Bridge the Gap in Blogspace
We fear what we don't know. So let's get to know the people we
fear!
Syrian weblogs disprove idea that Islam is a backward religion
zaterdag 11 februari 2006 03:21 door Bridging the Gap in Blogspace
Note to Dutch readers: the Dutch version can be found
here.
“Who on earth do those towelheads think they are? I am certain that, as we speak thousands of them are packing their backpacks for ‘little visits’ to Rotterdam, Paris, London or Amsterdam. And this time they’ll probably go after our museums and art-shops! Look at them raging on the TV. You’d almost think those Imams practice at looking crazed...Luckily, our right-extremist politicians show some backbone and dare to speak their minds. And reprint those cartoons. Bartender, pour me another large one, because in these scary times, we can use all the courage we can get!”
Everybody huddles together safely. Being very afraid of everything, with everyone trying to get the next person even more scared…
In the meantime we, for once, will NOT TOUCH THAT DIAL and consume every news broadcast, because this cannot be missed. Danger! Ratings! K-Ching!
Geert Wilders, our very own right wing populist, finally has a reason to jump back into the spotlight again, because he has received no less than 40 (forty!) death-threats after posting the Danish Cartoons. Danger! Poll-ratings! K-Ching!
And it seems that the confrontationalist website lucasdelinkselul.nl has already been visited by a real Muslim. No emails have been received. As of yet, that is, but everyone is ready to call the police when the moment arrives. Wow, look that hit-counter go!
The entire world press films a couple of busloads of Rent-an-Angry-Muslim-Crowd actors torch some embassies. Conveniently the guards that are usually on duty, seem to have been called away just now… And in every living room scared citizens nervously glance from their TV-sets to their doors, waiting for the angry Muslim hordes to come bursting in and curtail their Freedoms.
Reality Check!
As you are reading this, hundreds of millions of Muslim people are riding buses all over the world. They may be reading newspapers, listening to their iPods, or just be staring out of their windows. Some of those may even come across one of those cartoons. But those hundreds of millions do not go blow themselves up or torch embassies. Bullshit. They have other things on their minds. Getting home. Groceries. Diner. That sort of thing.
But what sort of ratings would you achieve by showing millions of people just going about their business? While FOX already has some footage of yet another bloody riot, no less.
However, the fact that the millions of people that abhor the extremist morons, by definition will not be provoked into newsworthy demonstrations-with-molestation does not mean they are not there! We may not see them on CNN, but if we really want, we can Google our way onto thousands of blogs with Muslims condemning every action of every extremist in sight.
When you are merely waiting for an excuse to say that the ‘Islam is a retarded religion’ please do not bother reading these blogs. You will just be disappointed and attribute it to a fluke.
But if you are curious to see what the Muslims that are not torching embassies really think, just go and click on some links. And once we start putting some comments on there, who knows, maybe we will bring about the start of a beginning of an idea of dialogue… Unless you’ll start your conversation the same way I started this log. But that would be very understandable, I’d say...
Granted, a cool reaction on a Syrian weblog may not get you the almost-automatica-reciprocal-kudo-points we have cultivated in our little weblog system. But it is fun to come across some different names than the usual Volkskrant suspects. And besides, it is cool to see all sorts of distant IP numbers and new providers in the stats as well, isn’t it?
This is a just random selection, but it will lead you to thousands more.
Ayman's Damascene Blog
<> Shame Shame Shame
<> Not in Our Name: Syrian Bloggers
<>More Thoughts on the Danish Cartoons Row
Omar's Earth to Omar
<>Regarding the Vandalism of Danish Embassies
OZ's Between Syria And France
<>That was not the way!
Ihsan's Bits & Bites of Syria -
<>Ashamed of being Syrian!
Omar's Deconstructed Life -
<>When stupidity meets ignorance
<>Not me, not in my name
Amr Tulaimat's Across Syria & Inside Homs -
<>Sheep
So, what do you mean retarded? What do you mean violent nutcases?
