Presidential appointee Mogahed doesn’t recognize 1.9 million South Sudanese deaths as inflicted by Radical Islam.  Certainly won’t call it ‘jihad.’

 

By Mark S. Finkelstein     April 14, 2009   

  A commentary on Dalia Mogahed’s appointment  by President Obama  to the Presidential Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships.  (1)     

 

Before the crisis in Darfur, Sudan, there was one in South Sudan.   As far back as 1998, Researchers called it genocide and tallied “ an astounding 1.9 million deaths [in the South] since the current phase of Sudan's civil war began in 1983.” ( 2 )

 

What was Sudan’s civil war all about?  “Since [Sudan’s] independence on January 1, 1956 successive Arab and Muslim dominated governments in Khartoum have strived to forcefully bring the South under Arab and Islamic fold.  ...   The National Islamic government [in Khartoum] has even gone as far as to declare "Jihad", an Islamic Holy war against the people of the South and the Nuba Mountains, who it considers as infidels and who must be totally eradicated or brought under the banner of Arabism and Islamism.”  ( 3 ) 

 

 And so the Nationalist Islamic government “forced Islamization and Arabization” ( 4 ) on the Christian Sudanese.  They used a number of means including the imposition of strict Islamic religious law (including amputation for proscribed crimes)( 5 )  on Christians as well as on Muslims and by the “[d]enial of basic human needs and use of food as a weapon for conversion into [the] Islamic religion.” ( 6 )  Slavery has been documented first-hand as well. ( 7A )   Slavery?  Read Simon Deng's testimony (7B ) yourself.

 

 There were 1.9 million Christian and animist victims of supremacist Islamism in Sudan.   But Dalia Mogahed would not acknowledge this.  At a public program in Des Moines, Iowa on May 27,  2008 , I personally asked her to acknowledge these facts, and I expected her to do so, because the case is incontrovertible.  But she refused.

Why did she refuse?  Perhaps acknowledging Sudanese jihadism goes against her apparent need to present  radical Islamic extremism as a reaction to political grievances with the world.  For in the book she co-authored with John Esposito   ( 8 ) – the book she came to talk about – she concludes :  the “data indicate that faith [i.e., religion, i.e., adherence to the tenets of a jihadi interpretation of Islam] is not the distinguishing factor primarily responsible for extremism…” (p. 163) ;  That “ the real difference between those who condone terrorist acts [including, jihad – my addition]  and all others is about politics, not piety.” ( p. 74)  Fortunately there are some pretty  solid critiques of the Esposito- Mogahed book  available, one of them being Robert Satloff’s article entitled: “Just like us? Really?” ( 9 ) 

The fact that Ms. Mogahed is either unable or unwilling to identify the Sudanese jihad for what it is and for what it has done, should make one pause.   Think for a moment about the things she is conveniently able to overlook. 

Mark S. Finkelstein serves as Director of Community Relations for the Jewish Federation of Greater Des Moines, Iowa.  He may be contacted at jcrc@dmjfed.org

 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

 References 

1.    http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/President-Obama-Announces-Additional-Members-of-Advisory-Council-on-Faith-Based-and-Neighborhood-Partnerships/

 

 2 .  Testimony of J. Millard Burr, to Congress, 1999.   Burr is the author of “Quantifying Genocide in Southern Sudan.  http://home.planet.nl/~ende0098/content/documents/Burr.htm

 3 . Sabit A. Alley from the iAbolish, the Anti-Slavery Portal, 2005. http://web.archive.org/web/20051221045218/http://www.iabolish.com/today/features/sudan/overview1.htm  

  See also: de Chand, "The Sources of Conflict between the North and the South in Sudan"  http://www.dur.ac.uk/justin.willis/chand.htm who identifies many of the residents of South Sudan as Christians.  “ The 13-year old Jihad (Holy war) being waged by the extremist Islamic regime in Khartoum against Christians in the South has given slavery a come back.”

 4 . and  6 .  Riek Machar Terry-Dhurgon.  “South Sudan: A History of Political Domination” http://www.africa.upenn.edu/Hornet/sd_machar.html

 

 5 .  "In September 1983, as part of an Islamicization campaign, President Nimeiri announced that traditional Islamic punishments drawn from Shari’a (Islamic Law) would be incorporated into the penal code. This was controversial even among Muslim groups. Amputations for theft and public lashings for alcohol possession became common. Southerners and other non-Muslims living in the north were also subjected to these punishments."   U.S. Department of State    http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5424.htm

 

 7A "Slavery Widespread in Sudan, Bishop charges." 1998   http://www.domini.org/openbook/sud80713.htm

  . 

