Steve Coll, author of Ghost Wars, has a new book out entitled The Bin Ladens: An Arabian Family in the American Century. I am reading the book now myself and hope to do a longer post about it when I’m done. In the meantime, I really encourage anyone interested in Saudi Arabia or in issues of Islam, modernity, terrorism, the U.S.-Sa’udi relationship, etc. to watch this CSPAN BookTV interview of Steve Coll by Michael Scheuer, the former CIA head of the Bin Laden unit, who has authored several books post 9/11.
Steve Coll has done a ton of research for this book, and Mr. Scheuer is (to me at least) quite an interesting character with an interesting perspective himself.
I caught the link to this video from Think Progress over at Angry Arab.
Nir Rosen’s reporting is essential for anyone who cares about Iraq, you can find links to his articles here.
Here is the transcript of Nir Rosen telling the truth to a smug Senator Biden.
(I actually don’t think that anyone is surprised that the U.S. is an imperialist power. These guys know that better than anyone. There also not really surprised that someone would say it, they know what is many in academia and even in some parts of the public think. But, believe me, they are surprised that someone shatters the illusion and fakery of their little political show by stating it to their face. This, to me, was the real heart of the Jeremiah Wright brouhaha. It is about people in power making sure that uncomfortable truths are not brought into mainstream polite discourse. That is the realm exclusively reserved for bs (and that includes Obama).)
“In Senate hearing on Wednesday about the future of Iraq, Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE) asked Nir Rosen of the NYU Center on Law and Security what advice he would have for the U.S. going forward in Iraq, given Rosen’s extensive first-hand experience in the country. Rosen declined to respond, saying he felt “uncomfortable” giving advice to an “imperialist power”:
BIDEN: Based on what you’ve said, there’s really no hope — we really should get the hell out of there right now. I mean, there’s nothing to do. Nothing.
ROSEN: As a journalist, I’m uncomfortable advising an imperialist power about how to be a more efficient imperialist power. And I don’t think that we’re there for the interest of the Iraqi people. I don’t think that’s ever been a motivation. […]
BIDEN: [If we withdraw], the good news is we wouldn’t be imperialists in Iraq, from your perspective.
ROSEN: Only elsewhere in the region. (laughter). … There’s no positive scenario in Iraq these days. Not every situation has a solution.”
Shaykh Yasir Qadhi begins his set of cd lectures on the concept of the Mahdi in Islam by transporting the listener to the taking over of the Grand Mosque in Mecca by the Saudi Juhayman al-’Utaybi and his followers in 1979 (1400 on the Islamic Hijri Calendar). This is because al-’Utaybi claimed that his brother in law Muhammad Abdullah al-Qahtani was the Mahdi. From reading Trofimov’s book it seems that at the least al-’Utaybi was able to convince Muhammad Abdullah himself and at the least scores of his followers that this was the truth.
Juhayman al-’Utaybi
The Mahdi — Shaykh Yasir Qadhi
The purpose of this post is not to discuss the concept of the Mahdi in Islam, however, but to discuss Trofimov’s book. The book centers itself around the action in the Sacred Mosque in Mecca over several days beginning on November 20, 1979 which was the beginning of the year 1400 After the Hijrah of the Prophet (saw) on the Islamic calender. It is written as a thriller, fast paced with short chapters. The narrative is driven by accounts of the battle that took place in the mosque and its surroundings but the scene shifts to centers of power and decision making in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, at an Arab summit in Tunis, in Washington, D.C. and Tehran, and to scenes of violence that broke out in wake of the takeover of the mosque. This included anti-U.S. demonstrations and violence in places like Libya, Turkey, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. There was also an uprising against the Saudi royal family among the discriminated against Shi’a population of the Eastern Province. After detailing the events involved, Trofimov attempts to tie these events into much that would follow including the escalation of the conflict in Afghanistan, the assasination of Sadat, the conditions for the fallout between Osama bin Laden and the Saudi government and the resulting Al-Qaeda movement. Read the rest of this entry »
There is an important article in Vanity Fair which details how the Bush administration with the urging and justification of its top lawyers embarked on a concerted plan to engage in torture of Muslim prisoners. The article focuses especially on enemies of God and humanity such as George W. Bush, Richard Cheney, Douglas Feith, David Addington, and Alberto Gonzales. May Allaah (swt) forgive all of us for allowing it to happen in our name and not being able to do anything to stop it. May Allaah (swt) grant his aid, support, and assistance to the victims of torture all over the world. As none of the major architects of this specific plan have ever told the truth about what they did nor ever expressed any remorse for what they did but instead of continously lied about it…May Allaah (swt) give them what they deserve. I do not pray for their forgiveness.
