Daoud Kuttab is a liability for u.s.

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I wonder why every nation has tortured the Jews. Start with the Romans,the Persians,the Arabs,the Spainards,the Italian,the French,the Brits (banned the jews),the Turks (well its +-),the Germans,the Poles, the Russians etc.
What a burden it is to be God's chosen people.

Holy cow! Look at all these AIPAC foot soldiers. To anyone reading all these comments: Dont be fooled. There are sophisticated "call out the troops" mechanisms (such as giyus.org) in place that send out e-alerts to thousands and thousands of pro-Israel fanatics whenever a percieved "anti-israel/pro-truth" article comes out. All these spiteful responses are the result of thousands of pro-Israel foot soldiers being directed here to flood out any possibility of a reasonable or sane discussion.

"Zechariah 12:3 And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it."

Psalm 125:1-2 They that trust in the LORD shall be as mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but abideth for ever!
As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the LORD is round about his people from henceforth even for ever!

Modern day Gog and Magog

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3338175,00.html

The Myth of Palistine

http://www.imninalu.net/myths-pals.htm

No I'm not a Jew, I'm a christian who reads his bible...I know how this all ends.

;-)

The world is slowly coming to a place of total condemnation of Israel...and thats a fullfilment of Prophecy.

Are you right with God Folks....the last days are upon us.

;-)

John

Must see video:

http://www.ifilm.com/video/2726758

Must see video:
http://www.ifilm.com/video/2726758

"During the 1970's, the West Bank and Gaza constituted the fourth fastest-growing economy in the world -- ahead of such "wonders" as Singapore, Hong Kong, and Korea, and substantially ahead of Israel itself. Although GNP per capita grew some what more slowly, the rate was still high by inter national standards, with per-capita GNP expanding tenfold between 1968 and 1991 from $ 165 to $1,715 (compared with Jordan's $1,050, Egypt's $600, Turkey's $1,630, and Tunisia's $1,440). By 1999, Palestinian per-capita income was nearly double Syria's, more than four times Yemen's, and 10 percent higher than Jordan's (one of the better off Arab states). Only the oil-rich Gulf states and Lebanon were more affluent.

Under Israeli rule, the Palestinians also made vast progress in social welfare. Perhaps most significantly, mortality rates in the West Bank and Gaza fell by more than two-thirds between 1970 and 1990, while life expectancy rose from 48 years in 1967 to 72 in 2000 (compared with an average of 68 years for all the countries of the Middle East and North Africa). Israeli medical programs reduced the infant-mortality rate of 60 per 1,000 live births in 1968 to 15 per 1,000 in 2000 (in Iraq the rate is 64, in Egypt 40, in Jordan 23, in Syria 22). And under a systematic program of inoculation, childhood diseases like polio, whooping cough, tetanus, and measles were eradicated.

No less remarkable were advances in the Palestinians' standard of living. By 1986, 92.8 percent of the population in the West Bank and Gaza had electricity around the clock, as compared to 20.5 percent in 1967; 85 percent had running water in dwellings, as compared to 16 percent in 1967; 83.5 percent had electric or gas ranges for cooking, as compared to 4 percent in 1967; and so on for refrigerators, televisions, and cars.

Finally, and perhaps most strikingly, during the two decades preceding the intifada of the late 1980's, the number of schoolchildren in the territories grew by 102 percent, and the number of classes by 99 per cent, though the population itself had grown by only 28 percent. Even more dramatic was the progress in higher education. At the time of the Israeli occupation of Gaza and the West Bank, not a single university existed in these territories. By the early 1990's, there were seven such institutions, boasting some 16,500 students. Illiteracy rates dropped to 14 percent of adults over age 15, compared with 69 per cent in Morocco, 61 percent in Egypt, 45 percent in Tunisia, and 44 percent in Syria."

From Karsh, "What Occupation"

All that progress stopped with Oslo.

Dan in LA, re Human Rights Watch.

Care to talk about 9k+ Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails that aren't allowed to see their families? Do you have any proof that these guys weren't engaged in espionage? We all read Seymour's article in New Yorker where he talks about the numerous Israeli agents operating in Iran.

No one in their right mind is going to claim that Iran has an ideal regime, but even today they treat their minorities hell of a lot better than Jews treat the christians in Israel. We all remember the attacks on Armenian clergy.

Carter Isn't Alone on 'Apartheid' Analogy

Those who would criticize Jimmy Carter for using the word "apartheid" in discussing Israeli policies in the West Bank and Gaza would do well to read an article by Michael Ben-Yair that appeared in the March 3, 2002, issue of Haaretz, titled "The War's Seventh Day" ("Carter Book Slaps 'Apartheid' Tag on Israel," October 20).
In that article, Ben-Yair writes, "In effect, we established an apartheid regime in the occupied territories immediately following their capture. That oppressive regime exists to this day."
For those who might be inclined simply to dismiss those statements as the baseless rhetoric of an anti-Israel know-nothing, I should point out that from 1993 to 1996, Ben-Yair was, in fact, the attorney general of Israel.

Jeffrey Gaynes
Silver Spring, Md.

http://www.forward.com/articles/letters-october-27-2006/

To AM:

"yes they do allow the free exercise of my Christian religion and allow me to own property, to respond to a stupid and ignorant comment someone made)."

oh don't worry, they know the facts but spew their lies for you and me the 'ignorant goyim'. Even today, in the muslim country they demonize day and night (Iran) JEWS own billions of dollars worth of real estate, malls etc. and travel freely back and forth to US. Show me an Iranian who owns a doghouse in Israel.

