Is the War on Terror a War on Islam? Not Quite

Some people in western countries and some Islamists have common ground. They both think that the War on Terror is a war against Islam.

It's easy to see the war that way. Al Qaeda, the Taliban, and similar groups claim to be defending Islam. Attacking these groups can be seen as attacking Islam.

At this point, I'm assuming that these terrorist organizations are related to Islam in about the same way that the Westboro Baptist Church and the Ku Klux Klan are related to Christianity.

When all members of a religious group are also members of the same culture, it's easy to get confused over which values are part of the culture, and which are part of the religion. I think that's part of what's happening in parts of the Islamic world.

Events in Turkey may be an example of this confusion of religion and culture.

Last January an Armenian journalist, Hrant Dink, was killed in Turkey. He was one of those people who say that massive die-off of Armenians toward the start of the 20th century was genocide. That didn't make him popular among what other journalists call "hardline nationalists" in Turkey. In April, three Christians were killed in Turkey. They were involved with the printing of Bibles.

Both times, there were allegations that Turkish police were involved in the killings. In the second case, at least, Turkey's national government is investingating ("Turkey investigates alleged ties between police and alleged killers of Christians").

That news article from The Canadian Press concludes:

""Many Turks are convinced that a so-called "deep state" - a network of state agents or ex-officials, possibly with links to organized crime - periodically targets reformists and other perceived enemies in the name of nationalism.

"Christian leaders have said they are worried that nationalists are stoking hostility against non-Turks and non-Muslims by exploiting uncertainty over Turkey's place in the world.

"The uncertainty - and growing suspicion against foreigners - has been driven by Turkey's faltering EU membership bid, a resilient Kurdish separatist movement and by increasingly vocal Islamists who see themselves - and Turkey - as locked in battle with a hostile Christian West."
(The Canadian Press)

Fatal collisions of religion, culture, and politics have happened before.

Northern European leaders in the 16th century had a very good reason for embracing Martin Luther's ideas. Powers in southern Europe had a head start in developing trade with the rest of the world. They were the rich, powerful, and influential countries: and the northern newcomers wanted a bigger piece of the action.

A stumbling block in the northern princes' path was the Roman Catholic Church. Emphasis on Roman, here. A German monk bent on reform was too good an opportunity to ignore. It's no wonder that Europe's northern states eagerly embraced a religion that was Christian, without politically inconvenient ties to an Italian city-state.

That's an oversimplification, of course. Great sea-changes in a subcontinent's culture and religion can't be detailed in 103 words. But I think that political expedience and economic motives go a long way toward explaining why Germany and the Scandinavian states jumped on the Lutheran bandwagon, and Henry VIII of England set up an independent church in his kingdom.

Half a millenium later, I see a very similar scenario playing out. Some people in Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern states are very rich. Some nations, like Kuwait, even have a generally high standard of living. However, many individuals in the Middle East are far from wealthy, and an end of the oil boom is on the horizon.

Investing in the Future

Some leaders in the Middle East are investing today's oil revenue in education and economic projects. An example is the United Arab Emirates' Dubai (or Dubayy). When oil was discovered in Dubai, in the sixties, the U.A.E. leader Sheik Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum built an up-to-date sea port and airport in Dubai.

Sheik Rashid was no fool. He knew that his land's oil was a source of great wealth that would last - a while. Looking at the few decades of prosperity that drilling for petroleum would yield, he said:

"My grandfather rode a camel, my father rode a camel, I drive a Mercedes, my son drives a Land Rover, his son will drive a Land Rover, but his son will ride a camel."
("Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum," Emiratweet)

The economic projects of Sheik Rashid and his sons, Sheik Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum, who died in January of 2006, and Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, are still putting the United Arab Emirates on the map: Particularly the tourism industry in Dubai.

An Alternative Response to the 21st Century

Other people in the Middle East see the outside world as a threat. Since their version of Islam seems to be a puree of Mohammed's teachings, ancient cultural traditions like honor killings, and ideas cooked up by their imams, a powerful civilization which values individual freedom and tolerance really is a threat to what they believe, and their way of life.

