[nasional_list] [ppiindia] We were brought up to hate - and we do
- From: "Ambon" <sea@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <"Undisclosed-Recipient:;"@freelists.org>
- Date: Tue, 21 Feb 2006 23:07:16 +0100
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**http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2006/02/12/do1205.xml
We were brought up to hate - and we do
By Nonie Darwish
(Filed: 12/02/2006)
The controversy regarding the Danish cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed
completely misses the point. Of course, the cartoons are offensive to Muslims,
but newspaper cartoons do not warrant the burning of buildings and the killing
of innocent people. The cartoons did not cause the disease of hate that we are
seeing in the Muslim world on our television screens at night - they are only a
symptom of a far greater disease.
I was born and raised as a Muslim in Cairo, Egypt and in the Gaza
Strip. In the 1950s, my father was sent by Egypt's President, Gamal Abdel
Nasser, to head the Egyptian military intelligence in Gaza and the Sinai where
he founded the Palestinian Fedayeen, or "armed resistance". They made
cross-border attacks into Israel, killing 400 Israelis and wounding more than
900 others.
My father was killed as a result of the Fedayeen operations when I was eight
years old. He was hailed by Nasser as a national hero and was considered a
shaheed, or martyr. In his speech announcing the nationalisation of the Suez
Canal, Nasser vowed that all of Egypt would take revenge for my father's death.
My siblings and I were asked by Nasser: "Which one of you will avenge your
father's death by killing Jews?" We looked at each other speechless, unable to
answer.
In school in Gaza, I learned hate, vengeance and retaliation. Peace was never
an option, as it was considered a sign of defeat and weakness. At school we
sang songs with verses calling Jews "dogs" (in Arab culture, dogs are
considered unclean).
Criticism and questioning were forbidden. When I did either of these, I was
told: "Muslims cannot love the enemies of God, and those who do will get no
mercy in hell." As a young woman, I visited a Christian friend in Cairo during
Friday prayers, and we both heard the verbal attacks on Christians and Jews
from the loudspeakers outside the mosque. They said: "May God destroy the
infidels and the Jews, the enemies of God. We are not to befriend them or make
treaties with them." We heard worshippers respond "Amen".
My friend looked scared; I was ashamed. That was when I first realised that
something was very wrong in the way my religion was taught and practised.
Sadly, the way I was raised was not unique. Hundreds of millions of other
Muslims also have been raised with the same hatred of the West and Israel as a
way to distract from the failings of their leaders. Things have not changed
since I was a little girl in the 1950s.
Palestinian television extols terrorists, and textbooks still deny the
existence of Israel. More than 300 Palestinians schools are named after
shaheeds, including my father. Roads in both Egypt and Gaza still bear his name
- as they do of other "martyrs". What sort of message does that send about the
role of terrorists? That they are heroes. Leaders who signed peace treaties,
such as President Anwar Sadat, have been assassinated. Today, the
Islamo-fascist president of Iran uses nuclear dreams, Holocaust denials and
threats to "wipe Israel off the map" as a way to maintain control of his
divided country.
Indeed, with Denmark set to assume the rotating presidency of the UN Security
Council, the flames of the cartoon controversy have been fanned by Iran and
Syria. This is critical since the International Atomic Energy Agency is
expected to refer Iran to the Security Council and demand sanctions. At the
same time, Syria is under scrutiny for its actions in Lebanon. Both Iran and
Syria cynically want to embarrass the Danes to achieve their dangerous goals.
But the rallies and riots come from a public ripe with rage. From my childhood
in Gaza until today, blaming Israel and the West has been an industry in the
Muslim world. Whenever peace seemed attainable, Palestinian leaders found
groups who would do everything to sabotage it. They allowed their people to be
used as the front line of Arab jihad. Dictators in countries surrounding the
Palestinians were only too happy to exploit the Palestinians as a diversion
from problems in their own backyards. The only voice outside of government
control in these areas has been the mosques, and these places of worship have
been filled with talk of jihad.
Is it any surprise that after decades of indoctrination in a culture of hate,
that people actually do hate? Arab society has created a system of relying on
fear of a common enemy. It's a system that has brought them much-needed unity,
cohesion and compliance in a region ravaged by tribal feuds, instability,
violence, and selfish corruption. So Arab leaders blame Jews and Christians
rather than provide good schools, roads, hospitals, housing, jobs, or hope to
their people.
For 30 years I lived inside this war zone of oppressive dictatorships and
police states. Citizens competed to appease and glorify their dictators, but
they looked the other way when Muslims tortured and terrorised other Muslims. I
witnessed honour killings of girls, oppression of women, female genital
mutilation, polygamy and its devastating effect on family relations. All of
this is destroying the Muslim faith from within.
It's time for Arabs and Muslims to stand up for their families. We must stop
allowing our leaders to use the West and Israel as an excuse to distract from
their own failed leadership and their citizens' lack of freedoms. It's time to
stop allowing Arab leaders to complain about cartoons while turning a blind eye
to people who defame Islam by holding Korans in one hand while murdering
innocent people with the other.
Muslims need jobs - not jihad. Apologies about cartoons will not solve the
problems. What is needed is hope and not hate. Unless we recognise that the
culture of hate is the true root of the riots surrounding this cartoon
controversy, this violent overreaction will only be the start of a clash of
civilis-ations that the world cannot bear.
. Nonie Darwish is a freelance writer and public speaker
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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