It's Tom Friedman's problem

If It's a Muslim Problem, It Needs a Muslim Solution, opines Tom Friedman.

The Muslim village has been derelict in condemning the madness of jihadist attacks. When Salman Rushdie wrote a controversial novel involving the prophet Muhammad, he was sentenced to death by the leader of Iran. To this day - to this day - no major Muslim cleric or religious body has ever issued a fatwa condemning Osama bin Laden.

For that, Juan Cole smites Friedman righteously Friedman Wrong About Muslims Again And the Amman Statement on Ecumenism.

It's as if Friedman's latest editorial spun out of control in a freak rhetorical accident. In the course of lecturing us about tolerance, he somehow ended up saying that all Muslims are complicit in terrorism.

Comments

[Robin]

Lindsay,

Bless you (and the guys at Crooked Timber) for, as Brad de Long would say, reading Tom "Airmiles" Friedman so that we don't have to.

You think the NYT will ever subject old Airmiles to the sort of pressure and scrutinty that they subjected Krugman to as a result of Friedman being demonstrably wrong? After all, PK was only alleged to be wrong by the Don Luskins of the world, and for that, the NYT appointed an man to jump down his throat.

[jr]

Alzheimer's or lying which is it Tom?

[J.C.]

Wow...just...wow. So Tom Friedman really is a fucking idiot, and I haven't just been imagining it all this time? But he's won awards! I haven't won awards.

[Uncle Kvetch]

Unfortunately for us, Tom Friedman is our problem.

[BritGirlSF]

"In the course of lecturing us about tolerance, he somehow ended up saying that all Muslims are complicit in terrorism."
And this surprises you? Friedman is an uninformed ass who likes to pontificate on any and all subjects regardless of his complete ignorance of those subjects.
I do appreciate you reading him and providing a precis so I don't have to though. Every time I try to read him I end up wanting to break something, preferably Tom Freidman.

[focus pocus]

International Man of Mystery

http://www.skinnylink.com/?zpcxfb

-0-

Remember to promote the pretext.

Remember to promote the pretext: "The only way to fight the evil West is by fighting it economically through attacks."

Avoid the idea that attacks are a post-Soviet power grab from Totalitarian Nations.

Remember to forget that High ranking members dictate beliefs in all societies and all groups, conciousness is dictated by rank. The pretext is dictated by high ranking members. Correct your stylebook if needed. Avoid the simple facts, remember the pretext.

Use correct spelling with the "new" names adopted by "new" groups claiming responsibility for brutal slaughter and be accurate when stating "why" they did it, remember to pretext.

Avoid the assumption of singular ideology used by regime hegemony so to promote the appearence of a dynamic movement.

Remember the excuses. Don't follow the money, remember the pretext.

Don't take sides, ostensively promote the pretext. Remember you're Sad not Angry. Always Sad, never Angry. Or, you're angry at the power structure of the victims but you're not angry at the power structure of the killers! Promote the pretext.

REMEMBER THE PRETEXT, repeat the pretext, publish the pretext, promote the pretext, always the pretext, argue the pretext, remember the pretext...

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/BKK200775.htm

BANGKOK, July 6 (Reuters) - Suspected Islamic militants beheaded a policeman in Thailand's restive Muslim south, officials said on Wednesday, the tenth decapitation in more than 18 months

"The bandits beheaded him and took his head with them.

[the pretext/excuse/reason for killing/beheading should be in the full article-ed.]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4651711.stm

Thai teachers to be allowed guns

More than 700 people, including at least 24 teachers, have been killed since January 2004 in unrest which the government blames on Islamic militants.

[this article may ignore the pretext-ed.]

http://www.memritv.org/Transcript.asp?P1=736

Crowd: There is no God but Allah. There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is Allah's messenger.

Reporter: These young women have forsaken the temptations of life, and have taken the hard way. Indeed, they have chosen martyrdom as a way of liberating the Islamic lands. This is what they say.

[pretext included-ed.]

http://www.nysun.com/article/16544

Within weeks of September 11, 2001, an Egyptian sheik serving as Al-Azhar University's representative in America and an imam at the Islamic Cultural Center and Mosque of New York City, Muhammad al-Gamei'a, was interviewed

In the interview, he claimed the Jews were behind the September 11 attacks

Sheik al-Gamei'a also predicted the collapse of America.