Here is the article describing what was done to Mohammed al-Qahtani (Detainee 063):
“We talked about the methods of interrogation. “In terms of their effects,” she said, “I suspect that the individual techniques are less important than the fact that they were used over an extended period of time, and that several appear to be used together: in other words, the cumulative effect.” Detainee 063 was subjected to systematic sleep deprivation. He was shackled and cuffed; at times, head restraints were used. He was compelled to listen to threats to his family. The interrogation leveraged his sensitivities as a Muslim: he was shown pictures of scantily clad models, was touched by a female interrogator, was made to stand naked, and was forcibly shaved. He was denied the right to pray. A psychiatrist who witnessed the interrogation of Detainee 063 reported the use of dogs, intended to intimidate “by getting the dogs close to him and then having the dogs bark or act aggressively on command.” The temperature was changed, and 063 was subjected to extreme cold. Intravenous tubes were forced into his body, to provide nourishment when he would not eat or drink.
We went through the marked-up document slowly, pausing at each blue mark. Detainee 063’s reactions were recorded with regularity. I’ll string some of them together to convey the impression:
Detainee began to cry. Visibly shaken. Very emotional. Detainee cried. Disturbed. Detainee began to cry. Detainee bit the IV tube completely in two. Started moaning. Uncomfortable. Moaning. Began crying hard spontaneously. Crying and praying. Very agitated. Yelled. Agitated and violent. Detainee spat. Detainee proclaimed his innocence. Whining. Dizzy. Forgetting things. Angry. Upset. Yelled for Allah.
The blue highlights went on and on.
Urinated on himself. Began to cry. Asked God for forgiveness. Cried. Cried. Became violent. Began to cry. Broke down and cried. Began to pray and openly cried. Cried out to Allah several times. Trembled uncontrollably.”
Steve Coll, author of Ghost Wars, has a new book about the history of the Bin Laden family. The reviews I have read also suggest that it will be an interesting look at the recent history of the Sa’udi royal family, and in fact the whole Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as you might expect given the prominence of the Bin Laden family in the KSA and its close links to the Al-Sa’ud. I hope to have a review up momentarily of The Siege of Mecca by Yaroslav Trofimov. The most interesting aspects of that book were its look at a specific time in the Muslim world, right after the Iranian revolution with the Cold War still ongoing, but prior to the Iran-Iraq War and everything that followed, along with a look at the interaction of the scholarly establishment of KSA and how it interacted with the Royal Family in ruling that country. Saudi Arabia is of course a deeply important country to all Muslims and, of course to the world economy. Like any country and people, it has many positive aspects. As we all should know, however, it is a profoundly disturbed (and disturbing) society from top to bottom. Because of its importance to Muslims and to the world, the reality of the society cannot be ignored, but it must be studied, understood, and then (with God’s permission and help) changed. Of course, there is little that the average person who doesn’t live there can do to change it, but the Saudi ruling structure is profoundly intertwined with, for example, the U.S. government. So first, let us learn then we can decide what can be done.
Prologue
‘The Bin Ladens’
By STEVE COLL
Published: March 31, 2008
“They exchanged business cards. His name was Salem Bin Laden. He had a house just west of Orlando, he told her, not far from Disney World, and he happened to be entertaining some visitors from his native Saudi Arabia who were members of that oil-endowed country’s royal family.”
From IslamOnline.net, an important and moving story about how some Muslims are protecting and embracing their Christian neighbors during the current war, during which many Christians have unfortunately faced persecution and many (like many Muslims in Iraq) have been forced to flee from their homes and/or their country.
Iraq Muslims Shield Christians
By Afif Sarhan, IOL Correspondent
BAGHDAD — When Bashar Paulo and his family received threats from extremists to leave their home, the Iraqi Christian immediately turned to his longtime friend.
“Mohammad’s family has been behaving like angles with us,” Paulo told IslamOnline.net.
“When he first asked me to live with them, I was surprised as everyone here was afraid to be near Christians, scared to be targeted by insurgents,” he added.
“But they were different and gave us all support possible in this world.”
When Paulo phoned his neighbor for more than 15 years asking for help, Azir, a Baghdad clinician, did not hesitate for a second.
“I told him to pack and go away from there as fast as he could and come to my home where we were going to wait for him with love and care,” Azir told IOL.
Christians have lived side-by-side with Muslims and other religious groups in Iraq for centuries.
The CBS newsmagazine 60 Minutes will broadcast an interview with Brother Murnat Kurnaz this Sunday. Kurnaz will tell of how he was tortured by the United States while in Afghanistan and after being brought to Guantanamo. When it became clear that Mr. Kurnaz was guilty of any wrongdoing, the torture and imprisonment continued on for years, as it does for the brothers in Guantanamo and other U.S. prisons and as it continues for thousands of Muslims in the prisons of “Muslim” nations all over the world.
And it is to Allaah (swt) Alone that we can turn for help.
Tells 60 Minutes He Was Held Underwater, Shocked, And Suspended From the Ceiling
A German resident held by the U.S. for almost five years tells 60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley that Americans tortured him in many ways - including hanging him from the ceiling for five days early in his captivity when he was in Kandahar, Afghanistan.
Even after determining he was not a terrorist, Murat Kurnaz says the torture continued. Kurnaz tells his story for the first time on American television this Sunday, March 30, at 7 p.m. ET/PT.
