May 13, 2009 – islamicate

Politics

Torture: America v. America

islamoyankeeMay 13, 2009

Mona tells an Egyptian view of American torture: I think of that hooded demonstrator in the orange jumpsuit often. The occupant of the White House might have changed but America still hasn’t had the necessary conversation about torture that he insisted on starting. Instead, it avoids engaging and prefers to walk away like the girl’s chaperone. The continuing love affair with President Barack Obama must not blindfold America to the reckoning it must have. Which is why I hope that hooded demonstrator is still there outside the White House with his board saying “End Torture Now.” Only now, with a…

Politics Religion

Torture is Terror

islamoyankeeMay 13, 2009

The passage below is a problem I have been struggling to articulate. From Aziz: What is needed is a generalized principle under which both opposition to terrorism and opposition to torture can be articulated. From a religious perspective, muslims have been arguing (usually defensively) that terrorism (ie, hirabah) goes against Islamic teachings for quite some time – see my own ongoing articles on hirabah here on beliefnet and my earlier hirabah posts. Recently, several muslim organizations issued a joint statement against torture (to which I also signed). Many of the same religious arguments that are made can be applied equally…

Charity Inter-faith Intra-faith

Grass Roots Development May Hold Promise in the Muslim World

islamoyankeeMay 13, 2009

I would actually hope that it holds promise for everyone: There is, Khan averred, a “dominant player fallacy” or the tendency to place “too much reliance in national governments and other institutions which may have relatively superficial connections to life at the grass-roots level.” Thus, “urban-based outsiders often look at these situations from the perspective of the city center looking out to a distant countryside, searching for quick and convenient levers of influence.” The secret, then, is to work “from the bottom up” and not from the top down, as is so often the case. As he told the dinner…

Politics

Deep Thought

islamoyankeeMay 13, 2009

JMM on torture: It was the right thing to do. But by all means let’s keep it secret. [From Deep Thought]

Politics

A Very Small Man

islamoyankeeMay 13, 2009

Many people are clearly and understandably incensed by Vice President Cheney’s on-going media campaign advocating state-sponsored torture and his making what appear to be all sorts of false claims about how effective his torture policies were. But though it’s maddening and offensive, I’m more on the side of being heartened or at least glad to see the exposure he’s getting — not so much because it’s politically damaging to the Republicans, which is probably true, but because he’s (as is his puppet daughter) showing and can’t help but show more and more about who he is. [From A Very Small…