7B   Simon Deng’s personal account of slavery under the Khartoum regime.  "I was abducted into slavery at the age of nine, in which I spent three and half years of my life as a slave."   http://www.satyamag.com/mar06/deng.html

 

 8.  John L. Esposito and Dalia Mogahed  ,  Who Speaks for Islam . What a Billion Muslims Really Think.  Gallup Press, 2007. 

 

 9.  Robert Satloff .  “ Just Like Us. Really?”   A critique of Esposito & Mogahed's Who Speaks for Islam

 http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/015/066chpzg.asp?pg=1

 

 

Rubin: read article on why Israel might have to attack Iran someday

An extremely interesting article about why Israel might--and might have to--attack Iran some day
-commentary by Barry Rubin


link to article recommended by Barry Rubin: http://www.slate.com/id/2215820/

Read it as so far superior to what is usually written on such matters. The critique below is about secondary points which do not detract from the article's value but express some of my personal reactions.

Samuels is sympathetic to Israel and there are good--even very clever--aspects to the argument. But he has to earn his right to make an essentially pro-Israel argument by:

1. bashing Israel a bit, sometimes in rather silly ways.

2. says all sorts of inaccurate things about Israel.

3. understandably put everything in terms of US interests. This is reasonable for a U.S. audience of course but still it is an article about why Israel might have to take great risks.

4. miss the reality of the Arab world making it seem like a sort of black box rather than a place with serious malfunctions that messes things up on its own.

And finally, and most importantly, he omits the rather main reason why Israel has launched attackes on Hamas and Hizballah--self-defense, not restoring credibility as the main goal--and on Iran--belief that Iran might use nuclear weapons against it.

Again, though, an important article well-worth reading, making insightful points. Samuels has been writing good things and shown some real courage in doing so.

The President holds a seder in the WH

Why was last night different?
Apr. 8, 2009 HILARY LEILA KRIEGER, The Jerusalem Post, Washington

WASHINGTON - US President Barack Obama was scheduled to celebrate Pessah on Thursday night with staff and friends in what is believed to be the first White House Seder attended by an American president.

The event was slipped onto the president's public schedule Tuesday night with little fanfare, following a letter signed by Obama earlier in the day wishing Americans who mark the day a "peaceful and relaxing holiday."

While presidential proclamations in honor of Pessah were common throughout the administrations of George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, this year's Seder is believed to be the first of its kind.

"I'm really happy to hear about it," said Steve Rabinowitz, who once led a staff Seder in the Clinton White House but was unaware of a White House Seder in which the president had personally taken part. "It's been an extremely open White House to all faith communities, certainly including ours."

William Daroff, who runs the United Jewish Communities' Washington office, recalled that Franklin D. Roosevelt had snuck out the back door of the White House in 1943 to avoid seeing rabbis marching out front to demand US action to save European Jews from the Nazis.

"Sixty-six years later the president of the United States is spending Thursday evening with his friends and family celebrating the liberation and survival of the Jewish people," Daroff noted. It was "a testament to how far we have come as a Jewish people in America," he said.

"Jews are a vital component in the mosaic that is American culture and society," Daroff continued. "Our welcome through the front door, and the dining room door, of the White House speaks to the inclusiveness of today's America and of President Obama. This night is indeed different from all other nights."

In his letter, Obama described the story of Jews' ascent from slavery to freedom in the Land of Israel as being "among the most powerful stories of suffering and redemption in human history," accompanied by rituals and symbols that indicate "the beauty of freedom and the responsibility it entails."

He also said the holiday presented a message for all humankind. "As part of a larger global community, we all must work to ensure that our brothers and sisters of every race, religion, culture and nationality are free from bondage and repression, and are able to live in peace."

He concluded his letter with the traditional Hebrew greeting chag sameach, or happy holiday.

Though Pessah started on Wednesday evening, Obama was hosting the second Seder, on Thursday night, apparently so that those in attendance could celebrate with their families on the first night.