Why on earth are we so desperate for an enemy?
“Who on earth do those towelheads think they are? I am certain that, as we speak thousands of them are packing their backpacks for ‘little visits’ to Rotterdam, Paris, London or Amsterdam. And this time they’ll probably go after our museums and art-shops! Look at them raging on the TV. You’d almost think those Imams practice at looking crazed...Luckily, our right-extremist politicians show some backbone and dare to speak their minds. And reprint those cartoons. Bartender, pour me another large one, because in these scary times, we can use all the courage we can get!”
Everybody huddles together safely. Being very afraid of everything, with everyone trying to get the next person even more scared…
In the meantime we, for once, will NOT TOUCH THAT DIAL and consume every news broadcast, because this cannot be missed. Danger! Ratings! K-Ching!
Geert Wilders, our very own right wing populist, finally has a reason to jump back into the spotlight again, because he has received no less than 40 (forty!) death-threats after posting the Danish Cartoons. Danger! Poll-ratings! K-Ching!
And it seems that the confrontationalist website lucasdelinkselul.nl has already been visited by a real Muslim. No emails have been received. As of yet, that is, but everyone is ready to call the police when the moment arrives. Wow, look that hit-counter go!
The entire world press films a couple of busloads of Rent-an-Angry-Muslim-Crowd actors torch some embassies. Conveniently the guards that are usually on duty, seem to have been called away just now… And in every living room scared citizens nervously glance from their TV-sets to their doors, waiting for the angry Muslim hordes to come bursting in and curtail their Freedoms.
Reality Check!
As you are reading this, hundreds of millions of Muslim people are riding buses all over the world. They may be reading newspapers, listening to their iPods, or just be staring out of their windows. Some of those may even come across one of those cartoons. But those hundreds of millions do not go blow themselves up or torch embassies. Bullshit. They have other things on their minds. Getting home. Groceries. Diner. That sort of thing.
But what sort of ratings would you achieve by showing millions of people just going about their business? While FOX already has some footage of yet another bloody riot, no less.
However, the fact that the millions of people that abhor the extremist morons, by definition will not be provoked into newsworthy demonstrations-with-molestation does not mean they are not there! We may not see them on CNN, but if we really want, we can Google our way onto thousands of blogs with Muslims condemning every action of every extremist in sight.
When you are merely waiting for an excuse to say that the ‘Islam is a retarded religion’ please do not bother reading these blogs. You will just be disappointed and attribute it to a fluke.
But if you are curious to see what the Muslims that are not torching embassies really think, just go and click on some links. And once we start putting some comments on there, who knows, maybe we will bring about the start of a beginning of an idea of dialogue… Unless you’ll start your conversation the same way I started this log. But that would be very understandable, I’d say...
Granted, a cool reaction on a Syrian weblog may not get you the almost-automatica-reciprocal-kudo-points we have cultivated in our little weblog system. But it is fun to come across some different names than the usual Volkskrant suspects. And besides, it is cool to see all sorts of distant IP numbers and new providers in the stats as well, isn’t it?
This is a just random selection, but it will lead you to thousands more.
Ayman's Damascene Blog
<> Shame Shame Shame
<> Not in Our Name: Syrian Bloggers
<>More Thoughts on the Danish Cartoons Row
Omar's Earth to Omar
<>Regarding the Vandalism of Danish Embassies
OZ's Between Syria And France
<>That was not the way!
Ihsan's Bits & Bites of Syria -
<>Ashamed of being Syrian!
Omar's Deconstructed Life -
<>When stupidity meets ignorance
<>Not me, not in my name
Amr Tulaimat's Across Syria & Inside Homs -
<>Sheep
So, what do you mean retarded? What do you mean violent nutcases?
Why on earth are we so desperate for an enemy?
4reacties
n=1
11-02-2006 03:33
Sorry dat deze nieuw leek. Had hem zonder het te weten uit 2
blogs tegelijk verwijderd. Ben gelukkig niet de enige die af en toe wat moeite heeft
met de user interface.
Sinan
Hatahet 11-02-2006 07:37
None of us believe in violence as a solution. The following is a
compilation of the writings of Syrian bloggers, regarding the
attacks on the Danish and Norwegian embassies. The intent of this
post is to give our readers a different perspective, a
perspective that the media ignores. We’ve all seen the
images of riots in the streets, flag burning, and public
protests. On the other hand, few have heard of the reasonable
voices coming from the Arab world in general, and from Syria in
specific. If you would like to add your voice to ours, let me
know and I’ll be more than happy to add you to this post.
Let’s work together to make our voices heard.
Ihsan: "I welcomed both the commercial and diplomatic actions in response to the cartoons that mocked the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), and for once, I felt that we are reacting in a civilized manner! Not any more! While I’m 100% convinced that the Syrian Regime had a hand in what happened. I still cannot understand the concept of being driven like a sheep. To me, those people who were sabotaging and burning the embassies seemed like stupid sheep led by a smart shepherd."
Yazan. No, they were not attacking Danish or European "out of line" freedom of speech, they were not even taking revenge for the prophet, They were attacking the heart of Syria. The civilized idea of Syria.
These ppl are criminals, And the ones RESPONSIBLE for letting them unleashed are CRIMINALS too...
Ayman: What happened in Damascus today is just shameful. I had expected the protest to be peaceful and civilized. Mobs ran into the streets, shouted and attacked embassies, without realizing the severity of the damage they inflicted to "their" cause and to Islam's image. Mobs controlled the protests today, and people who were there to peacefully protest were shocked and had to hide in their homes. I felt a bitter disappointment.
Sara: I couldn't believe that a mob of angry Muslims burnt the Danish embassy. Why?? That was seriously not necessary. They had no right. Islamically this is seriously NOT acceptable. I personally condemn this sinful act. You cannot fix something wrong with something worse... Innocent people could've died. They had nothing to do with the cartoons.
The Syrian Brit: "These acts were carried out in the name of Islam, under the guise of defending it.. What a sickening farce.. I say to all those bastards who attacked the Embassies and burnt flags and vandalised properties.. Not in my name.. Never.."
Omar Faleh: "I do feel ashamed of how things turn out in my home country, and I do feel very bad about where the country is going, especially that I believe that the government was not completely innocent of being involved in this matter.. and I don't agree with any political or social value in there.. but.. those people are not Syrians.."
Sinan: There is not in any imaginable way a valid reason to the attacks held against the Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish embassies, however I totally understand it. Have you ever heard of marches and demonstrations where violence didn't occur? However it's necessary and very crucial for the rest of the world to understand that these actions do not, I repeat, do not in anyway reflect what the Syrian people really believe, or at least what the elite in here believe.
Omar Salaymeh: "I hope people don’t take the actions of a few thugs as representative of the Syrian or Lebanese people. Just like we expressed our voices of concern over the cartoons in the first place, we’re all expressing our views again over the shameful acts. We, the rational, should work together to show the world that there’s more to Arabs than what they see on television. If I learned anything from the cartoon fiasco, it’s that our views, beliefs and culture are not well known to the west. I think this whole situation could have been prevented if there wasn’t much ignorance on both sides of the table."
Ammar: Everybody said it, this is not us, nor it is our Islam. Everything that happened in the last two days in Syria and Lebanon jeoperdised the efforts muslims made to keep the protests civilised and rational. Apologies to the people and countries hurt in the violence acts. Still, we'll keep protesting peacefully against the cartoons about our prophet Muhamad (PBUH).
Yaman: The problem for Muslims is not the Danish economy. In fact, the source of the problem does not even rest with the editors of the European newspapers or the cartoonists themselves. The problem is the cancer of the extremists who embrace and adopt their closed minded and violent world view based loosely on an erroneous understanding of the Qur'an. For, we must realize that the publication of the cartoons in the first place was a response to the extremists and ironically enough, succeded only in eliciting primarily the response of those same extremists further intensifying the problem. It was irresponsible of the papers to do this knowing what the response would be--but let us not forget that the cartoons were originally published five months ago on September 30, 2005. Why the delay? Obviously, it was more politically suitable for the Arab regimes to inflate this issue today. Why the riots 5 months later? If the cartoons were really the issue then the world would have been on fire in 2005, not 2006.
Ihsan: "I welcomed both the commercial and diplomatic actions in response to the cartoons that mocked the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), and for once, I felt that we are reacting in a civilized manner! Not any more! While I’m 100% convinced that the Syrian Regime had a hand in what happened. I still cannot understand the concept of being driven like a sheep. To me, those people who were sabotaging and burning the embassies seemed like stupid sheep led by a smart shepherd."
Yazan. No, they were not attacking Danish or European "out of line" freedom of speech, they were not even taking revenge for the prophet, They were attacking the heart of Syria. The civilized idea of Syria.
These ppl are criminals, And the ones RESPONSIBLE for letting them unleashed are CRIMINALS too...
Ayman: What happened in Damascus today is just shameful. I had expected the protest to be peaceful and civilized. Mobs ran into the streets, shouted and attacked embassies, without realizing the severity of the damage they inflicted to "their" cause and to Islam's image. Mobs controlled the protests today, and people who were there to peacefully protest were shocked and had to hide in their homes. I felt a bitter disappointment.
Sara: I couldn't believe that a mob of angry Muslims burnt the Danish embassy. Why?? That was seriously not necessary. They had no right. Islamically this is seriously NOT acceptable. I personally condemn this sinful act. You cannot fix something wrong with something worse... Innocent people could've died. They had nothing to do with the cartoons.
The Syrian Brit: "These acts were carried out in the name of Islam, under the guise of defending it.. What a sickening farce.. I say to all those bastards who attacked the Embassies and burnt flags and vandalised properties.. Not in my name.. Never.."
Omar Faleh: "I do feel ashamed of how things turn out in my home country, and I do feel very bad about where the country is going, especially that I believe that the government was not completely innocent of being involved in this matter.. and I don't agree with any political or social value in there.. but.. those people are not Syrians.."
Sinan: There is not in any imaginable way a valid reason to the attacks held against the Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish embassies, however I totally understand it. Have you ever heard of marches and demonstrations where violence didn't occur? However it's necessary and very crucial for the rest of the world to understand that these actions do not, I repeat, do not in anyway reflect what the Syrian people really believe, or at least what the elite in here believe.
Omar Salaymeh: "I hope people don’t take the actions of a few thugs as representative of the Syrian or Lebanese people. Just like we expressed our voices of concern over the cartoons in the first place, we’re all expressing our views again over the shameful acts. We, the rational, should work together to show the world that there’s more to Arabs than what they see on television. If I learned anything from the cartoon fiasco, it’s that our views, beliefs and culture are not well known to the west. I think this whole situation could have been prevented if there wasn’t much ignorance on both sides of the table."
Ammar: Everybody said it, this is not us, nor it is our Islam. Everything that happened in the last two days in Syria and Lebanon jeoperdised the efforts muslims made to keep the protests civilised and rational. Apologies to the people and countries hurt in the violence acts. Still, we'll keep protesting peacefully against the cartoons about our prophet Muhamad (PBUH).