[outstanding, a well known pretext!-ed.]

http://memri.org/bin/latestnews.cgi?ID=SD93005

July 7, 2005 No.930

Osama Bin Laden's Brother Interviewed by Al-Arabiya TV

[lifestyles of the rich and famous-ed.]

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_IRAQ_AMERICANS?SITE=CATOR&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2005-07-06-18-11-19

U.S. Filmmaker Among 5 Arrested in Iraq

(Cyrus Kar -ed.)Kar was arrested after Iraqi security forces allegedly seized several dozen washing machine timers - components frequently used in terrorist bombs - in the taxi in which he was traveling. Kar says the timers were owned by the driver.

Now, relatives of the 44-year-old Iranian-American and U.S. Navy veteran have sued the government to gain his freedom.

[aclu has a pretext-ed.]

http://www.indybay.org/news/2005/05/1738080.php

Good News: Iraqi Freedom Fighters Down Occupation Aircraft

by Thomas Harding, Defence Correspondent Tuesday, May. 17, 2005 at 6:40 PM

Iraqi freedom fighters killed nine occupation war criminals by shooting down RAF Hercules with 'ageing anti-aircraft gun.'

Iraqi insurgents using a rudimentary anti-aircraft weapon against an RAF transport plane are likely to have caused the biggest single loss of life in the conflict, military sources disclosed yesterday.

[he lives for the pretext, why do the hard work and lose when you can complain instead!?!-ed.]

http://www.dissidentvoice.org/May05/Whitney0502.htm

Why America Needs to be Defeated in Iraq

by Mike Whitney
www.dissidentvoice.org
May 2, 2005

For myself, I can say without hesitation, that I support the insurgency, and would do so even if my only 21-year-old son was serving in Iraq. There’s simply no other morally acceptable option.

[f pragmatism, he has truth on his side-ed.]

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/latimests/moroccanpreachersaidtohavemetwith911plotters

TANGIER, Morocco — A Moroccan preacher imprisoned here for inspiring deadly bombings in Casablanca and implicated in the Madrid train bombings last year also had significant contact in Hamburg with leaders of the Sept. 11 attacks, say members of a Muslim congregation in Germany.

[this looks like a damning indictment, but really, he had a good reason-ed.]

http://edition.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/europe/07/05/britain.terror.ap/

LONDON, England (AP) -- Radical Islamic cleric Abu Hamza al-Mazri has appeared in a London court on charges including encouraging the murder of Jews and other non-Muslims.

[oh, he just gets paid to say that-ed.]

http://memritv.org/Transcript.asp?P1=730

6/9/2005 Clip No. 730

New York Imam Ahmad Dwidar: In 1995, I Heard Sermons Calling on Muslims to March on the White House and Turn It into the Muslim House

[he had to say it, the first amendmant is worthless unless he can say it, he didn't mean anything by it-ed.]

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050705/ap_on_re_us/quran_burning_2

BLACKSBURG, Va. - A Muslim Virginia Tech student says he was the person who left a burned Quran at a local mosque last month,

Riad said local Muslims are relieved that anti-Islamic sentiments weren't involved.

"There is nothing better than knowing that Blacksburg is what we expect it to be — a caring, friendly and supporting neighborhood," Riad told the Roanoke Times.

[that was close! they were almost victims!-ed.]

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050704/ap_on_re_af/tanzania_islam_vs_democracy_1

ZANZIBAR, Tanzania - Zanzibar's mosques are fuller on Fridays, more women are wearing head scarves and more Muslim men are showing calluses created by frequently touching their foreheads to the ground in prayer.

[but there's always room for jello-ed.]

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10334250

Muslim MP Ashraf Choudhary will not condemn the traditional Koran punishment of stoning to death some homosexuals and people who have extra-marital affairs.

[their books are written by people, our books are written by g-d. they'll believe anything, we believe the truth and must act-ed.]

http://www.aawsat.com/english/news.asp?section=3&id=460

revealed that she had entered the Kingdom with her husband and children with fake passports from Qatar . They had originally fled Afghanistan in 2001 after the fall of the Taliban regime to Bangladesh .