The guest list included the president, First Lady Michelle Obama and their daughters, Malia and Sasha, as well as a dozen staff members and friends along with their families.

Last year, most had been on a campaign stop in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, with then-senator Obama when the first night of Pessah fell.

According to the White House, Obama insisted on holding an impromptu Seder, and this year invited those who were with him to celebrate together again.

This article can also be read at http://www.jpost.com /servlet/Satellite?cid=1238562942442&pagename=JPArticle%2FShowFull

A member of the Chicago Board of Rabbis, Rabbi Capers Funnye [ pron. Foo-Nay'] is spiritual leader of Beth Shalom B'nai Zaken Ethiopian Hebrew Congregation in Chicago. Let's go to the videotape....

The Palestinians' Obligations

Monday, April 6, 2009; A14  Letter to the Washington Post

Your March 31 editorial "Israel's New Government" talked a lot about what the Israelis must do to continue to have support from the United States. What I found lacking was a discussion of what the Palestinians must do to have acceptance by Israel and the United States for a two-state solution. If peace is to come in that troubled region, both the Palestinians and the Israelis have to make concessions and bear responsibilities. Pressure should not be put just on Israel alone, as the editorial attempted to do.

For a two-state solution to become a reality, Palestinians in both the West Bank and the Gaza Strip must recognize the right of Israel to exist as a Jewish state. They must also renounce terrorism and understand that they cannot use terrorism as a negotiating tool to achieve their state. The Palestinians must also agree to abide by all previous agreements signed by their leadership. These are simple things and prerequisites for Palestinians in both Gaza and the West Bank to accept for there to be a peaceful, two-state solution. Since the war in Gaza has ended, Palestinians continue to bombard Israel with missiles threatening Israeli civilians. This must stop if the conflict is going to be resolved.

Peace will come to that region of the world when both sides recognize each other's right to exist in peace and security. It will not come from pressuring Israel to make unilateral concessions in return for worthless promises or worthless pieces of paper.

ELIOT L. ENGEL

U.S. Representative (D-N.Y.)

Washington

The writer is a member of the House Foreign Affairs subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia.

Most Palestinians appear to hope for something other than a two-state solution.

 

As reported elsewhere on the internet, a Norwegian organization, the Fafo Institute for Applied International Studies conducted an opinion poll in the West Bank and Gaza in late February and early March 2009.  The poll is online at http://www.fafo.no/indexenglish.htm

 

Among the findings:  ( parenthetical comments are mine. -- Mark)

 

35% of respondents [ Total n= 3,232] "hope"  for a Two-state solution. (Advocated by 47% of Fatah respondents; 21% of Hamas respondents.)    (no information available from respondents about whether Israel, as part of a 2-state settlement, would be expected to absorb Palestinian 'refugees' or whether Palestine would permit Jewish residents.)

 

33% hope for the establishment of One Islamic state  (i.e., governed by Islamic law.   Advocated by 58% of Hamas respondents; 17% of Fatah respondents.)

 

20% hope for the establishment of One state with equal rights for all   (In other words, the absorption of Israel into a Greater Palestine and the nullification of Israel as a Jewish state.  Advocated by 22% of Fatah respondents; 12% of Hamas respondents, a majority of whom would prefer a Islamic state. )

 

  3%  hope for a Three-state solution

 

  9%  "Don't know"  what to hope for.  ( A response by 14% of the 35-44 age bracket) 

 

[Table 1.23  Hopes for a future political solution of the conflict with Israel. p. 25]

 

 

 

 

Religion and Poverty: Let All Who Are Hungry Come and Eat,

By Rabbi Steve Gutow, president of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs,

and Dr. H. Eric Schockman, president of MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger

A Jewish Call to Protect America’s Hungry

Over the coming months, Spotlight will host a conversation that asks how and whether religious and faith communities should address the issue of poverty in America and explores the relationship between religion and public policy.

As the weather grows warmer and the days grow longer, American Jews are preparing to celebrate Passover. Every spring, we remember our people’s escape from bondage and flight to freedom with songs and stories read from the Haggadah, our traditional guide to the Seder meal. Our primary symbol is a very simple one: matzo, the dry, cracker-like food that we also call “the bread of affliction.”

