Thursday, March 02, 2006

Is the “Resistance” Legitimate? - Part II





Religious Bigotry and the Insurgency

In the last post of this series, “Part I - Under the Dictator’s Shadow”, I sought out to prove that a great part of the insurgency was formed with the objective of reinstalling an illegitimate Arab/Sunni regime. The truly legitimate representatives of Iraq were established under the guiding hand of the US occupation. This new government was appointed in an election that is internationally recognized to be transparent and fair.

Now I will focus on how religious bigotry is another major motivation for the insurgency. The three main flavors of religious bigotry are:

1. Anti-Christian
2. Anti-Jewish
3. Anti-Shiite

It cannot be denied that the ideology of Saddam’s Baathist regime was very secularist. However, Leftists have taken this fact out of context because Saddam has used Islamist propaganda to achieve his own ends. In order to strengthen his regime and his insurgency Saddam has eagerly courted religious bigotry.

A towering monument to Saddam’s Islamist ambitions is the Mother of All Battles Mosque that he built just outside of Baghdad shortly before the liberation of Iraq. It is truly the sickest celebration of the use of Islam as a military weapon. The minarets are shaped like scud missiles and the dome resembles machine gun barrels. In an effort to promote his personality cult Saddam had a 605 page Koran written in his own blood! Dahar Al-Ani, Director of Information for the mosque said, “Over three years, the President gave us a total of 28 liters of his own blood which has been mixed with chemicals to produce this hand-written Koran of 605 pages.”

The building of this mosque was a part of the regime’s “Faith Campaign” which began in 1994 with the banning of alcohol. This campaign was an effort to win Islamic favor in exchange for fatwas condemning the US and to quiet religious unrest against the regime. Some elements of Sharia law were re-introduced (such as the 2001 edict imposing the death penalty for homosexuality, rape and prostitution, and the phrase “Allahu Akbar” [“God is the Great”], was added to the national flag.)

The manipulation of Islam by the Baathists has continued into the insurgency. They have either taken over or actively collaborated with Islamist terrorist groups like Jaysh Muhammad and Ansar Al-Islam. Saddam has even taken to walking into the courtroom, where he is currently being tried for war crimes, brandishing a Koran. He quoted a verse from it which reminds believers that God knows who actually participated in Jihad or Holy War.

Saddam had a proven template of religious bigotry that he could exploit in his struggle with the US, the mobilization of the Islamic world in a war of hatred against the Jews. In the first Gulf War Saddam launched 39 scud missiles at civilian targets in Israel to elicit sympathy from such anti-Semitic bigots. One missile attack on Tel Aviv was described by an official Iraqi military communique as “missiles pour(ing) out of the sky, making Tel Aviv and other targets a crematorium.” This statement was released with the intention of placing images of Nazi concentration camps in the minds of horrified Israeli civilians.

Saddam’s contributions to Palestinian terrorism have been well documented. He has given bonus payments to the families of terrorists who have killed and wounded well over a 1,000 Israelis and less than a dozen Americans. In his bellicose ravings against Israel, Saddam has claimed to be the second Saladin (the medieval Muslim warrior who recaptured Jerusalem). The irony is that Saladin was a Kurd and Saddam’s regime was well known for its brutality against the Kurds, especially in the Anfal Campaign. (The Saladin link is really interesting because it comes from a highly anti-Bush academia-influenced website. The comment section to the article is classic, see for yourself.)

I have posted extensively on how Islamic leaders and their media have brainwashed the faithful into a bigoted war of extermination against the Jews. This was the game that Saddam wanted to tap into, as much as Osama bin Laden has. Propaganda is helpful to any country and it is especially helpful to terrorists because they are militarily weak and can use such misinformation to exaggerate their power. The Palestinian conflict has given the Baathists easy access to a fanatical mass audience that offers their support without question* (see footnote at bottom). Here are some links to relevant posts and websites on the subject:

A Blogger’s Diagnosis

The Mop and the Terrorist

The Middle East Media Research Institute

In Iraq the most ruthless religious bigotry is reserved for the Shia. The country is over 60% Shiite and Saddam’s regime has a long history of cruelty towards them. Details of his regime’s murderous 1991 anti-Shia campaign are well documented by the Human Rights Watch website (of course they go through extreme lengths to blame the US for the Baathist bloodbath). This was the bloodiest anti-Shiite violence by the Baathists, but the oppression continued right up to the liberation and through the insurgency. It has increased in direct proportion to the insurgents’ military loses at the hands of the Americans. Even though the Sunnis are a minority, most members of the Baathist regime were Sunni Arabs. The Shia were kept poor, with little public utilities and forbidden to express their religious holidays in public. It is the fear that the Shiites could yield power equal to their percentage of the population that has fueled Sunni attacks against the Shia. A loose Baathist alliance with Islamist terrorist groups has ensured that the flames would be fanned even higher.

Although religious strife between the Sunni and Shia has existed for almost a millennium and a half, it was Saudi Arabia’s embrace of Wahhabism that has led to the modern day escalation of violence between them. Terrorist groups like al Qaeda and Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP) are inspired and funded by Wahhabi militants in Saudi Arabia. These groups consider the Shia to be infidel non-Muslims and are responsible for countless horrific attacks on them.

The picture at the top of this post is from a bombing of the Imam Ali Mosque (a Shiite mosque) back in August of 2003. In this bombing somewhere between 85 to 125 Shiites were killed. For years Sunni insurgents have been committing attacks on Shiites in an effort to provoke a full scale conflict between the two. The recent bombing of the Golden Mosque in Samarra is the closest that they have come to achieving this goal. Overall insurgent attacks on civilians are claiming many more lives than attacks on US soldiers, making claims that the resistance is fighting against foreign occupation sound very hollow.

Stay tuned for Part III next week -
The Blood Soaked Conclusion






Footnotes:
* This is something that Republicans are very often accused of. Such accusations completely lack substance. See issues like the foreign ownership of US ports, amnesty for illegal aliens and the nomination of Harriet Miers. Leftists make such observations based on what they want to believe and not the facts, as they are quite prone to doing.

20 comments:

beakerkin said...

Leave it to the Marxists to hyperventilate about alleged Korans
near toilets and say zero about blowing up religious shrines loaded with Korans

nanc said...

you are doing excellent work here, fern. i imagine anybody who has no truth would be running scared. sunni's, leftists, it really doesn't matter as there is no way to measure truth - it just is. you have a great day.

Freedomnow said...

Apparently the air conditioning at Gitmo is more important than fighting such brutal terrorists.

nanc said...

and i thought for sure it was the white hankie wrapped korans...now there's a major difference in christianity and islam - we're supposed to get our bibles dirty, torn and ragged - it is a sign of use!

afternoon fern!

nanc said...

you're not going to like this fern. the puppy has killed one of my chickens and it has nothing to do with me being mad at you, but he must go. i don't recall ever being mad at you anyway. you are one of my best friends in the www.

Freedomnow said...

Oh I see...another animal rights activist. A card carrying member of PETA, Puppies Eating Tasty Animals.

nanc said...

i like eggs and chicken better than dog - that's all! dog is for emergencies - it is the farm way of life...

why aren't you out this evening?

you have NEVER heard of chicken stuffed dog, but you have heard of stuffed chicken - haven't you? don't go blaming the chicken incident on the chickens. don't you be worrying your pretty self over this.

p.s. where should i send the clean, flash frozen, and wrapped dog?

Freedomnow said...

Perhaps we should examine whether or not the chicken provoked the dog or why it crossed the road.

I made a terrible mistake tonight and watched a movie, Brothers Grimm. It was like a bad TV show with phony accents and a large budget.

As far as the dog meat goes I will have to decline your generous offer because I am almost a vegetarian (the only meat that I eat is fish). Maybe you should feed the dog to the chickens...I'm sure they will love the irony.

nanc said...

don't you just hate wasting time watching a bad movie? the one that nearly killed my husband was "bicentennial man" with robin williams - hell, it almost killed the entire family.

there was one other movie he and i watched and intently; when it was over we looked at one another and almost in unison said, "did we just sit through that movie?" you probably won't like this but it was "pulp fiction". the movie has a following - i do not follow these people.

J.M. Seals said...

I added you to my blog roll. My blog is very new and I am glad I am not the only crazy right wing nut out in the world that has a computer.

Freedomnow said...

Thanks for the add to your blog roll, I put you in mine as well.

Actually, I am not a right winger, but I am a nut. My views on foreign policy align with the mainstream of the Republican Party and with the Democratic Party the 1/8th of the time that they are looking to steal votes by pretending to support our troops.

For the most part I disagree with mainstream Republican ideology on domestic issues. However, I dont think Republicans are fascists because they disagree with me. I am not intolerant.

Freedomnow said...