I think that "Islamists" who hate and fear the west, and believe that the War on Terror is a war of Christianity on Islam are telling the truth: as they see it.

I also think that allowing these religious fanatics and their politically-motivated friends to continue controlling territory and speaking for "Islam" will be a disaster for the world's free nations, and for Islam.

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About Dubai: I admire what Dubai and the U.A.E. is doing, in general. That doesn't mean that I approve of everything that goes on there ("UAE, Censorship, Shari'a Law, Freedom: So What?" (August 14, 2007)). Even so, I'm impressed with leaders who have the vision to use a fleeting source of wealth for projects that may enrich their people for many generations.

Related posts, on Islam, Christianity, Religion, Culture and the War on Terror.

American Death Toll Down in Iraq But the War is Far From Over

One day left in October, and it looks like the U.S. death toll is going to be lower than it's been for a couple years. The Pentagon's representative said that it's too early to call this a trend. Iraq is still a dangerous place.

There's still fighting going on, and the sort of toss-a-grenade-out-the window violence that killed a shopper in Baghdad recently.

And, American soldiers are getting killed: 2/3 from combat this month.

As tragic as these deaths are, Iraq is looking less hopeless. Provincial security has been steadily being transferred to Iraqi (or Kurdish, in the north). Iraq's utilities are getting repaired and rebuilt after three decades of neglect, and sheiks are deciding that Al Qaeda isn't a good group to support.

"Less hopeless?" I'd say "hopeful."

I've compared aspects of the War on Terror to World War II. There are similarities. But the current conflict isn't a replay of that mid-century war.

For starters, WWII had a few well-defined nations threatening the rest of the world. The War on Terror is being fought against a loose collection of Islamic groups, with territories that shift from year to year.

I'll be surprised if I live to see the end of the War on Terror. But I hope that my children, or their children, will be free from religious fanatics who favor violence when it comes to spreading their beliefs.

Ten Iraqi Sheiks Kidnapped: Who's Promoting Islam Here?

Gunmen in Iraq kidnapped Ten Iraqi Sheiks who were returning home to Diyala province from a meeting in Baghdad. Since they were part of an 'Awakening Council,' a term used by organizations in Iraq like the Anbar Awakening, the odds are that Al Qaeda in Iraq snatched them.

I didn't find any details about the sheiks, except that seven are Sunnis and three are Shiites.

Although it's unlikely, I hope that these brave men escape, or are rescued.

I continue to be impressed by Iraqi leaders: those at local and regional levels, at any rate. Their heroic decision to defend their people, and their country, against Al Qaeda in Iraq may save Iraq from the sort of tyranny Afghanistan experienced.

Another point: These sheiks are Muslims. They oppose Al Qaeda in Iraq, that claims to promote Islam. I don't doubt that the sheiks follow Islam. I do think that Al Qaeda in Iraq, and other "Islamic" terrorist groups, may be no more representative of Islam, than the Westboro Baptist Church in Kansas is representative of Babtists, or Christianity in general.

Related posts, on Individuals and the War on Terror.

No Casualties in Anbar - Violence Down in Iraq

Good news from Iraq.

Yesterday, for the first time since March of 2003, there were no military casualties in Anbar.

No American casualties, No Iraqi casualties.

None, zero, zip.

Joint Chiefs spokesman Major General Richard Sherlock made that statement Wednesday.

This looks impressive:

	Violence in and around Baghdad	down 59 %
	Car bombs	down 65 %
	Casualties from car bombs and roadside bombs	down 80 %
	Casualties from enemy attacks	down 77 %
	Operations against Iraqi security forces	down 62 %
	Assassination attempts for sectarian reasons	down 72 %

I may be over-simplifying, or being naive, but this really does look like good news. For America and Iraq, at least.