Kurnaz, an ethnic Turk born and raised in Germany, went to Pakistan in late 2001 at age 19 to study Islam and wound up in Pakistani police custody. It was three months after 9/11, and Kurnaz says the U.S. was offering bounties for suspicious foreigners. Kurnaz says he was “sold” to the Americans for $3,000 and brought to Kandahar as terrorist suspect.
He claims American troops tortured him in Afghanistan by holding his head underwater, administering electric shocks to the soles of his feet, and hanging him suspended from the ceiling of an aircraft hangar and kept alive by doctors. “Every five or six hours they came and pulled me back down and the doctor came,” he recalls. “He looked into my eyes. He checked my heart and when he said ‘okay,’ then they pulled me back up,” he tells Pelley.
The Pentagon responds with the nonsensical lying rote garbage statements they’ve learned from the Commander-in-Chief “We treat all detainees humanely.”
Karima Tung, 12, one of three girls home-schooled by their mother, Fawzia Mai Tung. An important part of the school day: reading the Koran.
US
Many Muslims Turn to Home Schooling
By NEIL MacFARQUHAR
Published: March 26, 2008
Across the United States, Muslims who find that a public school education clashes with their religious or cultural traditions have turned to educating their children at home.
The article seems a little jumbled to me. It seems the author believed (based on some kind of statistical analysis in one very small area and I’m not sure what else) that the root of the phenomenon of Muslim home schooling was about Muslims wanting to keep their daughters out of school (and perhaps society in general) especially after they hit puberty. Even though he felt he had statistics to back this up based on the fact that more girls were homeschooled than boys, he could not really get any Muslim parents who would talk with him to describe their reasoning in this way. So, he reported some of the other reasons and some of their quotes but he still basically described the phenomenon the way he saw it.
Now, I wouldn’t deny that keeping kids away from the aspects of society and especially the public schools for adolescents that Muslim parents perceive as harmful is part of the drive for both Muslim schools and home schooling. In many areas Muslim schools are not that plentiful, or parents cannot afford them, or some parents feel they may have some of the same issues the public schools have.
The article mentions some factors that complicate this, though. There are many converts who choose to homeschool and largely these are people who are from this country and who themselves grew up in the regular public school system. These people often of course have the zeal of the convert as well as knowing exactly what goes in the culture. Of course, other converts may take the attitude that they “turned out alright” or that they want their kids to be comfortable dealing with the whole society. On the other hand, some recent immigrants may be more fearful of the society (especially for their daughters because there is no doubt that double standard is strong in many Muslim immigrant cultures) while other immigrants came here so that their children will have educational and therfore financial opportunities.
There is also a phenomenon represented most famously by Shaykh Hamza Yusuf of a deep critique of the American educational system which goes far beyond the normal concerns about being exposed to bad influences of other kids with different moral values. Shaykh Hamza had a famous lecture several years ago entitled “Lambs to the Slaughter” about the Western educational system and he has promoted home schooling alongside non-Muslim critics of current prevailing educational methods such as John Taylor Gatto. Of course one perhaps paradoxical thing you will notice about many of Shaykh Hamza’s closest followers and just fans in general is that most of them are people who are either converts or children of immigrants who who have in most cases gone through the mainstream Western educational system and usually done very well in it.
Of course, because there are at least “two Americas” it also matters if one lives in a place where the public schools are any good or a place where they are a disaster. Similarly the whole notion of home schooling or attending a Muslim school requires communities that are either wealthy or who are really willing to sacrifice to create an alternative educational pathway for their children. This is one thing I have to admire about the people I come from, the catholics in America, is that even at a time when most of them were not wealthy and many were immigrants they sacrificed and struggled to establish a massive alternative educational system in this country at a time when in many places the regular public school system was unabashedly a protestant one.
My own oldest daughter, Noor (obviously!) attended a Muslim school for two years and has now attended a public school for two years since we have moved to a community with an outstanding and diverse school system (diverse racially and socially, but hardly any other Muslims). She’s still young and we’ve been very happy with her teachers in both the Muslim school and the public school. So, we’ll see what happens…we’re kinda making it up as we go along. I am a big supporter of Muslim schools because I think its important that we have such institutions in our community but I must say that even in an area like the Chicago metropolitan area with hundreds of thousands of Muslims and despite all the impressive sacrifices and work of the last generation (May Allaah (swt) reward them for I grow more and more amazed at what they did accomplish as I get older) there is still only enough Muslim school infrastructure to educate a very small fraction of the Muslim children. And with all the challenges inherent in trying to homeschool, it is clear that barring some major unforeseen change in the community, the vast majority of American Muslim school children will grow up attending the public school system, for good or for ill.
There is a must watch documentary available to watch regarding the alleged Toronto Terror Plot. As with many of these stories which start with sensational allegations and much self-congratulation by authorities in the media when one actually examines the truth one sees a parade of shady informants, agent provacateurs, and government security services interested more in widening their own powers and selling a story to the public than in actually protecting anybody or in the innocent Muslim lives that are ruined.
