by Tina Grazier
We have just completed a very bloody month in Iraq at the hands of those who say they act as warriors for the “religion of peace”. Just when things are looking very dark, when voices, raised in declarations of defeat and ruin, grow louder, a ray of sunshine…
“Now, suddenly, we are beginning to see cracks in the facade of Arab harmony and unity. Distinct voices are being heard, publicly and in the press, speaking lovingly of their people but critical of the direction the Arab world has taken.”
“Hosni Mubarak the acknowledged big brother and political advisor to a large segment of the Arab world is the first Arab leader to acknowledge the flawed path Islam has taken and to speak out for change. Last week the president of Egypt delivered his message by means of the national Egyptian media. In a live television appearance Mubarak, a man who minces no words, said: ‘Shouldn’t we Muslims shoulder part of the responsibility of these wrong ideas about Islam? Have we fulfilled our duty in correcting the image of Islam and the Muslims? What did we do to face a terrorism that wears Islam’s cloak and targets the lives of the people?'”
“In a very self critical column published in the Palestinian weekly al-Ayam, Hamad posed some very thoughtful and introspective questions reprimanding his own society. He takes them to task for embracing violence as a way of life, for allowing violent means to supplant any and all other forms of personal expression. Hamad asked: ‘Are we truly a violent society?’ ‘Do we suffer from the chronic illness of violence?’ ‘Have we become people who believe that all our problems can be resolved only through violence, with a bullet, a shell, a blatant leaflet and harsh words?'”