Two things happened in Iraq this year:

• The Anbar Awakening - sheiks decided that Al Qaeda in Iraq wasn't good for Iraq.
  (They were thinking about it before September, when Sheikh Abdul Sattar Abu Risha's assassination helped make up their minds.)
• The troop surge that peaked in June, 2007.

At the risk of being simplistic, I think that talking with the sheiks in Iraq, while making a determined effort to weed out terrorists who were beheading and blowing up Iraqis, may have resulted in today's good news.

Beheading Iraqis: Not Al Qaeda's Brightest Idea

What happens when you try to bomb and behead your way into the hearts and minds of a country?

In the case of Iraq, you get Osama bin Laden criticizing his followers. In a public forum. And, more to the point, a lot of angry, determined, Iraqi sheiks.

Taking a look at what doesn't make the headlines, it's obvious that American leaders and the rest of the coalition have much less time to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat than headlines suggest.

The commanding officer of Regimental Combat Team-6, Colonel Richard Simcock, recently said, "... we get all sorts of congressional visitors who are looking for the 'Anbar' story, and let me tell you what I tell them: we are winning, but we have not yet won." [emphasis is mine]

Colonel Simcock made that statement in "Interview with Col. Richard Simcock," on military.com: ("Benefiting the US Army, US Navy, US Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard").

The Iraq he described, at least Fallujah and the rest of the Anbar Province, is not the bomb-ravaged, fanatic-infested, America-hating, hopeless case that we've heard so much about.

The Iraqis he deals with sound a lot like most of the people I know, here in America:

"Q -- What do the local citizens want -- either from their mayor or from us?
A -- They want the same things in Fallujah as we have in America; health care, education, and technology. They want good schools, markets with food and stuff to buy, along with electricity to run their computers, air conditioners, and businesses."

The assassination of Sheik Sattar Abu Rishi (also Latinized as Sheik Sattar Abu Risha) had an effect: but not the one Al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) intended.

Colonel Simcock said, "... they are not intimidated. They saw it as a very tragic event.

"It had the opposite effect that AQI wanted. AQI's message was “Look what happens when you work with the Americans, you wind up dead.” That is not what I am getting from the sheiks that I work with in AO Raleigh, it is just the opposite. They are saddened, but they are angry and makes them work with more energy to get to the same end state that we are trying to reach."

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I strongly recommend reading all of "Interview with Col. Richard Simcock." Particularly if you've just heard the latest car bombing scores.

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Doing research for this post, I ran into some unfamiliar acronyms used by the American military, and their definitions, from mytroops.com and michaeltotten.com:

AQI	Al Qaeda in Iraq
AO	Area of Operations
IA	Iraqi Army
IP	Iraqi Police
ISF	Iraqi Security Forces
MiTT	Military Transition Team

Stressed-Out by Iraq? You're Not the Only One

Different people react differently to stress, and the war on terror has stressed quite a few people, one way or another.

"Tens of thousands of anti-war demonstrators" marched in Washington D.C., and had a die-in. Their chant made their desire clear: "What do we want? Troops out. When do we want it? Now."

One of the peace movement's stars, Cindy Sheehan, addressed the multitude. "It's time to lay our bodies on the line and say we've had enough," she said. "It's time to shut this city down."

There were some U.S. veterans at the march and die-in, including 25-year-old Justin Cliburn. "We're occupying a people who do not want us there," he said about Iraq.

I saw a reporter interviewing one of the die-iners. It was like a scene one of those old 'grandson of Dracula's nephew's cousin' movies, except the blood-stained ersatz corpse was in bright sunlight. In answer to the reporter's question, she said that U.S. soldiers are dying 'for nothing, for no reason.' I wouldn't swear to those being the exact words, but it's a close paraphrase.

Meanwhile, over in southern Iraq, the Migasees tribe's leader in Wasit province, Sheik Majid Tahir, has his own interests in the country. He says tribal leaders in Iraq have talked about creating an American-trained brigade of Iraqis. The brigades' purpose would be to help local security and help patrol the Iranian border.