It's funny how this 'most persecuted people' have always managed to be the wealthiest in every single muslim or goyim country they have lived in despite all the so-called 'anti-semitism'.

Well, well,well..Mr. Katoub definately seems to have brought some of the usual suspects out of the woodwork!

It's to be expected,I suppose.

For the ACTUAL pro-American realists out there, here's why Israel is important to the US..in a cold,hard, strictly self-interested way:

http://joshuapundit.blogspot.com/2006/02/why-israels-important.html

Here's another inconvenient fact for Mr. Kattoub and his pals. Prior to 1967, the US did NOT support Israel and was,inthe words of LBJ, `neutral in thought word and deed'.
It didn't help our relationships with the Arabs in the least.

Another interesting bit is that Mr. Kattoub demonizes the onenation inthe Middle East where Palestinians have full rights and are fully integrated into all levels of society..and ignores countries like Jordan , iraq and Kuwait that have expelled and killed many more Palestinians thanthe Arabs ever had.

Could it be because Israel has Jews in it?

L.Fortin,Windsor,Canada | December 10, 2006 07:55 PM

You posted: They hate you because you as a "Westerner" do not give up your freedom so easily.

I do not mean to insult you, but you sound just like those who materminded the Iraq fiasco. Please do remember that they were wrong about EVERYTHING.

I am not Muslim, but I was born and raised in Arab countries (yes they do allow the free exercise of my Christian religion and allow me to own property, to respond to a stupid and ignorant comment someone made).

The upshot is that they do not hate us because we are Westerners. They DO feel very strongly against the British primarily, and us for supporting them, since they have been trying to 'lord it' over them since the 1800's. But that is only natural.

The torrent of hatred expressed in response to Mr. Kuttab is astounding. The ignorance and raw prejudice merit no response. Someone about 70 years ago said 'who remembers the Armenians?'; unfortunately today even the Jews have forgotten them and Israel's supporters exhibit that person's inclinations. It is tuly a sad state of affairs that prejudice leads people to.

Responding to Mr. Kuttab's comments: The subversion of US policy, especially during the past 6 years, is indeed counter-productive. It does not serve our (US) interests, nor the interests of anyone in the Middle East. Nor does it change the fact that solving the issues of the Middle East center on resolving the Palestine-Israel issue.

With due deference to those who declare that Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East: A good case can be made that it enjoys the most freedoms; however, please explain to me what happened to the Christian population of the Holy Lands since Israel was established, and since Israel occupied the West Bank in 1967? That is a population that numbered in the hundreds of thousands; how many members of Parliament do they have? Please, accept that Israel is a democracy only if you are of the correct religion.

Also, please remember that Jaffa oranges have been famous for thousands of years, as have the agricultural products of that area. So think at least once before you claim that the Jews made the desert bloom.

The upshot of all this is that the US must make an honest attempt to resolve the issue, otherwise events will spin out of our control. This past summer we went through another round of blind encouragement and support for Israel and the result is that a small militia withstood the Israeli onslaught in Lebanon. Neither Israel nor the US can afford a repetition of that. For that matter, despite months of rampages and hundreds of civilian casualties, with our blessing, in the Gaza strip, Israel has succeeded only in making it more difficult for the US to be considered a viable actor.

Lastly, please bear in mind that resolving this problem is not an either all Israel or no Israel affair. In other words, resolving the plight of the Plaestinians is not equivalent to destroying Israel. It merely requires accptance of the fact that what was done to the Palestinans after WW2 was wrong. We chose to atone for what happened to the Jews by exacting payment from those who were not actors.

Ralph perhaps one should actually read the substance of the posts. The fact is that by throwing the only true Democratic nation "Israel" to the islmafacists will not deter their intention of destroying "Western Civilization". You have to understand their failures of their cultures and poverty creates a crisis among their believers in their death cult. They keep saying they will destroy Israel and the US, you must believe their words and as their actions also follows it as well. They hate you because you as a "Westerner" do not give up your freedom so easily. Be armed with knowledge, read their koran and hadiths, its a war manual of conquest.

Re the comment above claiming that, "What this biased editorial (written by an Arab, of course) fails to mention...":

At least Arab columnists are usually fully disclosed as such when discussing Middle Eastern issues, unlike the MANY Jewish columnists/reporters/pundits who frequently comment on Israel and the Middle East without acknowledging a conflict of interest -- like Howard Kurtz, Dana Milbank, Andrea Mitchell, David Gregory, Chris Wallace, Howard Fineman, Richard Cohen, Mortimer Zuckerman, Jonathan Alter, David Brooks, Thomas Friedman, Michael Isikoff, Charles Krauthammer, William Kristol, Martin Peretz, Andrea Peyser, Daniel Pipes, John Podhoretz, Frank Rich, David Remnick, Michael Wolff, Michael Savage, Dan Abrams, Bernie Goldberg, the Kalb brothers, and Dick Morris.

a MUST READ article

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3338056,00.html

To solve the domestic problem there needs to be a Foreign Policy PAC to raise funds from Americans who share Jimmy Carter's views.

Short of outspanding the lobby money that goes towards compaign contributions, we cannot make our elected officials speak out against the lobby and their agenda.

I posted one of the early comments - 1:32 PM on Dec 9 - stating that Mr. Daoud Kuttab's attempts to read into four disjointed events, some sort of American awakening against Israel is misplaced.

It appears that the point has been hammered home quite forcefully, that the majority of people think he is just way off base.

What is disturbing to me, however, is the outpouring of anti-Muslim sentiment, and the suggestions that he should not be allowed his say.

I can understand that from the Palestinian perspective, they view Israelis as oppressors. I can also see from the Israeli perspective, that Mr. Kuttab uses charged and conclusory words such as quote "illegal occupation" endquote and quote "the exaggerated and ridiculous blind support for Israel" endquote which have been and are refuted by those who point out that Israel took control of the disputed land after it was attacked.

I wonder how many people have noticed that Mr. Kuttab has changed his original language and the phrase quote "the exaggerated and ridiculous blind support for Israel" end quote has been replaced with the phrase quote Hopefully, as the roots of America's blind support for Israel are exposed, a more sane U.S. foreign policy in the region might emerge -- a policy that takes into account what the rest of the world thinks. end quote.

The value of this sort of discourse is that Mr. Kuttab got the point and changed his language.

I am neither a Palestinian, nor an Israeli, not Jewish, not a fundamentalist Christian, but I am am American (immigrant at that) and want to see fairness all around. I was deeply disturbed by the Israeli bombing of Lebanon, but I can see both sides of the issue - Israel's claims that civilian areas were used as staging points and human shields, and the claims of disproportionate response. Those are easily understood in both their extremes depending on which side you think has the more just or equitable position.

I was deeply troubled by the US position in not calling for an immediate cease fire. However, that too I understand from the perspective that 10,000 rockets in Lebanon are there for one purpose only -- to be fired into Israel.

Unfortunately, as we have seen, wars are not won unless one side or the other is willing to take destruction to its ruthless limit.

The lesson for both sides here is to communicate that for the Palestinians and Lebanese, there will surely be more death and destruction as long as they try to destroy Israel. Is the price worth it from the perspective of the ordinary Lebanese or Palestinian, or would they prefer the schools, factories, hospital, and housing I suggested?

For the Israelis too, if Mr. Olmert is serious about talking as he says he is, wouldn't it make more sense to divert resources to building rather than destruction?

If nothing else, it could be plain old good business.

Mr. Kuttab, thanks for changing some of your language -- the reduction in the level of hate your piece originally had, may perhaps cause others who posted here to rethink what they have said.

I am amazed how the picture of "occupied Palestine" changes among Palestinians or general criticasters on Israel. One time its only the westbank and gaza and another time its westbank, gaza and israels mainland.
But never it includes Jordan.

I wonder......

Lets hope that the US does not begin to manifest the "blame the Jews" mental pathology being promoted by this journalist.

The worst exaqmple of which can be found in this "Interview With Al-Jazeera Editor-in-Chief Ahmed Sheikh"

Pierre Heumann (7 Dec 2006) of the Swiss weekly Die Weltwoche spoke with Al-Jazeera Editor-in-Chief Ahmed Sheikh in Doha.
http://www.worldpoliticswatch.com/article.aspx?id=395

Article excerpts:

AS: "In many Arab states, the middle class is disappearing. The rich get richer and the poor get still poorer. Look at the schools in Jordan, Egypt or Morocco: You have up to 70 youngsters crammed together in a single classroom. How can a teacher do his job in such circumstances? The public hospitals are also in a hopeless condition. These are just examples. They show how hopeless the situation is for us in the Middle East.

PH: Who is responsible for the situation?

AS: The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is one of the most important reasons why these crises and problems continue to simmer. The day when Israel was founded created the basis for our problems. The West should finally come to understand this. Everything would be much calmer if the Palestinians were given their rights.

PH: Do you mean to say that if Israel did not exist, there would suddenly be democracy in Egypt, that the schools in Morocco would be better, that the public clinics in Jordan would function better?

AS: I think so.

PH: Can you please explain to me what the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has to do with these problems?

AS: The Palestinian cause is central for Arab thinking.

PH: In the end, is it a matter of feelings of self-esteem?

AS: Exactly. It's because we always lose to Israel. It gnaws at the people in the Middle East that such a small country as Israel, with only about 7 million inhabitants, can defeat the Arab nation with its 350 million. That hurts our collective ego. The Palestinian problem is in the genes of every Arab. The West's problem is that it does not understand this."

After Israel is offered to the Islamist/Arab world as a sacrifice, more grievances will be voiced, and more demands made. Then who will you sacrifice next?

This one is for Peter, who was extolling the wonderful treatment of the Jews of Iran. This once vibrant community of hundreds of thousands, which has existed in Iran for thousands of years, is now down to a scant 25,000 because of the dhimminitude imposed upon Jews by the Iranian theocracy. This is from Human Rights Watch Peter....hardly an apologist for those dang Jooooz:

Iran: Grant Jewish Prisoners Their Rights

Human Rights Watch today expressed concern over the detention and forthcoming trial of thirteen Iranian Jews accused of espionage. The thirteen prisoners have been held in detention without access to lawyers and without visits from their family members since March 21, 1999. Iranian news reports say that "thirteen Jews and a few Muslims" will go on trial in Shiraz.

We are concerned that these members of the Jewish minority have been singled out to make a political point. Criminal trials should not be used as a gambit in the struggle within Iran's leadership. Trials should serve justice, not politics.
Hanny Megally
Executive Director of the Middle East and North Africa division of Human Rights Watch

Iran Threatens Revolutionary Court Trials for "Incitement"

In a letter to the head of Iran's Judiciary, Human Rights Watch asked Ayatollah Shahroudi not to let the detainees become "innocent casualties of political forces."

"We are concerned that these members of the Jewish minority have been singled out to make a political point," said Hanny Megally, executive director of the organization's Middle East and North Africa division. "Criminal trials should not be used as a gambit in the struggle within Iran's leadership. Trials should serve justice, not politics."

Human Rights Watch called on Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi to release the thirteen prisoners if they are not promptly charged with internationally recognized criminal offenses. If the thirteen prisoners are to be brought to trial they should be given immediate access to legal counsel of their choosing and allowed visits from their families and independent doctors.

But yeah, it's those money grubbing Jews, just like Don Imus said. Peter, pls go crawl back under the rock from whence you came.

The pertinent and timely question that is in everyones minds, even in the minds of PC Islamophiles, although they would be hard pressed to admit it, is not whether Israel is a liability or not, but whether Islam in general and the Arabs in particular is a liability to humanity and a threat to civilization as we know it.

The reasoning that Mr. Kattoub uses is exactly what they have reasoned going back to Muhhamad. Whine, gripe and moan if things don'y go their way. It is highly illogical to think that they would stop if Israel ceased to exist. This is their way of life and they are living it out completely. We have seen over the last 18 months that the palistinians can't even govern themselves. They were given land and industry and what did they do? They utterly trashed it. I for one pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Under Jewish leadership.

oh yes the Muslims love to blame the Joos for everything, well folks get the real truth, no spin zone on the internet, find the truth about islam. here is one of latest factual reporting from jihadwatch.org:
Forced Islamisation

Background to recent attempts to stamp out Christianity in Indonesia from Paul Stenhouse, PhD:

THE person speaking had lived through it all. He was from the Moluccas - the Spice Islands of legend - and had been there most of his adult life. He was a Catholic and spoke from experience of people and events known to him at first hand. The tale he told of friends and communities betrayed, and innocents tortured and murdered without qualm or mercy, was heart-rending. All the more so because it need never have happened; and because it reflected badly on those who were obliged to prevent it: the Indonesian government and the International Community, especially the UN and its International Court of Justice.

It also exposed an unpalatable truth: that evil, cruelty and plain stupidity lie just beneath the surface of our seemingly humdrum lives, waiting to be summoned like the ring-wraiths and orcs in Tolkien's classic metaphor of the human struggle of good against evil. Without compassionate and humane solidarity with those who suffer and are oppressed, our world becomes an uninhabitable jungle. There, as the pagan Roman playwright Plautus warned us, 'homo homini lupus,' man preys on his fellow men like a wolf, and fear and hopelessness dominate where once was love.

During 1997 and 1998 more than 500 Catholic and Protestant churches were burnt down throughout Indonesia. The figure is conservative, as, according to some estimates, more than 350 churches were burned down in the first months of 1998 alone. The Christians were weaponless and politically powerless. They were a minority in a Muslim country. They made no effective response.

This church-burning had been mainly restricted to Java and Sumatra including Aceh. Since 1968 more than 1,000 Indonesian churches had been burned down or demolished. The problem had not yet touched the Moluccas - mainly because Christians comprise 50 % of the population and relations between Muslims and their Christian neighbours were good.

By January 1999 all this had changed. When Christians in Kupang - the capital of West Timor - finally retaliated by burning down two mosques this act was regarded by Muslims as an affront by the 'Christian dogs,' - the infidels - and in January 1999 several people were killed in Dobu, in the Aru Islands.

Not long afterwards, on January 19, 1999, the killing started in Ambon, capital of the Moluccas.

A Christian driver of a minibus refused to give into extortion when a young Muslim demanded money; a fight started and people took sides and it quickly spread to the whole of the island. Muslims came from Hitulama and butchered many people - about twenty in the village of Benteng Kareng including one or more pregnant women - because they had heard that the mosque in Ambon was surrounded. The Christians then heard that the Silo Protestant Church had been burnt and destroyed. Tensions mounted.

The Catholics in Ambon were mainly immigrants from nearby islands and from other parts of Indonesia. The Ambonese were Protestants from Dutch colonial times, and Muslims. So the Catholics tended to stay out of the conflict - not regarding it as 'their fight'. This all changed when the Laskar Jihad arrived in May 2000. The Mujahidun in their distinctive white robes and caps, and brandishing machetes and guns, did not distinguish between Catholics and Protestants.

The Catholics and the Chinese subsequently suffered terrible material losses, but fewer of them were killed than the Protestant Ambonese because they fled back to their islands since they had no weapons with which to defend themselves, and they had fewer family estates to defend than their Protestant neighbours.

These latter on the other hand had weapons, and because they were locals, had nowhere to go. Ambon was their home, and they had been there longer than many of the Muslims who had taken part in early large-scale migration from Bugis, Buton and Makassar, or had arrived only after 1949 in this part of the Moluccas under government sponsored transmigration from Java. This partly explains the reaction of the Protestants to the violence of the Laskar Jihad and the local Muslims.

The Muslims looted and burnt the shops and homes of the Catholics and Protestants. Local Muslims also suffered damage to their homes and shops, but the military were ordered not to fire against the Muslims. Sometimes they did so. Mujahidun snipers controlled certain areas, and particularly bridges that Christians had to use, but the police never caught them.

Agence France Press [AFP] reported that east of the capital, Ambon. Muslims massacred 93 Christians on Kasui, a small island in Indonesia's Moluccas chain, for refusing to convert to Islam.

Annals hasn't been able to confirm this number. But reliable sources confirm that all attacks by the Mujahidun on this occasion [November 23-26, 2000] took place at about 6.00 a.m. and that an estimated 3,000 Muslim fighters were involved.

