"Burn the Quran" Farce

It’s going to be really bad! I mean REALLY bad! This was all I could think of as I read the MSNBC article about the Florida pastor who is organizing the “International Burn the Quran Day” in Florida on the 9th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

I had a sinking feeling right away. It awakened memories of the Muslims’ protests against the satirical cartoons that lampooned the Prophet Mohammed five years ago.

I could see it again: protests, attacks on embassies, burning flags and attacking westerners.

This is such a bigoted and improper provocation of Muslims around the world. In fact, it is a killing of all what has been built of good will between Muslims and the rest of the world for the last few years.

Before heading to work this morning, I watched the pastor’s interview on CNN International. I focused on what he was saying to the anchor and noticed that he is totally ignorant of what Islam as a whole is and how different it is from Islamic fanaticism.

I could tell from the way he was talking, he was yet another Sarah Palin-like bigot and no more than that. No intelligence and no logic.

The Huffington Post quoted him in an AP interview, saying, “Instead of us backing down, maybe it’s to time to stand up. Maybe it’s time to send a message to radical Islam that we will not tolerate their behavior.”

Well, let’s see. First he criticizes the Muslims of being violent when he himself is inciting violence. If he wasn’t, then why wouldn’t he find other alternatives “to stand up” and “not tolerate” their behavior? Isn’t it better to think logically and sit down with Muslims and hear from them directly or is it just an excuse to do something that may cause fury around the globe and probably create a religious war?

On the other hand, he is being smart. He is using THE most powerful weapon to poke the bear! He knows very well that the holy Quran is far more important to Muslims than the cartoons that were published in the Danish press. He knows that this may lead to a worldwide controversy that- God forbids- end up in a big mess, something he seems thirsty for.

And he is not doing it out of the blue. According to ABC News, he previously “launched an online video series called the “Braveheart Show,” which he uses to preach anti-Islamic sermons to an audience larger than the 50 families who belong to the church. He even once sent his children to school, wearing “Islam Is of the Devil” T-Shirts!

That tells you a lot about that guy!

Luckily, this controversy has drawn criticism from many who are trying to quell the fire before it’s lighted. The top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan Gen. David Petraeus condemned the event and said it could “endanger troops” and damage the U.S. war effort in Afghanistan.

The White House, the State Department, and Jewish, Christian and Muslim faith leaders in the U.S. and around the world, including the Vatican, have condemned this plan as well and called for ending it. And today the US Attorney General was quoted, calling it “idiotic and dangerous.”

However, it worries me that despite all of this condemnation it may not be enough to avoid the anger of the Muslims around the world who will be extremely offended.

This event will definitely be a useful tool to terrorists to launch attacks anywhere in the world. Civilians will be hurt, soldiers will be killed and the gap between Muslims and the West will be way bigger than it is right now. Then, it will be too late to talk!

Quite honestly, I don’t know what will make this bigot stop! All I can hope for is that Muslims do not react to it-if it happens- violently and the Americans stand up to defend their fellow Muslim Americans and stop this farce!

Talk to an Iraqi

Haider Hamza is an Iraqi who goes around the US, with a small wooden booth titled “Talk to an Iraqi”, and he just sits there and lets people come and talk to him.

Obama in Cairo: Extending the Olive Branch

Nothing better illustrates the change Obama is trying to do with the U.S. policy towards the Muslim world than his speech today in Cairo.

By addressing the Muslims in Egypt, Obama opened a door that was closed for eight years due to the Bush administration’s horrible approach with the Arab and Muslim countries. Walking through that door, Obama was greeted respectably and lovingly by those who once hated his country to the bone.

The fact that Obama is approaching the Muslim world through such a speech is very similar to someone carrying the olive branch, in my opinion. He is seeking peace for the world, unlike Bush who sent bombs instead, not to mention his administration’s black-or-white attitude that led to ongoing wars.

In this speech, Obama didn’t show signs of weakness or humility like how some conservative republicans view it. In my opinion he was the most powerful person. He initiated approaching the Muslim world by extending his hands to combat the stereotypes and the mistakes committed by his predecessors. In it, I viewed the other good face of America. In fact, I saw that the American administration can actually be nice to the others!

Fair could also describe the speech as well. For instance, when he mentioned how Muslims and the Americans should not perceive each other depending on stereotypes. Another example is when he criticized both Palestinians and Israelis for being responsible for the horror happening in their region. I agree the Israeli settlements should stop and also agree that threatening to destroy Israel will not bring the Palestinians any good and that it should stop.

The other thing that attracted my attention was when Obama indirectly criticized what the Bush administration did. The fact that the American president acknowledges that the Iraq war was “a war of choice” is enough to say that Bush did not have to invade Iraq, yet he did. However, he stated that Iraqis are “better off without the tyranny of Saddam Hussein,” which I agree and disagree with at the same time. It was good to get rid of Saddam, but the life of the Iraqi people was wrecked by the ignorant policies that were made by the Bush administration. We can’t really say that our lives are better off now than under Saddam, because it’s still a complete wreck compared to that before the invasion. I’m hoping that it won’t last like this and by then Obama’s statement would fit.

Bush and his henchmen believed in imposing the Jeffersonian democracy upon the countries they invaded. It’s amazing how for the first time I hear Obama admitting that “no system of government can or should be imposed upon one nation by another.” When I heard that, I said, “THANK YOU!” Was it hard to acknowledge such a simple, yet powerful fact? That’s what Bush did not understand or did not want to understand. You can’t impose democracy; you teach it; you increase people’s awareness of it, but not force it the way you like, ignoring the background of that country.

Overall, I saw that the speech came in a time when tension between the Muslims and the West has reached its peak. It’s very nice to see that Obama took the initiative of extending hands. I know this speech may not leave a big impact on many Muslims and Arabs but I think it’s like baby steps. By course of time, things will change to the better hopefully if Obama continues his positive and peaceful attitudes. It’s a long road but the thousand-mile road starts with one step.

Cheney: Oops! Saddam had no link to 9/11. Oh well, I profited from this war!

What is it with all those Bush administration officials? As if it’s a game! Every time their terms end they show up and speak out loud about how they were mistaken regarding certain things. Wait, those things are not just things; they are decisions that created mayhem and horror.

After Bush’s first lying mate Collin Powell admitted on Meet the Press that Iraq did not have WMD, the ruthless former VP Dick Cheney confessed today that even Saddam had no link with al-Qaeda and the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Hold on a sec here: let’s see, the two the main excuses for launching the Iraq war were the WMD and the link to 9/11! So basically the hundreds of thousands of Iraqis and the more than 4,000 Americans who were killed in the war were because of two lies?

And yet, there are still some people who believed that Bush was fighting terror and his henchmen fit the job. I mean Cheney is basically saying, “Screw the Americans. I needed to profit from this war financially and I did”! What else does this thug have to say so that you believe he is a criminal?

"A Chastened Cowboy"

CNN’s Campell Brown takes on Bush over Bin Laden. In a recent interview with CNN’s Larry King, the soon-to-leave president said he didn’t know whether the U.S. had ever come close to capturing bin Laden. Watch here:

Embedded video from CNN Video