Although Iraqi politics at the national level impress me no more than that of the American Congress, I admire the courage of Iraqis at the local and regional level.

Faced with the death of one of Iraq's leaders, Sheik Majid Tahir said that the assassination of Abu Risha increased the resolve of Shiite tribal leaders. "The death of Sheik Abu Risha will not thwart us," he said. "What matters to us is Iraq and its safety."

Sheikh Abdul Sattar Abu Risha pulled 25 Sunni Arab clans together, and organized them as the Anbar Awakening Council. The Council's purpose was to oppose Al Qaeda, and run terrorists out of sanctuaries where they had flourished after 2003 the U.S.-led invasion.

Abu Risha was killed on Thursday, September 13, 2007, when a roadside bomb near his house exploded. It was the first day of Ramadan.

Al Qaeda's Islamic State of Iraq claimed credit for the assassination on Friday. Allah enabled your brothers ... to track down and assassinate the imam of infidelity and apostasy ... one of the dogs of (U.S. President George W.) Bush," the Web statement said.

It's going to be interesting, seeing who makes the most difference: Sheik Majid Tahir; Al Qaeda, or Cindy Sheehan and company.

Related posts, on Individuals and the War on Terror.

Osama bin Laden: Media Star

If you liked Osama bin Laden's video that came out earlier this month, you'll love his new video, appearing soon on a screen near you!

At least, that seems to be what Al Qaeda is hoping. An "Islamic militant Web site" featured a banner announcing bin Laden's coming hit. The New York Sun's Associated Press article quoted the banner in English, although I'm pretty sure it's a translation. Here it is:

"'Coming soon, God willing, the testament of the attacks on New York and Washington, Abu Musab Waleed al-Shehri, presented by Sheik Osama bin Laden, God preserve him,' the banner read. It showed an image of Sheik bin Laden wearing the same black beard and clothes as in the most recent video."

I'm not a big Bin Laden fan, myself, mostly because I prefer a society where my wife can get groceries on her own, my daughters can learn to read and write, and my son won't be taught to beat his future wife and daughters. Call me a bigot, but I don't approve of beliefs like that.

As a reminder of a previous Al Qaeda mega-happening, Abu Musab Waleed al-Shehri is one of the nineteen martyrs who struck a blow against the infidel five years and 364 days ago today.

(I learned something today. Sheik (شيخ‎) seems to be Bin Laden's preferred title, so in the spirit of multiculturalism, I'll drop the western "Mr.")

Related posts, on Individuals and the War on Terror.

Keith Ellison, Iraqi Sheikhs, and Islam's Image

Representative Keith Ellison's term in Congress will be historically important, no matter what he does. As the first Muslim elected to that body, he represents another step in the development of the United States of America as an open, free, society: one where a person's ancestral geography or religious beliefs does not determine what position that person holds.

After a relatively quiet first six months in office, Representative Ellison promises to make history through his own efforts.

Recently, Keith Ellison traveled to Iraq. I first read about his trip in the St. Cloud Times (July 31, 2007), where "Ellison meets Iraqi sheikhs" ran across the top of four of the paper's five front-page columns.

The sheikhs, who "oversee several hundred thousand congregants," had a very good reason for speaking with the only muslim among America's congressmen. "They were very upset and concerned that al-Qaeda is misrepresenting Islam," Ellison said in the AP article. "And they were talking to me about what I can possibly do to work with them to give a clearer, more accurate picture of what Islam is all about." (Emphasis is mine.)

Essentially the same story had appeared in the previous day's USA Today, Ellison returns from trip to Iraq. Ellison, referring to the sheikhs' request, said he would help. He was already involved in "a State Department outreach effort aimed at improving the image of the U.S. in the Muslim world."