As we gather, our homes filled with friends and our tables with food, our thoughts on slavery, affliction, and remembrances that we were once “strangers in a strange land,” it is easy to forget that affliction is not a thing of the distant past—that even as we sit down to our holiday meal, many Americans are virtual strangers in their own land, afflicted and enslaved by hunger.

The Seder is not merely a meal, however; it is a tool for education, a call to social action. This year, it comes at a time when many, many American families face times harder than they ever imagined. Today, some 37.5 million Americans live in poverty — a number that includes 13 million children — and the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities estimates that as many as 10 million more of our fellow citizens will have slipped below the poverty line by year’s end. The people who suffer the most in hard times are not those at the top, but those who were already in need when the hard times hit.

The Haggadah wisely guards against the tendency to see religious ritual as a lifeless thing that refers only to the story of the Israelites from the past. We are told that in every generation, we must see ourselves as if we had personally gone out of Egypt. We must take the lessons of bondage and freedom into our daily lives and apply them to the world around us. As we break matzo with those we love, this year of all years, we must certainly remember the millions who do not have enough food on their own tables.

That is why, next week, we will bring together not just Jews, but people of all faiths and backgrounds, lawmakers and activists, students and community leaders, to hold a special Seder in the U.S. Capitol, focused on the issues of hunger and child nutrition. This event will kick off a series of similar Seders to be held across the country, as Jewish groups and interfaith leaders convene not just to celebrate the Jewish people’s historical escape from slavery, but to highlight this country’s obligation to ensure that all of our children escape the affliction of hunger.

As a nation, we are only as strong as our weakest members, and, surely, we cannot move forward if we fail to care for our children. As the ancient Israelites had to take action in order to achieve their own exodus, so it is today: hunger can only be defeated if we all take on the responsibility.

As such, these Seders will call on Americans to educate themselves, to advocate on behalf of the hungry to their legislators, and to organize their loved ones and community to take action. Our hope is that the universal message of the right to freedom from want will echo in the halls of Congress, and that our elected officials will see to it that our next federal budget prioritizes meeting Americans’ most basic human needs.

To effectively grapple with childhood hunger, Congress will have to invest substantially in new funding for child nutrition programs. More communities must have access to school breakfast and summer feeding programs, rules must be shaped that will make it simpler for families to participate, and the nutritional quality of the food provided must be improved. $20 billion, over the next five years, will be a critical investment toward making the improvements that these programs urgently need—but not only will such changes make a real difference in the lives of boys and girls currently living in poverty, they will be a vital step toward meeting President Obama’s stated goal of ending child hunger in this country by 2015.

The good news is that these ideas build on an existing foundation, laid by Congressional advocates in recent years. Increases in the Food Stamp benefit were an important part of the Administration’s stimulus package, and last year’s Farm Bill contained a robust nutrition title, with 73 percent of the bill’s total dedicated to the funding of nutrition programs such as Food Stamps and emergency food assistance, as well as programs designed to bring more fresh fruits and vegetables to schools in low-income areas.

It is simply not enough to leave these issues to the good will of individual people or philanthropies. The simple truth is that hunger, like slavery, is a political condition. It is not a lack of food, but a lack of action and will that perpetuates hunger in the lives of our youngest citizens.

When the Israelites were called to leave behind their suffering, they had to do so in a hurry—and so, not having time to allow their bread to rise, they traveled into the desert with matzo, hard bread that served also to remind them of the hard life they had left behind. Today, we too are in a rush, as every day spent in hunger is one too many. The time to act is not next month or next year, but now.

It is important to remember, however, that Passover is not just a holiday of exodus, but also a time of renewal. As the ragtag crowd of Israelites left Egypt and were formed into the Jewish people, so too can the America people rise to their own challenges, and become a better, stronger nation as a result.

As people of faith, we know that we are called to meet the needs of the most vulnerable. To not do so would be an affront to God and all we hold dear. As Americans, we know that generational poverty — the empty belly of a child — weakens and destabilizes our country as a whole.

“Let all who are hungry come and eat,” we read in the Haggadah, “let all who are in need come share our Passover.”

Let us all — Jews, Christians, Muslims, people of any and all faiths — carry this simple, powerful message with us into the world, and take the actions so urgently needed to free American children from hunger.

Rabbi Steve Gutow is the president of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs. Dr. H. Eric Schockman is the president of MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger.