The Mindless Menace of Violence in the Muslim World

December 29, 2007 – 2:18 am

One more act of senseless violence greets us in the Muslim world this week. One more suicide bomber or assassin, or whatever we can call them these days, kills others and himself in a moment of premeditated madness.

The assassination of Benazir Bhutto is tragic. There can be no doubt about that. But what shocks me today, as I am shocked on a daily basis with the stream of murders and suicides in Pakistan, Iraq, Lebanon, Turkey, and so many other countries is this nagging question: Where on earth do they find them?? Where on earth do the plotters and schemers find so many willing men and women of young age to mould into their insane vision of the world? How did those who planned this latest act of violence stumble upon this latest specimen of misguided fervour and convince him (at least it seems to be a him at the time of writing) to go and end his life by assassinating a mother of three children. How did they get through to this guy? And more importantly, why is it so goddamn easy to find self-terminating assassins in our region?

I am outraged as I was outraged on the day I witnessed the mothers, fathers and grandfathers grieving for their loved ones in an Amman hospital after the massacres of the inverted 9/11 (in Jordan, it was 11/9 if one follows the American date method, and proof that the killers and blood suckers infesting our region have a rather bizarre and morbid sense of humour that, I guess, makes some weird sense to the lunatics in our midst).

I am as outraged as I was in the summer of 2005 when a bunch of lunatics in Sharm El Sheikh drove their bomb-laden cars into a crowd of underpaid workers who apparently were not allowed the simple pleasure of a cup of coffee at the end of a long working day.

I am outraged as I was when I heard this last summer that a Jordanian Neurosurgeon thought that the best way to make use of his years of study and research is to go and bomb the world and all that is in it outside the Tiger Tiger club in Piccadilly.

Now, some of the readers will say: “Oh, come on, that’s not totally accurate; you are comparing the murders of innocent civilians with a targeted assassination of a leader who some Pakistanis discredit … etc.” But that is not the point. Read More »

By Nasser Ali Khasawneh | Posted in Columnist, Current Affairs, Religion, islam, south asia, terrorism | Comments (15)

Swift on Islamophobia: A modest Proposal

July 21, 2006 – 9:39 pm

In light of the rampancy of Islamophobia in various circles and the groupthink mentality that fuels it, Jonathan Swift’s “A Modest Proposal” is all that comes to mind…

Therefore, in order to completely eradicate global terrorism and the growing menace of the rapidly growing Muslim population around the world and securing broader wealth to those of us who deserve more, we are better advised to heed and enact the objective recommendation below and understand its goodwill impetus driving them.

It is a melancholy object to those of us of the Western culture when we see the streets of the cities and towns in US and Europe crowded with Mazlems, Mouzlims, Mohammedans or whatever and their veiled, apparently oppressed creatures of the female sex, followed by three, four, six, or more children. Read More »

By Feature Writer | Posted in Current Affairs, islam, middle east, politics, racism | Comments (0)

The Terrorists Have Won

July 6, 2006 – 9:41 pm

I recently saw the film “The Siege,” made in 1998, about terrorist bombs going off in New York City. Of course, Middle Eastern men planted the bombs and soldier Bruce Willis, taking marching orders from the president, imposes martial law, rounds up first all those from the Mideast, then other foreigners and finally U.S. citizens and puts them in camps. Read More »

By Feature Writer | Posted in Current Affairs, human rights, north america, politics, terrorism | Comments (0)

United 93

May 5, 2006 – 7:01 pm
    On controversy and great filmmaking

“United 93” could have easily been gratuitous, or cheesy, or exploitative. It is none of these things. If you feel ready to confront the tragedy of the hijacked flight, and the general bloodbath of September 11th, 2001 on the big screen, this is not a film to miss.

