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23. mars 2006
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Athena brings some very interesting excerpts from an interview with the Syrian poet Adonis (really!) on Dubai TV:
"If I look at the Arabs, with all their resources and great capacities, and I compare what they have achieved over the past century with what others have achieved in that period, I would have to say that we Arabs are in a phase of extinction, in the sense that we have no creative presence in the world." [...]
"That is our real intellectual crisis. We are facing a new world with ideas that no longer exist, and in a context that is obsolete. We must sever ourselves completely from that context, on all levels, and think of a new Arab identity, a new culture, and a new Arab society."
"The Muslims today - forgive me for saying this - with their accepted interpretation [of the religious text], are the first to destroy Islam, whereas those who criticize the Muslims - the non-believers, the infidels, as they call them - are the ones who perceive in Islam the vitality that could adapt it to life. These infidels serve Islam better than the believers."
Interesting observation. If we look at the rich history of Islamic culture, it is quite astonishing and sad how it lost its self-esteem and through this, it lost its power to innovate and create. True, Islam also represented brutal wars of conquest, but no more so than the Greeks or Romans, or for that matter enlightment Europe.
One quite well-know example is the 7th century scholar al-Khwarizmi, who was either from Iran or present-day Iraq. The word 'algebra' is derived from his book on the subject, and the importance of his work in different branches of mathematics can hardly be overstated. In 825 he introduced Indian numerals to the Arab world, which later was introduced to Europe and called Arabic numerals. That is the number system we still use. I'd hate to still write that happened in the year DCCCXXV (yup, Google converts to Roman numerals too).
But today, you'd be hard pressed to find any leading scientists from the Arab-Islamic world. It is basically the combined talents of millions of people wasted by a destructive culture and despotic, corrupt governments that keep them from getting an education and excelling in whatever their fields of interest and talents are.
9:38:24 PM 
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Is France ruled by an elected government, parliament and the rule of law, or by street mobs?
Violence has erupted in Paris as thousands of French students took to the streets to protest against a controversial labour law.
Dozens of youths smashed windows, looted shops, set fire to cars and hurled stones at police.
But the majority of protesters were peaceful, many of them linking arms as police tackled the violent fringe.
Union leaders have agreed to meet Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin on Friday. They want the law withdrawn.
The union leaders have refused to negotiate unless the law, introducing the First Employment Contract, is withdrawn first and will only use the meeting to press their demands. A strike is due to be held on Tuesday.
Mr de Villepin has said he will talk about amending but not scrapping the law, which is an attempt to create jobs for the young by dropping employment safeguards.
Anyone thinking the French government will not go wobbly and water down or outright withdraw the new law?
9:16:36 PM
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The Taliban is obviously deeper entrenched in Afghanistan than we thought.
Senior Muslim clerics said Thursday that an Afghan man on trial for converting from Islam to Christianity should be killed regardless of whether a court decides to free him.
What would these fanatics say if Christians killed westerners who converted to Islam?
8:53:23 PM
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Today a multinational rescue team succeeding in freeing the remaining three hostages from Christian Peacemaker Teams who have been held in Iraq since November.
The rescue was completed without any shots being fired and with no kidnappers present, suggesting the operation was carefully planned and carried out.
But the crucial bit of intelligence that enabled the rescue came only after two men were captured by US forces on Wednesday night.
One of the suspects had the information which led officials to the Baghdad house where the hostages were four months into their ordeal.
"We got that information at 0800 (0500 GMT) this morning and we conducted the operation," said Maj Gen Rick Lynch.
"We moved to the location in western Baghdad that was reported for the location of the Christian Peacemaker Team.
"We conducted an assault on the house and inside the house we found the three hostages, in good condition.
"There were no kidnappers there at the time. The three hostages were by themselves."
The hostages were bound, he said.
It's probably a good idea to not be around when the SAS comes knocking.
The hostage-takers appears to have been for-profit criminals, not Islamic extremists.
The rescued were Briton Norman Kember and his Canadian colleagues James Loney and Harmeet Singh Sooden. An American, Tom Fox, was found murdered in Baghdad two weeks ago.
I can't help thinking it is ironic that these men were freed by the soldiers they were in Iraq to protest against.
Update: Mark Steyn points out the amazing ingratitude of the former hostages and their organisation.
Kathryn, you let off those pitiful Christian "Peacemaker" Teams way too easily. If you go to their website you'll notice the headline reads: "CELEBRATE THE PEACEMAKERS' RELEASE"
They weren't "released/" They were "rescued" by brave British-US Special Forces risking their lives. If you'd waited for their "release." you'd be celebrating over their corpses and severed heads.
Not a word of thanks to the soldiers who risked their lives to rescue them that I can see.
6:14:04 PM
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© Copyright 2006 Jan Haugland.
Last update: 01.04.2006; 13:23:15.
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