The USA Today article included quite a bit that wasn't in the St. Cloud, Minnesota paper. Again quoting Representative Ellison, and the USA Today article: "The success in Ramadi is not just because of bombs and bullets, but because the U.S. and Iraqi military and the Iraqi police are partnering with the tribal leadership and the religious leadership," he said. "So they're not trying to just bomb people into submission. What they're doing is respecting the people, giving the people some control over their own lives."

Ellison said he was particularly impressed watching Maj. Gen. Walter Gaskin, U.S. commander in the Anbar province, greeting people with "as-salama aleikum," meaning peace be upon you.

This is a far cry from the Ellison who said, while meeting with the group Atheists for Human Rights, "It's almost like the Reichstag fire, kind of reminds me of that. After the Reichstag was burned, they blamed the Communists for it and it put the leader of that country [Hitler] in a position where he could basically have authority to do whatever he wanted. The fact is that I'm not saying [Sept. 11] was a [U.S.] plan, or anything like that because, you know, that's how they put you in the nut-ball box -- dismiss you." (Another Islamic Voice in the Debate)

There are politicians who say whatever they think the group they're with wants to say. If Representative Ellison is one of that sort, I suspect that he'll have a long career. If he doesn't have American journalists on his side, he at least seems to enjoy a certain immunity from journalistic curiosity.

News media in the States don't generally seem inclined to look closely to Mr. Ellison's background. That's according to M. Zuhdi Jasser, a contributing editor for the FSM (Family Security Matters) website: and a Muslim. I'm somewhat inclined to agree. Dr. Jasser gives details of Keith Ellison's connections and past that I'd consider to be newsworthy:

• Addressing the North American Imams Federation Congressman-elect Ellison. Dr. Jasser says the AIF is behind the lawsuit brought by the Minnesota Imams against U.S. Airways
• Ellison's campaign fund raisers involved Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) members. CAIR is a group identified by the Anti-Defamation League as founded by leaders of a Hamas affiliate
• Representative Ellison insists that his connection with Louis Farrakhan's Nation of Islam was limited to the Million Man March

Any or all of these could simply be the sort of elbow-rubbing that a good politician does.

I think it's a little odd that Mr. Ellison's connection with the colorful Louis Farrakhan, who was banned from the UK "on the grounds he expressed racist and anti-Semitic views" hasn't gotten more attention. Farrakhan, a man with colorful ideas and a talent for getting attention, combined with the first Muslim Congressman, is not intrinsically boring. In fact, it should be news. (Don't blame me for the remark about Mr. Farrakhan: I'm just quoting the BBC.)

However, for now I don't know what to think of Mr. Ellison. He may be a young man with little practical experience in public life, who needs to learn that being an American Congressional Representative is an important, high-profile position: and that he can't count on the cooperation of a selectively attentive press indefinitely.

I hope so. We don't need a reckless Representative with comparative immunity from press scrutiny right now. Representative Keith Ellison's official website seems well-organized, and should be a good place to see what he wants his image to be.

We do need people who are able to understand the many flavors of Islam that seem to exist, and to communicate that understanding to the rest of us.

I think it's going to be a long time before we discover whether Keith Ellison is one of those people.

Happily, we don't need to rely entirely on Representative Ellison and the press corps for information on his activities. So far, the Web has proven to be an excellent forum for ideas that the New York Times, broadcast networks, and other traditional information gatekeepers would just as soon be quietly ignored.

Keith Ellison posts:

• Keith Ellison, Iraqi Sheikhs, and Islam's Image (August 3, 2007)
• This Keith Ellison Story Might Take Off (July 27, 2007)
• Congressman Keith Ellison and Islam (July 22, 2007)
• Rep. Ellison's Misconstrued Reichstag Remarks (July 17, 2007)
• There's a New Loon in Minnesota (July 16, 2007)
• Another Islamic Voice in the Debate (July 16, 2007)

As the first Islamic member of the American Congress, Representative Ellison deserves some attention. There may be more K.E. posts, given his colorful past associations and current talent for getting in the news.