The village of Utta was attacked on November 23, resulting in the burning of a church and 4 houses. Karlomin was attacked on November 24, resulting in several residents being killed, others wounded, and a number of houses burned. On November 25, it was the turn of Wunin to be attacked. The Catholic church, a school and 100 houses were burned. The village of Tanasoa became target of an attack on November 26: several Christians were killed, a church, a school and a number of houses were burned.

270 people from these villages managed to escape to the neighbouring island of Teor. More than 700 Catholics and Protestants subsequently agreed to convert in fear of their lives.

The victims were among and estimated 3,000 refugees who fled into the jungle when Islamic mujahidun attacked four [other] villages on November 28, according to AFP.

Associated Press [AP] reported similar attacks earlier in the week [referred to above] that destroyed two Christian churches and left 54 villagers dead. The soldiers reportedly pursued the villagers and forced captives to choose between Islam and death.

Some Muslims sought to protect their Christian friends and neighbors, a Catholic priest told AP. 'There are good Muslims who want to protect, while there are bad people who want to slaughter,' he said. The government was slow to respond to the emergency, said a witness who claimed that only one boat came to evacuate the refugees. Government officials said about 500 people were rescued and several infantry companies have been sent to the island to prevent more violence, according to AP.

In a statement to U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan the Catholic bishop of the Moluccas Petrus Canisius Mandagi, MSC, testified,

"Only recently, reports have reached us about large-scale and ruthless Islamisation of Christians, both by brutal force and leaving them no choice. This happened in many places, including the islands of Buru and East Ceram, and most recently on the small islands of Kasui and Teor. On Kasui of the 692 Catholics, at least 473 are still alive and they have been Islamised; nothing is known about the fate of the other 219 Catholics. On Teor, with 841 Catholics, 142 have been Islamised, about 300 succeeded in fleeing to Kei Kecil island, while the remaining 400 are still on Teor. So of the 1,533 Catholics on the islands of Kasui and Teor, 615 have been forced to become Muslims, or have chosen to become Muslims rather than lose their lives. On these islands there are hundreds of Protestant Christians who have been converted to Islam in the same way. All these people urgently need to be freed and evacuated from Kasui and Teor." [1]

Christina Sagat was one such Catholic woman forcibly Islamised and, along with hundreds of other Catholic and Protestant Christians, forciby circumcised in brutal and unhygienic conditions by the Muslims. Her story was printed in The Sydney Morning Herald in January 2001.

Christina was born and raised in Karlomin, a Catholic village in Kesui island referred to above, and lived with her parents and seven brothers and sisters, in-laws, nieces and nephews. Catholics, Protestants and Muslims used to live peacefully before the Laskar Jihad came to the island.

After her uncle and a Catholic youth were killed, she and her family, along with hundreds of other Christians fled into the mountains On the fourth day ... some of their Muslim neighbours found them and told them that they had to become Muslims, otherwise they couldn't protect them from the Laskar Jihad.

' ... we finally decided to follow the Muslims to their village and do whatever they told us to do in order to save our lives. We're fully aware that refusing to do so would only get us all killed. The Muslim representatives told us to go straight to a mosque in Kampung Baru village so that when the jihad arrived they would think that we had already become Muslims. ... When we all entered the mosque, the habib (Islamic preacher) asked us whether we really wanted to be Muslims. I felt miserable. The habib then told us to say the Al Fatiha prayer (chanted when a person adopts Islam) three times. I did not remember any of the words at all because I did not say it. I just opened my mouth but in my heart I said my own Catholic prayers. The Muslim crowd inside and outside the mosque yelled and waved their machetes, spears. We all cried. I felt mixed up, scared. I told my mum, who sat beside me, "Why do we have to go through all of of this?... it's coercion. I can't do this. But what else can I do. We would only be killed if we refused it, wouldn't we?" Meanwhile, the crowd in the mosque searched our bags, they took out the Bibles, Rosary necklaces and small statues of Mary, which were torn and broken to pieces and burnt outside the mosque. ... All of us, men and women, old and young, even infants and pregnant women, were circumcised.' [2]

Forced Islamisation on the island of Kasui to the south-east of Ceram Island started in November 2000. The Islamised Christians who, like Christina, managed to be evacuated after lengthy delays and much intimidation by the Muslims on the island, - 1,670 persons, most of them Catholic - lived on the island of Kei-Kecil or in Ambon while awaiting government action to guarantee their safety upon their repatriation to their homes in Kasui. At the time of writing I have no certain knowledge that all have managed to return to their homes without meeting opposition from their former Muslim friends who forcibly 'converted' them to Islam. Some 80 former Catholics who were 'converted' by force on Kasui have 'chosen' to remain Muslims, seemingly out of intimidation. Their land and spice crops are in Muslim villages.

Forced Islamisation is not confined to the use of physical violence, or to the Moluccas. [3] Christians living in Muslim countries often are denied promotion unless they become Muslims. In West Java, in the Kuningan district, Christians' wells have reportedly been poisoned, their flocks have been killed, and access to their fields has been denied by Muslims in order to intimidate them into converting. In south Kalimantan, in Banjarmasin city, Shari'a law has been proclaimed, and all who do not fast during Ramadan - including Christians - have been arrested and jailed if found eating in a public place. In Tangerang city, west of Jakarta, there is a curfew for all women. If caught travelling alone after dark unveiled even non-Muslim women may be arrested and charged with being prostitutes. In Makassar city in south Sulawesi Muslim students randomly check ID cards and if the bearers are found to be non-Muslim, they may be taken aside and beaten. The non-Muslims of Sindh and Boluchistan in Pakistan, and the Sufi Muslims, have endured forced Islamisation, and denial of their indigenous culture and Sufi traditions since the Pakistani State came into being fifty-five years ago. [4]

As well as Indonesia and Pakistan, forced Islamisation in a variety of subtle and less subtle forms is the bane of non-Muslims - and even some Muslims regarded as less observant - in a number of Muslim countries, including Iraq [5], Kashmir [6], Malaysia [7], Cameroon [8], and the Sudan.