Yaman: The problem for Muslims is not the Danish economy. In fact, the source of the problem does not even rest with the editors of the European newspapers or the cartoonists themselves. The problem is the cancer of the extremists who embrace and adopt their closed minded and violent world view based loosely on an erroneous understanding of the Qur'an. For, we must realize that the publication of the cartoons in the first place was a response to the extremists and ironically enough, succeded only in eliciting primarily the response of those same extremists further intensifying the problem. It was irresponsible of the papers to do this knowing what the response would be--but let us not forget that the cartoons were originally published five months ago on September 30, 2005. Why the delay? Obviously, it was more politically suitable for the Arab regimes to inflate this issue today. Why the riots 5 months later? If the cartoons were really the issue then the world would have been on fire in 2005, not 2006.
Rob
11-02-2006 11:48
What is evident in a lot of reactions of moderate Muslims here in
Holland as well as abroad, is that they dissociate themselves
from the radical element. 'This is not Islam', they say, after
which most consider the matter adequately dealt with.
I am afraid that that's just not enough. Moderate Muslims could protest the insane violence which has come to be synonymous wih Islam in the West. It is much more damaging to Islam than a few cartoons can ever be.
Those who simply turn their backs to it, allow it to continue. You have started to let your voice be heard on your blogs. Now if you can and if you dare, take it to the streets.
I am afraid that that's just not enough. Moderate Muslims could protest the insane violence which has come to be synonymous wih Islam in the West. It is much more damaging to Islam than a few cartoons can ever be.
Those who simply turn their backs to it, allow it to continue. You have started to let your voice be heard on your blogs. Now if you can and if you dare, take it to the streets.
Bridging the Gap in Blogspace 11-02-2006 12:53
I agree with you that the refusal to respond to the calls for
violence is something that should be applauded.
I am not sure if we can demand from Muslims that, if they really want to prove their democratic principles the should go to the streets and demonstrate.
First of all it would be difficult to even get a license for a huge demonstration of Muslims right now. Secondly if I had to go and take to the streets whenever some christian fundamentalist did something that made the christian faith look bad, I wouldn't have any time left to work, eat or sleep.
It is funny that even while we are actually communicating, it is easier to trust some distant anchorman you have never talked to in your life, than 'one of the opposing camp'.
The only remed for that would be to keep on talking I guess.
I am not sure if we can demand from Muslims that, if they really want to prove their democratic principles the should go to the streets and demonstrate.
First of all it would be difficult to even get a license for a huge demonstration of Muslims right now. Secondly if I had to go and take to the streets whenever some christian fundamentalist did something that made the christian faith look bad, I wouldn't have any time left to work, eat or sleep.
It is funny that even while we are actually communicating, it is easier to trust some distant anchorman you have never talked to in your life, than 'one of the opposing camp'.
The only remed for that would be to keep on talking I guess.
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Bridging the Gap in Blogspace
Woonplaats: RotterdamNico Moenens, (1968) from Rotterdam, the Netherlands. I am an MD, waiting to start my residency in psychiatry, hopefully by 1/1/07. My interests in psych focus on the psychotic disorders seen from as many points of view: biological, sociological, evolutionary, pharmacological and ethical. Until the start of my residency I am working in a daycare facility for 20 homeless Double Diagnosis patients. DD, in our case the combination of an addiction and a psychotic d.o. Being Dutch, I am part of a collection with an N of 16 million. I am part of an N=6 billion world, and an N=598.000 city. The larger the N, the more accurate the predications one could make about the entire population. Then again, the larger the N, the more my personal opinions get filtered out. So I recognize less of myself in the image of the typical Dutchman. Let alone that I recognizable much of the typical European as seen on CNN and such. So I am conducting an N=1 study in this blog. Very reliable when it comes to my personal opinions, guesses, hopes and fears. But definetely no predictor for the world population at all. So reader be warned. If you want accurate generalizations, better click on to Gallup...
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annet: Helemaal mee eens. Ieder mens zit op zijn eigen niveau …
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anoniem: Dat staat niet in de Koran, als het er wel …
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Jan: Waarom kan jij dan wel alle Moslims aansprakelijk stellen voor …
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