Iran’s President Ahmadinejad's latest declarations that the Holocaust is a myth and that Israel should be wiped off the face of this earth speak for themselves. What everyone is trying to figure out is just how seriously should we take what he says, and what if anything at all can we really do about it.
In recent days there has been much discussion regarding whether Israel or America should use force to stop Ahmadinejad and Iran from gaining nuclear capability. To be honest, I am sympathetic to such an argument. Power and force are not always unethical. Still, any use of force would inevitably only be a piecemeal solution. Even if we bombed their nuclear reactors, all we get is 10 years until the threat resurfaces. Physical force can only sidetrack someone with such a sick and horrid worldview.
Unfortunately, it seems that Ahmadinejad’s words are not an anomaly in the Muslim world. Even more depressing is that his comments are not only not condemned by Iran’s religious leaders but actually supported and encouraged. As reported by the AP, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei supported Ahmadinejad's calls for Israel's elimination. Instead of standing up to Ahmadinejad and others like him, religious leaders in the Muslim world continue to cheer on those who call for murder and violence. They try to cloak themselves in ethical garb, taking up the plight of the Palestinians when in truth, their blatant anti-Semitism only hurts the Palestinians cause.
The only thing that can save us from such violent dreams is Allah. Only Allah has the power to stop such people. Ahmadinejad's rhetoric will only be stopped when Muslim clerics get out in front of their communities and condemn those who abuse Allah in such a manner.
So I ask: Where are those religious leaders in the Muslim world ready to take responsibility and fight for peace? No army, no Israeli air force strike, no missile has the strength these religious leaders could have in engendering peace and breeding a more tolerant atmosphere in the Middle East.
Though there are some in the Muslim community who have spoken up, why don't we hear of any major Islamic clerics ready to put their life on the line in the name of saving Islam from itself? Why are there so many who are prepared to martyr themselves in the name of violence and destruction, but so few ready to give their lives for peace and pluralism. Why are there so few true martyrs in the Muslim world?
Only Allah
Friday December 30, 2005
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This blog is no longer updated and is closed for comments. We welcome your comments about Judaism in our Judaism forums.
Brad Hirschfield currently blogs on Windows and Doors.
Author, radio and TV talk show host, and President of CLAL-The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership, Brad Hirschfield is the author of You Don’t Have To Be Wrong For Me To Be Right: Finding Faith Without Fanaticism. Listed as one of the nation’s 50 most influential rabbis in Newsweek, and a regular commentator on Court TV, he is the creator of the popular series, Building Bridges, airing on Bridges TV, and the co-host of the weekly radio show, Hirschfield and Kula.
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Greetings in Peace, Why are there so few practicing Muslims? What an interesting question. And why don't we hear their voices for peace? It's true that most Muslims are living in their Dark Age where they simply don't comprehend the 1400 year old Arabic they memorize to recite. Certainly this is true of an Afghan who is simply reciting holy words for good luck. The Recitation (Qur'an) is simply not providing quidance to its listeners because they can't understand what they hear. The Catholics were in this position 500 years ago when the Bible was locked up in the dead language of Latin. And look at what trouble they had prior to and during the Reformation! Another problem attributing to this phenomenon is that there are no Islamic countries anymore. All countries whose populations are predominantly Muslim, are ruled by unIslamic kings, generals, drug lords, and other dictators - many put there by CIA or MI6. Most practicing Muslims are too busy trying to stay alive in their own countries leaving little time to worry about the troubles of others. CIA-installed Assad of Syria killed tens of thousands of Muslims in the early '80s; now his son is trying to maintain the family tradition. Egypt, number 2 recipient of U.S. foreign aid dollars after Israel who is number 1, is another Muslim country where the government represents its foreign masters rather than its own citizenry. Iran, long ruled by the infamous Shah Pahlevi whose SAVAK tortured at least one member of every family, overthrew tyranny only to see the CIA number 2 man Ayatollah Khomeini come from France to do a Ross Perot on the people - duping them with Islamic rhetoric and killing the socialists by the tens of thousands. Meanwhile in Iraq, CIA-installed Saddam Hussein started a war with Iran; and we all know that war is the health of the state. Hussein conscripted his internal enemies into his armies and sent them to fight Khomeini's similarly conscripted internal enemies. For 8 years Hussein and Khomeini maintained their regimes in this manner, while U.S. air surveillance monitored Iraqi MIGs versus Iranian F4s in the sky wars. The U.S. supported both dictators in their war. So there you have it - every so-called Muslim country from Saudi Arabia to Pakistan to Indonesia is ruled by a CIA-installed. Where are the cries for peace and social justice on behalf of these tyrants' victims? Murray Rothbard would say "government is the problem, not the solution".