Da’ish not ISIS

Da’ish not ISIS

            When the Arab world leaders refer to this terrorist group as Da’ish what right do we in the West have to correct these men and women. They refer to Da’ish because to recognize it as ISIS is to give credence to the group as a legitimate Islamic State, which we recognize is not so. The other evening on BBC America the presenter Katty Kay had the audacity to correct her guest, an Iraqi minister whose purpose was to discuss Da’ish. In so doing, he referred to them as Da’ish, and the presenter immediately corrected him, saying “you mean ISIS.” From that point on, placed in the uncomfortable position of naming the group ISIS, he continued his interview. But obvious to every listener, he did not like the necessity of referring to the group with that acronym.

            When the Foreign Minister for the United Arab Emirates stood in front of the UN Security Council and specifically stated that the group is not ISIS and Muslim nations refused to give the terrorists any credence. He also pleaded with the world nations to do the same, but in our stubbornness to hang on to our own vocabulary, still refuse to do so. We send money and arms and make treaties with the Muslim countries attacking Da’ish, but we cannot bring ourselves to accept their superior understanding of the language and how it affects this terrorist group.

Calling them ISIS gives them an acknowledged Islamic identity, which other Arab nations cannot do. Da’ish on the other hand is an Arabic abbreviation which denigrates the terrorists to what they really are, illegal and illegitimate terrorists. In the past several months I have only heard two American foreign service individuals refer to them as Da’ish. In the UK and some American politicians still cling to the acronym ISIL, which is another Western made up acronym.

One way to defeat this group, outside of military intervention, is to unrecognized them, do not credit them as Muslims. I just returned from Egypt, and Egyptians, when asked, from taxi drivers to shopkeepers, and others, detest ISIS and its terrorist activities. Ordinary people revile the idea that these people kill in the name of their religion, bringing Islam down with them. Whether liberal or conservative, the majority of Muslims do not want to be associated with this group or other terrorist activities which use the name of their faith to kill, maim, and destroy. Let the West and in particular the media make the change and likewise refuse to give this group any recognition except what they detest, not ISIS, but Da’ish.

Perceptions

            HBO produces a programme called Vice which purports to reveal disturbing practices in various parts of the world. Last week they presented a show on Egypt and its antiquities. It appeared that this particular episode meant to expose the robbing of Egypt’s antiquities from various parts of the country inclusive of Cairo’s Egyptian Museum, grave digging in Luxor and Saqqara, among other temples which line the Nile River.

            The presenter brought in the former Egyptian Minister of Antiquities, Zahi Hawass, a man around whom whispers of corruption and stealing from the Egyptian Museum led to his departure from the Ministry shortly after the 25 January Revolution. Footage from one scene of rioting during the four-year old revolution was shown to demonstrate an objective of the show that violence and corruption continues in Egypt. They even managed to “find” and get confessions from two completely covered grave robbers and how they dug right in the middle of Luxor, one of the most heavily guarded places for antiquities.

            Having just returned from Egypt after a lengthy stay, stealing the country’s antiquities is the least of its problems. On the surface, nothing seems unchanged by much except the new president General Sisi, but Egyptian’s are beset by economic difficulties of unemployment, rising costs of food, petrol, housing, and virtually all other commodities. But the manner in which Vice presented stealing of antiquities, anyone unfamiliar with the country would believe theft of antiquities was running rampant throughout. In fact, examined carefully, the one very valuable cat god statue which they traced to an auction sale seems bizarre. How could thieves actually dig in Luxor, so carefully policed, where they claimed to have found the piece?

            What this show actually did was to exhibit a country struggling to survive and rise above revolution and change into a sordid hotbed of corruption and decay sitting on the brink of disaster instead of a land that is hoping for positive change. A real problem with programmes such as Vice is that most of the viewing public, non-Egyptians, believe what they see, have no background, and the show deliberately misleads its viewers.

            So it should be caveat emptor – buyer beware – before believing what is shown on programmes such as Vice when their prime objective appears to be sensationalizing unfortunate situations amid a people working to raise themselves above despair.

Unlocking the Mysteries of the Middle East

Movies Banned

Here’s the dilemma. Egypt banned the new Exodus movie saying that not only did it ‘forge historical events’ but it promoted a Zionist point of view.

CNN’s report on this banning of course noted that the original 1956 Ten Commandments starring Charlton Heston filmed on site in Egypt, implying that the older regimes [this would be under Nasser] accepted the movie’s premise, but made it open to all Egyptians. This is true with limitations. CNN failed to note that similar, very blatant historical inaccuracies filled the original film as they certainly did, but the new film makes the same errors with no apologies. This is unfortunate as they’ve had nearly 60 years to make some changes.

Are the inaccuracies important or relevant? As a historian, the blatant misuse of history and events is disturbing. As an educator, I cringe at the tremendous influence movies have on audiences. Students will recite a list of what they conceive as historical ‘facts’ which they’ve learned from movies and will not change their perspectives. Movies are right, nothing else really matters. The general absence of critical thinking skills in students and many general audiences gives movie-makers the responsibility of making some attempt at accuracy. Granted, there are times when ‘poetic licence’ is necessary and acceptable. But making an historical film or drama, especially one with political, social, and religious significance requires serious judgment on the part of filmmakers.

The political and religious implications came out with a vengeance. Egypt’s Ministry of Culture quickly banned the movie with adamant comments regarding the film’s points of reference. With the Middle East in its current state of turmoil it can be argued that the filmmakers failed in prudence. Does this lack of thought merely give radical Islamists another bullet? Perhaps it does, they can now wave this red flag in the eyes of the many flocking to their cause, however irrational and violent.

What are some of the inaccuracies? There are many. If and when Moses lived in Egypt, the best records put him nearly 300 years before Ramses, so the two were not contemporaries. Moses and the exodus would have occurred circa 1600 BCE while Ramses was Pharaoh around 1279 BCE. Moses’ contemporary Pharaoh would be Akhenaton [Amenhotep IV] father of Tutankhamen and husband to Nefertiti.

Another major problem, the Israelites were most likely not slaves, certainly not building pyramids. The last pyramids were completed long before Ramses, about 1000 years earlier in 2500 BCE. Evidence is fairly clear that most of the building was done in the off-farming seasons by paid Egyptians rather than slaves. And a majority of Egyptian slaves came from military conquests – a typical practice in the ancient world. Conquest provided slaves. And then the Red Sea. I have been swimming in this very beautiful, idyllic body of water and while it’s true that at times in mid sea there might be waves and some turbulence, on shore and close to shore, it’s calm, blue, and very inviting. Mountains as high as those portrayed do not really line the sea’s shores, there are some sloping desert hills nearby in some places, but those glaring mountains just don’t come in to the picture. I realize this makes great Hollywood suspense, but if they wish to win all audiences, and are attempting to make an historical drama, the filmmakers could be a bit more on target.

These are only three troubling errors. The question remains, why produce this movie now with so many other difficulties facing this part of the world, overlapping to the west and the rest?

German author and journalist Juergen Todenhoefer: ISIS is more dangerous than al-Qaeda

German author and journalist Juergen Todenhoefer spent ten harrowing days with ISIS in Iraq and Syria. He writes his story for the world to read on 29 December 2014.

Todenhoefer emphasized throughout his interview with CNN that ISIS is ‘far more dangerous, organized, intelligent, and dedicated than the West imagines.’ Yet President Obama stated publicly that ISIS is a mere ‘jayvee’ organization, not equipped to take on the world, converting all to its fundamental interpretation of Islam. If the leader of the most powerful nation in the world sees ISIS through a haze, what hope then for other nations and the world at large? This week and next Christians celebrate the Christmas holidays, family visits, travels, plans for rest and relaxation, while ISIS continues its own schemes to bring the world to its knees.

                                                   

Is Todenhoefer’s warning to be taken seriously or shrugged off as another fear-monger with no substance? Look at what happened prior to World War I. Nations ignored the rumbles from dissatisfied governments. In 1939 Neville Chamberlain returned to London from Berlin with Hitler’s promise of ‘peace in our time’ in his pocket. As he waved the promise to cheering crowds, Hitler made his next strike and war began in earnest. Ignorance cannot be bliss. We need to know, to learn, to be prepared with knowledge about what is happening with ISIS [Da’ish]. Ignorance only leads to another global catastrophe.

According to an article by Bob Waters in Community Digital News, ‘Western media generally agree that ISIS is more dangerous than al-Qaeda, the press is not informed enough about Islam and its goals to establish any means of measuring the danger.’

Acquire knowledge and information about the Middle East, what is happening now, what are the goals of ISIS, why now and not earlier? Step into the historical shoes of the Middle East; find out how things have escalated so quickly. Has this situation been boiling under the surface for years and are they isolated to a few terrorists [jihadists]? Waters suggests that the ideals of ISIS [Da’ish] are those of millions of Muslims around the world, and they flock to Iraq and Syria to become part of a new global conquest, a ‘paradise’, a promised hope.

Todenhoefer too unmistakably pointed out ISIS members actually want to die in this quest of world conquest. We cannot remain in ignorance. It neither worked in 1914 nor in 1939. As prevention against the same disasters, we must make the year 2015 one of perception and enlightenment.

**Read more by Bob Waters at http://www.commdiginews.com/world-news/german-writer-spends-10-days-imbedded-with-isis-32347/#RhVGvoOh2DPu4mJS.99

Hanna Hartmann Hosni: Egypt’s Unsung Hero

This morning I learned that Hanna Hartmann Hosni, German married to an Egyptian, the woman I call Egypt’s Unsung Hero, is to receive the highest civilian award from the German government. The Bundesverdienstorden will be present to her by the German President Joachim Gauck. Hanna earned every bit of this award through her many years of service to the impoverished and largely ignored street girls of Egypt. Devoting over 25 years of her life to making even a small dent in their lives, Hanna spends so much of her time and energy raising funds, organizing fund-raisers, conscripting students from the DEO [Deutsch Evangelical Ober Schule], forming committees of parents and teachers, and fighting the governmental powers who have so often resisted her demands for change.

Hanna and some of the Islahaya girls

Hanna’s efforts in just one Islahaya, located in the Cairo suburb of Agouza, have finally reached the attention of some in power who recognize what she is about. Nothing done by her is for personal gain or glory, she feels so much for these girls, and if she had it in her power, she’d most likely try to do the same for all homeless street girls. At one time, she did the same for the boys in a Cairo Islahaya, but the boys are not in the same dire straits in which the girls find themselves.

Hanna does not limit her tireless energy to street girls; she also expends much effort on the Syrian refugees now pouring into Egypt, in addition to aiding the Caritas charity with the lepers of Abou Zhabel, an area outside Cairo.

A few words must be said about her husband, another unsung Egyptian hero. For the past 25 years he has supported his wife in every way possible. Without his help in dealing with Egyptian authorities, his company’s services in building a decent kitchen, making necessary repairs to the Agouza Islahaya, Hanna’s work load would be more difficult to bear. Souhail Hosni deserves to be as proud of his wife and also of his own selflessness in being her chief supporter.

Without the work of these two people these street girls captured in their Islahaya [meaning in Arabic a place ‘to fix’] would indeed be in the devil’s own dead end in their lives. Hanna along with all who support and work with her provides that small beacon of light. It’s time the Egyptian government jumped on board and quit annihilating these girls Il Binait Dol, to the refuse heap of untouchables and give them back lives which through no fault of their own, have been stolen from them.

Terrorist Death Toll Rises

In quick succession, fanatical terrorists struck the hearts of too many with their violent attacks on innocent civilians. In Pakistan 132 children were gunned down by members of one particular Taliban group. Outside the Peshawar province, these killers of children attacked a government school. Nominally connected as a military training public school, the Taliban wreaked its vengeance in retaliation against the Pakistani government. Many reasons have been put forward, among the most significant is the following statement taken from an MSN news report.

A spokesperson for the Pakistani Taliban, which goes by the name Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, claimed that the operation was carried out as revenge for army operations that had targeted the families of Taliban fighters. "Because the government is targeting our families and females," he said, "we want them to feel the pain." (http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/).

Other opinions are that this group wants to let the world know it’s still a viable force in the world of terror, while another is revenge for killing Taliban women and children. Regardless, any group that points a gun at a child’s head and pulls the trigger without compunction has no right to compassion, sympathy, or any other consideration. What they did was pure and simple murder, murder of innocent children who had no place in their war. And their plan backfired. Public support inside and outside of Pakistan has turned against this Taliban group.

In Sydney Australia, a country well-known for its relative atmosphere of non-violence, it suffered a heinous scene of murder right in the middle of Sydney’s lovely Martin Square. I’ve spent time there. During summer months, entertainment is provided at lunchtime; great shops line the pedestrian square and add a lovely atmosphere to the square. What occurred at the hands of Man Haron Monis was plain and simple murder of the young coffee shop manager and a young female attorney, mother of three children under age 10.

The two vile acts, although not connected geographically or in any way other than a loose interpretation of Islam, created havoc and brought about world anger and hatred. The Taliban may believe vengeance is theirs for the death of their families, but nowhere in the Qu’ran is the untoward murder of defenceless individuals condoned. This is not the Islam which my former students believe in, nor the many Muslims throughout the world. A worldwide shudder quakes terra firma, no one escapes the ensuing drama effected by these obliterating acts.