more illogic. Rehov thinks all Moslems have suicide bombing in their blood. But, what is the largest Moslem country on Earth? Indonesia. They are not known for producing suicide bombers. There is so much to this subject that it is impossible to blame one sect for all. I realize that people have different opinions and that it is hard not to believe something wants to believe. Here is a short review someone made about Rehov, his film, and his interview. I think he logically covered all the bases: Rehov must think he's some kind of a psychoanalyst rather than a journalist the way he makes conclusions, maybe falling back on psych 101 he may have failed long time ago. Instead of an impartial documentary he presents his slanted opinions (in the interviews) that are laughable at best, and not credible in the least. That's why his piece is destined for obscurity, the docu-garbage heap, it can only be swallowed by those few who will believe anything put in front of them You posted on the Atheist Coalition group. Atheists do not believe in God. But, as for my atheism, I do not believe in bigotry aimed at one religion. If I were to do so, I could show that Christianity has been many times more violent and murderous than Islam. In comparison to Christians over the millennia, Moslems are minor leaguers. Please don't think atheists are naturally bigots because we do not believe in God. There is a huge difference between atheism and bigotry. Malcom Lagauche Bigotry in the U.S. against Moslems is ascending rapidly. The stereotypes of Islam mentioned at all levels of U.S. society are ridiculous. However, the results are diabolical and will lead to many more violent incidents. As an atheist, I do not admire certain tenets of Islam, as well as those of Christianity or Judaism. But, I would never use bogus arguments to denigrate anyone of any religion. In my experiences with Moslems, I have had many an intelligent conversation in which the Moslem respects me and I respect him/her. Unfortunately, I have to say that I have had many negative conversations with Christians. To many of them, atheists represent all that is vile in society, yet they know nothing about atheism. The interview I posted with Rehov has been widely circulated. Many right-wing Christian sites have run it. To them, it justifies their suspicion of Islam. To millions of people, Rehov’s views are the gospel. He said what the Christian fanatics want to hear. Unfortunately, it will take years to undo the harm done in one interview. I took the time and made the effort to convey my disgust to the person who posted this to an atheist group. I only wish others who spot bogus and damaging articles such as this (regardless of the subject matter or group) would take the time to challenge the bigots. I believe in freedom of speech for any subject, but, decent human beings have the obligation to point out inaccurate and hateful messages. Maybe someday people like Rehov will be in the same boat as the members of the Ku Klux Klan. A century ago, the KKK message was deemed legitimate by many. Today’s Klan can still speak with openness, but their message is much less powerful. Decent human beings stood up to them. An African-American friend recently told me that the Arabs of today are the niggers of the past. This is true, but it is the duty of humanity to erase bigotry so there are no "niggers" in future societies. (If you want a PDF file of the insightful report about suicide bombers by Robert Pape, please send me an e-mail and I will send it to you as an attached file. ML)

ANTI-MOSLEM PROPAGANDA ON THE RISE

ANTI-MOSLEM PROPAGANDA ON THE RISE

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