At first, I was opposed to the fact that this picture was even made. I began to change my mind when I learned that director Paul Greengrass engaged the victims’ families in attempting to create an accurate portrayal of their loved ones. A few days before opening night, I felt ready to see this movie. In fact, I craved it – the film, or rather the idea of it, was like a bruise I could not stop touching. Read More »

By Natalia Antonova | Posted in Columnist, Entertainment | Comments (0)

Notes from Amman Surgical Hospital– November 9, 2005

November 11, 2004 – 9:49 pm

As soon as we entered Amman Surgical Hospital, the depth of the tragedy engulfed us. To my right, a young man slouched in a chair, surrounded by friends. A veiled woman, who could have been his mother but had the air of a loving aunt, moved towards him. We were distracted by other scenes of anguish. A few moments later, I turned back to check on the young man, who could have been anywhere between 16 and 25, shock and despair masking all signs of youth. The veiled “aunt” was now sitting on the arm of his chair. An old man, dressed in traditional Arab clothes (a “hatta” and “e’gal” on the head, a dark dish-dash), stood over him on his other side. They whispered words in his ears, hands gently touching his shoulders.

The young man moved forward in his seat. A slight emotional convulsion gripped him. Slight tears welled-up the eyes. He hid his face in his forearms. The older man and woman streamed words of comfort that were inaudible to me. Or perhaps I didn’t want to hear what a young man is told of the violent death of a father or mother. His friends were speechless, their age making it impossible to comprehend or take any comfort against the insanities of our age. I moved on. Read More »

By Nasser Ali Khasawneh | Posted in Columnist, Current Affairs | Comments (0)

And the Blood of our Children All Around

September 7, 2004 – 9:49 pm

I’m really sad that apparently all the hostage-takers in Beslan have been killed. They couldn’t wait for me to get there with my arsenal of dull spoons and Spanish Collars? Goddamit. I’m kidding of course. I’ve got only a capacity for dark humour today, though.

This latest incident proves to me (beside the fact that the human race isn’t worth much, if we are capable of doing these things to each other) that a) The Russian Federation either has no intelligence or b) The Russian Federation can’t be bothered to use its intelligence to protect its own children.

These are, honestly, the questions that my friends have been asking today: “WHERE ARE THE BASTARDS’ FAMILIES? WHERE ARE THEY? Why wasn’t at least ONE of their little sons brought to the walls of that school within 24 hours with a gun to his head? Oh, we can’t do that, we don’t know enough about them, oh it’s so inhumane, blah blah blah, BULLSHIT. You’ve got your hostages, and we’ve got ours.” These are scary words.

You know what’s also inhumane? Keeping your people like a bunch of blind cows in a burning barn. For a country being literally raped by terrorists, the Russian Federation seem to be awfully relaxed in terms of modern espionage. And yes, the government can afford it, if it can afford hundred-pound crystal chandeliers in the Kremlin. Is it that the terrorism inspires exactly the sort of fear needed to further curtail basic human rights in this great country, this rich country, this largest-in-the-world-and-yet-perhaps-not-large-enough-for-some country?

It is times like these (September 11th, 2001, brought on similar feelings) that I am reminded of the fact that killing anyone out of spite or revenge is wrong… Right? Even as I stare at the pictures pulled off the exceedingly “honest” Russian servers, pictures of bloodied little bodies with wax-like limbs, pictures of those who had no part in this ridiculous conflict and died brutally for it, died calling for their parents who will later mop up their blood, died stripped to their little underpants, died because their government is useless against enemies to whom the “infidel” isn’t human, died because their government made mistakes, because their army made mistakes, because there is no justice in this world, seek and you will not find it, knock and the door won’t open. Not here, not now.

How I would feel if my little brother had been at that school? What kind of monster would that turn me into? A monster with teeth? A monster with claws? A monster with a grenade-launcher? I think about the parents of the children at Beslan, and I wonder if they’re monsters now. Or maybe they know something I don’t, something bigger and warmer than all dreams of sawing the terrorists’ heads off with dull chainsaws, an understanding that will save them from being buried forever under this blood and guts and grief. Or so I like to think, that there is at least one person out there who can make sense of this. I’m sad that this person isn’t me.

The most important question remains: How do you bring yourself to shoot a running first-grader in the back? God, don’t let me find out. I have seen enough. How any good for Chechnya will come out of this bloody mess is a mystery. If we continue to build nations on the crushed bodies of little children, how can those nations be worth living in?

By Natalia Antonova | Posted in Columnist, Current Affairs | Comments (0)