Alarming reports were received of cases in southern Sudan where those who refused to convert and to send their children to a khalwa [9], were killed. During his recent mission, the Special Rapporteur received testimonies, including an eyewitness account, of the summary execution of 12 civilians, men, women and children, at Lobonok on 3 May 1995, at noon. At the end of April 1995, following fighting which reportedly had lasted almost three months, government troops entered Lobonok. The local population was forced to convert to Islam. Children were dressed in white jellaba and given Arabic names. Although some adults did convert to receive food, the group mentioned above was executed because they refused to convert and to send their children to the khalwa. According to an eyewitness, Victoria Yakisuk (aged 55), Salivar Yugu (aged 45) and Redendo Wani (aged 40) were killed after trying to run away into the bush; and Loku Mario (aged 35), Gumat Mario (aged 18), Yugu Mario (aged 10), Pitia Mario (aged 7), Redendo Tombe (aged 15), Renado Keny (aged 26), Kaku Tombe (aged 55), Kaku Lege (aged 12) and a middle-aged woman whose name the witness could not give, were lined up and shot dead. Kaku Lege was reportedly raped before being killed. The eyewitness claimed that the killings were carried out by a group of 12 soldiers in uniform. [10]

The silence of official Islamic leaders and spokesmen in Indonesia and Australia at the inhuman treatment of the Christians - old and young, men, women, even pregnant women, and children, - in the Moluccas forcibly 'converted' to Islam, and circumcised with old Gilette blades and at the hands of so-called 'female priests,' [11] is revealing.

It throws doubt on claims that Islam is a tolerant and peaceful religion, and that Muslims understand the much quoted verse 256 of Sura 2 - 'there is no coercion [12] in the religion' - to forbid the use of physical force to impose Islam on non-Muslims who fall into their power.

It may be helpful to comment on briefly on this much-quoted Sura.

Popularly it is translated 'There is no compulsion in Islam'. But the verse reads din 'religion,' not Islam. Also it should be noted [though this is never usually stated when the verse is used as a proof of the peacefulness of Islam] that Sura 2,256 is addressed to Muslims, not non-Muslims. It warns Muslims not to dally with 'unbelief,' and implies that belief is easy which is what the reference to 'no force' seems to suggest.

The following verse - usually never quoted - is the one that deserves attention. It applies to non-Muslims whom it warns in unambiguous language of the dire consequences of not embracing Islam: '[you] are the inmates of hell, and shall dwell there'. There is intimidation and coercion in this verse [Sura 2, 257] and perceptive Muslims would realise that if you can threaten unbelievers with hell fire if they don't become Muslims, then a fortiori you can use physical force to make them embrace Islam.

There is an even more cogent argument against the 'tolerance,' and lack of coercion allegedly preached by Sura 2,256: the behaviour of Muhammad.

'Then the Apostle [Muhammad] sent Khalid bin al-Walid ... to the tribe of Beni Haritha bin Ka'b in Najran and ordered him to wait three days before attacking them, after inviting them to embrace Islam.. If they agreed then he was to accept their submission from them; and if they refused he was to fight them. So Khalid set out and came to them and sent out riders in all directions inviting the people to Islam saying "If you accept Islam you will save your life." They embraced Islam because of the threat. ..... When they came to the Apostle [Muhammad] and he saw them he asked "Who are these people who look like people from India?" and they replied, "These people are the Beni al-Haritha bin Ka'b. ... The Apostle [Muhammad] said to them: "'Had Khalid not written to me that you had accepted Islam and not resisted, I would have tossed your heads beneath your feet".' [13]

Despite denial by modern-day Islamic spokesmen, according to Ibn Hisham his biographer, Muhammad not only approved, but commanded the use of force in religion. And Islamic Law, especially the Qur'an, explicitly approves the use of such force.

Some Muslim scholars may grudgingly admit this privately when pushed, but publicly attest the opposite, claiming against all evidence to the contrary that the Qur'an opposes the use of force in spreading Islam.

Sura 2,256 is a trap for unwary non-Muslims. It cannot be taken at face value. The final blow to its credibility comes from the fact that whatever it may originally have meant, informed Muslims consider it to have been abrogated. [14] The abrogating verse is Sura 9:73 : 'O Prophet, struggle with the unbelievers and hypocrites, and be thou harsh with them'.

When confronted with the indisputable fact of the abrogation Islamic apologists then try another spin by claiming that the abrogation only applies to pagans, not to Christians and Jews.

The history of Islam, and the recent actions of Muslims in Kasui and elsewhere in Indonesia and throughout the Islamic world, however, leave all thinking non-Muslims in no doubt that the abrogation of Sura 2, 256 and the continuing validity of Sura 2, 257 empower fanatics who don't hesitate to use force to make non-Muslims embrace Islam.

Attempts to prove the opposite amount to falsifying the meaning of the Qur'an, and denying the example of the life and commands of Muhammad.

NOTES
1. The New Martyrdom: A Special Report. From the Caribbean to Oceania, Anti-Christian persecution heats up. See ZENIT.org (13.01.2001) /HRWF International Secretariat (16.01.2001)
2. Christina's Story, Lindsay Murdoch, SMH January 21, 2001
3. Hizb ut-Tahrir stresses that they are 'non violent' while advocating the forced Islamisation of the Western World. It was reported that several of the 9/11 hijackers were connected to the group in Germany . HT was banned due to its virulent anti Semitic rhetoric. See 'Soldiers of Allah in California,' Militant Islam Monitor.org August 1, 2004
4. Sindhi Baloch Forum Ref.: SBF/14/08/02, 14th August 02; 'Pakistan: Madrassa Reform A Mirage' Adnkronos International, August 16, 2006.
5. Guardian, 'A symptom of Iraq's tragedy,' June 6, 2006.
6. 'Acid test in the face of acid attacks,' Sandhya Jain, The Pioneer, August 13, 2001.
7. 'Temple Demolitions Spell Creeping Islamisation,' Baradan Kuppusamy, Inter Press News Service, August 16, 2006.
8. North Province. See any Encyclopedia entry: e.g. Islam is the dominant religion in the north due to the cultural and political domination of the Fulbe. Those ethnic groups which resisted the Fulbe conquests and forced Islamisation are collectively referred to as Kirdi ('pagans'), though they are not culturally homogenous. Kirdi groups include the Chamba and Fali. In addition, many inhabitants of the province profess Christianity, as well, particularly Catholicism.
9. A small Islamic rural school that stresses memorization of the Qur'an and provides some instruction in the reading and writing of Arabic.
10. United Nations, Human Rights Commission, CN.4/1996/62, 20 February 1996.
11. 'Christina's Story,' Lindsay Murdoch, SMH January 21, 2001.
12. The Arabic word Ikrah means 'coercion,' 'use of force' or 'constraint'.
13. Ibn Hisham, Biography of Muhammad, [Arabic version, Dar Ehia al-Tourath al-Arabi, Rue Dakkache Beirut Lebanon] Part 4, pages 249-250. Trans. Paul Stenhouse. Also, see 'The Wolf Pack, What it means to live by Muhammad's words and deeds,' by Bruce Thornton, Private Papers: A review of Robert Spencer's The Truth about Muhammad,' (Regnery Publishing, 2006).
14. See e.g. al-Nahas, An-Nasikh wal-Mansukh, p. 80. See also Ibn Hazm al-Andalusi, An-Nasikh wal-Mansukh, Beirut, 1986, p. 42. quoted: 'Tolerance in Islam' by M. Rafiq ul-Haqq and P. Newton, http://debate.domini.org/newton/tolerance.html.

This shows the difference between israel and their neighbors- it's called 'akhbarbarism' and it means religiously sanctioned terror;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGx74OsSE_Y

BY NIRAJ WARIKOO, FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS. July 19, 2006
what ever number of protesters there was in the streets of Dearbon, many signs were Death to America, death to Jews, death to Bush, and
yes many AMericans were horrified at those signs, and those that walked around them. and yes it woke many AMericans at who was against them. Where is the outcry of Muslims killing Black Muslims in Dafur? where is the outcry of Muslims killing Indians in Kasmir, bombing people in India,
where is the out cry of the genocide caused by Muslims of Armenians? Hindus? Where is the outcry of getting a homeland for Muslim Kurds? yes you keep blaming the Joos.. well ?

"Brass tacks: The Arab-Israeli conflict is all about envy, the most craven of human emotions. The Jews built an oasis in the desert right under the Arabs noses. The Arabs will never forgive the Jews for this. That's right, lets blame the Jews for being industrious, forward thinking, and democratic. Lets pity the poor Arabs for being lazy, spiteful, and envious. Even a well evolved parasite knows better than to kill its host. The Palestinians have yet to grasp this. They will never win."

That was great until you got to the well evolved parasite part... South Africa. They killed the host (or drove it away, which ever you prefer). Look at it now.

I can't believe this dribble actually made it onto WaPo's web site. What's worse is there are American's dumb enough to believe it.

"Blame America First"... Then move to Canada... (Please)... (Pretty Please).

There are people in US who most definitely admire the Daoud Kuttab's writings:
__________
... some 10,000 people rallied in the center of metro Detroit's Arab-American community in Dearborn on Tuesday...carried signs saying "Down, down Israel" ...

"We know that the president is being bought by the Zionist lobby. We know that the (U.S.) Congress is being bought by the Zionist lobby ... a speaker held a portrait of Hassan Nasrallah, Hizballah's secretary-general. The crowd burst into applause.

Rana Abbas-Chami, deputy director of the Michigan Chapter of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, called ... The U.S. is just as guilty as Israel is. History will not forgive, nor will it ever forget, these ..."

Many people among metro Detroit's Arab-American population say they believe Hizballah -- considered a terrorist group by the U.S. government ...
__________
BY NIRAJ WARIKOO, FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS. July 19, 2006

First of all, it is very ironic that Kuttab's column appears in The Jerusalem Post every week. If he tried to say such things against the Palestinian Authority in a Palestinian newspaper, he would probably disappear in the middle of the night.

Second, I always find Kuttab's columns ridiculous- he is always complaining that the Israelis don't live up to their agreements, yet he NEVER acknowledges that the Palestinians have yet to live up to the SINGLE requirement that has always been made of them: ending terrorism. He must live in some sort of dream world if he doesn't understand that the Israelis would be fools to capitulate to the Palestinians as long as these terrorists keep trying to kill innocent people.

Israel is a liability? No, I think Islamic terrorism is the real liability, whether or not Kuttab ignores its existence.

I am dumbfounded at those that do not see with clarity the evil that is Islam....I am agast at those here who are islamic apologists....that mention "apartheid" and "Israel" in the same sentence.