Nanc,

I liked Bicentennial Man and Pulp Fiction and therefore I am sorry to say that you are oppressing me with your values.

This proves that you are trying to stifle free speech and those who prefer 2-ply toilet paper.

I could be wrong, but after reading this disgusting website that is linked below - I think I may be brainwashed:

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/

(Perhaps Bush planned Bicentennial Man?)

nanc said...

fern - go wash your mind out with soap! now!

i'm not trying to stifle free speech - i'm trying to warn the world of these two boring movies, but see it's too late for you - i didn't get here in time. i'm a light and dark comedy type of person - "fargo" was one of THE funniest movies of its time. "a fish called wanda" and "the jerk" keep me rolling on the floor in painful laughter still.

i must work tomorrow - the world is depending on it. this was bound to happen - you give them one day per week and they want two...these demands are overwhelming, fern.

Freedomnow said...

Two days a week? Those dirty capitalist slave drivers!!!

This is exactly the kind of case that Amnesty Intl loves. They are handling a case for a terrorist who had his civil rights abused when US jailors flushed his attorney down the toilet, so as soon as they wrap up a million dollar settlement they will be able to help you out.

nanc said...

you know i always appreciate words of comfort from you fern - thank you for your concern.

American Crusader said...

Very well written and I thought your conclusions were well thought out. Syria and Iran are trying to use the Sunni/Shi'ite split to insight Civil War for their own political gains. Iran will increase its influence in the Southeast area of Iraq, while Syria will do the same in central and western Iraq.

Freedomnow said...

That could be a long term miscalculation. For the last 20+ years Syria has been Iran's best ally. If they indefinitely support opposite sides in the Iraqi conflict it could eventually cause them to stumble into a hostile dispute against each other.

Of course, that would be much farther down the road. The longer the conflict continues more the likelihood increases.

Another amazing situation is how Muqtada al-Sadr is taking a knife and stabbing himself in the back. The US is his natural ally against the Sunni Baathists and al Qaeda terrorists. However, he seeks to profit from the violence and court Iranian cash. What a circus!!!

Maybe Cindy Sheehan can tour Iran. They will definitely pay her way and she can have another all expenses paid vacation like she had in Venezuela. This could lead to a gig in North Korea next. The sky is the limit...

nanc said...

and if she would just please cover up - her latest photo op made me want to lose my meal.

how's it going, fern? i took the day off yesterday just to come and visit you and couldn't find you anywhere! i was exhausted, hence the day off. you have no idea...

have a grand weekend! maybe i'll see you out and about in the www.

i have one question before i go; it may be impertinent, but i've wondered and you're the only one i can ask:

if christians tell people to "go to hell!" where do athiests tell people to go? inquiring minds want to know! :=C

Freedomnow said...

"Dear Abby,

If Christians tell people to "go to hell!" where do athiests tell people to go?

Sincerely,
Nanc"

In the English language we use words that have pagan origins. These words are used by Christians and athiests alike. Here is a very partial list of some of those words (most are related to the names of pagan gods):

Amazon, Andes, Atlas, Baby, Beauty, Biceps, Charisma, Charm, Chastity, Cosmos, Dad, demonstrate, Discord
Earth, echo, era, error, Ether, Famous, fauna, Ferver, Felicity, Flora, Fortune, furor, God, Genius, Glory, glorify, glorious, Grim, Hades, Happy, Harmony, Hero, holy, honor, Hope, Hunger, Hospital, Idea, index, inferno, Iris, Joy, joyfull, Just, King, larva, Lucifer, Luck, lunar
Majesty, marathon, martial, meander, music, mute, Narcissus, narcotic, nice, Nymph, nimble
Obstinacy, ode, odius, olympic, oracle, Papa, Paris, Paulina, Pegasus, penis, petition, Phoebe, Phyllis, Piety, psyche, Python
Quiet, Ridiculous, Roman, religion, renown, rumour, saga, Saturn, Saturn'sday (Saturday), saturate, scan, solar, Spartan, status, sun, Tartar, tell, temper, terror, test, testimony, thing, thunder, Titan, triumph, trivial, touch, tyrany, Valiant, vampire, Vatican, verify, Victor, Virtue, volcano, etc...

Therefore, I can tell a Leftwing fascist to go to Hell. Even though I dont believe in hell because it is a figure of speech.

nanc said...

ROFLMAO - no, really! i knew i could come to you for answers!

it was just a little question one of my kidz has asked...