Thursday, October 25, 2007

Myths of the Middle East

This is a great article by Joseph Farah which I read about seven years ago.
I realize that even though I know this, most people around me don't. This is a good point to start discussions. Separate truth from myth. It's so simple.
The whole article is so great, I'll have to quote it entirely.

Myths of the Middle East

Posted: October 11, 2000
1:00 a.m. Eastern


I've been quiet since Israel erupted in fighting spurred by disputes over the
Temple Mount.

Until now, I haven't even bothered to say, "See, I told you so." But I can't resist any longer. I feel compelled to remind you of the column I wrote just a couple weeks before the latest uprising. Yeah, folks, I predicted it. That's OK. Hold your applause.

After all, I wish I had been wrong. More than 80 people have been killed since the current fighting in and around Jerusalem began. And for what?

If you believe what you read in most news sources, Palestinians want a homeland and Muslims want control over sites they consider holy. Simple, right?

Well, as an Arab-American journalist who has spent some time in the Middle East dodging more than my share of rocks and mortar shells, I've got to tell you that these are just phony excuses for the rioting, trouble-making and land-grabbing.

Isn't it interesting that prior to the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, there was no serious
movement for a Palestinian homeland?

"Well, Farah," you might say, "that was before the Israelis seized the West Bank and Old Jerusalem."

That's true. In the Six-Day War, Israel captured Judea, Samaria and East Jerusalem. But they didn't capture these territories from Yasser Arafat. They captured them from Jordan's King Hussein. I can't help but wonder why all these Palestinians suddenly discovered their national identity after Israel won the war.

The truth is that Palestine is no more real than Never-Never Land. The first time the name was used was in 70 A.D. when the Romans committed genocide against the Jews, smashed the Temple and declared the land of Israel would be no more. From then on, the Romans promised, it would be known as Palestine. The name was derived from the Philistines, a Goliathian people conquered by the Jews centuries earlier. It was a way for the Romans to add insult to injury. They also tried to change the name of Jerusalem to Aelia Capitolina, but that had even less staying power.

Palestine has never existed -- before or since -- as an autonomous entity. It was ruled alternately by Rome, by Islamic and Christian crusaders, by the Ottoman Empire and, briefly, by the British after World War I. The British agreed to restore at least part of the land to the Jewish people as their homeland.

There is no language known as Palestinian. There is no distinct Palestinian culture. There has never been a land known as Palestine governed by Palestinians. Palestinians are Arabs, indistinguishable from Jordanians (another recent invention), Syrians, Lebanese, Iraqis, etc. Keep in mind that the Arabs control 99.9 percent of the Middle East lands. Israel represents one-tenth of 1 percent of the landmass.

But that's too much for the Arabs. They want it all. And that is ultimately what the
fighting in Israel is about today. Greed. Pride. Envy. Covetousness. No matter how many land concessions the Israelis make, it will never be enough.

What about Islam's holy sites? There are none in Jerusalem.

Shocked? You should be. I don't expect you will ever hear this brutal truth from anyone else in the international media. It's just not politically correct.

I know what you're going to say: "Farah, the Al Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem represent Islam's third most holy sites."

Not true. In fact, the Koran says nothing about Jerusalem. It mentions Mecca hundreds of times. It mentions Medina countless times. It never mentions Jerusalem. With good reason. There is no historical evidence to suggest Mohammed
ever visited Jerusalem.

So how did Jerusalem become the third holiest site of Islam? Muslims today cite a vague passage in the Koran, the seventeenth Sura, entitled "The Night Journey." It relates that in a dream or a vision Mohammed was carried by night "from the sacred temple to the temple that is most remote, whose precinct we have blessed, that we might show him our signs. ..." In the seventh century, some Muslims identified the two temples mentioned in this verse as being in Mecca and Jerusalem. And that's as close as Islam's connection with Jerusalem gets -- myth, fantasy, wishful thinking. Meanwhile, Jews can trace their roots in Jerusalem back to the days of Abraham.

The latest round of violence in Israel erupted when Likud Party leader Ariel Sharon
tried to visit the Temple Mount, the foundation of the Temple built by Solomon. It is the holiest site for Jews. Sharon and his entourage were met with stones and threats. I know what it's like. I've been there. Can you imagine what it is like for Jews to be threatened, stoned and physically kept out of the holiest site in Judaism?

So what's the solution to the Middle East mayhem? Well, frankly, I don't think there is a man-made solution to the violence. But, if there is one, it needs to begin with truth. Pretending will only lead to more chaos. Treating a 5,000-year-old birthright backed by overwhelming historical and archaeological evidence equally with illegitimate claims, wishes and wants gives diplomacy and peacekeeping a bad name.




There's a nice joke I heard once, about Benjamin Netanyahu and Yasser Arafat.

Bibi and Arafat met at Camp something with Cinton.
As Clinton and Arafat sat down, Bibi remained standing and said "Before we start any negotiation, I would like to say that this is all your fault Yasser. Three thousand years ago, in the Negev desert, there was a Jew called Herschele who took a quick dip in an oasis he came across. While he was enjoying the fresh water, a Palestinian came and stole his clothes! This how this whole conflict started Yasser, because a Palestinian stole an innocent Jew's clothes!"
Arafat was completely taken aback. He began stuttering "B-b-but that's not true! You are lying! This is impossible!"
Bibi asked "Why is this impossible Yasser?"
Arafat replied "Because there were no Palestinians here in the desert three thousand years ago!".
Bibi finally sat down, saying "Good. Now that we agree on that subject, we can start the negotiations."

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yes, it's simple enough if you are looking for the truth.
Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be much demand for that.Not fromt he Jewish side and certainly not from the muslim side.

Robocop said...

I can't see myself ever agreeing with the Palestinian side of view for many reasons. For one, Israelis don't drive planes into our buildings to prove a point. Second, due to the nature of Islam, I do not think any kind of land compromise will ever create a lasting peace. After all, there would still be "infidels" living in the land.

The only viable answer to the Palestine question would be a need for Israel to create the world's largest, glass coated, parking lot.

Progressive Pinhead said...

I think that is a very one sided view of Islam. The vast majority of Muslims, just like the vast majority of Jews want peace. It is just the hardline nutcases on both sides who derrail the process with their acts of violence.

9/11 was condemned by most Muslims just like the LRA is condemned by most Christians and like the mainstream of any religon will conemn violent radicals attempting to hijack their faith. Its not fair to single out the radical from one religon and paint everyone who belongs to that religon with a broad brush. In fact, most Muslims don't think OBL is even a real Muslim, becuase he breaks Islamic law so often.

Your remarks at best show a profound ignorance of the situation in Palestine and at worst show a bloodlust. You must understand the Palestinian grievences before you comment on why you don't like the people. Actually, if you were to take a balanced look at both sides of the equation you will find that the Palestinian cuase has much more moral authority then you think. Just take a look at all of the moral leaders who have taken up the cuase of the Palestinians.

Moishe Oofnik said...

young (and naive) activist,

First of all, what does this article have to do with 9/11, OBL, Muslims supporting or not supporting it? Try to stay focused. It's not that hard.

Which one of my remarks show a profound ignorance? Bloodlust? I don't understand the Palestinian grievances? I don't like the Palestinian people? Have I ever said anything remotely resembling that?

I have no problem with so-called Palestinians. It's the Palestinian terrorists I have a problem with. Don't you?

So tell me, which "moral" leaders have taken up the cause of the Palestinians? Which ones have done so without any second thoughts about angering the Arab population and their oil reserves?

If you want to actually make a comment about something I wrote, please do so. For me it seems that you just copy-paste the same comment on every blog you see fit.