Palestine is an islamic construct that the Nazi's and Islamists have fabricated to further their hate agenda towards the Jooos.

Well the Bible tells us that Israel will go it alone in the last days....folks are you right with God....time is short.

>>What I have is, if not actual proof, then a whole series of correlations. However, on the basis that if you can't actually prove something fell out of the back end of a dog, but it looks like it did, smells like it did, feels like it did, and tastes like it did, then it might be best if you didn't step in it, I'm going to publish what I found. You can make your own minds up. I've made mine up, and I wouldn't want my daughter or nieces living near large numbers of Muslims. I think most reasonable, reasoning, people will agree after reading this.<<

http://gandalf-reconquista.blogspot.com/

And Mr Kuttab is a liability for the journalistic community.
How can the WaPo justify spreading this propaganda?
I am sure that he would prefer the US to have no allies in the region, and Israel is the only true friend we can claim in the ME.

Just a reminder:
You have less freedom today because of moslems in America.
You have less privacy today because of moslems in America.
We spend billions of our tax dollars on the Department of Homeland Security because of moslems in America.
The FBI is working overtime because of moslems in America.
Thousands of Americans have died because of moslems in America. Sleeper cells are here. They will strike eventually. More Americans will die.

Ain't Islam grand?

The day Arabs finally stop slaughtering each other (never mind Joooos and Christians) will be the day I'll start perhaps seriously listening to apologists like Daoud Kuttab.

Jimmy Carter has the courage that is lacking in all politicians from state representative to our Senators and Congressman and of course President Bush and his gang. Our politicians are so afraid that they may upset the Jewish lobby they have blindly supported Israel in suppressing and killing innocent Palestinians since 1948. Finally we have a honest politician Jimmy Carter who is not afraid of the Jewish Federation and lobbyist, and of course the Jewish Federation will immediately call President Carter anti Semitic. Israel does not want peace and never has and every day kills and destroys the Palestinians who try and to get their lives together. Palestinians are constantly being invaded by Israel who drive through their towns shooting innocent people, destroying homes and then they conveniently call the Palestinians terrorist. Thank you Jimmy Carter for having the courage to speak out and lets hope the other politicians have the courage to look at the real truth and not be intimidated by the pro Jewish newspaper, television and lobbyist. The only hope we have for peace in the Middle East is to make Israel treat the Palestinian with dignity and respect and stop the apartheid and abuse they have done since 1948.

Three entire paragraphs. What a deep thinker Kuttab is.

Daoud Kuttab needs to shake his head at those comments about libility. my first course of actions would be to withhold any money going to the Abbas crowd as well as Hammas. Let the rich oil Muslim states support their poor relatives of the West Bank. l read an excellent statment from former Israel PM, that is if the Muslim terrorist would lay down their arms, there would be peace in the MiddleEast, the reverse that is if Israeli Military Force lay down their arms there would be no Israel. There lies the big secret, Hammas and their cohorts do not want to live side by side in peace with Israel. It was not wanted when Israel became a country, and to this day Muslim Arabs seek to destroy Israel and drive all Jews out into the ocean. So lets stop the jizya (payment to Muslims) and force the Arabs to become part of the 21 century, and become a vialble region. You have to just look at all the money going into this region and see the poverty caused by their culture and failed regimes. The Palestines need to look into the mirror and see who is to blame for their poverty. Israel compromised less than two percent of the ME and have proven
to be a model of prosperity, and that is why the failed Arab regimes want to destroy this flower in the desert!

Op-eds heaping abuse and scorn on Arabs and Muslims are commonplace in the American media, yet the minute an article that provides a window into their view of the Arab/Israeli conflict a chorus of gnashing of teeth and spurious charges of anti-Semitism erupts. It's really pathetic how terrified of real debate many of Israel's so-called defenders are.

Iran? Talking about Palestine. Israel is not a liability to the US.
Palestine should not don't dictate who our allies are. Period. Palestine can do no wrong ... yeah right. Israel has every right to defend itself. The young girls are probably safer in Israel.

In the past, I'd calmly accept the fact that a truly free society allows for all kinds of printed expression - even the rantings of a misguided tomfool such as M. Kuttab. However, this tripe is indicative of a media - and a society - that is kowtowing to the sabre rattling (both figurative and literal) of the radical Islamic world.

This needs to stop right now. I'm really disgusted at the lack of spine that many in the US are exhibiting at the moment. It seems quite obvious that the "Bush is Hitler" and "Sorry world, my country sucks" crowd have successfully whittled away at the psyche of what was once a strong and courageous nation. And the irony of it all is that the alternative - letting the radical Islamic movement have its way - would result in a world that would be the utter anathema of liberals everywhere.

But, hey, that's not important. Getting back at Bush, Cheney, and Rummy is all that matters. And as for radical Islam, the liberals here seem to think that Osama and crew will respond better to a group hug and a drum circle.

Perhaps one day when the feminists find themselves in burkas and the suicide bombers start targeting gay bathhouses, we may actually hear a startled protest eminating from the American Left. But by then it will be far too late.

Buckle up, my friends. We're in for one heck of a ride!

Well lets see who funds all the scaredy cat pro-israel amen corner in congress - thats right its AIPAC!!

There are over 25000 Jews living peacefully in Iran if the Muslims were all bloodthirsty devils why have they not killed them or are they hostages like the CHILDREN Israel is keeping SOME AS YOUNG AS 12. Please explain that!!!.

by the way.. many of us know the word "taqiyyah". Those who don't are advised to look it up on Jih