She confirmed that her husband was married to another woman of Moroccan origin, Fatihah al Hawshy, who holds a Belgian passport and currently lives in Britain.

[she got lucky and found the pretexts-ed.]

http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/05/18/iraq.main/index.html

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- A chilling, rambling audio file thought to be from the most-wanted man in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, says religious doctrine justifies the killing of innocent Muslims by insurgents.

[he's with you but he has to kill you, it's okay, he has permission-ed.]

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1120468323060

Our World: The mask is off and no one cares

Since his election to the Iranian presidency two weeks ago, ultra Islamist Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has done everything to make a strong first impression on the rest of the world.

In short then, the answer is no. Ahmadinejad sees his role as promoting the same platform of global jihad he has been actively participating in since 1979.

[he can say anything, he was legitimately elected in legitimate elections in a legitimate democracy-ed.]

http://biblia.com/islam/islam.htm

[...]"- Here is a list of European countries which were occupied by Muslims (either Arabs, Moors, or Ottoman Turks):

Spain 800 years, Portugal 600 years, Greece 500 years, Sicily 300 years, Serbia 400 years, Bulgaria 500 years, Rumania 400 years, Hungary 150 years... Italy, Austria, Bosnia, Croatia, Wallachia, Albania, Moldavia, Armenia, Georgia, Poland, the Ukraine, and eastern and southern Russia were all battlefields where Islam conquered or was conquered in violent conflicts marked by cruelty, bloodlust, and a fearful loss of life, spread over considerably more than a thousand years... stopped in France by Charles Martel."

[some of the fake pretexts for the crusades-ed.]

http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2005-07-06T145059Z_01_MOL446081_RTRUKOC_0_IRAQ.xml

Iraq's al Qaeda group said on Wednesday it would kill Egypt's top envoy to Iraq who it had kidnapped, according to an Internet statement.

This is the fate of a country which has allied itself to Jews and Christians and fought true Muslims,

It has in the past beheaded foreign captives.

Most of the hostages taken by the group have been killed.

[if there were no jews and christians they wouldn't have to kill jews and christians-ed.]

http://heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,15714027^2862,00.html

Muslim books of hate sold
Liam Houlihan, religious affairs reporter
24jun05

LITERATURE filled with hatred of Christians, Jews and non-Muslims is being sold at a mosque near a Melbourne home raided by ASIO.

[the infidels made them do it-ed.]

[Robin]

A comment identical the focus pocus was put on a 3QD post linking to this one. The name of the commenter was different.

I guess as this war gets more difficult, the pro-genocide squad comes out.

Glen Reynolds has said that if Iraq turns into Congo, he can live with it. Congo!--nearly 3 million dead in the civil war.

I suspect that we're 4 months away from "after all we've done for you, this is the thanks we get" chorus.

[Don Stewart]

What exactly is focus pocus's point? That extremists say extreme things? That religious fundamentalists lack a liberal perspective. As for all those conflicts 'marked by cruelty, bloodlust, and a fearful loss of life', I suppose that distinguishes them from all those other wars marked by conviviality, group hugs and herbal tea?

[Gary Farber]

"It's as if Friedman's latest editorial spun out of control in a freak rhetorical accident."

I'm fairly sure Friedman has never written an editorial for the NY Times. He's not on the editorial board; he's no more empowered to write an editorial than thee or me.

He has a column; those are as different from editorials as is a book review or a gaming column. Editorials speak officially for the paper; columnists do not, in the slightest.

That's kinda the entire point of the whole "Op-Ed" editorial/opinion column distinction. Which is almost why they refer to "Op" and "Ed" as, like, entirely separate things.

[Mudasir]

Why the whole world is concentrating on so called terrorist, please try to know what they wanna convey to the world, USA entered into iraq for WMD didnot find it. if you enter into some one's house and you expect them to allow you, because they are not so powerful as USA, they wanna show their anger by this mean.

how about iran or syria entering into USA and killing people like animals with bombs and illtreating victims. why USA not saying a word for north korea when they are making noclear weapons, becasue korea is strong and they dont have oil unlike iraq for.